For students, the Covid-19 pandemic has continued to put the typical high school path of events on a series of unexpected sidetracks. Upon returning to in-person learning for the current school year, the administration has taken wary steps toward reintroducing beloved school events: football games, the homecoming dance, prom and pep rallies, just to name a few. 

Amongst these events is the highlight of junior year: the junior banquet. Typically held at hotels like the Gaithersburg Hilton, the event is also known as a sort of “junior prom”; a formal dance held exclusively for the junior class, instead of the joint junior and senior prom schools like Poolesville High School hold. Covid-19 has compromised the banquet for Wootton classes of 2020, 2021 and 2022. However, for the class of 2023, with additional Covid-guidelines, the event has resumed. 

Class of 2023 Sponsor Lisa Young has been actively involved in the planning for this year’s banquet. “I’m super proud of the officers and planners because Covid has changed a lot and we’re working with what we’ve been able to do. I think it’s going to be a really good event,” Young said.

Strict Wootton and MCPS guidelines for school events left the banquet on a rough start. Junior planners, upon hearing it was to be held in the lower parking lot, had mixed reactions to the change of traditional circumstance. 

Many of the planners, including junior Kaitlin Mariani, were disappointed by the initial inconsistencies in directions and regulations so close to the event. “I wasn’t satisfied with it until they got it moved inside, and even after that I think they could’ve made it better,” Mariani said. 

Others agreed. “No, I’m absolutely not satisfied with how things are going. I was hoping it’d be inside and I don’t know where we’re supposed to park. It all seems very disorganized,” junior Maddy O’Halloran said.

Luckily, just in time for the event, things turned out for the better. After a discussion with the junior class officers, Principal Kimberly Boldon allowed the banquet to be held inside the Commons and courtyard area. “We voiced the concerns and feedback from our classmates and arranged a meeting with Ms. Boldon, and she was really understanding and made it an easy process to change the location from the parking lot to inside. We are very fortunate,” junior class vice president Hope Safai said. 

Many juniors opted not to attend the actual school event, choosing instead to celebrate in other ways. “We went to D.C., took pictures, ate at Clyde’s and had an afterparty at a friend’s house,” junior Jason Lee said. 

Those who went had generally positive feedback on the final event. Junior Talia Giro, winner of the Most Likely to Become an Influencer superlative, was amongst the crowd.  “I would say the junior banquet went well. I had fun because I was with all my friends and I won an award. I don’t have high standards for these types of events as long as the music is good, but you could tell it was boring for other people,” Giro said. 

In an attempt to retain some of the aspects of a typical junior banquet, the class officers arranged for Sophomore Planning to assist in setup and serving. Sophomore R.J. Cui was one of the waiters at the event. “Serving at junior banquet was a really fun experience. I got to meet a lot of new people and make a lot of new friends,” Cui said. 

Given the circumstances, the event turned out to be a success. Class president Max Choi reflected on the turnout and general quality of the banquet. “Overall, given the constantly changing circumstances that we were in, the junior banquet turned out to be pretty successful in my opinion. We still had a phenomenal turnout, our ‘juice’ bar was a success, we had amazing decorations, and it seemed like everyone had a good time. Especially considering the weather, I’m just glad that we didn’t have it in the parking lot,” Choi said.

While the banquet was not held in the formal manner of the traditional banquets of the past, its contributions are steadfast in scale, and Choi is optimistic for the class of 2023’s senior year. “Now that we have the experience of planning these events, I’m 100% sure that our senior planning next year will be able to effectively plan out events like POTH, TNL, Senior picnic and of course, prom,” Choi said.