Students dance the night away after last years prom was cancelled

LAVILLE, Ind. - It's a night to remember. Event cancellations plagued 2020, but this year it’s finally time for seniors to have their shot in the spotlight.

Prom is a huge milestone for teens and last year they didn’t get to have one. But now that more and more people are getting vaccinated and states are opening back up, it’s time for students to dance the night away at Christo's in Plymouth!

A moment in time, some thought was stolen.

"We all did a great job planning it, they had a big help. And it was kind of crazy what happened. No one expected it. So when it happened, we were all sad, and we all wanted that prom," Brandon Winterrowd a Senior at Union North Schools said.

But now, it’s time for the lights to shine... as much as the students have been.

"When I walked in it looked as great as I imagined. The dance floor looks good. The seats the ceilings, beautiful DJs playing good music," he said.

"It's just such a fun night, you know, to see him all dressed up and put the tuxes on and get the hair done, it's just it's such a rite of passage for kids, and it's lovely that we were able to do it," Jodi Kayser, a teacher and junior class sponsor at Union North Schools said.

Prom is a special time many, even Kayser took for granted.

Tana: How many years have you been able to help coordinate this event?

"Oh, I don't know. It's got to be at least 10 years," she said. “I love planning it with them, they get so excited and it's such a big deal.”

A big deal that many didn’t know was happening until a couple of months ago

"Mr. Mawhorter, our Superintendent, just came to us and said we want, we want to make sure this happens," Kayser said. “He called the health department on our behalf and made sure that we could get the numbers we wanted to have because we didn't want to have to say oh well only seniors can come to this prom or limit it in some way or only Laville students and you can't bring your date from other schools. And so we were able to, we didn't have to turn one kid away everyone that wanted to come.”

"It was just great that it came together because you know you even hesitate to get out the invitations to order stuff, because we ordered everything last year, and then it came to a halt. So we really put off planning it so when you know became real. It was great. It was finally set in stone," Stephanie Czarnecki, another teacher and junior class sponsor at Union North Schools said. 

It’s as real as any enchanted forest-themed prom can be. Of course with masks and hand sanitizer at the ready.

"With COVID, you know, had some restrictions or, you know, things that we thought maybe might be safer for the kids, you know, like a photo booth typically we have a photo booth, but, you know, touching, all the same, you know, hats and disguises and masks, you know, in there getting close to the booth," Czarnecki said. "We thought you know what we'll take it easy this year so that we have the okay to have a prom because having prom was more important than some of the little extras that we typically have.”

"It's what we have to do, you know, I would, I would prefer we don't have to wear masks, but it's the world we live in right now and we need to be safe and we need to, you know, take the precautions that we need to take," Kayser said.

And despite some setbacks…

"You know, we had some quarantines this week that that jeopardize some kids being able to come to prom. And so just anything that we can get in," Kayser said. "The kids were hoping we could come without masks and I said, masking them as we're having prom and it's gonna be great and they're like, you're right. I can do masks at prom that's fine as long as we get to have a prom, they just want to have something that feels a bit normal.”

With school wrapping up, it’s this year-end tradition that has many students and parents thankful.

 “I think it was even bigger for the parents, you know that they're I mean, it's so many parents say to me, I'm glad there's gonna be graduation I'm glad they get to go to prom I'm glad they get to experience some normalcy, even though there were times we were all virtual," Czarnecki said.

“I mean obviously until things get back to normal, it's not to be the same. But this kind of prom is better than no prom.” 2:25 “appreciate him for giving us a prom this year," Winterrowd said. "They did a great job. It looks beautiful in there can't wait to be out there dancing.”

Parents even planned a very elaborate after prom for the teens to enjoy the rest of the night safely.