Sequined AJA Administration: Melissa Rosen, Brooke Dunshee, Heather Kantrowitz, Aviva Frank. Courtesy Austin Jewish Academy

On Saturday, December 3, Austin Jewish Academy (AJA) held a collaborative middle school winter dance. The event was attended by over 200 Austin middle school students from participating schools: Rawson Saunders, The Girls School of Austin, Fusion Academy and Ace Academy. Students from Murchison, Hyde Park, Paragon Prep, Canyon Vista, Trinity Episcopal School, St. Andrews, St. Stephens, and Four Points were also in attendance. The organizer, Assistant Principal Brooke Dunshee of Austin Jewish Academy, wanted to expose the students to a “big-dance” experience. For most of the students, this was their first dance as middle schoolers, since COVID prevented large gatherings.

“The purpose of the dance was to provide our students with a ‘normal’ social experience. The middle school dance afforded our students the opportunity to collaborate, socialize, and have fun with other students their age,” Dunshee said. “The dance was such a memorable event for our students,” Nick Rodriquez, Assistant Head of Rawson Saunders Middle School said. “I’ve already had multiple groups of students request another dance in the spring, and most of lunch/recess on Monday was spent reminiscing about the night! It was such a well-organized event, and I was really impressed with how much dancing all our kids did! Many of our sixth and seventh graders spent the whole night on the dance floor!”

The dance was held at the Dell Jewish Community Campus in the new Epstein Family Community Hall / Gloria and Harvey Evans Performance Center from 7:00-10:30pm with a $20 ticket price. Students were greeted with a gorgeous winter wonderland-inspired balloon arch. The tables were adorned with fairy lights, frosted leaves and fun LED party favors. Snacks and drinks were donated by the participating schools. The party music was bumping thanks to DJ Hailey Gratehouse, who is a middle school teacher at Murchison. Let’s Booth It supplied a photo booth to capture the memories, and the JCC donated the perfect dance space.  “Overall, I liked the fact that there were a lot of snacks. The music was good too,” AJA middle school student Noam Wolinetz said. “The music got into my head.”

“The dance was an absolute blast! Our goal was to sell 100 tickets. We were shocked that around 200 students showed up. It was an amazing night full of dancing, raffles, silly Photo Booth pictures and a lot of candy,” Dunshee said.

 About the Austin Jewish Academy

The Austin Jewish Academy is the only pluralistic Jewish day school serving grades K-8 and offers students new possibilities with small class size, hands-on experiential learning, social-emotional skill building and exploration of timeless Jewish values. Students are empowered critical thinkers and compassionate problem-solvers.  www.austinjewishacademy.org