By: Jessica Kenton
RASP Assistant Director
In February 2023, the Regional After School Program (RASP) held its first DIY Valentine's box parent night. Although it had a great turnout, the office found few classrooms still had students making Valentine's boxes. So, at our next parent and partner board meeting, we asked if anyone had any thoughts on different parent activities. We had a couple of ideas about a daddy-daughter dance, a mother-son dance, and a Valentine's dance. We decided to have a Valentine's dance for all our students and parents to participate in.
On February 20, 2024, we had a very busy day in the RASP office. We started with our staff training during the morning, setting up for our party in the afternoon, and opening up our event in the evening. The party was complete with stringed banners as you walked into the lunchroom; after you signed in, assistant director Jessica Kenton took a photo of you and your student behind a Valentine 's-themed backdrop complete with balloon columns. After the photos, the parents and students would make their way to the stem and activity tables. One table had giant Connect 4 and tic tac toe, and one had a full table coloring sheet, which we noticed even the parents really liked! The other three tables had our stem activities that curriculum coordinator Karen Riley did: one was pipe cleaner flowers, another was a heart flower with yarn, and the third was a candy and toothpick stem activity you would make into a tower! You could find director Kim Mcnaney breaking it loose on the dance floor with the students or helping at the stem tables.
After students and parents made their way through the tables, it was time for a snack! There were cookies, heart-shaped macaroons, heart-shaped pretzels, fruit, veggies, and a juice station complete with whipped cream and sprinkles! Once students and parents felt refreshed, it was time to get jiggy and go to the WII Just Dance competition or head to the gym, where we had Todd Selle DJing! Once you entered the dimly lit gym, you could see a light-up dance floor, with all of the fun DJ lights on top, and across from the dance floor was a photo prop of a large love buggie where parents could take students' photos! The students loved breaking it down on the dance floor and even made a few requested songs like Gummy Bear and YMCA. It was a fun time for students, parents, and staff and an opportunity for the RASP family to grow closer. There were 102 participants in attendance.