On February 10th, beginning at 6 pm a buddy club sponsored Valentine’s day dance was held at Battlefield in the enclosed cafeteria, where a memorable dance for a community at Battlefield took place. Buddy club is an organization at Battlefield that brings mentors and special education students together, where they get to know each other and help each other prosper through coloring, snacks, and fun games. The Valentine’s dance had a large turnout, given that buddy clubs from two schools, Battlefield and Patriot came out to have a good time. There was an array of activities to take part in, a photobooth, snacks, dancing, and awards given to the people most spiritedly dressed for the holiday.

There were many students from different grades to attend, all with the same intent to include as many Battlefield students as they can, the dance started off with making Valentine’s day cards for all the buddies, a very sweet gesture. Sophomores Jordin Mclean and Caitlyn Banan both agreed that their favorite part of the dance was making the cards and getting to know everyone in the club better. Another favorite moment of Jordin’s was “dancing along to the cupid shuffle with everyone in the group”. Caitlyn said by the end of the dance she was “feeling really happy, and grateful she had partaken”. Carlie Rosenburg, a Battlefield junior, called the dance “a big hit” and also stated that “it was so fun watching everyone dance together, and I really loved the photobooth idea”, since many students got a lot of memories captured at the photo booth, using silly props. Mclean,Banan, and Rosenburg represent many students who contribute to the buddy club with their time and effort, and giving back to the community through friendship and inclusiveness.
The dance was a fun experience for all of the students and teachers involved, mentors really learn a lot from the buddies, and the teachers who sponsor the club always say how much progress they see in their special education students after meetings with their buddies. Buddy club originally met once a month, but the turnout for meetings was so notable, they split the meetings into underclassman and lower classmen meetings, twice a month. It just goes to show the kind of community we have and take care of at Battlefield!