On Tuesday, February 26, 2013, the Italian, French, German and Spanish honor societies hosted an International Dinner for senior citizens at West Milford High School.

            Starting at 4:30, senior citizens were welcome into WMHS cafeteria where a plethora of meals was provided. The food was made by the students of the world language honor societies. These foods consisted of, but were not limited to, salads, potato pancakes, empanadas, chili, chicken parm, potato and cheese pierogi and broccoli quiche. Also, there were various desserts along with coffee for after their meal.

            The students of these four honor societies not only prepared the food for the event, but they also served the senior citizens and helped to assist them in whatever they may have needed. The students were more than happy to do this and were all smiles the whole time. Kelly DeNaples, member of the Italian honor society and one who acted as a server, exclaimed, “This was a really fun experience, and all the food smelled amazing.” Another member of the Italian honor society, Christal Torres, assisted the senior citizens and stated, “I had such a fun time doing this! It makes me really happy to meet the seniors and have all of this great energy around me.”

            The senior citizens in attendance seemed to enjoy it just as much as the students did. Mrs. Martinelli, former staff member of West Milford High School, showed her excitement and stated how enjoyable an event she thought it was. “Everyone is so nice and we look forward to it every year.” It was great for the students to see the seniors appreciate the dinner so much.

            The money made from this fundraiser goes toward many things. First, it paid a valuable cafeteria worker for her help in heating and putting out meals. These were extra hours she put in and they were not mandated as part of her job. Also, some of the money is used to purchase extra supplies that are not provided by the students, such as table cloths and coffee. The remainder of the money fundraised gets split evenly into the honor societies accounts. Items needed for the graduation ceremony, such as tassels and certificates are then bought. Although the dinner acted as a fundraiser for the honor societies, the main reason for this event is service.

            Following the dinner, the senior citizens had the opportunity to attend a performance of the high school play, “The Drowsy Chaperone.” For an inexpensive price of $8 per person, senior citizens had a memorable night of dinner and a theater.