Isabel Lawrence and Emily Jackson
News Editor & Reporter
The 53rd annual Senior Post Prom headed by post prom committee members Colleen Baldwin and Sharon Driscoll will be held tonight at Waveny as a final memory for the class of 2012. With games, prizes and a top secret theme the post prom tradition carries on, acting as a safe place for seniors and their dates can finish the night.
Co-chairs Ms. Baldwin and Ms. Driscoll said that behind the one night of post prom comes months of preparation. “Sharon and I got involved right about now, this time last year,” Ms. Baldwin said. “The PFA [Parent Faculty Association] nominating committee nominates people the third or fourth week of April, and they reached out to Sharon and I to co-chair and we were really excited.”
The committee members worked together to choose decorations, games and, most importantly, the theme. Past themes included “James Bond 007” for the class of 2007, “Hang 10” for the class of 2010, “Leaving the Next Station to Heaven,” for 2011. “The unwritten rule is you never do anything similar in the last ten years,” Ms. Baldwin said. “This year everyone agreed on one theme we all liked.”
Games and prizes aside, post prom serves a bigger purpose than allowing students to take home gifts. “I think [the reasoning is]to provide a safe place for high school seniors to party from midnight to about five am.” Ms. Baldwin said. “ [It provides] A non-alcoholic, drug free, safe environment.”
Post prom appeals to both parents and students for its safety and activities. “I think people like to be active, so they like a lot of diversity, games and things to do.” Ms. Driscoll said. “ I think we have attempted to do that for many years, this year in particular. I also think they want time to be with their friends and room to move around, and I think we accommodated that.”
However, after the games and entertainment are done, students know they must part with their class. Senior Kellianne Hickey recognized how different life without her peers would be. “It’s going to be a really big change next year when we all go off in our own directions and don’t really hang out as a class anymore,” she said.
For that reason, the highlight of the night is often the senior video, which captures senior memories in 15-16 minutes. “Everybody in that room realizes how quickly 12 years goes by,” Ms. Driscoll said. “This is really the last time where the whole class is together, and I think just to make that as memorable as possible for them is a real goal.”
Junior Emma Urban, who attended post prom as a sophomore, appreciated the night as a whole. “There was a lot of work put in to make it a bonding experience for the senior class, which showed,” Emma said. “I know it was worth it for everyone to stay not only because of the prizes but because of the slideshow at the end which seemed to move everyone.”
Though the theme for this year’s post prom is currently unknown, it is clear that hard work and planning have been put into it. With more games and prizes plus the senior video, post prom is sure to be, as Ms. Driscoll said, “a great cap to a great evening.”
