Isn't middle school great! We have had the same problems at our dances. Last year their premiscuous behavior was so bad (along with the same attitudes in their daily classes) that the 8th grade teachers held a parents night to talk with the parents and let them know about their behavior. Don't know how much good it did.
We have a divider in the gym so it is half dance half basketball. Goes over very well. We have about 350 students (out of 420) come to these. 18 chaperones is comfortable and we invite parents to drop in if only for a few minutes. 7-9 no one can leave early once they are inside and they are for our students only. We serve pizza and pop which stays in the hall, not allowed in the gym. The DJ's know how to control the crowd and will actually stop playing if the kids get out of hand in any way.
The dress code at school applies to all dances. They are sent home if not dressed appropriately and promptly redressed should clothes come off during the dance. (Many wear different clothes to get in and take off that nice shirt to reveal as much as they can)
We are considering having the sixth graders do something seperately.
It is important that the chaperones know exactly what their task is on the get go.
We hold dances for 7th and 8th grade only. The 6th grade gets other activities, such as rollerskating, an evening Halloween party, etc. Our principal doesn't believe in 6th graders attending dances. He wants to keep them "children" as long as possible, which IMHO is a good thing these days.
In years past, the problem of kids dressing up for dances also came up. These 12 through 14 year olds actually had limos, "prom" type dresses, flowers, hair done, dinner. That was just too much for the staff and for a while there were no dances at our level at all.
I like the idea of holding them directly after school, too.
At my son's middle school they hold a different dance for the 6th graders. But what is amazing to me is what a difference a year makes. In your situation it sounds more like an old fashioned, heavy metal rock concert. I'm curious as what the principal had to say about the "festivities". Also, our school holds the dances right after school, and if there aren't enough chaperone's the event does not take place.
Just have to say this though, to all the "shocked" parents, perhaps this was their lesson in ...just because the kids are in a big school doesn't mean they don't still need babysitters!! Now perhaps the chaperone problem will no longer be a problem.
Our school runs our dances with the 6th through 8th grades all together.
Our last dance was shocking to all the 6th grade parents, to say the least. There was very provocative dancing, soda spilled all over, and one girl even took off her shirt! But, my question is, what do other intermediate school do about combining grades for the dances?
I have heard that most schools have 6th grade dances seperately.
Anyone with any input? ALOT of parents were shocked and there wasn't much by the way of chaperones. They held the PTO meeting at the same time as the dance! Any ideas from other parents is greatly appreciated! Thanks so much.
