(Above) During David Copperfield’s Project Magic’s haunted house, many of the magicians had the joy of surprising younger children. Specifically Ibrahim Naseeruddin, grade 11, deserved an Oscar for his amazing scaring performance. Project Magic knocked it out of the ballpark with the Halloween Carnival with the way they made people laugh and smile to everyone. Others also had the oppourtinity of making 3rd and 6th graders alike exit the building while screaming having the times of their lives.
October 2023 marked the annual Lake Highland Halloween Carnival. The carnival is a fun festivity in which Seniors participate to bring joy to the Lower School children. The festivities lasted from 8:15 A.M. until 1:00 P.M. In prior years, there have been various types of activities ranging from sports games, like soccer, to carnival games, like ring toss. This year there was the inclusion of a “spooky maze” featuring David Copperfield’s Project Magic, using their own creativity to playfully scare and surprise the younger children. There were also activities ranging from various food vendors to drinks being given out by the parents. The carnival started with a parade, with all the younger school children going around the football field and showing off their unique costumes. This year featured two designated areas: one specifically for Pre-K through second grade and the other for grades 3-6. The first area, for Pre-K through second grade, featured face painting, a bounce house, colorful hairstyling, carnival games, and more. The second area, for grades 3-6, featured an inflatable obstacle course, bungee trampolines, colorful face painting, and a haunted house. Parents had the opportunity to donate treats and snacks to give out to the younger children who won specific games such as the “Sugar Rush Relay Race.” Students and parents also had the ability to donate costumes to Ivey Lane Elementary School for grades 3-6.LHP’s Halloween Carnival was a fun and festive way to bring together the school community and get the student body into the Halloween spirit. It is one of many volunteer opportunities for seniors this year.
(Above) Cleo Richardson, grade 11, painted faces with Project Magic, along with Alyx Marie Cunningham, grade 10, Emma Jaramillo, grade 9, and Sonia Kankipati, grade 11. Lower School children enjoyed having the ability to request either a ghost, skeleton, candy corn, or a silly little whimsical animal design to be painted on their faces. Additionally, Project Magic was invited to host the haunted maze which consisted of scare zones incorporating optical illusions, hanging threads that simulated insect attacks from above, creepy dolls, a mad scientist in her laboratory, a contortionist spider, a dancing skeleton, and jump scares throughout a cemetery populated by picnicking ghosts. (Alyssa Wiboon)(Above) Mrs. Amy McIntyre and President Jim McIntyre appeared at the Halloween Carnival. This marked President McIntyre’s second Halloween Carnival. Last year the President and his wife both dressed up as Beauty and the Beast. The coordination behind being Batman and Robin was amazing. Many of the fun activities were relay races within a big bounce house set in the center of courtyard beside the 6th grade center. There were also lots of sugery sweets given to the children which of course led to outbursts of suger rushes amongst the added layers of it being the Halloween Carnival. (Alyssa Wiboon)(Above) Nina Menozzi, Matthew Sos, and Ada Douglas, grade 12, gave out cotton candy to younger children. Parents were also a very big help during the Halloween Carnival offering assistance to the Seniors and rounding up Lower School children. Many of the parents were also able to instruct the Seniors on how to help out with the Lower School children. The parents helped design what games would be played and ordered bounce houses. Additionally, they helped decide what types of food and candy would be given to small children. (Alyssa Wiboon)(Above) Every year, new t-shirts are worn by the Senior staff members of the carnival. Ari Shatunovsky, grade 12, wore this year’s t-shirt while volunteering at the dunking tank. On the back, the design included a Zoltar, an animatronic fortune teller that is a popular sighting found in arcades, theme parks, gift shops, carnivals, and other various attractions around the world. It is seen holding a crystal ball with the LHP logo on it. The back design also details a message that says, “There’s no telling what the future holds,” highlighting the mystical and spooky nature of this year’s theme. (Alyssa Wiboon)(Above) Visitors can’t miss this gigantic bounce house located next to the lake and by the cross. Attraction number six was one of the most popular attractions this year. Shaped like a colorful castle, the bounce house included a tall slide and a mini obstacle course. Kids were quick to line up. Thankfully, the bounce house was so big that it could fit several kids at a time. After leaving their shoes outside the house, kids jumped around, having a blast. A couple of LHP moms volunteered to run the attraction and make sure the kids were safe. (Alyssa Wiboon)(Above) The Halloween Carnival’s afternoon festivities covered the hammocks, the walkways outside the Tartan Cafe, the 6th Grade Center, and the grass area next to the playground. The event was packed, with a mix of Seniors, parents, teachers, and Lower School students scattered everywhere. There were more than 27 attractions open to the Lower School students, all numbered and titled so that they were easy to find and recognize. (Zane Rimes)(Above) Upper School’s David Copperfield’s Project Magic hosted its very first haunted house, Lake Highland’s Little Lab of Horrors, for the Lower School’s Halloween Carnival. This was located in the Lakefront Room of the 6th Grade Center. Project Magic’s magicians had a blast decorating the maze to give Lower School children a true fright. Several hours of preparation, from rehearsal to costume, went in to making this new attraction possible. Ms. Ginger Bryant, director of Upper School’s David Copperfield’s Project Magic, stood at the front of the entrance to let those brave enough to experience the haunted house enter. Scared of what was to come, many friends formed a conga-line in order to hold on to each other. (Alyssa Wiboon)(Above) Located right in the middle of the grass area outside the playground laid a massive inflatable bounce pad in the shape of a Jack-O-Lantern. In addition to the obstacle course and bounce house, LHP provided yet another bouncy attraction for the students. Lower School children had the time of their lives jumping around the whole platform with their friends. Some kids were even doing cartwheels and flips from one side of the pumpkin pad to the other because of how big it was. Large and colorful, this was a hard attraction to miss! It was also new to the Halloween Carnival this year. (Zane Rimes)(Above) Jeremiah’s Italian Ice supplied a selection of Italian ice flavors for the kids to enjoy in the warm and sunny weather. (Alyssa Wiboon)
Alyssa Wiboon, grade 11, is the Director of Media of Lake Highland Preparatory School's Upper School newspaper Twice-Told Tale, and Co-Editor of the Upper School literary magazine By Any Other Name, both nationally recognized by the American Scholastic Press Association and the National Council of Teachers of English. Alyssa is also the Co-President of her school’s club, Paws for a Cause, where she helps spread awareness for animals within local Orlando shelters. Outside of school, she enjoys Irish dancing, going to the beach, reading, and watching movies in her free time. With well over 100 service hours, Alyssa prioritizes helping local communities in any way she can, whether it be at her church or nearby food banks. In the future, she dreams of traveling around the world and creating her own blog, pursuing her love for writing, and being creative.
ZaneRimes is currently attending Lake Highland Preparatory School as an 11th grader. He is involved with Boy Scouts and is on Lake Highland's Wrestling team. Zane is a very big advocate for cancer research since he is a pediatric cancer survivor. He continues to serve advocacy for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Currently, he loves hanging out with friends and building Legos and various other buildable miniatures. He is very passionate about writing and enjoys being with the newspaper team. Zane now enjoys scuba diving as he became scuba certified at the end of last year!
