As Halloween approaches, several district schools are holding Trunk or Treat events, allowing students to collect candy by going from car to car in the school’s parking lot.

Friday’s Trunk or Treat at Poughkeepsie Middle School wasn’t just an opportunity for hundreds of students to collect sugary snacks, though. It was a statement from the school’s newly reformed PTA.

“This was a way to say this school and this district needs community support,” said Kharren Thompson, PTA president, “and to let the students know there are adults here that really want the best for them.”

The candy-filled bonanza was the first event hosted by the PTA, which officially launched this year. Thompson and three others got the ball rolling late last winter by filing the necessary paperwork and rewriting bylaws. The group now has 25 official members and is eyeing ways to enrich the school community and engage more parents.

“When your children see you being a part of the school community, their morals change. Their behaviors change,” said Thompson, who has an eighth-grade student in the school. Her other five now-adult children graduated from the Beacon City School District.

The Trunk or Treat was a star-studded affair in which business sponsors and community organizations brought recognizable faces. McDonald’s characters Grimace and Hamburglar were handing out candy and posing for photos, as was King Koopa of “Super Mario Bros.” fame, who came with Dingee’s Towing. The city police and fire departments also had representatives – a fire engine was on-scene – as was state Sen. Rob Rolison.

Community Schools liaison Gilbert Colon, who has been working with the PTA and the school to relaunch the organization, estimated more than 200 students attended, many of them in costume.

“There were waves of students,” he said of the event’s growth from its 4 p.m. start to 7 p.m. finish. “The kids would go around to the cars and get the candy, eat the candy, and then go around again and refilling. By 6:30 I had to look around for candy.”

Thompson’s trunk, which she labeled “Candy Land,” was among the most popular, though Colon couldn’t get close enough to say why.

“There was just a sea of kids,” he said. “There was no getting through.”

Both Thompson and Interim Principal Felicia Schinella addressed the crowd early in the event, thanking those who volunteered time, resources and candy to make it all happen. Schinella walked around handing out mini muffins. “This really warms my heart we can all get together,” Schinella told the crowd. “We have some phenomenal things going on at the Poughkeepsie Middle School. Please spread the word.”

The school hasn’t had a PTA in more than five years. Charm Blaze, secretary for the PTA at the middle school and the PTA Taconic Region, noted, “Without a PTA we can’t get any funding or grants. We can’t have events like this.”

Thompson said the PTA is meeting with school leadership Thursday to finalize plans for upcoming events, including fundraisers to enable the organization to have more flexibility.

She said PTA membership forms and information for how to get involved are available in the school's main office.

“Our aim and objective is to get the parents involved,” Thompson said.