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Counties Sign-Ups Held Outside of School

This+year%2C+junior+girls+interested+in+signing+up+for+Counties+submitted+their+names+and+information+outside+of+school.+This+change+occurred+because+Counties+is+not+a+school-sponsored+event.
This year, junior girls interested in signing up for Counties submitted their names and information outside of school. This change occurred because Counties is not a school-sponsored event.

“Why does it cost so much to go to this dance?”

“Why is there so much pressure for my daughter to find a date?”

“What [are you] going to do about [the several students that got drunk at the dance]?”

In previous years, Principal John Dodig’s phone didn’t stop ringing with parents hounding him questioning his decisions regarding the Fairfield County Charity Ball for juniors, Counties.

This year, to avoid the conflicts that surround the dance, the administration decided to disconnect the school with the event. Junior girls had to go to the house of Sasha Kobylinski ’14 by Sept. 17 to sign up for the dance.

Cara McNiff ’14 expressed discontent that sign ups were so early.

According to Jennifer O’Brien, one of the PTA members in charge of Counties, official sign-ups are first come first serve by mid-December, and spots are limited. In order to give girls enough time to sign up, information forms had to be sent out by the beginning of October and invitations by the beginning of November.

Girls were required to fill out a slip of paper with contact information, but did not need to specify the name of their date. In previous years, this sign up was held at the school.

Dodig explained that when he first arrived at Staples, sign ups for the dance did not take place at the school. After receiving many complaints regarding the matter, he finally gave in and set up a table for sign ups at lunch. However, this decision caused him many problems.

“Each year something comes up either at the dance or before the dance that winds up being phone calls to the school,” Dodig said.

So Dodig decided to separate the two events once again.

The only way that girls knew to go to Kobylinski’s house was through Facebook, which not all teenagers have or regularly check.

O’Brien expressed frustration with the switch to signing up outside of school.

“The girls who don’t sign up won’t even get an invitation. Every girl should get an opportunity to go to the dance,” O’Brien said. She explained that since the PTA was not allowed to set up a table at the school, it “hindered their ability to reach every girl who might desire to go to the dance.”

Junior girls expressed confusion and frustration with this decision as well.

“It’s supposed to be a school sponsored event and we shouldn’t have to have it be through one person,” said McNiff. “[Sign-ups] should be done at the school.”

However, Dodig confirmed that the event is in fact not school sponsored, but many students believe it is because sign-ups used to be at the school.

Dodig said, “The old saying: “If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it is a duck.” holds for this event. If we promote it by facilitating sign ups, it must be a school event and […] it is not.”

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Rachel Labarre, Managing Editor
She trades her pointe shoes in for her spiral notebook.  Her dance classes for journalism classes.  Her spot at the front of the stage for her position on the Inklings staff. Rachel Labarre '14 has the unique ability to allow the creativity and passion she has in the dance studio to influence her writing style and work ethic. This work ethic is what gives Labarre the edge it takes to hold one of the most prestigious spots on the Inklings staff: Managing Editor. But what got her there? Labarre’s first claim to fame was her dance career, but there was one thing holding her back. “On top of the problems with my feet that I already had, I broke my foot during dress rehearsal for our big recital,” Labarre said. This forced Labarre to cut back on dance classes the following year.  All the energy and creativity that was once put into nailing a routine needed an outlet.  She found this outlet through writing for Inklings. Labarre landed a job as an editor her sophomore year.  She then went from Editor of Arts and Entertainment to Features Editor.  Labarre’s inventiveness has allowed her to climb the steps to the top of Inklings. “When you write there’s a certain part that requires creativity; whether it’s getting a good angle or keeping your readers engaged.  You have to do the same in dance; whether it’s perfecting the choreography or figuring out what will look the most atheistically pleasing” Labarre  said.  She was able to prove this ability in her article on the Sandy Hook shooting, which got over 50,000 hits.  This passion for the arts and creativity has not only led LaBarre to success on the stage, but in the classroom as well.  

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