The sophomore class officers have one major goal in sight: Raise money for the semi-formal dance at the end of the year.

Sophomore class officers Ryan Dooner (president), Julia Rooney (vice president), Megan Tatigian (corresponding secretary), Kevin Sheahen (recording secretary), and Anne Nebbia (treasurer) have been working with class advisers, Rochelle Kizhnerman, Sita Patel, and Jennifer Ammirata, to plan fundraisers and other events to defray the cost of the dance.  

“The class officers are much more proactive this year,” Patel said. “We are also holding more fundraisers.”

The first attempt to fund-raise for the dance came just before the school’s popular homecoming dance. The sophomore class used their elected theme, the “South of the Border” sophomores, to sell T-shirts, and allow the class of 2017 to show pride in their class. The T-shirts were white, with three musical cacti. Each had sunglasses, with a sombrero to top it all off. The humor and creativity of the T-shirts brought even more customers, and even better fundraising.

The class officers used the school website to make buying the T-shirts easier and quicker. With a simple check for $15, the class of 2017 students were able to purchase and T-shirt, and get the T-shirts to spark smiles in their classmates’ eyes. With each T-shirt sold, the sophomore class officers came closer to their goal.

“We were able to make a few hundred dollars on the apparel sales,” said Patel.

The sophomore class was not done there with their fundraising during homecoming week. On the night of decorating the sophomore hallway, some students worked to wrap Starbursts and Hershey Kisses into a small plastic bag. The next day, a few sophomore students went around selling the bags for $0.50 each. 

More recently, the sophomore class officers held a bake sale after school in the Hamilton Lobby. On Thursday, Dec. 4, the class of 2017 members sold delicious treats for very low prices. These included brownies for $1.00, cookies for $0.50, and munchkins for $0.25. Once again, the low prices were enough to raise a good amount of money for the class.

“It went really well,” said Anne Nebbia, sophomore class treasurer. “We almost ran out!”

Since the bake sale was to help the class of 2017 for any events in the future, it came as a bit of a surprise that the table attracted those of all grades from both the middle and high school.

“It was an equal mix of every high school grade. A lot of middle school students came,” said Nebbia.

When it comes to any funding for the semiformal dance, nothing but optimism is shown by the class officers and advisers.

“We have no fears,” Patel said. “The class officers know the challenge and they will rise to it.”

The plans for upcoming fundraisers are not set in stone just yet, but ideas are flowing. A second apparel sale should begin shortly, with hope to beat the few hundred dollars that they were able to raise in the first apparel sale. Other ideas include another bake sale, a sports tournament, or even a car wash. 

When asked about the amount of money that they will need for semiformal, Sita Patel put it simply, “More than we have right now.”