Whether they come to have a good time, connect with neighboring school districts or gain leadership experience, guests, teachers and student volunteers keep coming back year after year to the Riverside School District’s annual Valentine’s Day Dance. This year’s dance took over the Riverside Fi eld House on the morning of Feb. 19. Riverside student volunteers loudly clapped and cheered for guests as they entered, while a dance area, music, crafts, games and food awaited those who stepped inside. Seniors Devin Sebulski, Grady Marn and Sophia Frate were among the student volunteers who helped make the annual event happen. Frate said that they have been helping for the past four years. “We heard about the Valentine’s Day dance and all the good it can do, and then we wanted to be involved in it, and then through our leadership class we kind of took on the position of putting it all together and finding all the donations and stuff like that, finding volunteers,” she said. The students said that they have taken on more leadership roles over the years. “It’s definitely helped me with dealing with different types of people and seeing different needs and just getting to know the different levels too, just different needs for different people and just giving back,” Frate said. Marn said he loves what they do at the dance, and he thinks he will take what he has learned into the future. “It definitely has shown me a lot and really just shown me what I love to do and how to just deal with everyone’s uniqueness,” he said. Riverside High School students pose after greeting guests at the school's Valentine's Day Dance on Feb. 19. Students outside the field house entrance clapped and cheered as guests arrived. (Bryson Durst -- The News-Herald)Decorations line the entrance to the Riverside Schools Field House during the Feb. 19 Valentine's Day Dance. (Bryson Durst -- The News-Herald)A sign in front of the Riverside Schools Field House welcomes visitors to the district's Feb. 19 Valentine's Day Dance. (Bryson Durst -- The News-Herald)Guests dance, play games and socialize during the Riverside School District's Valentine's Day Dance on Feb. 19. (Bryson Durst -- The News-Herald)Show Caption1 of 4Riverside High School students pose after greeting guests at the school's Valentine's Day Dance on Feb. 19. Students outside the field house entrance clapped and cheered as guests arrived. (Bryson Durst -- The News-Herald)Expand Sebulski said volunteering at the dance has helped him “be a better person overall.” “We socialize a lot and we play games that help them with school work, and that’s how I’ve learned to be with them and care for them a lot more,” he said. Neighboring districts have also returned to the dance year after year. Perry Schools teacher Heather Horton described the dance as “a great social opportunity for all of our students to interact with different students from different school districts.” Perry intervention specialist Jennifer LaBoe said that the district brought eight students with special needs who “get to practice social skills in supportive environments.” Chardon Schools intervention specialist Amanda Bunker said that the guests can “socialize with each other, learn how to work with other people and how to integrate themselves into different areas,” which she described as important social skills. “Once they came once, they always beg to come back the next year,” Bunker said. Riverside teacher and event organizer Korene Engelking estimated that about 250 guests and 50 volunteers were set to come from Lake County and surrounding areas. She said that students in the district’s SIDE Leadership class helped plan the event. ...read more read less