The Junior Ring Dance will be held at the Royal Orleans banquet center on April 5, 2024, after the original date was canceled due to a snowstorm in February.
“It was an up in the air kind of thing, whether they were gonna cancel school or not…” said Keri Komorowski, the class of 2025 principal. “…That’s why we decided to go ahead and cancel [the dance],”
Komorowski, who was also an event planner before working at OHS, had to take several things into account regarding cancellation. This includes checking if the parking lot would have snow or not, and the amount of students that could actually attend.
She also had a lot to account for when it came to picking the new, rescheduled date.
“We have to check with all of the clubs and athletics to make sure that there’s gonna be enough kids…in order to make it worthwhile,” Komorowski said, “…we have track, and we have water polo, and we have the golden girls that are going out,”
After working with the venue, the only available Fridays would have conflicted with one of the sports.
“I can’t make the new date because I have a water polo tournament in Chicago and that also means a lot of my friends can’t make it either” said Nathan Baker (11), a water polo player.
With this tournament, many students will now have to miss the dance. Luckily, their tickets are refundable.
“I’m offering refunds,” Komorowski said, “if you’re not able to make the new date you just come see me and you get your money back,”
The other juniors are looking forward to how special the dance will be.
“What makes it unique is the fact that it’s just the junior class,” said Natalie Girardi (11) “…and we’ve never had a dance like this, with just our class, since middle school.”
Girardi, who serves as the only 2025 class president, plans decorations, food, junior superlatives and other parts of the night.
The dance has historically been for the Junior Class, meaning parents and students from other grades are not allowed to attend.
“Homecoming is with everybody, and that’s great, but I think with a smaller dance is more personal,” Girardi said. “It gives people the chance to talk to more people,”
Though it follows a changed date and a changed venue, the experience is looking to stay the same.
“I’m excited to see the junior ring dance, I’ve never seen it before,” Komorowski said. “The junior ring should be fun and I’m excited to see all the juniors there having a good time.”
