With Halloween arriving, not all students will be getting tricks or treats in the classroom, as many schools have shifted away from traditional festivities.

One school that has done away with Halloween festivities is Hooksett’s Fred C. Underhill School, as Assistant Principal Ralene St. Pierre said the school has been holding a fi tness-themed Fall Festival for the last fi ve years.

“There were parents in the past that wouldn’t send their children to school on Halloween if we were having a party,” said St. Pierre. “Having people not send students to school was upsetting to us as educators.”

The school has kindergarten through second-grade students, and each of the classrooms takes part in the event, which includes relay races and other games with fall twists, such as using Indian corn as the baton or having teams make laps around a pumpkin.

“We can’t ignore the fact that it’s Halloween, because the kids are excited,” said St. Pierre. “There’s more concern about fitness, so this is a nice way to address that. We can have the fitness along with fun, and the kids learn to be good sports, which is something we talk to them about.”

On Halloween at Hooksett Memorial School, Principal Carol Soucy said the students take part in low-key harvest parties, which celebrate the conclusion of the first portion of the school year.

“It’s a good time to celebrate the efforts we’ve made in that area,” said Soucy. “We can protect instructional time, and we’re also having a small celebration.”

At McKelvie Intermediate School in Bedford, the festivities are the same. Principal Mike Fournier said the administration decided two years ago to do away with holiday celebrations.

“We’ve tried to distinguish ourselves from the elementary school by not having parties, but lessons and things related to the season,” said Fournier. “An example of that would be measuring the mass of a pumpkin, but not celebrating Halloween.” Similar to Hooksett Memorial, Fournier said at the end of the quarter, students who have completed all of their work are rewarded with a movie related to the curriculum, and students who don’t have their work completed have the opportunity to catch up and take part in the activity as well.

“We wanted to focus on the increasing pressure on the academic needs of the children,” Fournier said. “We want to spend the time giving them the education they need. That way we can celebrate the success of the students having finished a portion of the year, and celebrate what they’ve accomplished.”

However, not all schools in Bedford have said goodbye to Halloween celebrations, such as Peter Woodbury School. At Peter Woodbury, students dress up and do a parade around the building, then they go inside and have a party with healthy treats.

“Halloween is Halloween,” said Peter Woodbury Principal Ken Williams. “People can call it a harvest festival, but we call it Halloween. People can opt out of costumes if they want, and we work with parents on an individual basis. It seems to be a very popular event at our school.”

Bow Elementary School administrators aren’t faced with the decision on how to celebrate Halloween, as the Bow Parks and Recreation Department sponsors a Halloween party for the town’s youths each year.

Principal Deb Gibbens said the event is what the students look forward to each year, and students do not dress up or celebrate in the classroom.

“It hasn’t been an issue, or a non-issue, because that’s just how it has been for years,” said Gibbens.

Other schools still celebrate Halloween in a traditional way as well, such as Goffstown’s Bartlett and Maple Avenue elementary schools, which has a costume parade through town. Villa Augustina students join in the parade as well.

“We’ve thought about changing it a little bit, but it’s such a big tradition that we have kept with it,” said Bartlett Elementary School Principal David Bousquet. “It’s something the whole town looks forward to.”

The three Goffstown elementary schools participate in their annual parade down Main Street on Friday, Oct. 31, at 1 p.m. The Goffstown High School marching band also provides music for the occasion.

Salem’s Soule School and Lancaster School both celebrate Halloween at school, but are also part of an increasing movement toward encouraging healthier snacks during in-classroom celebrations.

“We try to do that with all things, to have a healthy alternative,” said Soule School Principal Anna Parrill. “If you bring cupcakes, there is also a veggie option. That way there’s a combination.” Bousquet said Bartlett Elementary is also encouraging health foods.

“I think with the whole wellness thing throughout the district, we’ve been looking at more healthy foods,” said Bousquet. “A lot of the kids have really liked that. Instead of cakes and cupcakes, we offer little treat bags with pencils and erasers and things.”

While Lancaster School Principal Adam Pagliarulo said the school does encourage healthy snacks, he also said sweets are still an option.

“We encourage healthy snacks and a lot of teachers will include that on a wish list so there are healthy alternatives,” said Pagliarulo. “I would say that on special days of celebration, it may take some of the fun out of it to mandate those healthy snacks.”