PARSIPPANY — The staff at Parsippany Focus has chosen three winners in our “Halloween Story Contest” for young readers.

The first winner is a student at Littleton Elementary School; 3rd Grade, 8 years old: Ishita Bandyopadhyay.

Ishita’s story was titled

“Monster Ville”

Are you scared of monsters? If you’re brave enough then come with me, come on, it’ll be fun. I am going on a trip to a village where all those monsters roam around. I take the “106 Monster Express”. I have some friends who live there_, wait train, wait I have to go to the village of monsters! Wait, wait, wait!_ Oh, sorry, I was talking to you so much that I almost forgot about my train! Now where was I? Oh yes, there’s Achoo, I know that’s a funny name, but it’s true, she sneezes all the time! There’s also Smelly and Slimy, they are the stinkiest and the slimiest monsters you’ll ever see. Oh, and another thing about Stinky and Slimy. _ Here we are at our first stop, the village of monsters, also known as Monster Ville. _ Oh no, no, no, no. It’s Slimy! He likes_; he got me, didn’t he? As I was saying, he and Smelly like to hug a lot. Their mom couldn’t choose their names over Hugsome and Huggy, or Smelly and Slimy! The mayor, my friend is Sleepy. I think you know what she does all day. I’ll give you a hint, it rhymes with peep. Yes, that’s right, sleep! Let me give you this warning, if you try and wake her up, she’ll use you as a teddy bear, sometimes even as a pillow! Last, but not least, Scarific, he likes to scare people out of their wits! If you act brave and don’t scream, then Scarific will keep on scaring you, so you better scream! And that my friend, all my monster friends are at Monster Ville! I hope you’ll come with me one day to the village of monsters! 

Congratulations Ishita.  Two other winners will be announced shortly.

Here’s how the contested worked: Our contest was open to students throughout Parsippany in kindergarten through grade 12. Young authors will provide their own original halloween story. Students are encouraged to include an illustration for their stories.

A team of Focus editors had a hard time in selecting the winners.  Winning writers will receive a $25.00 gift card, have their stories printed in Parsippany Focus and have the opportunity to read their story for a video on parsippanyfocus.com and receive a lunch for you the winner and his/her parents at a local Parsippany restaurant.

PARSIPPANY — Members of the Woman’s Club of Parsippany-Troy Hills along with Parsippany Police Officer Brian Conover recently visited the Parsippany Child Day Care Center to speak to the children about safety.

October is National Crime Prevention Month.  McGruff, the “crime prevention dog” made a brief appearance.

He is a beloved and trusted crime-fighter for small children. There were several handouts and goodies for the children, including McGruff “Take a Bite out of Crime” Halloween bags, police badges and coloring books.  Everyone had a great time!

The Woman’s Club of Parsippany-Troy Hills is a member of the New Jersey State Federation of Women’s Clubs of GFWC (NJSFWC), which is the largest volunteer women’s service organization in the state, providing opportunities for education, leadership training, and community service.    For more information call Cathy at (973) 984-0758, e-mail the club at womansclubofpth@gmail.com or check us out on the web by clicking here.

PARSIPPANY — Brooklawn Middle School families and their Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) joined efforts on Thursday to honor the entire Brooklawn staff for their professional efforts during the scheduling snafu during the month of September.

At last week’s Back to School Night on October 20, the PTSA collected cash donations that nearly topped $400 to provide a special luncheon over three lunch periods for the entire staff at Brooklawn on Thursday, October 29.

“The parents’ support was overwhelming!” said Anya Sheiffele, PTSA President at Brooklawn Middle School.  “We couldn’t be more proud of the BMS staff and this certainly shows how much parental support there is for our special group here at Brooklawn!”

The delicious luncheon was catered by John DiMaggio, owner of Denville Pizzeria, who provided three sets of lunch buffets. Desserts were donated by Brooklawn families and other extras were covered by the Brooklawn Middle School PTSA.

“It was wonderful to see the staff so touched by our efforts.  The thanks truly go to them.  Our kids are in great hands!”

The menu consisted of Penne Vodka, Eggplant Parmesan, Salad, Italian and Turkey subs, Crudités, Chips and for dessert: Chocolate Chip Cookies and Brownies

PARSIPPANY — Parsippany High School held its annual “Halloween at the High” on Wednesday, October 28.

Students from various clubs, including, Key Club and Interact, were dressed for Halloween and supervised the games, face painting, or just handed out candy to the children.

Elementary aged children from all over the school district enjoyed a night of face painting, games, food, and a spooky haunted house in the auxiliary gym.

Visitors were asked to make a donation to Trick-or-Treat Unicef.