Prom was held at the Church House, Westminster for Grade 11 and 12 students May 14. The event, which did not take place during the past two years due to COVID-19 restrictions, included food, beverages, a DJ, a photo booth and a photographer.
Priya Shah (’22) said she appreciated how effectively the school organized and informed students about prom, which made the event much easier to navigate.
“They gave us plenty of notice on where it’s going to be, the time it’s going to be and what kind of facilities they are going to have,” she said. “It made the experience for everyone a lot easier because they knew how things were going to run.”
Further, Shah said prom presented the opportunity to spend time with those that she does not often see during the school day.
“Usually in school, you pass by someone in the hallway, but you don’t really see them for the rest of the day,” she said. “Prom was a way for everyone to get together, make a few memories and have a fun experience overall.”
Prom was a way for everyone to get together, make a few memories and have a fun experience overall.
— Priya Shah ('22)
Dylan Linton (’23) said he gathered with a group of friends at Regents Park to take photos prior to prom. He said the pre-prom gathering was a great way to unite with friends before prom as well as interact with people with whom he is not as close.
“Some of the people in our pre-prom group I had never really spoken to much,” he said. “That was a really good opportunity to talk with people, meet peers outside of your circle and branch out.”
Linton said one of his favorite aspects of the venue was the photo booth. Despite expecting primarily slow songs at prom, he said he enjoyed how “most of the songs were pretty fun and upbeat.”
Shah said her favorite aspect of prom was also taking photos with friends as “being able to print out a bunch of copies just to have memories of the night was really nice.”
Similarly, Juliana Menegakis (’22) said in addition to being able to celebrate the end of AP exams, prom allowed her to deepen relationships with other students. She said interacting with classmates in an environment outside of the school greatly contributed to this connection.
“In a way, it’s a continuation of bonding because it’s all the same people and it’s still a school event,” she said. “But at the same time, it’s definitely a new setting. It helps people bond with each other because you can do it in this new situation.”
Linton said no official restrictions were in place to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. However, Linton said the high vaccination rate of the High School community made him feel more comfortable at the event.
“If it was a random event where I didn’t really know the people, I would probably feel a lot less comfortable because there’s a possibility of more people being unvaccinated,” he said.
Furthermore, Shah said she was also unconcerned about the spread of COVID-19 at prom since the interactions are comparable to those she has at school.
“I felt fine mainly because, even in school, we’re in close proximity with everyone and no one really wears a mask anymore,” she said. “I think a lot of people there felt safe in terms of COVID restrictions.”
Linton said he was grateful that prom has commenced again after being canceled in previous years.
I’m super excited about us being able to have the experience again because I know that grades before us were deprived of that.
— Dylan Linton ('23)
“I’m definitely happy that we’re in a situation where we can return to a normal, pre-COVID type of prom,” he said. “I’m super excited about us being able to have the experience again because I know that grades before us were deprived of that.”
Ultimately, Menegakis said she has always viewed prom as an important moment of her high school experience and thus, was glad to finally engage in this momentous experience.
“The last time there was a prom was when I was a freshman,” she said. “I remember watching these seniors and juniors getting to go to prom and looking forward to being able to do that one day. It was nice to actually have that after previous classes have not been able to.”
