Sanford Middle School’s JMG Program held its annual Haunted Woods event on Wednesday, November 1st. The event is student-led and organized, with JMG teacher Tara Houle as their guide. The event began in 2012 when students needed to raise funds to attend a volunteering trip they wanted to go to.
The students thought of the idea of a Haunted Walk, and after navigating red tape and a presentation to the school committee, the event was born.
The project begins with students planning and writing their own “woods story,” and every year has its own theme. This year, the theme was “Parallel Realms,” and the students wanted to create the feeling of going through different dimensions.
They hand-made portals that guests navigated through as they entered each realm. From there, students worked together to create “skits” representing their realm. This project not only is a great fundraiser for JMG – and funds many of their volunteering, career exploration, and leadership summit field trips for the year – but it also teaches students project planning, collaboration, leadership, and communication.
After the event, students participate in an “employee evaluation,” where they reflect on their work ethic and collaboration skills, identifying strengths and skills they can work on.