Hugh Bish students get fancy, ready to party

They came dressed to party. And party they did after they got their hair and nails done and learned to tie a necktie.

The special occasion was the first Fancy Friends Day at Hugh Bish Elementary School on Feb. 13, which was the brainchild of Principal Kourtney Colley, who modeled the event after a similar program in Norman.

“This is an opportunity for them to learn etiquette in real-world situations,” Colley said. “We wanted to teach them something they wouldn’t learn on a typical basis. They will grow up one day and they will need to learn how to sit at a dinner table and communicate. We hope they learn something they can use.”

One of the skills Colley hoped her young students would learn was how to tie a necktie. For that endeavor, she enlisted the help of volunteer Michael Beadles, from Hope Church in Lawton.

“I heard about the event at church and saw it as an opportunity to volunteer,” he said as he arranged several dozen neckties on a table. “At some point in their lives, they probably will go to an activity that is formal. Part of dressing up is tying a tie.”

After trying to teach several hundred students in kindergarten through fifth grade how to master the task, Beadles said it was harder than he thought.

“I really didn’t know it was going to be so hard to teach it,” he said. He first tried to teach the students by standing in front of them, but quickly realized they would have to mirror his movements. Next, he tried to stand with his back to them and look over his shoulder to see if they were following his movements.

“It was kind of like a puzzle to them,” Beadles said.

Finally, Beadles resorted to advising them to watch a video.

Beadles had help with instructing the students. First Lt. Jade Estell, with the 75th Brigade, was one of several volunteers from Fort Sill who assisted with the activity. Although some of the students helped one another, Estell discovered that not everyone was so inclined. One student didn’t want to tie the necktie themselves, she said.

“They said, ‘Can you tie it for me? I just got my nails done’,” she said.

Orin Harroun, 10, fourth grade, expressed his frustration with the task.

“This is as good as it’s going to get,” he said as he flung both ends of a tie over his shoulders.

Would he want to wear a tie all the time?

“No!” was his emphatic response.

Harroun was not the only youngster struggling to master the skill.

Dawson Brookshire, 11, fourth grade, who said he likes to wear ties, was helping his friend Deklyn Haire, 9, fourth grade. But the lesson didn’t seem to be going very well.

“It’s pretty impossible,” Haire said in frustration.

On the other end of the room, volunteers were painting fingernails and fixing hair. Pink fingernail polish proved to be the most popular color, according to those assisting students. Some students weren’t satisfied with just one color but had a different color on each hand or on each fingernail.

Debbie Payne, resource teacher at the school, volunteered to help paint fingernails.

“I know a lot of kids don’t get the opportunity to partake of these opportunities,” Payne said. “I love the smiles on their faces as they are getting pampered. This is something they will remember for the rest of their lives. They love it. They love being catered to.”

Volunteers from Impressions Academy of Beauty helped fix the hair of some students, with the permission of parents. Some little girls had their hair done in braids while others opted for colored tinsel.

“We want to make the kids feel good,” said Krystal Davis, owner of Impressions Academy of Beauty.

The event also allowed the beauty school students to gain experience.

Once everyone was all gussied up, it was time to march down to the gym for a dance, where students entered on a red carpet. Lights, streamers and other decorations were hung from the ceiling to create a disco-type atmosphere. Appropriate dance videos, such as the turkey tango and macarena were played while students danced along. And of course there was the ever popular “YMCA”, with students making the motions and singing along.

Dates were not required at the dance, which Dean Harroun, 5, kindergarten, thought was a good idea, although he admitted to having a crush on a classmate.

Was he going to ask her to be his date at the dance?

“I’m not that ready,” he said. “She would punch me.”

You didn’t have to be a student to enjoy the dance, as three of the volunteers from Fort Sill found the time to join the fourth and fifth graders.

When was the last time they attended a school dance?

“Probably ninth grade,” came the laughing reply.

Colley said this year’s event was a learning experience and she would like to try it again next year.