CHS students walked past a giant gondola with masks in hand as they headed into the annual Winter Ball held on Dec. 10 by the Class of 2022. This year, the theme was a “Masquerade in Venice” which included a gelato bar, a portrait of Italy and a mask contest.

Junior Ravenna Gemignani of Oceanport won the mask contest in which students from each grade voted for their favorite mask design. 

“I recycled old materials that I found at home and repurposed them,” Gemignani said. “I sculpted a tiger using old paper clay and added feathers from an old Thanksgiving centerpiece which I then painted blue.”

Sophomore Jacob Irwin of Middletown worked as one of the DJs for the event and reflected on how the event turned out. 

“The experience was certainly different than last years mostly because I was the DJ this time,  Irwin said. “I also think there was a different energy than last year…I was honestly a little worried about how it [the theme] would turn out, but I think that all the committees did an amazing job to make the theme work really well.”

Senior Jamie Nickerson of Tinton Falls attended the event and compared her experience to previous years. 

“Winterball was fun, this year it was different for me just because I was taking photos for most of the dance. The music was fun at times and confusing at other times…, but overall it was a great dance and it was obvious the sophomores put a lot of their time into it,” Nickerson said.

Some students had conflicting feelings about the dance, like Junior Cassandra Soldo of Middletown.

“The theme was really good, I liked it a lot, but not everyone was actually wearing masks so it kind of felt like there was no theme because of that,” Soldo said.

The sophomore class advisor Karen Britto explained the process of preparing for the event.

“Each council member was in charge of one aspect of the dance and formed a committee of sophomores to work together,” Britto said.  “Our goal was to involve as many students from the Class of 2022 as possible. The decorations committee worked tirelessly to complete the ambiance.” 

Sophomore Class President Samantha Skolnick of Hazlet shared her feelings on the event’s success.

“The set-up crew, decorations team, our DJs, music team, food committee, council and so many more worked very hard to get the school ready for the winter ball,” Skolnick said.