Hosting one final dance after prom, Student Council organizes the Senior Send-off Dance to bid a farewell to the graduates. Once a tradition, the Senior Send-Off Dance has not been arranged for multiple years nor been attended by any student currently attending James Buchanan.
“It’s essentially a dance at the end of the year to give another opportunity to the underclassmen to dress up,” Student Council historian Rylee McKee (12) said. “We’re calling it the ‘Senior Send-off Dance’ but it’s open to everybody.”
Prom, a more formal and exclusive event, only allows juniors and seniors to attend initially. However, the Senior Send-off Dance will be a more casual occasion open to all grades.
“This dance will be at the end of the year, and we don’t normally have a dance then, especially for underclassmen,” Student Council member Lainey McCulloh (10) said. “It will also be warmer then.”
Sparking debates subsequent to the decision to throw a dance during the warmer months, students considered whether to wear formal attire or to make it more casual; some mentioning the Outer Banks style as inspiration.
“We wanted to make it less informal and definitely more Outer Banks-y,” Student Council treasurer Edie Ellis (12) said.
As well as debating over the style, students also contemplated where the dance should take place.
“The majority of people wanted it to be outside, so we’re going to do it outside,” McKee said.
Using a survey to decide, students were sent an email from Mrs. Ann Fitz (staff) to choose if this dance should be held in the cafeteria or outside in the back courtyard. An overwhelming majority voted for the outside option.
“They’ve had these kinds of dances before, but people stopped showing up so they were canceled,” McKee said. “No one who’s currently in the school has been able to experience one so we decided to bring it back and see how it goes. If it works out, I’m sure they’ll do it again.”
As a senior, McKee will only be able to attend one Senior Send-off Dance since Student Council has not thrown one in a while. The cornerstone and entire purpose for the dance, McKee, along with the rest of her graduating class, will be celebrated at the dance as a final goodbye.
“Being with many seniors through all of the sports that I play and being able to give them a final farewell helps me cope with them leaving,” Kimber Yeager (10) said.
While the spotlight of this dance will shine on those leaving at the end of the year, the Senior Send-off Dance also helps underclassmen as some of their closest friends move on from high school into adulthood.
