On December 15, 2016, the National Honor Society hosted a Middle School Toys for Tots dance in the auditorium for all middle schoolers to attend provided that they donate a toy as admission.

Members of the NHS began preparations a month before the dance to prepare for the event. The charity dance is an annual holiday occasion to help donate toys to brighten Christmas for the children who need the toys the most. Senior high NHS students started by hanging posters around the hallways to notify the middle-schoolers of the upcoming dance.

The students had help from the new guidance counselor, Ms. Denise Temple. She was able to help out by reserving the cafetorium for the dance, along with helping to plan everything. She set up what students were going to bring in what snacks and drinks. The day of the dance, Ms. Temple and Mrs. Heidi Gross, were able to assist by retrieving christmas themed decorations for the National Honor Society students to set up.

Thirty-six students attended the dance with each of them generously giving a toy for admission that would later get sent to the charity. Food was also provided by the NHS, giving kids something to munch on in between dancing. Will Brant, Hunter Muro, and Ryan Caton were the DJ’s and played contemporary songs, in addition to the the classic dance songs most people know. Examples of songs most commonly known that were played would be the Cha-Cha Slide, The Cupid Shuffle, and Baby got Back.

All of the middle-schoolers that attended the dance participated in the 2016 trend that was the mannequin challenge. Everyone was frozen as the song “Black Beatles” by Rae Sremmurd blared from the speakers. The fun ended at 8:00, when the NHS members started to clean up the cafeteria to help out the janitors.

The Toys for Tots middle-school dance of 2016 was a success thanks to the senior high students of NHS working hard to put it together. It gave the middle-schoolers some excitement and a chance to have a fun night hanging out with friends. The NHS hopes to continue the Toys for Tots dance in the future and being able to donate these toys to the less fortunate children at Christmas time.