On Thursday, March 14th, River Dell’s sophomore students will travel to the Hackensack Golf Club for the annual Sophomore Social. The students will be bussed and treated with food, drinks, and a dance floor to party on for the night. The event was organized by the class of 2026 advisor, Ms. Schiff.
“The [sophomore] social is the last dinner-dance that students at River Dell have, and then we start moving into proms. It’s just a fun night where you get to get dressed up and to dance with your friends, eat some good food, and enjoy your night.”

As the class advisor, Ms. Schiff had a lot of responsibilities when it came to creating this social. “I had to book the venue, book the DJ, organize all the busses and bus lists, collect permission slips, payments, communicate with the students, so pretty much, I had a lot to handle, but there was also input from the class advisors, and they really helped to pick some of the DJ’s, so that was a sophomore recommendation,” Schiff stated.

One of the biggest sources of input came with help towards the music selection. Students were allowed to choose songs to add to the playlist that will be played at the dance. However, there was a common theme with the same songs being chosen by different students. Sophomore class president, Lucas Iturrate, said, “It seemed like every student was choosing the same song, so I had to add in a few more songs to vary the song choice. The top song is “Fiend” by Travis Scott, followed by “Mo Bamba” by Sheck Wes.”

The students are very excited for the event. Nate Silverstein stated, “I’m excited to go because the formal last year was a lot of fun, so now that we are older, this dance should be more fun than the last.”
Last year, the class of 2026 were treated to the Freshman Formal event. Ms. Schiff stated, “The only thing that’s really different is that you guys [the sophomore class] are a little bit older and you are going to a different venue, and there might be some surprising things planned for you guys.”

The event is not mandatory, as some kids will be missing the event to attend other activities. Maya Picinich is one of a couple that will be missing the event. She said, “We had tickets to a Zach Bryan concert that was scheduled before the Sophomore social had been announcer.” Ms. Schiff stated that about 184 students of the sophomore class will be attending.

Even though this will be the last dinner-dance event for the class before they begin their proms, Ms. Schiff did not rule out a possible class trip later in the year. “I am looking into doing something at the end of the year whether it is white-water rafting, six flags, or some type of event at the school. Mr. Pepe and I are still in communication about what that’s going to look like, but the goal is yes, we’re going to do something else by the end of the year.”