Nora Hounain also contributed to this article.
The Malden High Class of 2024 Student Council has been busy since day one. This Friday, June 10th, they managed to host their first semi-formal dance, The Spring Soirée, which was not an easy feat.
Erikah Macharia, Event and Junior Varieties Coordinator of the Council explained that the process of planning went pretty smoothly. Macharia added, "during meetings, we were bouncing different ideas off each other and everyone got to have a chance to add any details they thought would be helpful which just made everything so much easier and quicker.”
Meklit Abel, Class President, also spoke on the process of the Spring Soirée. She explained that she was talking with her advisor and wanted more school events. Abel went on to confess that the “planning was very hard. We had to get permission to use the food truck for food and find out when and where the event will be held. Also coming up with posters, ticket ideas, and photo booth ideas.” Abel designed a lot of things for the fundraiser, especially the arts and crafts, because it is one of her strong suits.
Over the school year, it's no secret that many people have been vocal that they want some sort of dance for all grades, as opposed to just prom for the seniors. Shuyi Chen, Social Media Coordinator of the Class of 2024, commented that “Malden High has never had a semi-formal or Junior Prom,” leaving people excited to attend one.
Macharia explained that they thought “it would be the perfect way to raise money in a way that would be fun for the whole school!” The other Event and Junior Varieties Coordinator of the Student Council, Tyler Edmond, explained that they hoped the dance would help “foster a stronger feeling of community at our school.” Abel emphasized that she wanted to have something that would bring together the whole school, not just the sophomore class.
Among the many things that went into planning the dance, Edmond seemed to really enjoy building the props during Joy Block. “It gives me comfort to know that … the members of the student council care.” Macharia enjoyed working with others as well as they worked on planning music, selling tickets and creating decor. She was so happy to see their ideas come to life with the help of other involved students.
Hosting this dance was especially important, due to how behind the Class of 2024 is. Anyone who has been up to date with their affairs knows that they have been keeping themselves busy with a bake sale, selling water and setting up the chairs for graduation. To make a huge difference in their funds, they needed a bigger boost. With their goals and situation in mind, they decided that a dance would be a great first big fundraiser for their class, with more to come in the future.
After planning for so long, Macharia expressed that she was looking forward to seeing everything together. She and the other Council members put in so much effort so she is, “excited to see the outcome,” of their efforts. The afternoon before the dance, Edmond commented that they had roughly sold 200 tickets so he was “looking forward to seeing everyone there!” He wanted them to have a good time and enjoy their first event.
During the Spring Soirée, everyone seemed to have an enjoyable time. Loud music played with many students getting up to dance with their friends. There were funny accessories to take photos in the photo booth which many people found amusing, some were labeled with things such as ‘girl boss’.
The food truck was a big attraction. A lot of people were lined up for it later on during the event. There was lemonade, hot dogs, sodas, pizza and candy. Lanterns were hung up with other beautiful decorations around the courtyard which shows how hard and the amount of effort the student council put into the event.
Freshman Amber Benfield expressed that her favorite part of the dance was when everyone came together in a circle and let everyone have a chance to dance in front of everyone, not excluding anyone who wanted to dance. She thought it was really fun and a nice time to hang out with friends.
“The event setup was really beautiful and the photo booth was really nice and had silly accessories to take photos with which was cool,” Benfield said. Sophomore Reem Zitouni also spoke with admiration saying, “I think this party is really well done and organized. I love the decoration and I can tell that the workers and students are working really hard. I think this fundraiser is a great start for what’s to come.”
Freshmen Lovely Anne Gerochi, said “I enjoyed the dance and some of the songs were really fun and I got to dance with my friends. My favorite part of the dance was the photo booth,” which seemed to grab a lot of attention as students posted their photo booth pictures online.
Overall, the Spring Soirée brought many students together to have fun. Aside from this dance, Edmond teased that there are a few more things the Student Council of the Class of 2024 hopes to work on before the end of the year following the Soirée. Let’s see what else they have in store for MHS.
