The dress, suit, tie, shoes, hair, makeup, nails… and maybe most important, the date. No, not the person you take pictures with, grab dinner with, or go to the dance with, but when the dance will be on the calendar. Each year, students complain that dances are scheduled at the most inconvenient times, but don’t realize all that goes into picking a date that is suitable for over 900 students. This year homecoming is on Sept. 13.
“I feel like we should have more time before a dance,” senior Chase Trautman said.
Students don’t like to feel rushed or overwhelmed the first few weeks of school to coordinate the dance.
“The dates are definitely a little early, especially with homecoming being within the first month of school,” senior Julia Perrotto said. “People need more time to settle into the school year and should have more time to plan out homecoming.”
Something often unseen by the student body is the multiple events that Principal Dan Radicia and Athletic Director Luke Ford have to plan around, especially with each dance landing in the middle of an activity’s season. Homecoming conflicts with volleyball, softball, girls golf, boys tennis, and cross country. Winter Formal must be scheduled around basketball, wrestling, bowling, show choir, swim and dive, and cheer and dance nationals. Prom falls in the spring during soccer, baseball, track, girls tennis, and boys golf seasons.
“We try to have winter formal early to avoid show choir season,” Radicia said, “but we don’t want it too late so that the time between the formal and prom is less than six weeks.”
In 2024, winter formal was on Feb. 3, and prom was on Apr. 13, around 11 weeks apart. In 2025, winter formal was on Jan. 11, with prom being on Mar. 28, again, 11 weeks apart. Radicia realized the optimal date for prom is towards the end of March, ultimately pushing winter formal to the beginning of January.
“When it’s the first week of January, it may seem early, but it does give us distance from prom,” Radicia said.
With Prom in the spring, it must be planned around soccer, track, girls tennis, baseball, boys golf, and band’s Sounds of Excellence as well as Easter and Nebraska state testing for juniors.
“There was a holiday that kicked Elkhorn South and High’s prom to our date,” Radicia said. “That’s why all three high schools were on the same night in march of 2025.”
As a result of careful planning, all three dances end up on the same night, and in that case there is nothing the administration can do to prevent it.
The week of homecoming has to align with a home football game, so festivities such as the pep rally and the announcement of homecoming court can occur that seem week. Every year Ford and Radicia have to choose between the six to seven home football games, and choose based on activities, but also weather.
“I don’t want to dampen kids’ excitement for dances, but when it’s cold it’s a different feel,” Radicia said. “So September happens to be the optimal month.”
After the administration works to find the perfect date, there will still be some setbacks.
“It’s unfortunate that always one activity is going to get stretched. This year it is our girls softball team,” Radicia said.
The girls softball team had an EMC tournament on homecoming day at 2:00 PM. The Wolves, however, lost to Bennington on Thurs. Sept. 11th. This meant they didn’t have to play as late on Saturday, but instead had an earlier game at 10:30 AM. With this loss, it ultimately gave them more time to get ready for the dance.
“While the softball team might not get the dinner and the dress up before homecoming, Dr. Ford has asked that if they win, the championship game is moved to an earlier time as to not miss the actual dance,” Radicia said.
Ultimately, while dance dates may not always be perfect for everyone, they are carefully planned around the whole school’s schedule.
