December 22nd, 2022

Seeking to reconnect after a few years apart, Preston High School (PHS) recently hosted a Winter Dance for Alternative Continuum of Education (ACE) students from schools across the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB).

On December 8, ACE classes from PHS, Jacob Hespeler Secondary School, Southwoods Secondary School, Glenview Park Secondary School and Waterloo-Oxford District Secondary School came together to dance and have fun, rebuilding a sense of community that was lost during the pandemic.

“We truly just wanted to connect and see friends. Years ago another high school used to host similar events to our dance and we thought, ‘Why not us?’” said Kylie Poole, ACE teacher at PHS.

Poole enlisted the help of Grade 11 Leadership Teacher Maddie Rodrigues to bring the idea to life.

“She and her class are pros at planning all school events,” said Poole.

The two classes met once a week in the library, with ACE and Leadership students working together in groups to plan and organize all of the details that went into making the event so special.

“They planned everything from the decorations to the snack list and crafts. They even created the playlist and planned who would DJ,” said Poole.

Through this experience, students learned how to work together to come up with inclusive ways to engage their peers, factoring in different needs and abilities.

“My biggest learning experience from planning this type of event was learning how to satisfy everyone’s needs by having common decorations, snacks, and activities. What I mean by ‘common’ are things that everyone will enjoy and share an interest in,” said Malekai, a Grade 11 Leadership student.

The main goal of the event was to create a fun atmosphere where everyone could take part in their own way.

“We understood that a loud, flashy dance would not be for everyone. We wanted to ensure that all students could join us, so we set up other activities in nearby spaces so everyone could participate,” said Poole.

Students from the Leadership class helped to facilitate these activities.

“We got a lot of great feedback from this space and it was such an easy way to ensure everyone felt comfortable and part of the day,” said Poole.

This event was truly a team effort, and students from other classes at PHS joined in to help prepare. On the morning of the dance, the classes met and set up the entire gym, hanging decorations and setting up the tables.

On top of learning what goes into planning an inclusive, fun event, the students also got to know each other better as schoolmates and peers, all helping to build that sense of community Poole hoped to create.

“My favourite part of the dance was seeing all my friends and dancing! Oh, and the snacks,” said ACE student Kason.

“I really enjoyed the conversations and interactions I had with a lot of the students, I would even say that was my favourite part,” said Malekai. “It was a really positive environment for me to be in, and the more I reflected that positivity I took in, the better the experience for the students who came.”

For Poole, the biggest reward was seeing students collaborating to support ACE students from across the WRDSB.

“It was amazing to watch them all work so well together, truly as peers.”