The East High Wildcats’ motto is “Stick to the status quo!”

Glen Rock High School’s sophomore class is not big fans of this motto. This year, instead of holding their annual Semi-formal dance in the all-purpose room or cafeteria, the class officers decided to hold their Semi-formal in the courtyard.

“I think this year is going to be much more successful, especially because it is going to be held in the courtyard, which is a pleasant change for our school,” Corresponding Secretary of the class, Juliana Roddy said.

Last year, the dance was held in the cafeteria and contrary to some opinions, many current juniors enjoyed the dance that they attended last year.

Junior Lee Maitner said, “I went with one of my best friends, it was really fun going with someone who I was comfortable with and we matched perfectly.”

“I had a better time than I expected,” said Andrew Nappi, Lee’s date. “Some people told me it was not going to be fun but it wasn’t bad. I would suggest to any sophomores that they should go.”

“This year there will not be a theme for the dance, but we plan to cover the entire courtyard with lights,” Recording Secretary, Lilia Wood said. “We just hired the DJ and I’m really excited to see how it all turns out. For this dance, the teachers will volunteer instead of being chosen to chaperone, like prom.”

The biggest concern for this year’s dance was that not a lot of people were going to attend. Some complaints of last year were that it was too hot and there was a fire drill during the event. Now that it is outside, the attendance is expected to increase exponentially.

“We know it’s not the same level as junior and senior prom yet it’s still a great night to enjoy with your friends,” Class President, John Scandale said. “We thought locating semi in the courtyard this year would help mix things up and attract more students to attend. Hopefully it pays off; it should be a lot of fun.”

, “I feel like because we can utilize the courtyard this year for semi we really have the ability to change the game. We’ve been working hard to make semi enjoyable, as class officers we wish to make semi different than past years. However, semi is just the beginning, we have a lot planned for the rest of the class of 2016’s high school career,” Treasurer, Kaitlin Stansel said.