By Claire Webster

This year the winter formal returns to Bellbrook High School for the first time since the school year 2019-2020 thanks to the work of Supportive Peers members. 

Supportive Peers, advised by Mrs. Rivero, is one of the many clubs at BHS. It pairs seniors and juniors with other students or peers in the school district with special needs or learning disabilities. 

Three student government leaders and Supportive Peers members, senior Sam Vine, junior Grace Atchison, and senior Rachel Holbrook, convinced Rivero to put on the dance. “The student body really wanted to have it, and no one else was doing it, so we took on the challenge,” Vine said.

In the past JROTC has hosted the winter dance. Student government hosts Homecoming in the fall and Prom in the spring and did not want to take on another dance activity.

The dance theme is Hawaiian Luau. “We wanted something ‘beachy’ and warm since it is being held during the winter.  We also thought this theme would be good since we plan to have games like ping pong and cornhole,” Rivero said.

There also have been many decisions to make sure that the dance runs smoothly. “We have had a lot of meetings to make the winter formal special, and set it apart from Homecoming, and make it a special experience for the whole student body,” Vine said. 

The winter formal is also hosting a raffle with many prizes, such as gift certificates, Dairy Shed gift cards, and the biggest prize: a Kings Island pass. The raffle is to increase ticket sales, and when someone purchases a ticket, then they are in the raffle. 

“I hope that lots of students attend and have fun,” Rivero said. “I hope that this is an opportunity for students to gather outside of academics and sports in order to have another opportunity to be kids.  I hope that we sell a lot of tickets so that we can raise money for Supportive Peers, which will allow us to host even more fun events for this incredibly important group!”

Supportive Peers also plans to honor the high school special needs students at the dance.  “I hope that, by having SP sponsor the dance,” Rivero said, “That we will increase awareness of the importance of being kind to everyone and that we will increase the number of high schoolers who plan to participate in the program next year and beyond.”