Students Get Into the Groove at Waldo Dances

By Ana Barajas

You enter the gym. Lights are flashing and music is playing. Excitement is rushing through the air. The scene is awaiting your arrival. Will you answer its begging call?

Many students don’t like school. Just ask any normal Waldo student hoping for the bell to ring soon. There are a few ways Waldo tries to make school fun so that students will have the chance to get a great education by coming to school. One of those things is a way for students to express themselves, and to hang out with friends. It is the school dance. About every month, a dance is held in the auxiliary gym, or also known as the "outside gym", letting the students in at 2:45pm, and letting them out at 4 p.m.

O.K., so now you know when the dances begin and end. Another thing that may be the #1 thing to know is how to get tickets. To get into any dance, you must have a ticket. To get a ticket, you have to go to room 209 or 211 and pay $3 for a single ticket. On the day of the dance, before you walk through the doors, a teacher/staff with ask you for your dance ticket. Once you give up your ticket, you will be allowed into the dance to join in the fun with your fellow Waldo students. If, for some reason, you were not able to buy a ticket of your own before the school dance began, you can still buy a ticket at the door, but it will cost $4 alone. Last year, you could buy a ticket during lunch. Now, you must buy a ticket before school starts or after school.

Some information has support. I asked Ms. Swinnerton (room 209) a few questions about the specific dance that was held on September 25th, 2009 and about just all of the dances as one. Here were the answers and questions that were asked:

Question: "Do you have control over how often we have school dances?"

Answer: "Not really. It occurs once a month, though."

Question: "Why is there a dance every month?"

Answer: "Well, there are grade teams like the SEALS and BEARS, etc. so each grade team holds a dance."

Question: "Do you have control over the budget of the dances?"

Answer: "No, not really. Each grade team has most, if not all, control of the dances."

Question: "Some students have suggested a fog machine and a bubble machine. Do you see these as future additions?"

Answer: "They could be. Just that they’ll have to let people know."

Question: "Do you anticipate themed dances?"

Answer: "Well, there’s a Halloween dance on October 30th."

Question: "A few students thought themed dances would be an exciting addition. Do you think that if themed dances were to happen, that students would want to go to the school dances more often?"

Answer: "I think so, because people would be able to get out of dress code and be in costumes."
Question: "How do you think the dances help students?"

Answer: "It is a way to show their fun side without getting in trouble."

Question: "Is there a profit made from the dances? If so, where do the profits go to?"

Answer: "Part of the money goes to the DJ, and the snacks. The rest goes to the grade team for field trips for that grade team."

The Halloween Dance is just around the corner, and we'll hope to see you there!