On the evening of Jan 6, the students of Columbus East High School joined as one community. Students of all grades came together for a magical night of dance, food, and friends. This once-a-year event takes place every December or January of each school year at Southside Elementary School. Each winter formal is unique with a theme leading the decoration and dress code, this year was “Night of Paradise (Pair-o-dice).”

 Due to this theme, Southside was dressed from head to toe with playing cards, dice, and a color scheme of red and black. In the back of the room was the cafeteria where snacks and refreshments were kept. Every year is slightly different, this year it was kept simple with snack-sized chip bags and bottles of water. The basis of the music choice is pretty similar each year. Many new popular songs of recent years mixed with some songs to take the students back to their childhood. 

To get into formal students must bring their pre-purchased ticket and student ID to the front doors of Southside. Two separate lines are formed, one for East students and one for Students from other schools or graduated young adults not surpassing the age of 21. Once entering you can leave your coat at coat check with some volunteers from East’s student assembly. Or snap a couple of pictures at the themed photo booth. In the middle of the floor is the dance floor where some students create core high school memories.

This year was a struggle at first picking a perfect date for the event. On the two dates, student assemblies were going back and forth between conflicts with different groups of students. One date fell upon the Columbus light festival which many East students participated in also it would bring a lot of traffic downtown. The second option fell on a basketball game so many of East’s athletes wouldn’t be able to attend the formal. Finally, a later date taking place after December was chosen, being that it suits all.

Winter formal is a special occasion every year for all students of Columbus. It is a possible first or last experience for many of the students therefore, student assembly strives to make it memorable.