One of the biggest events each year for both seniors and juniors is prom. Food, decorations, dances, and music. Even though this year is different, Pattonville is still hosting a prom event for seniors, with some modifications.

On Thursday, April 8, Pattonville High School sent out a letter to PHS seniors’ families about information for this year’s prom. It will be outside on the Pattonville Stadium on Friday, May 7. The festivities will begin at 6 pm and end around 9:30 pm.

The theme for prom is “Masquerade in the 1920’s.” Unlike previous years, fines do not have to be paid, and students do not need a 90% attendance to be able to attend the dance.

There will be food trucks available for food, and Wagner Portrait Group will be there to take pictures.

Unfortunately, to minimize the number of people attending, prom will be held exclusively for seniors. No juniors or underclassmen are allowed to attend.

The current alternate date will be Saturday, May 8, in the event of rain.

“While this is not the culminating event we envisioned,” Dr. Dobrinic, PHS principal, stated in the email, “we are hopeful that our senior class, which missed out on a prom last year and homecoming this year, will be able to find some joy in this celebration.”

While this modified prom is happening, there will be some activities that students will miss from previous years.

“I think I will miss having the dinner and also having it as a ballroom instead of a stadium field,” senior Evan Binz said.

One thing that Binz hopes that prom will have this year is good music.

Although some students are excited about attending prom, other students are deciding not to attend.

“I will not be attending prom because it was very last minute of a decision and I have stayed out of large gatherings as much as possible since Covid started,” senior Aleigha Hornaday said.

Hornaday doesn’t have any concerns about any COVID prevention strategies that the high school will be implementing, but she does have some concern for her senior class.

“The protocols are not concerning to me, but a select few groups in the senior class have disregarded protocol all year, which is unsafe,” she said.

Hornaday also thinks that while the prom planners did the best they could last minute, she thinks they could have done a little better.

“I think they could have planned a much better prom than on our football field with a food truck,” she said. “They could have rented another outside venue, had a socially distanced dinner with contact tracing protocols, and given more time to plan.”

Ms. Solorio, Spanish teacher, is one of this year’s prom planners.

“This is my first year teaching at Pattonville … and with the nature of the school year, I really wanted to get to know students outside of the classroom setting,” Ms. Solorio said.

While prom is being held on the Pattonville Stadium, there were some talks about holding it somewhere else.

“Ultimately, people wanted to have a typical prom,” Ms. Solorio said, “but I think the students knew that wasn’t a possibility.”
Students knew that having prom outside and at PHS was the best option for this year, although they did have an indoor version as a backup in case that was approved.

While attending prom, students must wear masks at all times, except while eating. Another thing that is different is that once students enter the stadium, they are not allowed to leave and come back. If students leave, they will not be allowed re-entry.

For more information about 2021 Prom, visit the Pattonville High School Senior Prom 2021 announcement, or the Pattonville High School Athletics & Activities website.