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Inklings News

Red and White Charity Ball approaches in the new year. Attendance can be very costly as girls, along with buying expensive tickets, they must also purchase a formal outfit.

Red and Whites dance proves unnecessary

Audrey Kercher ’23, Breaking News Manager November 22, 2022

Girls scramble to find dates, popular online stores like Revolve and Bloomingdales are being scoured to try and find the best dress, hair and nail appointments are booked months in advance of February....

The Counties Assemblies nonprofit organization is encouraging upperclassmen at Fairfield County schools to purchase tickets for their annual charity dances, in anticipation of the Nov. 20 registration deadline. I

Fairfield County ushers back Counties Assemblies winter dances

Allison Gillman '23, Business Manager November 20, 2022

The Counties Assemblies non-profit organization will throw its annual winter balls after a two-year pandemic hiatus. Students must meet the registration deadline – Sunday, Nov. 20 – in advance of the...

Dresses at Winged Monkey, a clothing store in Westport, await the rush of junior girls going shopping for their outfits.

Junior girls count down to Counties

Ruby Kantor '24 and Madison Mayr '24, Arts Paper Editor and Sports Paper Editor September 23, 2022

When it comes to school dances, Staples students really look ahead. Counties, the first dance available to juniors, will take place on Jan. 28. Staples, Wilton and Weston students will attend the event...

The Counties Assemblies posted this update to all their social media platforms informing all juniors that the dance would be canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Julien attempts to organize grade-wide dance for juniors

Lily Klau ’23, Creative Director October 29, 2021

Dress, hair, makeup, shoes, date. This is a checklist girls going to The Counties Assemblies Dance follow to ensure an amazing night. But due to COVID-19, this checklist has been taken from juniors’...

The County Assemblies voted that they felt it was best to cancel the dance for juniors this year because of underfunding and the pandemic. The dance, presumably, will return in the future.

Counties dance excludes other communities

Emily Goldstein '23, Paper Features Editor October 25, 2021

Dresses, nails, shoes, makeup and hair are just some of the elements that a girl has to think about when attending the Counties dance. There have always been high expectations as a Staples girl to be perfectly...

On Oct. 5, students across Fairfield County who were planning to attend the 2022 County Charity Ball and the Red and Whites Charity Ball were informed of the dance's cancelation due to a lack of funding from local businesses. (The dates selected do not reflect the original dates of Counties and Red and White dances)

2022 Counties, Red and Whites dances canceled

Hannah Conn ’23, Web Opinion Editor October 7, 2021

The County Charity Ball, affectionately called “Counties,” and Red and Whites Charity Ball, or Red and Whites, were canceled on Oct. 5. Both dances originally had two separate dates in February, one...

The County Assembly Charity Ball, also known as “Counties”, is being held in early 2022, yet many students have already started asking out dates now.

A race to the Counties dance floor: the rush to ask supersedes the dance itself

Anna Diorio ’23, Broadcast Director September 24, 2021

Most generations are familiar with the exciting, albeit somewhat nerve-wracking concept of  school dances. Decades ago, the typical procedure for asking a date to the dance might have been to pop the...

The annual County Assembly Charity Ball- known to students as counties- has been canceled due to COVID-19 concerns.

Junior counties dance cancellation causes mixed emotions

Long dresses, suits and corsages consume the thrilling day as students prepare. Outfits are bought and dates are planned months in advance. Families get together for pictures of their children and watch...

Students gathered with friends before the dance to take pictures with their friends and their dates before they arrived at the dance.

Counties leaves attendees feeling overdressed

Charlotte Smith '21, Staff Writer March 3, 2020

After having attended the Counties assembly dance (one of the most stressful events of junior year), I felt that the event was very underwhelming. The first problem that I found was that the designated...

County Assemblies vote to permit male-male couples to attend future dances

County Assemblies vote to permit male-male couples to attend future dances

Rachel Suggs '21, Paper A&E Editor February 14, 2019

Rachel Suggs ’21   The County Assemblies voted in December to allow male-male couples to attend their 2020 events, the Assemblies announced in an email to Staples’ Gender Sexuality Alliance...

The couple who fought in Aaron Fricke vs. Richard B. Lynch poses before a dance. The Rhode Island court case ruled that same-sex couples can take their partners to school dances.

County Assembly Charity Ball does not offer equal opportunity to same-sex couples

Roxy Augeri ’20 November 27, 2018

For junior girls, the beginning of the year signifies the beginning of an age-old tradition: attending the County’s Assembly Annual Charity Ball, commonly referred to as “Counties.”  For the first...

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