Last Friday was CVCA’s version of prom, the Junior-Senior Banquet. That is always a fun affair with good food and sharply-dressed people, but added to the fun this year was that I took the day off. I had been out until 3:00 in the morning to see The Avengers with some students, so I took a sleep-in day. I slept in, went running, and then took a nap. I was pretty well rested by the time Mer got home from school. The students also had the day off, so Mer had a pretty good day herself, but was still at school.
We both got ready, and Mer looked very pretty in her purple dress with long necklace. I wore my version of a tuxedo, which is a 19th-century morning coat (think Mr. Darcy in various Pride and Prejudice movie versions). We got to the Sheraton Hotel, where prom was being held, early so we could go over our brief parts in the evening entertainment.
Every year, there is entertainment in addition to food and picture-taking. Generally speaking, the entertainment goes over best when it involves teachers and staff, because the students know us, and they like us making fools of ourselves. This year, the entertainment was to give out “Academy Awards” for things like best smile, cutest couple, most-likely-to-become-a-superhero, best servant, etc. The prom was all movie-themed, and to introduce the ideas of our version of the Oscars, the faculty did small snippets from various movies. The Wizard of Oz, Star Wars, Back to the Future, and True Grit were all represented., in very tongue-in-cheek ways. Mer and I had the role of re-enacting all of The Sound of Music in about two minutes, as Maria and Captain Von Trapp. We had much fun with it, and the kids all laughed a lot, so I was very pleased.
After prom, there is a party hosted by CVCA parents, called, appropriately enough, After Prom. After Prom is held in a large facility like a YMCA, and this year it was held in the recreation center in Tallmadge. The rec center is really very nice, and the parents had a DJ, lots more food, board games, basketball courts, a small indoor soccer field, and a couple of bouncy-castle things. One inflatable involved four people trying to knock each other off pedestals, and the other involved two people being tied to bungee cords, and then trying to see who could go the farthest down the inflatable before being snapped back. There was also an excellent magician wandering table to table.
Mer and I got some food and sat with a colleague and his wife. We had a great time chatting, and the magician even came over to stump us with card tricks. After I ate a little, I wandered back to the basketball courts, and was amused watching the people using the inflatables. One of my students, who is in Royal Fools and is in my Connections group, challenged me to the bungee-race. I accepted the challenge, and paid for it by landing on my head once, and by landing in the wrong track once (the bungee cord snapped me over the inflatable wall between me and my student). It was fun, even though I lost.
Mer and I left soon after my inglorious defeat, but it was a fine evening. I really do like our version of prom.