Mrs. Del Conte, career counselor and main organizer of this inaugural event on November 8, describes the etiquette dinner as an event that is designed to give students the required skills they will need to know for future dinners including business dinners, job interviewers, and meeting potential in-laws. Every adult at some point in their life will find themselves in a position where they need to know how to eat a formal dinner, so the etiquette dinner helps prepare students for their future. The etiquette dinner was an event held annually where Mrs. Del Conte used to work and most universities hold an etiquette dinner to help prepare seniors in college who are preparing to get a full time job.
Mrs. Del Conte felt bringing the etiquette dinner to the high school level would be beneficial because it would give Hamburg Area High School juniors and seniors a head start compared to other high school students that will most likely not get an experience like this until they are a senior in college. It is never too early to learn proper etiquette skills and there are many juniors and seniors who are not looking to attend college. This means they would not get this opportunity in college either like other college bound students which is why it is important to provide accessibility to an event like this in high school. Also, there are seniors in high school who may meet with colleges to discuss scholarships for athletics and it will be helpful for these students to know how to eat a formal dinner. Overall, waiting until senior year of college to learn etiquette skills does not make sense, according to Mrs. Del Conte, and holding the etiquette dinner in high school will help high school students prepare for important dinners they will have while still in high school and is an available opportunity for students that do not plan on attending college. Mrs. Del Conte began preparing this event in the beginning of the school year, and it took a couple weeks because she wanted to ensure that Hamburg Area High School could get on the presenter’s schedule and that no other school or athletic events were occurring.
The presenter, Mr. Michael True, told Mrs. Del Conte he was very impressed with the attentiveness and maturity of the students who attended the dinner. Mrs. Del Conte absolutely plans on holding another etiquette dinner, potentially next spring or fall. She also sent out an email to those who attended so that they can provide feedback because Mrs. Del Conte is always open to making these events better the more they occur.
Originally, Mrs. Del Conte was hoping to have more students sign up and be involved with the etiquette dinner. However, she realizes that this was a new event that many students were unsure of and having a smaller group for the first time this dinner occurred was helpful because there was more personalized attention and it was not too overwhelming for students. One thing Mrs. Del Conte would like to improve upon is student involvement. Even though the first dinner went great with a small group of students, the etiquette dinner is a wonderful opportunity that many students should attend. Getting students to realize that the etiquette is a fun and important event is an obstacle Mrs. Del Conte is trying to overcome. What is really important to her is figuring out what obstacles are prohibiting students from attending the dinner like transportation or schedule conflicts so that she can figure out a way to overcome those obstacles and ensure everyone has an equal opportunity. Mrs. Del Conte did not have one specific favorite thing that happened at the dinner, but she enjoyed the funny moments like when everyone realized they put their name tag on wrong or when Mr. True played a funny etiquette dinner video at the end. Mrs. Del Conte says she is extremely proud of every student who took the initiative to attend and she was so impressed with the attentiveness, participation, and maturity she saw in that group of students.
Summer Bonser, a junior at HAHS, was invited to the etiquette dinner as all juniors and seniors were. At first, she debated on going, however, she ultimately decided to go because her parents highly recommended the experience so she could learn how to have a formal dinner and the persuasion of her friends. Summer is glad she attended because she was able to learn a few things, enjoy good food, and have fun with her friends. Her favorite part about the dinner was eating and enjoying the conversations with the people at her table. One thing Summer learned was that when eating bread, she should pick off a small piece, butter it, and then eat it. She also learned to put her napkin on her seat if she gets up and is not done earring or if she is done eating to put her napkin on the table. If another etiquette dinner takes place, Summer says she will attend it, but only for the social aspect since she already learned a lot at her first one. This new event was held at the recently finished Hamburg Wherehouse, a venue right here in Hamburg, is run and owned by the food service director, Mr. David Shefter and his family. Summer had not seen the wherehouse before the night of the dinner. She said it looked very nice and she liked that the building still had some of its original features but with a modern take on the design. Summer would like to say to students, “I really think other students should go because it was a great experience and they could learn something from it.” One improvement she thinks could be added to this event is to play low volume soft music in the background to lighten the mood.
