JACKSON – Ahoy matey! Every May, there is always a tradition worth waiting for… “Once a Jag, Always a Jag” which notes that a very special reunion of students and staff will come about.
This year’s reunion dance featured a pirate theme and included, food, fun, dancing and costumes.
School District Paraprofessional Michelle Sheeran told The Jackson Times that “for over 25 years our school community at Jackson Township High School has hosted an annual reunion dance for students and graduates of our special education program.”
“This event brings together former students, families, and staff for an evening of connection, music and celebration and it has become a meaningful tradition where past graduates return each year to reconnect with friends and create lasting memories,” Sheeran added.
She noted that the dance is especially significant because “it provides a welcoming and inclusive space for individuals who may not always have access to social events like this. Many attendees look forward to it all year, and it continues to strengthen the bonds within our community.”
Beth Marvin told The Jackson Times how the tradition all started with her and Susan Young. “We both started in the SMART Program in 2011. Mrs. Young came from McAuliffe Middle School, and I was new to the district. During our first year together, we received phone calls from former students asking when the dance was being held this year. After investigating, we learned that every year, before we started in the JMHS SMART program, the former teacher, Anna Rose, would have an annual dance that the students looked forward to. Of course, we could not let the students down. We planned and prepped for our first Reunion Dance, as we now call it, and the theme was a luau.”
She added, “our staff and the Jackson Community were so generous in helping make this event a great success. Mrs. McGinley, who adored our students, rallied all the Jag gear you could ever imagine to hand out as party favors.”
“Years went by, and the dance continued to get better and bigger! Every year was a different theme, and the students who graduated always knew they still had a connection with the school they had spent so many years in. This was our motivation for keeping this tradition alive,” Marvin added.
Marvin noted that a few years ago, “we started using our dances to give back to others. Our class was involved in the Blessing Bag Brigade of New Jersey. We collected deodorant, soap, socks, shampoo, toothpaste, etc. to fulfill the bag’s needs.”
“Last year’s dance theme was a Sock Hop. We collected socks for the less fortunate. Fellow teachers, such as Mrs. Cann and Mrs. Stallone, use the collection as extra credit. The JMHS PTSN spread the word to their community. As well as all the students and staff attending the dance,” Marvin noted.
“Our sock collection was counting up, and we are proud to have collected 1,136 pairs of socks for men, women, and children. Our Reunion Dance had a new location this year, our current home at Jackson Township High School. All the same traditions, same faces, but a new location. It was a pirate theme,” she said. Marvin noted, “staff come together to make the decorations. We even had an interactive ship built from cardboard. Jackson Education Association (aka JEA Pride/Fast) donated grant money over the last two years to help with the costs of the dance.”
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