Summit Academy Akron Middle School Behavior Specialist Stephanie Barnes (left) and Principal Crystal Yingling (right) decorate a “minion classroom” for the school’s October 30 Halloween family event.

As minion-costumed teachers make stress balls out of flour and balloons, mini catapults will launch candy corn through the air. Think physics with a twist of fun. It’s all part of Summit Academy Akron Middle School’s family Halloween event to take place Friday, Oct. 30 from 1 to 7 p.m. at the 465 S. Hawkins Ave., Akron school.

The Halloween event will treat students and their families to personalized walk-through tours of the school. Families will make stops at seven decorated classrooms where they will participate in learning activities and talk with teachers. With half-hour time slots designated for each student and family, school staff expect about 100 participants in all throughout the day. The event was designed as such for safety amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The safety of our families is our top priority and we have put measures in place to make this possible,” says School Principal Crystal Yingling. She adds that family members will wait in their cars until they are signaled to come in the building. Once they enter, they will be required to wear masks and receive temperature checks. She points out that families will not cross paths as they make their way through the rooms, to ensure their safety.

“We feel that we can still have fun, but that looks a little different in today’s world,” Yingling says.

From Day of the Dead to Alice in Wonderland, classrooms will sport themes. Inside each room, youngsters and their families will trick-or-treat for candy donated from The Village Network as they take on academic challenges. Meanwhile, at the Boodget Friendly Café, personal pizzas donated from United Disability Services will provide just the right ingredient for munchable math problems: “Based on the number of slices your family members eat, how many pizzas will you need to order? “How much will they cost?”

“We hope the event brings a sense of normal back to our students. They constantly ask to come back to school, so we wanted to create an opportunity for them to do that,” says school Behavior Specialist Stephanie Barnes. “We know this will be a nice event to take our minds off everything going on in the world.”