Haverford H.S. Seniors Celebrate Prom, BLAST

The Haverford-Havertown Patch was on hand, as many of the Class of 2012 attended Friday night’s senior prom held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel at Penns Landing. Students wore their best formal attire and proms dresses and arrived by trolley car, limo and even a school bus.

Haverford High School Principal Jeffrey Nesbitt along with grade level principals and teachers greeted students at the door of the hotel for the event, which started at 7:30 p.m. with a buffet dinner, dancing and a great view of the Penns Landing waterfront area.

As the prom ended, many of those who attended the prom also went to the (Best and Last of All Senior Times).

BLAST is an after-prom party in its 19th year and is the biggest event hosted by the high school. It is funded by donations from local businesses and school fundraisers. This year’s event raised more than $17,000 to transform the school into an all-night party for the students.

The party is designed to entice the students to extend their celebration in a safe, drug-free environment. The event is open to all seniors and a guest whether or not they attended the prom.

The event theme is always a big secret and those working the event have promised to be silent about it until the students arrive. This year’s theme was celebrations of the year such as Valentine’s Day, the 4th of July, Halloween and Mardi Gras, to name a few.

Other highlights included a café with various foods open all night, a mechanical bull, bungee races, sumo wrestling, casino tables, game room, a crash room for the kids to sleep or watch a movie.

BLAST started at 11 p.m. and ended at 5 a.m. Once checked in, no student is allowed out for any reason before the event is over unless given written permission by the parents, which is verified by phone by event chaperones. Students are stay until 5 a.m. are checked out.

Money donated to the event is used to buy decorations and other set ups, but also goes towards raffle prizes given at the event. Some of this year’s prizes were a cash prize of $250 at the end of the night. Other prizes included two iPads, an iPod Touch, a laptop computer, a 19" HD TV/DVD combo, digital camera, PS 3, Xbox/Wii, Rock Band and/or Guitar Hero, and an iPod speaker system.

“Over 450 kids attended the event which was a big success,” Event organizer and Haverford High school parent Jennifer McNicholas said.

McNicholas, whose child is graduating this year, has co-chaired BLAST for the last three years and is looking for her replacement.

BLAST organizers are still accepting donations for the general fund to be used towards next year’s party. The BLAST committee also needs volunteers for the event as well. People did not need to be a parent of a student to volunteer.

To donate to the event, see their website and donation options. Log onto http://www.hhsptsa.org  to learn more about BLAST. Or email the BLAST Committee at blast@hhsptsa.org

The PTSA also has a Facebook Group page: Haverford High School PTSA/BLAST.

Make checks payable to “HHS PTSA” and send it to:

BLAST/PTSA c/o
Haverford High School
200 Mill Rd.,
Havertown, PA, 19083

To make online donations via credit card or PayPal, visit http://www.hhsptsa.org/payments.htm.