Wayland High School’s annual sophomore semi-formal is set to take place on Oct. 29 at Wedgewood Pines in Stow, MA. This is the first semi-formal that will be held without COVID-19 protocols in two years.

Class of 2025 class officers and executive board members have been hard at work preparing for the big day. The semi-formal is set to take place from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., with food provided from the Wedgewood Pines’ chefs, music from Wayland High School wellness teacher and science department head John Berry and the possibility of a photo booth.

This event has been a long time coming, as the planning began around late October of 2021. The first decision made in regards to the sophomore semi-formal was the choice of the venue, Wedgewood Pines.

“The class of 2023, the current seniors, [initially] put down a deposit for [Wedgewood Pines],” Class of 2025 President Hassan Rashid said. ”Because of COVID-19, [the seniors] couldn’t have their semi [at Wedgewood Pines], so [now the sophomores] are using it.”

According to Class of 2025 officers, the decision to hold semi-formal at Wedgewood Pines was a rather easy one. When comparing the cost of renting out Wedgewood Pines to other venues, Wedgewood Pines was clearly cheaper, especially since the Class of 2023’s deposit was already put down.

“We reached out to a few places, but [Wedgewood Pines] was the best, [as other places didn’t respond,] and it was just easier [to choose Wedgewood Pines], since they already knew our school,” Class of 2025 Treasurer Tara Sawrikar said.

The sophomore semi-formal will also have a theme. The officers decided to keep decorations ivory and gold, as the tablecloths are all ivory, and they wanted to tie everything together. The class officers are also planning to decorate with uplights and dim lighting.

The venue is also providing the food for the evening. The class officers are planning to serve finger food, such as french fries and tacos, at the event.

“[Wedgewood Pines] has their own chef,” Rashid said. “We just need to request [what food we want] and they’ll make it for us. We are still working on a [menu] with the E-board, but [sophomore’s are] not going to sit down and eat [dinner], [instead, they will just be served] finger food.”

For those with a sweet tooth, desserts like cookies, brownies and cupcakes will be served as well.

Not only is the food unlimited, but the officers have also planned an effective way to circulate the food with help from the staff at Wedgewood Pines.

“45 minutes after the event starts, food is going to come out,” Class of 2025 Secretary Armaan Chaudhry said. “[The food is] going to be refilled an hour and a half towards the later part of the event.”

The officers believe this event will be important to the connectedness of the class as a whole.

“We really want to bring our class together,” Rashid said. “We didn’t get [to go on any of the memorable middle school trips, like] Cape Cod, [the Washington] D.C. [trip], or the cave trip, so we really need a big event to bring our class together.”

The student government has been working hard to make semi-formal a night to remember for the Class of 2025.

“I have been personally [speaking] with the venue owner, and we’ve gotten a lot of information,” Chaudhry said, “We’ve [also] had multiple officer meetings and an executive board meeting. In the officer meetings, we collect data, and in the executive board meetings, we get input from everyone about what we should do. We’ve taken actions [in terms of] how we’ve set the event up, [and] we created a set of goals from the very start.”

Working with their advisors, the class officers have also shortened the length of their semi from three and a half hours down to three hours, realizing that if it went on too long, people may leave early. They are also working to make semi affordable to their class, with tickets being $35.

“The goal of the tickets [is not] to make money off of this, [but] to [not] lose money because we still want to save for prom,” Chaudhry said.

The officers have also taken preventative measures to make sure the night goes smoothly and safely.

“The plan is to have the executive board [members] ask teachers if they want to chaperone semi-formal,” Class of 2025 Vice President Henry Han said. “Our goal is to have around 10 or so teachers to make sure the event doesn’t go wrong.”

The excitement and meticulous planning of the officers is reflected in the students of the Class of 2025. Many students have already begun to plan the details of their night.

“I have been preparing for semi-formal by finding my dress and getting it altered, figuring out how to match with my date and figuring out what jewelry and shoes I’m going to wear,” sophomore Aidan Shapley said. “I hope semi-formal is really fun, and I hope people enjoy it.

The officers have been putting in tremendous effort to ensure a great night for their fellow classmates, and the effort has not gone unnoticed by many sophomores.

“I hope for semi to be great, which is why we’re working so hard.” Chaudhry said. “I’m excited [for semi-formal].”