The QHSS Winter Dance: The Snowball

Have you attended a dance that was not only free, but was fun at the same time? Look no further, as the QHSS Event Committee did just that. On February 27th, the QHSS Event Committee hosted a winter dance, known as the snowball, after school in the gymnasium to give students an opportunity to attend a dance and enjoy themselves with their friends. Tickets were initially ranging from $15-$25 depending on if you wanted to buy a VIP ticket which came with special perks, but instead a week or two before the event, the tickets became free for everyone to attend, and it was only a matter of signing up to go before the limit of students was reached.

The Snowball consisted of dancing, music, food, and more in order for everyone to be entertained throughout the afternoon that they were there. As a result, mostly everyone there seemed to be enjoying themselves, with lots of people engaging in the fun atmosphere that was created by the dance.

Sarah, a junior at QHSS who attended the dance said “The dance was fun because of the community that was built. We all united in beautiful decorations and music, where we danced, laughed, and shared food like cookies and chips. We took photos that will be kept forever and those who missed out will definitely wish they were there.”

The environment, everyone partaking in the event, and the overall festivities made it so the event created a sense of community and unity among those who attended the dance, and highlighted how QHSS can still have fun even in a rigorous, stressful school environment.

The theme was supposed to be very holiday and winter themed, due to the fact that this would be taking place in February during a time of winter, and some inspirations for the idea of the dance was the Polar Express and the overall cultural and holiday themed significance of that movie, tied into what the Event Committee wanted to create for the dance.

As Janeeta, a junior who is the head of the Event Committee states “This year’s winter dance theme was based on The Polar Express movie. We originally had much bigger ideas for incorporating the theme, but many didn’t come to fruition due to budgeting. The main way we showcased it was through the tickets, which were designed to resemble train tickets, courtesy of our design team head, Aaron Yan. We initially considered several themes, including simple ones like snowflakes, but one of our members suggested The Polar Express since she had attended a dance with that theme before and it was chosen due to the nostalgic appeal with everyone watching the movie at least once.”

The main goal was a fun, holiday or winter themed event that got students to come together to have a good time. Planning started way before the event, and it took lots of strategic thinking in order to map out the gym, and get the supplies needed for the event. Things such as the DJ, logistics, space, budget, and even activities had to be considered before the Event Committee could start to pursue the idea of making the snowball a reality.

As Janneta puts it “First, planning was difficult because we had very little time and big expectations to meet. Last year’s Spring Soirée, which was incredible, had been planned since the beginning of the school year, while the winter dance was decided barely a month in advance. This gave us limited time to organize the event and sell enough tickets to fund the entertainment we wanted. Ultimately, the tickets ended up being free thanks to support from the principal, the PTA, and even the DJ, so we had little to no out-of-pocket costs. However, since we didn’t generate revenue from ticket sales, we had to cut certain elements, like the planned photo booth but Matthew Grier let us use his camera as a solution. Another challenge was ticket sales. Before tickets became free, only about 40 people had purchased them, which caused some initial panic about funding. Fortunately, everything worked out in the end. The last major issue was securing a venue. We had to work around York College’s game schedule to use the gym, meaning we got confirmation with very little time before the dance.”

In essence, a highlighted theme of a february dance, lots and lots of planning, and dedication to make the dance work is what led to the creation of a Event Committee Dance for QHSS.

The Snowball can be considered an overall success, as it achieved the purpose of giving everyone who went to it a great time, with the general consensus being it was an amazing, enjoyable night where everyone could hang out with their friends, dance, and relieve their stress. It gave students at QHSS an opportunity to experience a dance just 2 months into the new year, and it helped create a heightened sense of optimism for future events and activities to come at QHSS, especially from the Event Committee Team.

In addition, Janeeta says this about the QHSS Event Committee future, “On the technical side, we’ll be sending out applications for next year’s team soon. We also have a few more events planned for the rest of the school year. Since this was my first time helping plan a school dance, I learned a lot, mainly that we need to push for more planning time next year. But overall, I think the dance was successful. A lot of people attended and had a great time. Even though we couldn’t go all out the way I had hoped, we were still able to put together an event that people enjoyed, and that’s all that matters.”.

If you hesitated to come to the Snowball, then next time you should as it was considered a blast by most people, and lots of people at the dance say they would highly recommend it if you didn’t go. The dancing, the music, and the overall atmosphere was something unique to that night. Everyone having a good time, and making the most of the dance and their night that day. Let’s look forward to all the amazing opportunities QHSS has to offer and even one of these events, such as the snowball, can highlight the QHSS spirit and what the Event Committee and students of QHSS are able to achieve and experience on an afterschool day.