Prom is the cherry on top of senior year as it’s the last event before graduation. It’s one of the most anticipated events in high school because it’s a night full of fun, dancing, taking pictures, and getting glammed up.

The Dance

   This year’s Prom was held on Saturday, May 13^th from 6:30 p.m. to 12 a.m. at the Treetop Ballroom in Jungle Island. Tickets were $70 and the theme was “20s in Paris”, which was chosen by the senior board and SGA.

For most seniors, Prom is one of the highlights of senior year. “I decided to attend Prom because it was a chance to dress up and be a princess for one more night as a proud Stingaree,” said Daniela Avila.

Ronald Christalin attended because he was “looking forward to shut down prom with [his] Miami Vice look,” and enjoy his last senior event.

After a buffet-style dinner, the seniors hit the dance floor. Franco Hernandez believes that the best part about Prom was the dancing because they had a good amount of time to dance.

At one point during the night, Prom King Juan Alvarado and Queen Maryory Matute were announced. Both didn’t expect to win royalty that night.

Juan said, “I didn’t even know I was nominated until a friend told me they had voted for me. It felt surreal because there are many people much more popular than I am, but I’m thankful to everyone who voted for me.”

“I was shocked when my name was called, but the best part was spending time with my close friends and my cute date,” said Maryory. 

Rules and Regulations

Anyone could attend, but if you were not a senior, you had to be a guest of a senior. If your guest was over 21, he/she had to bring an ID and have their picture taken by Ms. Rivero in the activities office when purchasing a ticket. The reason for this is because they didn’t want anyone at the prom if they didn’t belong there.

There were some restrictions for prom. First off, you had to be cleared for graduation which meant that you had to have turned in your community service hours, virtual school final grade report, passed all your EOCs and the FSA, and had taken the ACT or SAT.

There were certain behavior guidelines that had to be followed on the night of the big dance. For example, alcohol, drug, and tobacco were not to be used during the dance. Exiting the event meant that you weren’t allowed back in. And any behavior deemed inappropriate by the chaperones would not be tolerated.

As for the dress code, since it was a formal event, jeans, cargo pants, shorts, sneakers, sandals, and flip flops were not allowed. For girls, there was to be no bare midriffs, lower back showing, cleavage, slits past three inches above the knee, see through dresses, or dresses shorter than fingertip length.  For boys, dress shirt and dress pants were required. 

Preparation

The senior class and next year’s elected SGA officers were the ones in charge of putting everything together. According to SGA President Pablo Iraheta, the officers helped make the decorations during their monitor periods and after school.

On the day of the big event, with help from the advisors, officers from each class went to the place where the dance was held and helped put together the tables, centerpieces, lighting, etc.

The preparation for the seniors was another story. Jessica Garcia said that it was stressful finding a place that did good hair and makeup as well as getting a custom-made dress.

Not only that, but Prom can be costly. Nicole Fernandez spent over $470 on the ticket, dress, and shoes.

Daniela Avila believes that the dance was not worth $70 because it didn’t meet all her expectations.     

After Prom

After the dance ended, class and SGA officers stayed to take down all the decorations. Class of 18 Secretary Helen Acevedo said, “some of us stayed until 2 A.M. taking everything down but it was an overall fun experience.”

Some seniors weren’t ready to go home after prom. Enrique Rivero headed to an after party with his friends where he said all went well and he had a lot of fun.

Nicole Fernandez left Prom at around 12 and went to a hotel with a couple of her friends to spend the night together. 

Overview

While Prom was an unforgettable night for the people who attended, some had mixed opinions. Elizabeth Davila thought that the music and decorations could’ve been better.

Franco Hernandez didn’t like that the ticket said to be there at 6:30 but they didn’t open the doors until 8.

Jenny Corbea said, “There shouldn’t be requirements to attend because everyone deserves to experience their special night.”

According to Class of 17 Treasurer Karina Garcia, this year’s Prom had the highest attendance from the past years with over 500 seniors in attendance. Overall, the night was special for the seniors, as it was the icing on the cake of a great senior year.