After a day of wardrobe preparations, photos taken across Columbus and dinner, students who chose to attend the 2016 MSMS prom spent an evening at the Lion Hills Center dancing among carnival-themed decorations. From Saturday, April 9 to the early hours of Sunday, April 10, MSMS students and their outside guests participated in the last formal dance of the year.

Junior class sponsors Lori Pierce, foreign language instructor, Jed Leggett, physics instructor, and Tina Wagner, biology instructor, and the junior class officers worked along with other students to decorate and set the theme for the evening. They helped to prepare most prom materials from the small carousel that was a popular photo set to the light snacks provided. While most students ate dinner before arriving at the dance, the snacks were still popular among attending students.

Art instructor Angie Jones lead the efforts to construct most of the prom decorations.  “All of the props from prom were hand painted by me except for the ticket booth and I painted the letters on it,” said Jones. “I worked for months on them, nights and weekends. I helped with the set-up that morning and also attended and assisted that night. It was the most fun I have ever had on any prom.”

“They have chicken nuggets!” senior Vasu Srevatsan said shortly after arriving at the dance. Srevatsan was one student who helped to set up the lights with senior Navin Solomon and class sponsor Leggett.  

The playlist for the evening was run by junior Rebecca Chen who began the night with “The Wobble.” Throughout the evening, she could be spotted running to and from the dance floor. Songs included “Get Ugly” by Jason Derule and “Formation” by Beyonce, and the dance floor was never empty of MSMS students and their guests.

Teachers not responsible for the prom setup also attended the dance.  Dr. Heath Stevens, guidance counselor, took photos for attending students to have printed after the occasion.

Later in the evening, the winning prom royalty was also announced. In the weeks before the dance, nomination forms were sent to both classes via email. At the ticket booth, students filled out ballots for announcements later in the evening.  After abstention from modifying the prom royalty titles,  traditional titles of “King,” “Queen,” “Prince” and “Princess” were used.

Allen Lin was crowned Prom King and Mary Madeline Lamastus was named Queen. Griffin Emerson won Prince and Morgan Dollar was named Princess.  

The evening of carnival-themed festivities marked the final formal MSMS dance for the senior class; while some students were still bothered by the small size of the dance floor, most juniors plan to attend next year’s prom. Teachers, including junior class sponsors Leggett and Pierce said this past prom was one of the best proms in a long time. The next dance for MSMS students, the Last Chance Dance, is scheduled for May 10 after Taki Tiki and secret pal reveal day.