EDUCATION
Gray Station Middle School hosted their seventh grade Sneaker Ball on Feb. 2, giving students a chance to relax and enjoy an evening at school dancing with friends and making memories.
Meredith Barnwell, PEC teacher at Gray Station Middle School, said she was excited for the Sneaker Ball. She said the students were looking forward to the dance and so were the teachers.
“The Sneaker Ball was our seventh-grade dance, and the kids were really excited for it. We had a lot of community support,” she said. “We wanted the kids to be able to do something fun and socialize, while doing something out of school to celebrate all of their hard work they have been doing here at Gray Station Middle School.”
She said a Sneaker Ball was a good theme for the dance this year, because middle schoolers like their shoes and sneakers. She said this theme was something she thought they’d enjoy, since so many of the students take such great care of their sneakers.
“This dance was important for the students to engage in, because they need that social interaction. It helps at that middle school age for them to learn how to interact with each other in a more casual setting,” Barnwell said.
Allie Mimbs, a seventh grader at the Sneaker Ball, said she had been looking forward to the Sneaker Ball at Gray Station Middle School for a while, and she really liked being able to dress up. She said making the theme of the dance sneakers was a great idea, and she had a lot of fun with her friends.
“We had a bunch of glow in the dark bracelets and a lot of dancing was going on during the ball. The dance was important, because it gave us something to look forward to and helped us keep our grades up. I think sneakers are cute to wear, plus they are easier to dance in,” Mimbs said.
The teacher said they had a lot of community support to do drawings to give items away during the Sneaker Ball. She said the sponsors for those items and the ball are Agave Azul, Allure Beauty Bar, Ambi Rae Boutique, Armour Nail, Bloom Nutrition, Creation Nails Spa, Dairy Queen of Gray, Harveys, Jones County Nutrition, Kroger (North Avenue), Krystal, McDonald’s, and Sno Biz.
“We want to thank all of our sponsors for their support and help with the Sneaker Ball,” Barnwell said. “The kids have been looking forward to this dance and have been so excited for it. I’m glad to see so many of them get excited about this dance.”
