Junior class officer Dalia Housey makes an effort to attend her school’s daddy daughter dance every year. Housey and her father try to make each dance as special as they can. This tradition has been around for over 40 years and builds bonds between daughters and their dads while they enjoy a great night filled with activities, dancing, and conversation. Housey and her dad attended the Mercy Daddy Daughter Dance on February 1 and plan on going to the next one. 

The daddy daughter dance’s theme was “starry night”, and the lobby was decorated with stars and moons hanging from the ceiling. To make it as special as they can, the junior class officers (who organize the dance each year) set up stations where a dad and daughter could color, play card games, or create friendship bracelets for one another. The entertainment for the night was a fun game of jeopardy including categories of movies, various Mercy-related topics, sports, etc. Awards to the dads and daughters were given out and ranged from best dressed to best dance moves. Of course, people also had a great time dancing in the gym

Finally, towards the end of the night, senior Dayton McGrail gave a speech to her dad about the importance of these daddy daughter dances and why they mean so much to her. McGrail and her dad have been going to daddy daughter dances since she went to Holy Name and Shrine Catholic Schools and have continued the tradition onto high school. 

“To me, it gives me and my dad the opportunity to have special time together,” said McGrail. “It gives us our own space and moments without the rest of our family—just the two of us. I’m going to college in a year, so I want to try to spend as much time with my dad as possible.” 

The junior class officers put unrecognized work into organizing the dance and those efforts paid off as they sold 115 tickets and raised over $4,000; the money raised will be going towards their senior prom. 

“So much time has been put into the dance before school, countless hours after school, and it all adds up,” said Housey. “Daddy daughter dances are so special because they dedicate time to not only bond[ing] with your dad over dancing, but also take nice pictures that in 20 years, you look back and remember the good times.”