Dress: $500.00

Transportation: $800.00

Ticket: $40.00

Prom Night: PRICELESS.

For Dartmouth High School seniors, graduation and prom is fast approaching. The one night for which those high school students prepare months in advance. Weeks of dieting, exercise, and tanning are what many females add to their daily routine. It all seems traditional, but the Class of 2014, advisors, and parent group went above and beyond to make this year’s prom like no other.

Between selling t-shirts, hosting the bonfire, and 5K Road Race, the senior class raised around $11,000.00. Since the 2014 class had put in so much effort in raising the funds and setting the example for the underclassmen, the advisors wanted to reflect those efforts. With all that was raised, this Dartmouth High School dream prom can become a reality.

Senior advisor and English teacher Jessica Pacheco said, “It will be full of fun, glamour, and class.  Our theme is fire and ice, but not the red and blue traditional décor.”

Seniors can expect hundreds of candles and crystals. “The class officers, English teacher Meg Rogers, and I have been meticulous in our planning.  We have done a lot of bargain shopping well in advance so we ensure that we have spent each dollar in the best possible way,” said Mrs. Pacheco.

Unlike previous years, this prom will be held at the Omni Hotel ballroom in Providence, RI, on May 29. Students will be seated at round tables of a maximum of 10 people. The meal includes an appetizer of a Caesar salad and a choice of a chicken dish with mushrooms and risotto or a vegetable ratatouille for the main course meal. Dessert on the menu includes chocolate and vanilla cupcakes. Fruit, cheese, and cracker appetizers will be available throughout the night.

The advisors have prepared a slideshow while the students wait for their dinner. The slideshow will reflect many of the moments of the last four years and will be added to throughout the night as the DJ takes photos of everyone dancing the night away.  This show, with its additions, will be sent to all of the seniors as their final send off. “If we have to say goodbye to you, we are going to do it in style.  It will be the most bittersweet moment of my life,” said Mrs. Pacheco.

Girls tend to run the prom like set up the table, book the limo, and much more, while the guys just have to make sure their tux is in on time. Senior Ryan Gaydou said, “Prom for guys is a walk in the park compared to what girls have to go through.”

Senior Emily Brown said, “A lot of senior girls have gotten their dresses in the beginning of this year, but I still haven’t gone looking. I don’t think it’s that big of a deal.”

Prom dress prices range from $100.00 to $1,000.00. Senior Benjamin Silvia said, “I don’t get why girls spend so much money on dresses they won’t ever wear again. Even if the dress is ugly, we will tell you we like it either way.”

With all the money spent on dresses, no girl wants to wear the same dress. A few years back seniors created a Facebook group where students posted their dresses to avoid getting the same one. Junior Kelly McManus who will be attending the prom said, “I think that it is a good idea to have a Facebook group with the dresses so no one gets the same ones.”

Others believe that even if they like the dress and see on the group that someone else has it they still will get it. Junior Rita Silvia said, “It depends on the person, but I think the group doesn’t always work.”

Prom tickets will soon be available for $40.00 the first week of May. Each senior who purchases a prom ticket receives two After Prom tickets. Seniors who have an extra ticket can give it to an underclassman. Underclassmen are unable to buy a prom ticket if they are not going with a senior. However, if an extra ticket is given to an underclassman, they must enter the building with that senior in order to be allowed in the After Prom.

Physical education teacher Kathleen Gaspar and her husband have been the head of the After Prom for 20 years. The superintendent at the time Dr. Thomas Kelly, the principal Don King, and the Dartmouth Police Department initiated by retired police officer Ken Cotta and Theresa and Terry Pimental who own Figueiredo’s Greenhouse were instrumental in getting this event off the ground.  They attended every After Prom event staying all night and working.

Dr. Kelly manned the cotton candy machine every year and even though Theresa and Terry Pimental resigned from the committee, they still to this day provide the flower centerpieces for all the tables. The police department supports the After Prom by providing the detail. Local businesses from the very beginning have been generous with their donations and supports. “A big thank you to all of them.  Mrs. Lyons, who works tirelessly, has taken her place and now heads the event with myself and Mr. Gaspar,” said Mrs. Gaspar.

Those who will be attending After Prom can expect many of the inflatables used in the past years and a few new ones.  The After Prom committee is still deciding on what they can afford.  Fund raising goals have not been met yet and until then the committee may have to consider scaling back on certain things, like inflatables and gifts.

“We say ‘yet’ because we are not giving up on meeting the financial goal, still working on it,” said Mrs. Gaspar. Each inflatable is between $900 and $1,500 to rent. The DJ, lighting, rental for lifts to put up decorations, and the backdrops are all expenses the committee must incur. The After Prom averaged over 425 students in attendance over the past 10 years with last year’s event hosting 461 and 98 percent of the senior class attending.

“We in fact have 98% of seniors attending most years so we want to provide a spectacular event every year, and we do our best to do just that with the support of our community and our parents who work very hard to make this happen,” said Mrs. Gaspar.