Although April Fools might have been the obvious theme for the first family dance held in three years at 150 Mile House elementary on April 1, the students chose the theme Spring Fever, says Lara Roorda, parent advisory council members.
Organizers were expecting 80 people and about 250 attend.
“The tremendous success of this event was largely due to the high degree of teamwork between parents, teachers, administration, students and local businesses at 150 Mile,” Roorda says.
“We are very proud of the positive co-operative atmosphere and wanted to put on a really fun event that recognized and included all parties,” Roorda says.
“One of the goals of the event was to highlight the fact that parents are an integral part of the education system, and that their input and participation is both welcome and important.”
From the start parents and students were involved, giving them a real sense of ownership, Roorda says.
The PAC sent out questionnaires to parents and students asking what they liked about the school, how they could make it better and what kinds of student/parent and family events they would like to see.
Some of the suggestions were a pot-luck dinner; parent/teacher interview chili night, family dance, student art show, craft fair, fun fair, student/parent sporting event, and baking exchange.
The dance was chosen.
Working with their teachers, she says all of the students made decorations to dress up the school gym for the dance.
“The Grade 7 leadership group went around to the classrooms to advertise the event and helped a lot with decorating and in the concession,” Roorda says.
There was a concession, a small silent auction, a limbo contest, some Wii dancing, and DJ music by the students and organizers.
Sign up sheets were circulated among parents and students asking for their favourite songs and dances, which resulted in a selection of songs by popular artists of today along with dances and tunes from the 1980s and 1990s.
More for the fun of it than as serious contests she says prizes were awarded for the limbo contest (eight for primary and eight for intermediate) and for the classes which brought the largest number of guests to the dance.
Mrs. Campbell’s Grade 5 class won a pizza party and the second-place tie of an ice-cream party went to Mr. Christopherson’s Grade 3 class and Mrs. Craig’s Grade 1 class.
She says the PAC also asked parents what types of seminars they would be interested in attending and the best way to communicate with them.
Raising confident boys and girls, and anti-bullying, were first choices for seminars. E-mail and the school news letter were preferred methods of communication.
“We also asked if everyone had fun at the dance and we got 100 per cent yes,” Roorda says.
“We wanted to bring parents, teachers and students together for a good time and they did seem to have a good time.”