MORP (Prom spelled backwards) is an amazing opportunity for students to enjoy a school dance with their friends or significant other. MORP also serves as a fundraiser for the Make A Wish Foundation. MORP is Sadie Hawkins styled dance, meaning girls are supposed to ask the boys to the dance. The dance is going to be held from 7:00-10:00 pm in the middle gym on February 16th, 2023. Admission is $10 and tickets will be sold at the door.

MORP’s theme this year is going to be Abbie’s Paradise, which allows students to dress more casually instead of having to get dressed up formally. This can relieve students’ stress because the thought of “will my dress or suit be fancy enough” will not cross their mind. While students still dress up, students also plan to fit the theme of Abbie’s Paradise, which is a tropical theme this year. Typically dances with a theme like this allows students to use what they already have instead of buying something new. Speaking to freshman Petra Swanson, we gained an idea of what school dances are like from an underclassman point of view.

“I’m usually interested in a few school dances. But it really depends on who I’m going with rather it be a date or my friends,” Swanson shared.

School dances and the attendance to them typically is dictated by if students know other people who are going. This typically stems from a fear of social settings with large numbers of people. People are less likely to go to large social events without someone they know because it pushes people out of their comfort zone. 

“I think MORP could be a good opportunity for freshmen since we can’t go to prom. It’s also a nice way for freshmen to get more comfortable with the social setting with the other grade levels,” Swanson explained.

While MORP is a good opportunity for underclassmen as a whole, it is another chance for freshmen to gain another great memory for their first year of high school.

“Personally when I go to a dance I like to dress up nice, but overall for everyone else I feel it may cause less stress for students to not have to dress up,” Swanson stated.

 Abbie’s Paradise gives MORP an original theme from other dances Air Academy High School has held in the past.

“I didn’t get the chance to go to MORP last year because I had something else I had to attend to. However I look forward to going this year,” sophomore Erin Yalung explained.

Students who were unable to attend last year have another chance to come to MORP for the first or last time this year.

“I feel Paradise could be a fun way to get students intrigued in the dance because it’s something we haven’t done before,” Yalung explained.

MORP is overall a great opportunity for students to enjoy a school dance. This dance also will benefit the Make A Wish fundraiser which will over benefit Abbie and her family. While MORP is a great opportunity for underclassmen due to the fact they were unable to attend prom, upperclassmen can also enjoy MORP.