At this high school, staff and students take Halloween very seriously

The Transformers, Star Trek and TheAddams Family just a few of the inspirations for costumes showcased at one high school that takes Halloween very, very seriously every year.

At Holy Spirit High School in Conception Bay South, N.L., the teachers once again brought some extreme costume skills to the game.

For the last five years, school administration, dressed this year as the main characters in Disney's Frozen, has been challenging faculties to outdo one another in a costume contest.

And the math department has made itself the team to beat.

This year, the math department dressed up as Transformers in collapsible and actual transforming get-ups.

It takes a full year of planning to pull off the elaborate costumes. Last year, they took over the hallway as a group on a roller coaster.

"We were nervous at first because last year was a great year for us, so we were very happy that it performed well," said math teacher Deanne Lynch.

"The students and teachers are awesome here at the school and we just want to provide a positive experience for the kids and we accomplished that."

The math department is already planning for next year, too, but Lynch won't hint at what's to come.

"I'm not gonna say. We have some plans, but we'll see what happens."

And it's not just the math department that goes all out.

Some of the phys ed and music teachers also put in a team effort in a costume of a wall of taxidermy heads.

The science department went, of course,with a sci-fi theme, donning the classic Star Trek uniforms.

The English department went with the Addams family group photo, while social studies and French teamed up to make a Beauty and the Beast cast.

The students definitely appreciate the elaborate effort put in by their teachers, saying it often propels them to try even harder with their own costumes.

"It's my last year so I figured the school always does something big for Halloween so I figured, go big or go home," said Zach Bennett, who dressed up as WWE wrestler the Undertaker.

"Every year I come to school, I look forward to seeing what the teachers are wearing moreso than actually participating in the stuff because their participation means so much more for the students it's just nice to be a part of that."

Leah Hewitt, with a (fake) television smashed over her head, said it's great to see instructors so dedicated.

"You're never too old to have fun and dress up and do Halloween stuff," she said.

"I'm glad everyone dressed up."

Assistant principal Denise Oldford has been at the school for 25 years, and said it's only recently that the costume contest has really gotten extreme.

"We started with, I think it was Wizard of Oz, and [we] lost. And got bigger and bigger, and the math department really got into it and it's gone insane. It's like they don't sleep," she said.

"It makes the school a special place. It's been 25 years I've been here and there's a reason I've been 25 years here because it's the best school in the province."

This is only J.K. Flynn's second year as assistant principal at Holy Spirit High, and said he couldn't believe it last year when he realized the amount of work put into the costumes.

"I kept hearing about [it]. I really didn't know what to expect. I thought it was going to be pretty great. When I showed up it just blew my mind," he said.

"The entire student body, all the school, all the staff, everyone that's involved, the parents are excited to see what's going to be put on Twitter. It's just fantastic."

And it's great for school spirit, he added.

"I was just excited for the last three months about what was going to happen. The best part is, you don't know what anyone else is going to be dressed up as until the day of."

With files from Jeremy Eaton

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