Tomorrow is the Semi-Formal Dinner and Dance (or “semi”) for our high school students and with my Grade 9 daughter attending for the first time, it reminds me of my first semi-formal dance back in Goderich in 1981…

Like our semi, the GDCI dance was a very popular ticket and it seemed like I stood forever in the ticket line one lunch hour. I decided to splurge and buy a nice suit (light blue, 3 piece with a reversible vest) but because everyone else was doing the same thing, I had to stand in the suit line. I had (of course) purchased a lovely corsage for my date and when I went to pick it up at Dennome’s Flower Shop, all the other boys in school were there already and I had to wait in the corsage line. And despite the fact that I had made dinner a reservation at Robindale’s, we had to wait for about 30 minutes in the restaurant line. We finished dinner and rushed to the dance but Mr. Rittinger and Mr. Murdie were letting everyone in one-by-one so we stood in the entrance line. Finally, we were inside at the dance and while I was summoning up my nerve to ask her to dance, my date suggested that a refreshment would be nice. I said “OK” but I panicked that it would take forever to get to the punch bowl and that someone on the football team (I was a volleyball player) might come along and ask her to dance while I was gone, but…fortunately, there was no punch line.

We don’t expect to see any light blue, 3-piece, reversible vest suits at the semi this Friday but this is a major event for our high school students (some say it is more anticipated than final examinations!). It is organized by the high school student council, and high school teachers volunteer to chaperone. And yes…..there will be lots of dancing, but it remains to be seen if the last dance will be Stairway to Heaven, like it was in ’81.

Chris Starkey
Administrative Principal
Mentor College / TEAM School