8th graders are all going crazy with the same question. “Will there be a formal this year?” Since the eighth graders were in sixth grade and knew there was a formal for eighth-graders, they have been looking forward to it. They have been super excited to spend hours on end dancing and hanging out with our friends. Now that the year is here, the dance may not even happen. A lot of 8th graders, especially girls, have been freaking out because we need to know as soon as possible if there will be a formal. In order to get dresses/suits for formal, the students need to know long enough beforehand so that they have time to go out of town to buy/rent one.

The issue with formal is that there will be around 100 people in a small, enclosed area. That is very much against CDC guidelines.

After brainstorming, a few ideas came to the surface.

We know that when people are dancing, they get very close to each other which doesn’t exactly abide by the guidelines, but really and truly, these are people who spend a lot of time in and out of school together. Plus, most 8th graders would probably wear a mask so that we could have formal if that was a requirement.

If the weather could actually be nice, we could do formal in the courtyard. Hanging lights, big mats on the grass, food stands on the sidewalk, and many other things would make this possible. The only issue with this idea is that even if it didn’t rain, it would be COLD! We would have to wait until late March through April to host it.

Thoughts from the principal:

When asked if there are currently any plans of having a formal, Mr. Kelley said that as of now, the 8th grade formal has not been planned due to Covid regulations. He also informs his students that if Covid regulations change, an 8th grade formal might be possible later on.

With that being said, school can’t host a formal. The parents however are setting up their own dance! An article will be posted with information after decisions are made on Thursday, Feb. 25.