80's extravaganza at Helen Morgan School

by Rose Sgarlato
SPARTA — What does the 80’s mean to you?
That was the question of the night for 4th graders at Helen Morgan School last Friday, Jan. 26. The students celebrated the colorful decade by donning 80’s outfits and hairdos at the 2nd Annual Totally 80’s Extravaganza.
Bright colors, line dancing and disco music were trending at the event where, in true 80’s fashion, a moonwalk contest and break dance contest were the highlights. Fourth grader Caiden Loyer won for Dress Your Best, donning parachute pants and toting a boom box.
Organized by HMS PTO, the Totally 80’s Extravaganza had a great turnout with about 95 students attending. The dance floor was alive with the music of DJ and parent Orlando Rodriguez who volunteered his services.
The question posed to the young crowd by Sparta Independent was what does the 80’s mean to you? Here are some responses:
“80’s are people that for us they dress ugly and a little hippie like,” said Sophie Wilson.
“ Everything was very bright,” said Alyssa Ciaburri.
“And very crazy,” added Chenin Wilson.
“ I kind of like to be in the 80’s,” said David Muldoon. “Everyone got to do their own thing."
“You can dance and play around,” said Tommy Fossett.
And so for one evening, these happy fourth graders went back in time and did not seem to miss their electronic devices.
“Once again, our parent volunteers put on a great event for our students. And while they may not be familiar with names like Phil Collins, Axl Rose or MC Hammer I think the students really enjoyed themselves,” said Frank Ciaburri, vice principal of Helen Morgan.
Or, as Cyndi Lauper may have put it, kids just wanna have fun.