Every year, the Delta High School chapter of National Honor Society hosts an event for younger children of the community called Halloween High. This year, however, is different for NHS because Tonya MacKendrick, the previous coordinator, stepped down from her role and passed it on to Alicia Bechard.
Bechard has been teaching in the Delta community for thirteen years and was the head of the Interact Club at the middle school. So, Bechard is no stranger to guiding students daily.
“It’s stressful, but we’re getting it figured out. [It’s] like when you’re new to any club or something, you don’t always know all of it… The kids are helpful. They help me out,” said Bechard.
Senior Alex Burruss, on the other hand, has been in NHS since his junior year. With Bechard being the new advisor, he may be one to notice some of the changes for this year’s Halloween High.
“It’s just different because Mrs. MacKendrick had been doing it for so long. She definitely had a way of how she did things, like whether it was NHS officer elections, or just how NHS worked generally,” said Burruss. “It’s not as rough a transition as you would think, because Mrs. Bechard’s already doing a lot for us.”
The changes aren’t the only thing people notice when attending this event, as the events offered are the highlight of the night. Halloween High offers a variety of activities, including face painting, cookie decorating, coloring, fishing for candy, and games for everyone to find fun in. “With Halloween High, we have stuff for all the little kids that are enjoyable, and we do stuff for the high schoolers,” said Bechard.
Sarai Ragsdale, a junior in the NHS program, enjoys interacting with the community in acts of kindness.
“It’s really awesome. I like to be able to interact with kids, especially, and also working with fellow students to make people smile,” said Ragsdale.
Another NHS senior, Hayden Pirela, has a similar opinion. “I really enjoy being able to interact with the community, especially with little kids at events like this,” Pirela said.
Halloween High has been a tradition for Delta for several years, and it has an impact on the community and the children that is sure to never be forgotten. “It brings just an overall good feel to be involved with one another,” said Ragsdale.
The NHS doesn’t just have opportunities to help out and bring joy to everyone in Delta; it gives the members opportunities like being involved with everyone in the school and in the community as well.
“I really like being able to interact with the community because it helps me become more known, especially since I haven’t lived here my entire life. I get to meet new people and get new opportunities all the time,” said Pirela.
