by Samuel Rodriguez

Recently, St. John Bosco High School hosted its first dance of the year, the annual welcome dance. The dance had an astounding attendance of 1,200 students, making it one of the biggest dances in Bosco’s history.

The success of this dance is accredited to its fiery atmosphere, great taste in music, and a live appearance by St. John Bosco’s very own, Ms. Valerie “Mama” Shields. The music was able to keep the students engaged and lively and the tables and chairs outside helped students socialize with people from other schools. The refreshment stand and bar was a success as well.

The only downside to the dance, if anything at all, was the heat inside the gym. The combination of students jumping with the music and a lack of good air flow made the inside of the gym insanely hot. Other than that, the dance set a high bar for future dances to meet and hopefully exceed.

“Honestly, I had a good time with the homies. At first I thought this dance was going to turn out whack but it was actually pretty chill because they had a better DJ, lots of girls, and lots of people showed up,” said Bosco senior Andro Labastida.

Labastida also mentioned that it was a good break from school and that he was able to meet new people from other schools. This dance presented many opportunities for students to socialize and have a good time.

“All of my friends and I had a great time! It was one of the first dances that I’ve been to in a while but was definitely one I won’t forget,” said St. Joseph’s senior Eva Junso.

The success of this dance is greatly attributed to the work of Mr. Fernando Avila, the Student Activities Director on campus. Avila played a big role in planning this dance, collaborating with various ASB members and giving students a chance to escape school and have fun. 

“In terms of open-social dances, the standard is set pretty high at Bosco and it’s something that ASB is going to have to keep living up to,” said Avila.

Mr. Avila also told The Brave News that over 800 pre-sale tickets were sold and over a week went into planning the event.

The welcome dance at Bosco kicked off the new school year and has gotten students hyped up for future events around campus. The student board did an excellent job on this dance, and students are excited to see what is being planned for future events on campus.