Masuk Class of 2012: 'All for One and One for All'

Masuk High School was decked out in a fairytale theme Friday night with colorful figures from childhood stories like Snow White & the Seven Dwarves, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. Members of the Class of 2012 feasted on a spread in the cafeteria and Sherwood Forest led them toward the gynasium, which featured such attractions such as a 'Wrecking Ball' and a mechanical bull.

On the way through the "forest" students could stop in at Ye Old Photo Shoppe where photographers snapped pictures of them with their friends and they could choose from a variety of computer-generated backgrounds.

The late-night event was the annual Post Prom Party, which is meant to provide a fun and safe environment for seniors. This year's motto is based on the Three Musketeers' saying "All for One and One for All."

Post Prom Committee Chairperson Patty Ochsendorf organized the many adult volunteers and the elaborate designs throughout the building were coordinated by Lori-Ann Morrissey and Patti Kallas, co-chairs of the Decorating Committee.

"There are some amazing parents," Kallas said. "It really does take a village to do this. It takes artists, but it also takes the little tasks. With what you learned in kindergarten, I could put you to work. If you can color in a coloring book, you can make characters."

Kallas and Morrissey have volunteered on the Decorating Committee for the past eight years, but both will be mothers of Masuk seniors next year, so the passing of the torch is not far away.

Kallas spoke of the parents of teenagers in the lower grades when she said, "They need to shadow us to see what it takes to keep it going."

She said Friday's theme was based on the Three Musketeers, because Kallas and Morrissey's friend and longtime party organizer Darlene Dance had moved to California.

"She called us all along to see how it's been going," Kallas said of Dance. "She wanted to fly here to help us, but her daughter is pregnant."

A number of other parents have been volunteering for the Post Prom Party for many years, including Polly Cosmedy, who has been in charge of the food for the past decade.