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Monday's Internet Edition, January 05, 2009.
Albiani Middle School students dance in Hollywood style
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Photo courtesy of Will Carlton
Excited students of Katherine L. Albiani Middle School dance in the cafeteria during the annual Welcome Back Dance on Sept. 26.
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By Montana Hodges
River Valley Times Staff
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With this year’s Hollywood theme, students walked the "red carpet" during the annual Katherine L. Albiani Middle School Welcome Back Dance on Friday, Sept. 26.
The seventh and eighth graders transformed the school’s dark cafeteria into a flashy dance hall with the nightclub basics: thumping music from a disc jockey, flashy stage lights and dancers with twirling glow sticks.
The annual dance celebrating the return after the summer break is designed to unite students on campus and get them jazzed about the upcoming year of school. Each dance is organized by some members of the Albiani Middle School staff along with some motivated students.
This year’s “Hollywood” theme included marquis-style posters painted by student volunteers and a red carpet turning the cafeteria into a dance hall. Much of the transformation was due to a handful of motivated students from the Student Leadership program who were elected to comprise the committee. The members then set out to turn the cafeteria into their own "Tinseltown."
Along with the red carpet and Hollywood signs, local disc jockey Justin Rose - a.k.a. “DJ Roz” of In the Mix 916 - knew the style of the 7th and 8th graders well. As each new beat blast from the speakers through the cafeteria, the young crowd erupted.
Committee member and eighth-grader Deepi Sekhorn, 13, who is also the Albiani School president, said that choosing the style was a lot of fun. “The entire committee looked through magazines, and when we saw something about Hollywood we all agreed it would be a good theme,” Sekhorn said. “That’s why I like to volunteer and be involved with leadership. It’s fun to see how we can turn a boring cafeteria into a cool dance.”
Citing her love of the kids and dedication to her daughter, parent volunteer Debra Hartman has not missed a dance at Albiani Middle School since her daughter began there last year. At this year’s Welcome Back Dance she volunteered her time in the hot afternoon sun checking identification cards and taking tickets from the approximately 500 students who attended.
For just a few dollars apiece, the ticket prices were able to defray the expenses of the evening. “This really is the most exciting dance,” Hartman said. “It is the first dance of the year and always has the most attendance with even more students this year than last.”
Out on the dance floor, eighth-grader Maya Wistos, 13, of Wilton noticed the dance had more energy than the previous year. “It’s much crazier this year, with a lot more kids,” Wistos said.
Angie Thames, the student store technician filling in as the activities coordinator, said that students on the Welcome Back Dance Committee were responsible for most of the outcome. “The students really organized everything, right down to the theme and decorations,” Thames said.
Seventh-grader Ana Wistos, 12, said that the DJ was the life of the party. “The music and the lights are really good - definitely the best part,” Wistos said. Her friend, eighth-grader Madison Hanson, 13, also from Wilton, agreed. “This is the first dance of eighth grade,” Hanson said. “I am really excited to be back to school and everything has been really fun at the dance.”
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Online publication, Copyright 2005, The River Valley Times.
Web page design,
Copyright 2005, EZ Edit Web Publishing.
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