This year’s Winterfest will take place at the Sherman Street Events Center at 17^th & Sherman, just east of downtown, on January 30. (This venue is one we have used in years past when it was known as the Temple Events Center.) The theme for the dance will be revealed next week at Town Hall . . . so please ask your student about that.

 

Winterfest is semi-formal, meaning students should dress up, but certainly should not feel obligated to show up in brand new fancy dresses or rented tuxedos. Many students travel as groups via a hired vehicle of some sort, but again no one should feel as if they must rent an expensive limo either.

 

We really encouraged students to go in groups this year, in order to alleviate some of the social pressure and emotional drama that seemed to accompany the Sadie Hawkins tradition where a girl asked a boy to go as a date. Not having a date should not hold a student back from attending the dance, which promises to be a fun time for all.

 

The event begins officially at 8:00, but typically students start arriving around 8:30. We require would that everyone attending should arrive NO LATER THAN 9:30. The doors may be closed to them if they arrive after that. (If something beyond the student’s control occurs and their arrival will be later than expected, they should contact one of the chaperones at the event site.) Once a student or students leave the dance, they may not return.

 

I looked back on the letter I sent out last year. In it I offered some other important advice that I will include here again: “Inevitably, some events will be planned before and/or after Winterfest. . . . You should know that CA is not sponsoring any of these activities, so we would strongly encourage you to ask your students about their plans and then contact any other parents with whom your son or daughter is traveling or who may be hosting events at their homes. I encourage you to have a good conversation with your student(s) before the dance; make sure you are clear about where they will be and with whom. We have had some issues in the past with students making poor decisions in regards to behavior. If any student is caught with drugs or alcohol, or it is found that they came to the dance having been using, there will be serious disciplinary action, and indeed the whole fate of Prom may be jeopardized by such behavior. Please help us to help your children to make the safe and legal choices on this night.”

Thanks and please don't hesitate to contact me or sophomore class dean Emily Perez for more details.