(Photo by Iris Frost)
The Student Council hosted the homecoming dance at Valley Dale Ballroom Saturday, Sept. 17 for the first time in two years due to lack of COVID-19 restrictions.
Social studies teacher and Student Council Advisor Michael Featherstone said the decision to have homecoming at Valley Dale this year was made in the spring of last school year by the Student Council Executive Board.
He explained that the event space was chosen because the Student Council had hosted at Valley Dale in prior years, it fits the budget and is relatively close to the high school.
“Our last two fall homecomings before COVID-19 were at Valley Dale and both went really well,” Featherstone said. “We’ve always had an off-campus homecoming, so it’s nice to return to that sort of event without any restrictions like last year’s.”
Junior and Student Council Communications Chair Samara Kahan said that the intention behind planning homecoming this year was to appeal to anyone who didn’t have the opportunity to attend previous school events due to COVID-19.
“The only people who have ever been to Valley Dale for homecoming are this year’s seniors,” Kahan explained. “So, it will be a new experience for a lot of people.”
Senior Sofie Sheridan said that she liked the idea of returning to Valley Dale because it seemed more like an actual event than how it felt on the football field.
“I had a great time my freshman year, there were a lot of people there and it was really packed,” Sheridan said. “So, last year was a big change because we had to deal with COVID-19 and we had a lot more space and it was a lot more cold because it had to be outside.”
Kahan said that the biggest change from last year’s homecoming was making the decision to have the dance at Valley Dale instead of the football field.
“Being at an event location rather than the place that you’re at five days a week makes it more of an experience for people rather than having it on the football field that you see everyday,” Kahan added.
Senior and Student Council President James McCann said that compared to last year’s homecoming in late October, this year’s dance is earlier because of the event’s dependency on the football team’s schedule.
He explained that the day before homecoming, there has to be a home football game in order to crown the monarch. McCann added that this year, there were limited dates of home football games that worked, which is why homecoming was earlier this year than years prior.
“We hope that everyone enjoys themselves and has a great time inside an actual venue,” he said.
