Cobb County school gets ‘groovy’ with first-ever dance

MARIETTA — Despite social shifts during the pandemic, Sawyer Road Elementary School has intentionally worked to reconnect families and community partners, according to Majid Bassery, a parent-community liaison with Marietta City Schools.

The school had never hosted a dance.

“A dance seemed like the perfect way to connect a student population with language barriers because 40% of our students are non-English speakers,” Bassery said.

The “Boogie Wonder Ball” planning started with the school’s annual theme.

Lots of participation helps make the evening one to remember. (Photo Courtesy of Majid Bassery)

“Our principal, Susan Graves, selects a theme for the school each year, and this year, the theme is ‘Groovy.’ The word naturally lent itself to a ’70s party dance, complete with costumes,” Bassery said.

Bassery and the school committee tried to emulate the word’s connotation of “excellent and cool” into the overall dance approach.

“We had a long span of time during and after the pandemic when families were unable to enter the school building,” he said. “Now we are working on ways to reconnect in addition to our growing social media and our fall event. We put together a committee, and our families are all in.”

Erika and Ty Madgett own Photo Booth Atlanta and donated a ’70s-themed photo booth for photos. Aisha Lawrence owns a balloon art company and donated decorations to complement the disco balls, fog machine and disc jockey.

“Everything chosen was to emphasize bright, shiny colors and make the dance fun for the kids and their parents,” said Bassery, sporting a metallic shirt.

The students and their families are "all in" at Sawyer Road Elementary School's first-ever dance. (Photo Courtesy of Majid Bassery)

A big hit were the glow sticks sold by Sparkles at Kennesaw which donated part of the profits to the school. Two churches also helped sponsor the dance, including Wright Street Baptist Church and HOPE Worldwide — North River Church. Bassery said support from Marietta Power and Water was also helpful.

Part of the initiative of starting an annual dance was to destress, relax and have fun before Spring Break, which leads to a week of testing. Bassery explained that the Georgia Milestones Assessment System (GMAS) is a series of tests that follow the week off, so the timing of this new tradition will help launch a period of vacation before a focused testing period.

While all of the students and many of the parents were born long after the 1970s, some of the classic songs have lived on and still provided fun for only $5 per student with a parent.

“We are thrilled with the $1,200 raised,” he said. “The money will be used to expand our special events so we can host even larger events for our families.”

MEET OUR PARTNER