Dougherty Elementary Dances the Night Away

James Dougherty Elementary School in Dublin hosted its first ever Family Dance Night and the hosts cordially invited students and families to "Seas" the night and 'dive under the sea' in the multi-purpose room that was decorated in aquatic style.

The Dougherty Family Dance Night was sponsored by the PFC and chaired by Deepa Desai, Mrs. Carissa Lagasca and Aarti Nihalani.

The organizers were extremely grateful to Amador Elementary PFC for the use of their incredible “coral” and underwater “reef” set pieces. All were made by a single amazingly creative parent, Haruko Nakayama.

Catherine Kuo, a Dougherty parent said " I want to give a special 'Shout Out' to Haruko Nakayama for her wonderful special noodle-y effects as it made our first dance really special!" Many others commented on the remarkable creativity and planned to use the ideas for future events.

To enhance the ‘Under the Sea’ theme blue and white twinkling lights adorned the ceiling and walls thanks to the efforts of school custodian, Mr. David Harleman.

All those who arrived dressed to impress had an opportunity to make memories at the wonderfully creative photo booth. The colorful coral reef display and props, including a shark head, were a huge hit.

Music was provided by DJ Mark from Acebedo Mobile and to ensure that the dancers heard their favorite tunes and made the most of their time on the dance floor a suggestion box had been set up prior to the event to add to the playlist. Light food and drink were on sale and colorful slushees provided some welcome refreshment for the enthusiastic dancers.

A surprise visit was also made by the Dougherty Dolphin, their School Mascot.

Volunteers including parents and middle and high schoolers generously donated their time to help make the event a success.

This was indeed one memorable night in the Dougherty dairies .

Photo Credit for featured 'Coral Reef' image: Catherine Kuo