The annual back-to-school dance was held on Friday, Sept. 14 in the cafeteria. Many students arrived dressed in beach attire to match the “Summer Sendoff” theme. The dance kicked off this year by saying goodbye to summer and hello to the school year.

The senior class held the first school dance of the year and provided snacks and drinks for everyone who attended. Additionally, seniors Michael Topper of Ocean, Kaitlyn Hammond of Wall and Amanda Lavery of Marlboro were the night’s DJ’s.

Senior class council president Marissa Ho of Colts Neck said a lot of preparation went into the dance.

“We already had a list of [theme] ideas before the summer started,” Ho said. “In the month before school started, we started signups for committees and during August, the council members in charge of each committee talked to their individual teams for ideas. And then at the start of the week of the dance, we started collecting donations.”

The Class of 2019 decorated the halls and cafeteria with donated summer-themed material such as beach chairs and pool noodles. One of the cafeteria locker pods was home to a photo booth decorated with summer themed items where students could pose for pictures.

Students of all grades attended the back to school dance, including sophomore Maddie Beekman of Neptune who enjoyed the first dance of the school year.

“I think it was so fun because we were all getting super excited every time a new song came on and we had a lot of room to dance and interact with different people,” Beekman said. “Overall, I had a really good time and I think the seniors, Mrs. O’Keefe and Mrs. Gomez did a really good job and I can’t wait for homecoming!”