The senior dinner dance will be Saturday, Jan. 9 in the Canyon High commons from 7-11 p.m. with tickets available for $15 in homeroom classes Thursday, Jan. 7 and Friday, Jan. 8.

Students in upstairs homeroom classes will be able to purchase their tickets on Thursday, while students in downstairs classes and in outdoor buildings–including the field house, portables and agriculture building–will be able to purchase their tickets on Friday. Tickets will also be available for purchase at the dance. A meal will not be served as per Canyon ISD COVID-19 policy, but prepackaged refreshments will be available. Senior class sponsor Kimberly Sharber said Canyon High is actively working to secure the safety of the dance by increasing sanitation and social distancing.

“Everybody will have to wear masks the whole time,” Sharber said. “We’re going to be super spread out this year. We will be using the downstairs and upstairs commons. We moved the dance to the high school from the community center because our facilities are bigger, so we can allow everybody to spread out more.”

Seniors must provide their school ID to enter the dance. IDs can be bought for $5 in the counseling center. Sharber said she wants students to feel relaxed at the dance and have a good time, however school policies will still be in effect.

“Students should feel free to dress as they want as long as it’s in dress code,” Sharber said. “The dress code is semi-formal. If some people wanted to wear their prom dresses from last year, they can. If some people wanted to just wear a little black dress or wear a nice pair of jeans, they can. Masks are mandatory, no matter what, and we will be frequently sanitizing throughout the night.”

Senior class vice president Railee Bain said the dance is meant to make up for missing events last year.

“The seniors missed out on a lot because of Covid, and quarantine,” Bain said. “Hopefully, we’ll have prom this year, but nothing is promised to us. We want the senior dinner dance to be a special night. We’ll have awards, games and a slideshow. We want this to be a fun night to remember.”

Bain said the dance allows the seniors to reflect on the last four years.

“The dance is a sentimental pause for the seniors,” Bain said. “It’s a chance for all of us to get together one last time. Since the homecoming dance was taken away from us this year, this is going to be a good way for the seniors to reconnect and celebrate together.”

This is the first school dance held held at CHS since the district shut down all campuses in response to the COVID-19 outbreak last March.

“It feels like everything has been canceled this year,” senior Reid Rousser said. “Nothing is promised to the seniors this year. The dance is something we can do together, as a big group. It’s nice to have a good time and dance and do normal things as a senior class for the first time in a while.”

Rousser said his senior year has been strange, but the dance is a step towards going back to normal.

“There’s a lot of anticipation going into the dance,” Rousser said. But, there’s so much leadership in this class. We’re working together to get through this. It’s nice to be a part of this class. COVID-19 didn’t effect our class very much because we worked through it together. I am proud to be a part of the class of 2021.”