Walking down the Circle of Friends hallway in the weeks leading up to April 1st, students got a sneak peak of the extravagant Grand Ball decorations. The members of COF, including Junior Emma Ostermann, could not wait to put on their masks and party at “A Night in New Orleans.”

“The Grand Ball is like prom, but for all the people in Circle of Friends,” Emma said. “It is definitely the most memorable thing that happens in COF.”

Every member in the club takes the opportunity to escort one of the COF students into the grand ball.

“My friends Kirtana, George, and I escorted senior Nathan Wise,” Emma said. “It was really exciting walking through the saber arch!”

Once inside the venue, faculty and students alike were dazzled by the extravagant Mardi Gras themed decorations they put together. Everybody enjoyed the barbeque dinner and the lively music that kept everyone on the dance floor.

“Everyone danced- even the teachers!” Emma said. “The music was very upbeat; thankfully there were only a handful of slow songs so we were able to dance a lot.”

While it was great making fun memories with the seniors, it will make it harder for Emma to say goodbye to them at the end of the school year.

“I’ve grown very close to a lot of the seniors so it’ll definitely be hard to say goodbye at the end of the year,” Emma said. “COF has become such a huge part of my life that I cannot imagine not being a member anymore. It’s so important to me because it allowed me to make so many lifelong friends.”