Winter Semi-Formal Dance: Letter to Parents

Dear Parents,

As we approach this weekend, I know that many of our students are looking forward to the Winter Semi-formal dance that will take place on Saturday night. Each year this event serves as one of the highlights of the winter for our students. I am thankful for the work of our student council in planning, organizing, and running this much anticipated event. I am especially proud of our council members this year as they will be donating all of the proceeds from the event to benefit the memory of Jack Street.

Throughout the school year, our extracurricular activities have continually reinforced how fortunate we are at Nipmuc to have such great kids as part of our school. Nevertheless, over the course of the past few semi-formal dances, I have heard from an increasing number of parents and students who are concerned about the way that our students dance and dress at these events. I appreciate this feedback and I wanted to take a moment to discuss this issue with all of our parents.

The concern raised about dancing is that it is overly suggestive and inappropriate for school events. While I know that this does not apply to all of our students, I share the concern that some of the dancing is too suggestive. Likewise, some of our students’ attire at these dances is too tight or revealing to be appropriate for school events. In preparation for tomorrow evening, I am asking that you take a moment to speak to your child about these concerns. I am confident that these conversations will be extremely helpful in making the dance the kind of event that we hope it will be.

Please know that I addressed our students today to share these concerns and to inform them that I have sent a letter home to parents. I will speak to them again at the start of the dance on Saturday night to remind them of our expectations. I will also address these issues individually should they occur tomorrow evening.

Please know, also, that I have discussed this topic at length with Nipmuc’s Student Advisory Council – a representative group of students across all grade levels at Nipmuc. I am very thankful for their candid conversation and their wholehearted support of my letter to you this afternoon. With their encouragement, I also ask that you speak to your child about making good choices regarding drugs and alcohol. By offering reminders and conversation at school and at home, we are hopeful that all of our students will be able to have a fun, safe, and memorable night.

Again, thank you for taking the time to address these topics with your child. I appreciate your support in working with the school as partners in your child’s high school experience.

Sincerely,

John K. Clements

Principal