On April 5th, Junior Class Cabinet hosted a prom for the students enrolled in the Exceptional Student Education program. The event was held in the cafeteria and offered students the chance to experience a prom created specifically for them.
The Junior Class Cabinet organized the event with the help of culinary, yearbook, and the theater department who provided the food, photography and Disney characters. “Our plan is to print really nice shots and give them framed to the kids next week,” said JCC advisor Monica Arbelaez.
The prom’s theme Tangled in Memory included students from the performing arts program who played characters Rapunzel, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella from the production, Disenchanted. The actors arrived in costume to interact with the students. “I felt extremely honored to have been chosen as a part of this event. When we were offered the opportunityto be a Disney princess, and to make an impact to these kids’ experience, there was no way for us to say no to this opportunity and being a part of theatre helped immensely with being able to improvise on the spot and be able to portray the character’s mannerisms,” said senior Emma Cutting, who played Rapunzel.
The date for ESE Prom was chosen on a day that there was no testing, so that every student was able to participate. The JCC and the officers worked hard to set up the furniture, help the DJ and clean up after the event. “We think it went super well. All the kids seemed to really enjoy themselves, dancing , taking photos in the photobooth,and having lunch with the JCC officers. Overall, everyone loved the experience and the food, music, and the souvenirs,” said Arbaelez.
This was a great way for multiple people to come together for one goal. “ I coordinated with Mr. Mendez to have some of the Disenchanted cast come to the event to be special guests for photos. I had also contacted Mrs Middleton to bring in yearbook students to take the pictures and had Chef Berner handle the food and his students were the one serving them,” said Arbelaez.
With the goal of bringing everyone together, the prom was held during the school day, which helped promote involvement. “I think it went very well because the kids were able to enjoy themselves and everyone was able to participate in this. In the previous years, a Best Buddy Prom would be held after school but the attendance would be lower due to the lack of participants. This was achanged into the ESE Prom so that the students don’t have to worry about missing it,” said teacher Ms. Jessica Trinh.
