Dakota High School’s Senior Prom was on Monday May 15th at the Palazzo Grande from 7:00 to 11:00pm. This was a different location from last year, when prom was held at Penna’s. It was put on by the Junior Class Council which is led by Mrs. Belanger and Mrs. Moench. The theme was a night in Paris and there was a cute backdrop of a café in the main entrance, along with a table, chairs, and teacups with saucers for pictures. When students entered the dining room, all of the tables were adorned with black tablecloths and had large candelabras along with small votive candles on them, creating an elegant atmosphere. The DJ was playing classical music and the dance floor had vines overhanging it, adding to the Parisian feel.  

Prom is only open to Seniors, not to any other grades unless they are brought as a guest. Tickets cost $70 each. Prom tickets were sold online starting on April 12. Wednesday April 26th was the last day to buy Prom tickets and it was also the last day to turn in outside guest forms. Guests were allowed with approval from the school. To get approval, students had to fill out an outside guest form which could be picked up in the Main Office or printed out from off the prom website. No guests were approved if they were twenty-one or older. People attending had to have a school ID or driver’s license for check in at the tables before dinner started. Students had already selected their tables at the time that they purchased their tickets.  

All guests checked in at the dining tables at 7:00pm, following the ‘Parent Paparazzi” from 6:30-7:00pm where student’s families were encouraged to come take pictures in the hall. Many students had also gathered to take pictures with their friends at homes and local parks in the area. Hundreds of students were seen at Mae Stecker Park just a few minutes down the road from the Palazzo. Dinner took place from 7:00 until 8:15pm. It was served family style at each table. After each course the plates were taken away by helpful waitstaff. The meal began with bread rolls and butter. Then a fresh salad with Italian dressing. Folling the salad course was farfalle pasta with alfredo sauce. Then chicken marsala and beef with au jus sauce and green beans and mashed potatoes. Available upon request was the vegetarian option of eggplant parmesan. Dessert was a delicious scoop of vanilla ice cream.  

Prom Court was announced at 8:30pm. Students were not allowed to enter prom after 8:30pm and they were required to stay until 9:00pm. Only Seniors were allowed to vote for Prom Court. The first round of voting began on Monday May 1st for Prom Court nominations and closed on Wednesday May 3rd. Students who were on Homecoming Court were not allowed to be on Prom Court. The Court was read over the announcements on Friday May 5th and had their sashes delivered to their first hour classrooms to wear that day and the upcoming week. Five girls and five boys were selected for Prom Court. Online voting for Prom King and Queen opened Monday May 8th and closed on Thursday May 11th. At Prom, the entire Court was announced and came to the dance floor to await the reveal of the King and Queen. The Prom King and Queen were announced by the DJ and crowned by the Junior Class Council. Sam Battaglia won Prom King and Ella Demers was crowned Prom Queen.  

The DJ played music for dancing all night long. There was a combination of older and newer music as well as faster and slower paced songs. The dance floor was full the entire night with students dancing and enjoying themselves. There was also a photo booth for groups of friends to get snapshots to remember the magical evening. This photo booth conveniently sent the pictures to students’ phones instead of printing physical copies that could get lost. Photos could also be easily shared with friends and on social media.  

Another fun feature was a coffee and tea cart which served expresso, iced coffee, chai lattes, and matcha beverages. They offered both hot and cold options for all drinks, and many students took advantage of the unlimited drinks. All hot drink options had a design on top in cinnamon reading “Dakota High School.”  

Prom ended at 11:00pm. The next day was a Teacher Development Day so all students had it off and those who attended Prom were able to relax after such an exciting evening. The 2023 Senior Prom was truly a night to remember.