Decorated with an inflatable snowman, flashing lights, icicles, paper snowflakes, and blue and white balloons, the Walpole High School cafeteria was transformed into a Winter Wonderland for one night.  WHS Student Council stayed after school on the half-day on Friday, January 11, 2013 to decorate and make sure everything was just right, and that night they hosted the second annual Winter Ball from 7 to 10:30 pm.

As students began to arrive dressed in semi-formal attire, cameras flashed to commemorate the night, and the dance was underway.  Last year at the Winter Ball there was a dress code to wear only black, white, silver, or gold.  This year, however, there was no color dress-code, so students could wear any semi-formal attire they wanted to.  Although most girls wore simple black dresses with lace, there were some stand-out dresses from the girls in each grade.  Noteworthy dresses were worn by seniors Nicky Browne and Jen Mazzotta, junior Bailey Tudor, sophomore Lindsey Bruen, and freshmen Stina Cofsky and Hiromi Kondo.

With a cotton candy machine, popcorn, and a candy bar, there was more than enough sugar to get the students hyped-up and ready to dance.  Although things started out a little slow and there was the inevitable awkward time frame when not many people were dancing, once the dancing started, it never stopped. The most popular attraction of the Winter Ball was the Photo Booth.  Students waited in long lines to take pictures with friends while wearing funny hats and masquerade masks.  Most students went in the Photo Booth in groups of two or three, but some were able to pile in as many as six kids at a time.  The funny photos that students took in the Photo Booth were worth waiting in the long line.  Along with great food and great photos, there was also great music at the Winter Ball. Club T DJ-ed the event and was very popular among the students, playing upbeat pop songs that were easy to dance to from artists such as Ke$ha, Usher, LMFAO, Justin Bieber, and more. Club-T kept the party atmosphere alive throughout the whole night.  Junior Doug Stewart said, “The dance was more fun than I thought it would be. The DJ was great and I am glad I went.”

Although there was a time conflict with a WHS Dance Company rehearsal, several girls in Dance Company were able to come to the dance late and they still had a great time.  Junior Katie Gillespie, who came to the Winter Ball after her dance rehearsal, said, “I love any event like the Winter Ball. It’s always a lot of fun and the music is good, too. It was worth it to go late and I’d definitely go again next year.”  The late arrival of the Dance Company girls kept the energy level high for the remainder of the night.

As part of a schoolwide project, Student Council collected gently used coats at the Winter Ball to be donated to Coats for Kids as part of a contest to win a private concert for the school from Ed Sheeran.  Students who donated a coat at the Winter Ball received a five dollar discount off of their Winter Ball ticket as an incentive to bring coats.  At the dance alone, about 30 coats were collected.  Student Council Publicity Coordinator Jen McDonald said, “I think the dance went really well.  Everyone worked really hard to put it together and I think that really showed.  Our goal was to collect coats, earn a profit, and make sure everyone had fun, and that’s what we did.”

Student Council made an $800 profit from the Winter Ball. There were about 170 students in attendance—a downfall from last year’s 210 student turnout—but no one at the dance seemed to notice the lower turnout. Student Council adviser Ms. Kerry McMenimen said, “Next year we definitely want more people to go; specifically more boys.” Despite not having as many students in attendance as hoped for, the second annual Winter Ball was still a success, and can be looked forward to again with high expectations come next winter.