On January 10, 2020, Tenafly High School’s sophomore and junior class hosted a joint “Winter Snowball” dance in the THS cafeteria for their respective classes. This was the second consecutive Winter Snowball after the one hosted last year by current seniors. After “Winter Snowball” was passed on to this year’s junior class, the officers decided that the dance would be more successful if run in sophomore year. Consequently, this year’s Snowball was created into a joint event between the juniors and sophomores and is set up to be a sophomore year event in 2021 if the sophomore officers next year choose to do so.

As the current Vice President of the junior class, I took part in most of the preparation for this year’s dance. Attending Snowball 2019 as a sophomore officer last year, I learned a lot about event preparation from the past junior officers 

Anya Kasubhai, Hunter Neuman, Andrew Hau, and Jiho Park, who revived the Snowball Dance from four years ago. Class of 2020 president Anya Kasubhai stated that the idea sprouted again from the snowball dance scene in the popular television show Stranger Things. “After my class and I finished watching Stranger Things, many of us wanted our own Will and Eleven moment or really just to be able to dance and have fun with our friends. Because of this the officers and I were motivated to revive the cafeteria dances that we’ve sadly only seen in movies. We had a lot of people that wanted to help out and it was a great experience to not only be at but to also create,” said Kasubhai on the resurgence of Snowball.

Similar to what the other officers and I learned from last year’s snowball, the freshman class officers were invited to Snowball 2020 in order to collect some insight into what class office runner event is like. “Attending the 2020 sophomore-junior Snowball was honestly a very good experience for both me and all the other officers as well, just in familiarizing ourselves with the expectations and standards to hopefully hosting it ourselves next year,” stated current freshman class president Jacqueline Kim. “Being able to experience and see all the unrecognized responsibilities and planning behind the event will definitely be helpful for our own future events as well.”

This year in addition to the Snowball’s hired DJ, Snowball included the live performance from Tenafly’s own high school indie rock band “Vanilla Coke.” Created in the summer of 2017, Vanilla Coke includes Jaden Salmon (lead vocals), Nicky Teall (lead guitar, back-up vocals), Judah Lunazkowsky (rhythm guitar), Idan Saban (lead bass), and Arne Bernal (drums). On Snowball, Saban stated, “Snowball was honestly a great time. I got to spend time with my friends and party the whole night! The best part was definitely performing though, being able to play originals and catchy covers in front of my classmates was a great experience.” Vanilla Coke’s performance included two sets with party classics such as “Everybody Talks” by Neon Trees, “Tongue Tied” by Grouplove, and “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers. The band also performed their new original song “I Won’t Say Anything Until I’m Dead.” “We’ve been holding onto that song for a while,” stated Teall, “and the feedback was phenomenal. We’re so glad that we had the chance to show off our music live.” You can visit Vanilla Coke’s YouTube channel here.

Starting from early November, current junior and sophomore officers Rebecca Parish, Michelle Lee, Jake Friedman, Frank Kim, Lucy Harper, Jack Neuman, Matthe Ngai, and Kenny Uchida have been meeting with their class advisors Mr. Angus and Ms. Culliane to discuss various facets of Snowball organization. “Although it looks like just another event, a lot of work was put into Snowball,” stated Kim.  “Countless meetings were held between the sophomore and junior class. Every little thing that was in the event was thought of and was intentional. All the work that was put in was to bring the best event possible for the school.” For Kim, this is his first as a class officer. He has expressed that there is more than what meets the eye when coming to planning school events.”As a new officer, I had thought that you just bring a DJ, food, and you’re done, but a lot more goes into it than that. Little details were thought of and were deliberate.” For Ngai, this is his second year in class office. On the collaboration with the junior class, Ngai stated, “This event not only strengthened the bond between the officers, but also gave us an opportunity to learn from each other’s work ethic. I would love to work with them again in the future.”

Overall, Snowball 2020 can be regarded as a success. Although an event’s “success” could be measured by the number of people who attend, student government leaders believe that there is a different way to measure. “Even though the turnout wasn’t through the roof, I was still happy to see the people who did come grooving on the dance floor and enjoy being there!”  stated Parish. Class officers’ goal to provide a safe space for students to have fun with their peers was definitely achieved. “I hope that everyone who did come to snowball had a good time because that really was the main goal. It was just an opportunity for students to have some fun with their friends.” We look forward to the possibility of the Snowball legacy continuing as a class officer tradition.