After many feelings of confusion, questioning, and disappointment over formal being postponed and possibly canceled, the Winter Formal  eventually took place on Saturday, February 26th. The event was held at a refreshing new setting,  Selma’s Pioneer Village. There was a taco truck, as well as a DJ, and endless decorations.

The Selma High leadership and staff worked hard to put together this dance, and dealt with a lot of stress that came with it due to the Covid restrictions and the harsh toll it has taken on the environment. 

After speaking with the leadership sophomore class, who was in charge of this year’s formal, it was clear how diligently they worked to put together a nice dance to look forward to.

“It was difficult having to accommodate everything around covid restrictions, but other than that the dance preparation went smoothly and everything went together really well,” stated sophomore Emily Pallesi.

The theme this year being, A Night Under the Stars, allowed for a beautiful view and scenery to match. Many were thrilled to be able to participate in their first, or last formal and as students danced and sang to songs, the bond of the Selma High community grew as well as the school spirit. 

This year’s formal dance was made to convey an uplifting and encouraging emotion throughout all Selma High School students.

“Our intent for the formal was to have something that everyone could enjoy, even if it meant doing it outside,” commented Pallesi. “We were still able to have a somewhat normal highschool dance.” This goal of creating a normal environment and successful formal appears to be accomplished to many students. Leadership students received extra help and decorations to improve the outcome this year as well.

“It felt so good and it felt normal after a long time of everything being shut down and restricted, setting up went smooth,” explained Pallesi. “[Activities Director] Mr. Pallesi and the junior class helped us sophomores a lot, and we got a lot of props and decorations donated, so we were thankful for that too. We wanted a good memory for everyone to look back on since we haven’t had much to look forward to this year,” Pallesi went on.

This year’s dance was different in all the best ways possible not only by it being outside, but also the fact that it was held at pioneer village which opposed the usual circumstances of it taking place inside the school dining hall.

A leadership member and participant to this year’s winter formal, Mia Harris also had a lot to say about this year’s winter formal.

“This formal could’ve been better, but under the circumstances we were required to meet, I think it came out well overall and it was nice to be a part of,” Harris says.

Coming together as a community was also a huge accomplishment students gained from the dance. 

“As a senior, this formal was very different compared to the past, but I appreciated the time and effort that was being put into it, and I looked forward to being with my friends outside of school since there hasn’t been many school events due to covid,” Harris states.

Not only did the winter formal of 2022 accomplish togetherness of the Selma High community, but it also did a great job of lifting school spirit and creating a different environment to look forward to.