Prom 2009

Another Junior/Senior Prom has come and gone. The Junior class did a great job of planning and executing an amazing event and everyone enjoyed a magical evening.

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The tickets for Prom were quite imaginative as well as practical! It was issued in the form of a sparkling keychain shaped like a theatre ticket. Way too cool!

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Here are Jacob and his date, Nicole, a beautiful Native American. She's in Jacob's culinary arts class and they've become good friends.

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They went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant, Los Corrales, before heading over to Prom at 9:00.

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This year's Prom was held at the Hon-Dah resort on the nearby White Mountain Apache reservation. Hon-Dah means "Welcome."

This picture didn't come out so well, but the professional photographer hasn't posted the pictures on his site yet, so mine will have to do.

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After arrival, the kids walked upstairs to this landing to pose by the Prom 2009 props. Then they proceeded down the stairs on this side to the red carpet leading them into the resort.
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The theme for this year's Prom was "Unmask the Night." The students were encouraged to make and wear fancy, old-fashioned masks like those once worn at the masqued balls of old. Some creative teens painted sparkling curlecues at the corners of their eyes. I wish I'd thought of that!
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Here are Jacob and Nicole at the bottom of the stair. They made it down unscathed, unlike one poor girl who was the evening's only casualty.

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This poor girl posed for her picture not long after Jacob and Nicole passed through. She was wearing a mask over her glasses and she had on high-heeled strapless sandals, a bad combination! She caught her heel in the "2009" prop and fell head-first down the stairs. It was awful.

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I supported her head while others disentangled her and we got her back on her feet. She was shaken but said she was okay and seemed to have fun after that, but I bet she was sore and bruised the next morning.
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Here, Jacob and Nicole walk the red carpet to the ballroom. She's smiling at her mom and brother, who were also taking pictures. They live about a mile from the resort and came to capture the grand entrance!

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This was my first chance to meet Nicole's family. Great people!

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I used to chaperone Prom when my kids were little, but then I stopped for many years. It's a whole different perspective when your own children attend!

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Everyone looked so beautiful and grown up in their lovely formal wear. It made me wish I'd attended my own Prom so long ago.

The DJ had quite an amazing set-up. Behind his station was a huge wall studded with random sparkling lights. It was like looking into the blackness of space sprinkled with twinkling stars. Above that wall were various colored lights that scanned the crowd to the beat of each song.

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The music was much too loud for comfortable conversation, of course, but the kids loved it and danced the night away.

I got a shot of Jacob and Nicole dancing soon after we arrived, before the crowds got so thick that I'd be unable to find them.

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You can see that the ladies were the first on the dance floor. By 10pm, though, the floor was packed wall-to-wall with hundreds of kids. The DJ was really good, inviting participation by the dancers. There was lots of energy out there!
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As for me, I wore the beaded gown Sarah wore to Prom last year and received lots of compliments. All of the white design is actually little white pearls, and the black is filled in with tiny glittering black beads. It's quite a heavy dress and the beads rubbed the insides of my arms raw by midnight, but it was sure fun to dress up and feel glamorous for one night!

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It was a great evening for both students and staff. The kids were excited and having a great time, but they were also on their best behavior, as if they'd all suddenly become mature adults. I just love to watch them being young and having fun.

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It's one of the perks of being a high school teacher!