Dance the day away

Nearly 1,000 students at Wilson Middle School showed up for the

school’s first dance of the 2002-03 school year Wednesday. Students

in sixth, seventh and eighth grades participated in the “welcome

back” dance, most of them dressed in casual clothes. School Principal

Richard Lucas said the first dance of the year is always a big event

for students, even if they don’t dance. “A lot of them don’t get out

there and dance, but they definitely like to come and hang out with

each other,” Lucas said. “Some of the girls like to get a little

dolled up, but only what’s acceptable based on the dress code.” A

professional DJ played popular music for students to dance to. The

first dance of the year is also the first time the school’s

sixth-grade pilot program students have attended a school dance. For

most of the seventh-graders, it is also the first time they have been

to a school dance, Lucas said.