While most students finished their school day, Carlmont High School’s Associated Student Body (ASB) was already working to bring this year’s Winter Formal to life.
ASB members junior Penelope Townsend and junior Leala Littlejohn D. Corpuz worked with their peers to plan, organize, and set up the event, which featured the theme “Cloud Nine.” The dance was designed to feel light, elegant, and memorable for students.
Planning for Winter Formal began months in advance with the selection of the theme, according to Townsend.
“Our lead facilitator, Sophie, came up with our theme in her freshman year and finally got the opportunity to design it,” Townsend said. “Our vision was to create a dreamy environment for students to enjoy.”
That vision guided decisions about decorations, lighting, colors, and the overall layout of the venue.
Townsend and Littlejohn D. Corpuz said organizing a large event like Winter Formal requires steady effort and long-term planning.
“We spend about three months planning every aspect of Winter Formal,” Littlejohn D. Corpuz said. “ASB’s main responsibility is to serve the student body. Each class and even our free time is dedicated to organizing activities for students. Our objective is to create a sense of spirit, community, and safety at Carlmont.”
Once the theme was chosen, ASB members formed committees to manage decor, logistics, and coordination. Townsend said students worked together to find ways to represent clouds and create a sky-like feeling while keeping the event formal, spending hours putting together decorations and organizing materials to make sure each detail matched the theme.
According to Townsend and Littlejohn D. Corpuz, much of ASB’s work happens behind the scenes and is often unnoticed. Beyond decorations, ASB also handles the logistical side of the event. This includes working with budgets, managing schedules, coordinating sales, and making sure preparations are completed on time.
“Something that students don’t realize is that a lot of our work involves communicating with professionals, venue and catering coordinators, and DJs,” Littlejohn D. Corpuz said.
Inclusivity is another important goal for ASB when planning Winter Formal. While commissioners make many decisions, student input is considered for choices that directly affect attendees.
“If it’s a topic that would have a greater impact on the student body at the dance, like the food menu, we will take a vote from everyone in ASB to gauge the most popular selections,” Littlejohn D. Corpuz said.
As the event approached, ASB hoped students would focus on the experience rather than the planning behind it.
“We hope students bring enough energy for it to be remembered. We want them to reminisce about how the dance made them feel, whether it was who they were with, the music, or the dancing,” Townsend said.
For students who attended Winter Formal, the event showed the effort ASB put into every detail.
“Everything felt really well organized, and the energy stayed high the entire night. You could tell a lot of effort was put into it, and it definitely paid off,” said sophomore Ananti Badhwar.
