School Square Dances Their Way to Success

Frank Augustus Miller Middle School square danced their way to victory last week, as they successfully broke their own Guinness World Record for Largest Square Dance. Miller Teacher and organizer of the event Teresa “Terri” Lowery explained that their road to victory started in January as the PE Department began the unit on square dancing. A parent of one of the students told them about the current Guinness World Record for Largest Square Dance. The first goal was to break the record of 800. “We did it, too,” Lowery added. “With almost 1,000 7th and 8th grade students. We knew it was possibility.” Therefore their goal for the square dance this past Friday was to beat their own record, having over 1,000 dancers. “The event went so much better than we expected. The support that we received from a local square dance club, Riverside Single Swingers, was amazing,” she said. They supported and participated in the event as they helped monitor the dancing and also held a performance for everyone. According to Lowery, Guinness rules require that all students attempting the record dance for at least five minutes. Therefore, they had two designated “timers” that recorded the dance for a total of six minutes and twenty-six seconds. Just like that, with a total of 1,040 students, staff, board members, and parents square dancing the school day away, the goal was met. According to Lowery, students learn how to square dance in their Physical Education (PE) classes for about three to four weeks. The PE Department, who recently won the county’s Model of Excellence award, has actually been teaching students how to square dance since 2009, the year the school opened. Lowery added, “We have a family atmosphere at our school, and we strive to create lasting memories for our students. I hope this one stays with them for years to come.”