The Middle School Girls and Boys Basketball teams and Spirit Line came together one last time for a team dinner on Monday night. From 7 to 9 p.m. the multi-purpose room was filled with laughter and the smell of homemade food.

Each team was in charge of bringing a separate dish that would be shared amongst all three teams and their families. Spirit Line brought desserts while the basketball players showed up with different Mexican foods. This was a great way to get everyone together and have a final gathering for most of the players.

The night started out with everyone getting their food. After they sat down, the basketball coaches went onto the stage and each talked about their season. Each team member was then called up and given a certificate of great achievement and performance. Some of the coaches even shared some funny stories of the players, giving everyone in the room a good laugh.

“I think the whole purpose of the dinner was to show the families how close all the teams are,” says seventh grader Naomi Sanders, a member of the Girls’ Basketball team. Her teammate, eighth grader Kenzie Knippers, agreed:  “Even though the season ended, all of us are still a close team.”

The Middle School Spirit Line gave out bags to each player off all three teams, the bags contained a candy bar with a note attached; “Basketball: boys invented it… Girls perfected it.” Dinner was then replaced with dessert and families once again got up to enjoy the delicious sweets set out.

In the end, the night was sort of a “going away” party for the seventh and eighth graders parting ways and for the team members who won’t be attending the same school next year. The purpose was also to celebrate how great of a season all the teams had. The Middle School Basketball Banquet was a fantastic night that will surely be remembered.