Lions and tigers and bears! No! It’s not the Wizard of Oz, but the jungle themed 100 Days Dinner!

Believe it or not, there are less than 100 days of school left, 86 to be exact. The 100 Days Dinner celebrates these final days for the Class of 2014 and faculty. On March 6th, to commemorate ODA, the seniors are “Wild About Our Teachers.”

At the dinner Adil Shariff and Francesca Perrone arrived as monkeys. Carla Gonzalez and Nikki LaSalla came dressed as Jane from Tarzan. Maria Massaro was a lizard. Emily Camire, the jungle, Mr. Lemieux was Max from “Where the Wild Things Are” and so much more.

The jungle theme went beyond the costumes. Each of the eleven tables at the event were decorated with a different animal; having only a budget of $20 per table, the committee did an impeccable job.

Ellie Kimmell and Taylor Karp purchased every decoration needed with the school’s budget while the other members were away for mid-winter break. In the true Ellie fashion, Ellie took the reins and made this dinner possible. Way to go above and beyond girls.

After eating the dinner, a salad, chicken, and pasta buffet and a decedent sundae bar that our very own Brett Schnathmann from Truffle Catering made, each senior read a speech they had written about an ODA teacher. To get ready for the big night, students chose four teachers a week before break. Then Ellie Kimmell and Emily Camire narrowed students’ final choices down to one.

This process is secretive. The teachers don’t know which student will be reading their speech till the night of the event. Some students read them alone while others had one or two others with them. Each three minute speech was a bitter-sweet tribute to both the teachers and one of the last milestones students have reached at ODA. After reading their speeches, the seniors gave the teachers copies of the writing.

Ms. Evans stressed this idea to the seniors before the dinner and told them that the other week she came across a dinner speech made by Taylor Emmons, an ODA alumnus who tragically lost his life in 2010.

Senior Kelli Bagwell was emotional while reading her speech to Mr. Lemieux, whom she had as a teacher since 7th grade.

Mr. Lemieux said, “After I saw Kelli crying, I started crying too.”

Before the evening, Sarah Wilcox said, “I have heard that it will be a lot of fun because we get to have dinner with just the teachers. I’m excited to make my tribute to my teacher and to see how the teachers respond.”

Following up after the dinner, Sarah mentioned that it was one of the most memorable moments she’s had at ODA.

Despite the success of the night, many believed that the theme could have been a lot better and could have created an easier range of costume ideas. Unfortunately, because of the short time the committee had, they decided to choose a manageable theme, explained Ashley Munroe, a member of the committee. Even with an easy theme, some said it was  difficult to put together a creative costume.

100 Days Dinner has been an ODA tradition for many years. The night celebrates the relationship our seniors have with our faculty.

Teachers will have a chance to reciprocate later in the year at the Senior Dinner. At this next ceremonial dinner, the faculty will be making speeches about the seniors as one of the final celebrations to honor seniors.