As budget cuts slash deeper and deeper into the city’s public schools, teachers and principals need to get more creative in looking for resources to help students. Parents and community residents are a great place to start.

That’s why parents and community members are invited to the Henry C. Lea School (47th and Locust) on Monday for a community forum hosted by principal Sonya Harrison. The roundtable discussion will focus on the question, “How can all adults work together to improve student success at the Lea School?”

Two sessions of the forum will be held Monday. The first is 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and breakfast will be provided. The later session runs from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and dinner and homework help are provided.

RSVP is required. To register, go to the office at the Lea School or call 215-898-1112 or email PPCE@gse.upenn.edu.

Head over to the West Philly Coalition for Neighborhood Schools website for more Lea-related news.

A whole host of goblins, ghosts and other creatures large and small turned out yesterday for the Halloween Parade through the Spruce Hill neighborhood. The annual tradition began near 45th and Baltimore and concluded on the finely decorated 4200 block of Osage Ave, (“Little Osage”). We could go on about the costumes, but it’s easier just to show you. Check out the photos below.

(Photos by Mike Lyons / West Philly Local)

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Philly Thriller dance group performing on the streets of West Philly. Photo from Philly Thriller’s Facebook page.

You’ve probably heard about the Philly Thriller “zombies” group, which dances at various locations around West Philly on Halloween night. But it’s hard to catch up with them because they show up flash mob style, perform their routine and move on to the next location. So here’s the Philly Thriller performance schedule for tonight that their leader, Rashida Holmes, kindly shared with us:

“Weather permitting, we’ll be doing a dress rehearsal performance on The Rotunda Plaza (40th & Walnut) from 4-ish to 4:30-ish, then we’ll be “flashmobbing” a couple spots along Baltimore Ave around 5-ish then we will be stationed at the Haunted Gym at St. Francis de Sales (47th & Windsor) from 6-ish to 7-ish. If we are totally rained out, we’ll make our way to the gym earlier (5-ish or so) but that doesn’t seem likely.”

For more info about today’s activities in the neighborhood, including the Halloween Tot Parade and Haunted Gym, check out this page.

Halloween week is here and we compiled a list of spooky and fun happenings in our area, for kids and adults alike, in the next few days. If you know of any other events that are not included in the list please email: editor@westphillylocal.com or use the comment section below.

Tuesday, October 29

Bat House Building Workshop – Mariposa Food Coop (49th & Baltimore) – 7 p.m. – A special Halloween week workshop exploring the funny flying nocturnal creatures and what you can do to help restore their often threatened habitat. You can learn how to build your own bat house, where to put it, and what to do when a colony moves in. Free admission. Please RSVP to education@mariposa.coop.

Thursday, October 31

Peanut Butter and Jams Halloween with Charlie Hope – World Cafe Live (30th & Walnut) – 10:30 a.m. – Come sing along with 2012 Juno Award Winner Charlie Hope. Charlie will sing some well-known songs as well as her originals that will get children and parents moving and singing along. Audience participation is encouraged, so be sure to bring your singing voices and dancing shoes! Costumes are welcome. Tickets ($10) are available here.

Halloween at The Woodlands – 40th & Woodland – noon – 4 p.m. – Bring your kids for some treats at the mansion before the tot parade in Spruce Hill.

Stories to Make you Shriek! – Kingsessing Library (1201 South 51st Street) – 4 p.m. – A spooky story time presented by Ms. Kim for brave kids.

Spruce Hill Halloween Tot Parade – 45th & Baltimore – 4 p.m. – This is a fun Halloween tradition in the Spruce Hill neighborhood. The parade will start gathering after 4 p.m. on 45th St. just north of Baltimore Ave. (next to Milk and Honey). The kick-off time is 4:30 p.m. To read more about the parade, click here.

Town Watch Haunted Gym – St. Francis de Sales School (47th & Windsor) – 5-7 p.m. – This year, St. Francis de Sales School has agreed to host the annual Haunted House & Garden event, in their already scary Basement-Gym-Basketball Court. Springfield Avenue will remain open this year, but the 900 and 1000 blocks of Farragut  and the 900 block of 47^th Street, from Springfield to the north side of Warrington, will be closed to auto traffic. For more info and if you want to volunteer at this event, check out this page.  Continue Reading

Dear West Philly Local readers,

Sharpen your knives and carve carve carve your pumpkins! There are only four days remaining to enter our Pumpkin Carving Contest with a chance to win awesome prizes from local businesses. Remember that neighbors of all ages are welcome to participate (we have the Kids category, too) and you don’t have to be a Michelangelo to enter the contest. You never know which pumpkins can win, especially in such categories as Funniest, Scariest and Best Philly-themed.

And here’s the list of the businesses who kindly agreed to support the contest and their prizes (please note that Honest Tom’s Taco shop has recently been added to the list): Aksum (a gift certificate), Curio Theatre (two tickets), Dock Street Brewery (a gift card), Four Worlds Bakery (a gift card), Cafe Renata (a gift certificate), Honest Tom’s Taco Shop (a gift certificate), Lil’ Pop Shop (a gift card), Penn Museum (two general admission tickets), and VIX Emporium (a gift card + tote bag).

For more information on how to enter the contest, click here.

Photo courtesy of Bartram’s Garden.

This Saturday, Oct. 26, Bartram’s Garden is celebrating the second anniversary of the Community Farm and Food Resource Center and inviting everyone to join them. The event will take place from noon to 3 p.m. and will include “garlic planting, cider pressing, cooking and food preservation demonstrations, face painting, sack races, hay rides and more!” There will be some entertainment too, with music by DJ DuiJi 13 and a live performance by Hard Work Movement. Check out this page for more information.

UC Green members will also be onsite to offer free trees to everyone who wants one. UC Green has received a grant from CSX to purchase 80 trees and wants to share them with the community. If you are interested in one of these container-sized trees (5 ft. tall), come to Bartram’s this Saturday between noon and 3 p.m. to pick up your free tree and receive planting instructions. For more details and to reserve your tree please call 215-573-4684.