![Pep band waits for students to arrive all set up on the field. "Some of the kids do [dress up], but we are mostly just there to provide accomany for the parade," Dr. Michael Helgerman.
(Courtesy Marney Jacobs)](https://wjpitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/obBG7oBk7NYT8rfzHT6zJO88frqbcb7Yz92COClR.jpg)
There’s nothing like an elementary school Halloween party. At Ashburton elementary school, the students participate in an annual party and parade, with music provided by WJ’s pep band and drumline. Thanks to WJ’s musical department and the administration at Ashburton, the tradition has been kept alive.
“We have been doing this partnership with the WJ band [and drumline] for more than a decade,” Administrative Secretary to the Ashburton Principal Marjorie Jacobs said.
They begin communications around September, planning where to put the musicians and how many music stands they will need.
“I usually put this together with Marney Jacobs, who works in the front office [at Ashburton] and also does stuff with the WJ Booster Club,” sponsor for the WJ Pep band and Drumline Dr. Michael Helgerman said. “She’s got a really cool connection, and it’s a great way for us to get together and get people inspired.”
The pep band and drumline already know the songs they are playing because they are part of the football game lineup. The order of the music is decided by the pep band and drumline captains. There are additions of pop songs and Halloween themed music that they will practice before performing, but for the most part the musicians have already prepared.
“We’re kind of always prepping, all the time for everything,” Drumline senior captain Albert Bennett said. “On one hand we only prepped the week before the Ashburton parade, but when you think about it, we memorize all our music. You could either say we’ve prepped a week before or all year.”
The pep band and drumline will be stationed outside on the sidewalk in front of the portables while students go by. Included in the drumline are tenors, quads, snare, bass drum, and the cymbals. The pep band itself involves an array of woodwinds and brass; trombones, trumpets, martin baritone, and flutes.
“It’s a good, fun performance for the pep band,” pep band senior captain Alice Bradley said. “We do football games and we tend to play little short bursts of our tunes in between plays, but for the parade we get to play everything long which is really fun.”
The Halloween parade at Ashburton is a tradition where at the end of the day, families are invited to come to the school to watch the school-wide costume parade. After the parade ends, the children go to their classroom parties, featuring Halloween themed games and snacks.
This annual event is something that brings more than just Halloween spirit. Oddly enough, this is also a subconscious recruiting event. Students from Ashburton who have experienced the parade and decided to stick with music through their middle and high school careers sometimes mention that the parade inspired them to stay in band.
“The students and teachers love marching around the field to the music,” Jacobs said. “We are always happy to welcome back former students and I think they enjoy coming.”
Through interviews, members of the pep band and drumline enjoy seeing how the kids react to the music and the instruments. Senior Gabriela Cruz was an Ashburton student that started her musical journey in percussion. From fourth grade onward she participated in performances on the drums. She is now in the drumline as the section leader for the quads.
“It’s great to see kids getting excited about what we play and what we do,” Cruz said. “You see a lot of kids looking at our instruments and some of them seem so fascinated.”
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A mix of veterans and newcomers of the parade sway in the wind with the sound of music. Although there are different experience level of playing for the parade, the message seems to be the same, to inspire. “I think it’s a super great experience to play for these kids, to encourage them to love music more,” freshman Claire Hawks said.
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As music echos throughout the field, high school students catch the eyes of elementary schoolers. “Not all of the kids pay attention to us, some of them really don’t care,” senior Gabriela Cruz said. “But in my eyes, if we get one kid to look and say, I want to do that in the future, then the whole thing is worth it.”
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The wind added drama to the Pep band’s performance; some of the artists had to use their feet to anchor their stands. The performers this year were dressed up in costumes from princesses to fruit. “I was honestly just expecting the kids to come around, wave and smile, but I see a live band and that’s a cool edition that I hadn’t thought about,” an Ashburton parent said.
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“We have a lot of new people this year, so it’s very big, and I am really proud of my cymbal family,” Section Leader of the cymbals, junior Naama Goldberg, said. The drumline and pep band stood together, but would at times play alone depending on the song. This spotlighted the different instruments and productions.
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Before the children and parents arrived, the Pep Band and Drumline set themselves up behind the portables. They walk together from WJ to Ashburton, carrying their instruments and the music stands. This was the calm before the storming parade of little kids.
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Parents of Ashburton students attend, including parents of performers. Carol and Brent Beebe are parents of junior Alexander Beebe. They have attended each of the parades Alexander has preformed in and the one’s him and his sibling, Sarah Beebe, walked in when they attended Ashburton. “The music program at WJ is so fantastic,” Carol Beebe said. “Having such fantastic teachers like Dr. Helgerman and Mrs. Butler for Sarah, in singing, makes such a huge difference to elevate the program beyond the students who bare dedicated musicians.”
