By: Sarina Patel, Mary Sellinger, Bea Kennedy, and Bea Schneider
2/19/25
Seven Hills School The Starry Night themed 7th and 8th grade dance, which takes place in Founder’s Hall, is a major success every year. The fun of this dance doesn’t just appear. Much effort and participation are poured into it each year. Both teachers and students prepare in different ways to make this event a special night for all.
But the dance doesn’t magically appear; preparations for the dance start about two months before the day. Most of the planning of the dance is pretty simple, but according to Mrs. Licata, the hardest part of the dance is “trying to figure out how to decorate.”
The dance dates are on the master calendar at the end of the previous school year. Then, about one and a half months before the dance, the student council starts planning. As for the theme, the student council thinks of a couple of ideas and votes on them. Once a theme is decided, student council members order decorations the week of the dance. They sort the decorations to make setting up as easy as possible.
On the day of the dance, after school student council members decorate Founder’s Hall. Student Council member, Elsa Cybulski says “Decorating probably takes an hour.” There is lots of time and details that go into decorating.
A Google form was sent out to the 7th and 8th grades for more insight into the dance’s popularity. Some of the questions that students answered were “Are you attending the dance?”; “Are you bringing a guest?”; and “What song are you looking forward to listening to?”. There were a variety of answers. However, it came out that 95% of 7th and 8th graders were attending the dance, concluding the popularity of the dance.
The winter dance is the only dance where students can bring a guest from another school. The data from the form concluded that only about 19% of the students are bringing a guest.
Songs make up the dance. The most popular song people looked forward to before the dance was “Fein” by Travis Scott. Michael Moksin says, “Fein is a classic song that is a staple at every Seven Hills dance.” “Carnival” is another popular hit song for the dance. Harrison Hess says “The relatable lyrics in the hit song Carnival make it fun to boogie and jive to.”
Students, on the other hand, prepare for the dance in many different ways. Some people plan in advance to get ready with their friends. 7th grade student Sammi Atkinson says “ Getting ready is pretty fire.” Students enjoy getting ready for the dance as it’s a fun time to chill and hang out with their friends. Getting ready differs for everyone. Sammi and her friends eat pizza and sugar, and do each other’s hair. Pictures are also a fun part of getting ready.
Both students and teachers have different ways of preparing for the dance, but everyone’s hard work amounts to one of the most fun nights of the year.