Wayland Community, WHS Students Work Together on Prom

High school students often have lengthy to-do lists.

Write paper analyzing themes of “Hamlet”; finish algebra homework; study for chemistry test; practice saxophone; rehearse lines for the school play; attend softball practice … and the list goes on and on.

But in addition to the expected work of high school, a group of 22 Wayland High School students this year volunteered for a crash course in event planning, and this was no ordinary event.

After all, you only have one junior prom, so it has to be a success.

Kathleen Thompson is a math teacher at WHS as well as a class of 2012 adviser. Under her guidance, along with that of co-adviser Carolyn Crary, the members of the junior class E-Board have planned, prepared and organized this year’s junior prom, which takes place Friday, May 20.

The current E-Board actually began meeting last May, Thompson said, explaining that the E-Boards of each class handle a wide range of events and decisions. The junior class E-Board is, of course, largely devoted to prom.

With the big event now less than two weeks away, the bulk of the tasks involved in putting together an event for 250-300 people is behind them. But E-Board members did get an early start.

“They booked the place last year,” Thompson said. “The kids went and looked at various hotels and decided on the Westin [hotel] in Waltham.”

And that was just the beginning. Over the next several months, the students decided on décor, a dinner menu, music, favors and more. They were also responsible for making prom affordable, which meant fundraising and negotiating with vendors also fell to them.

Overall, Thompson said this junior class E-Board has been enormously successful.

“They’ve done a fantastic job fundraising,” Thompson said, noting that prom tickets this year cost a less-than-in-the-past $50 each thanks to successful fundraisers such as selling candygrams, picking up Christmas trees for disposal in January, and even a pie-in-the-face contest last fall.

The E-Board also found ways to work with local vendors, securing money and time-saving deals for prom-goers as well as publicity for the businesses. Heather’s Flower Boutique, for example, is offering a selection of corsages and boutonnieres at a reduced price and is also delivering the flowers to the school, which means students will have one less errand to run on prom Friday.

Ruth Levin, whose son Oliver Levin serves on the E-Board (he is incidentally also the person behind this now famous video prom proposal), volunteered to create the floral centerpieces this year as she did for her daughter’s junior prom a few years ago.

Levin runs a floral arranging business, Avantgarden, out of her home, but volunteers her time for the 30-35 centerpieces that will be needed for the WHS prom.

Levin has been designing floral arrangements since 2002 and said arranging for prom isn’t much different than arranging for her other clients, though she did learn from her first experience with prom flowers.

"I've learned to ask for help,” Levin said, adding that she expects about four people to help her assemble the arrangements on the Friday morning of the prom. “When you're volunteering, you can enlist ladies, other moms, to come over and help out."

She’s also learned that suggesting a color scheme – lavender, yellow and white for this year’s prom – helps ensure she can actually locate spring flowers to match the theme.

"I'm glad to help,” Levin said. “I'm sad this is my last time."

While Levin suggested a color scheme, the decision was ultimately up to the E-Board. In fact, Thompson said the E-Board made all the decisions with only minimal guidance and checklists from the advisers.

“We’re there to advise,” Thompson said. “It’s their prom, not our prom. Right now, in their lives, this is the most important part of their lives.”

This is the second year Thompson has helped plan prom, and she said she agreed to do it this year “hoping it would be as much fun as with the last class.”

The process didn’t disappoint.

“There just aren’t that many headaches,” Thompson said. “The kids have stepped up and done this.”

The payoff, Thompson said, is getting to see the kids on prom night enjoying the fruits of their labor.

“It’s nice to see the kids out of the classroom,” she said. “You get a glimpse of their futures as adults.”

Kathleen Thompson was incorrectly identified in the original article as Kathleen Turner. The above text has been corrected.