CHENEY – Prom is finally returning for Cheney High School (CHS) seniors (and juniors) this year after two years of COVID-19 lockdown and protocols. This year’s dance is at the Spokane Convention Center on May 14 from 8 to 11 p.m. The theme is Dancing with the Stars.
“We’re super-duper excited to hold prom for the high school,” CHS ASB President Jackson Redder said. “Excited for a sense of normalcy.”
Redder said they started planning this year’s prom immediately after the state mask mandate was lifted. He said they’ve compared their prom dance attendance numbers with other ASB dances and their attendance numbers routinely dwarf other high schools in the area. Before the COVID-19 lockdowns commenced, their last official dance was homecoming 2017 and 700 students attended.
“Cheney High School takes it to a different level,” Redder said.
Prom tickets are $40 per person. According to Redder, ticket sales will pay for the night’s festivities, including the venue, staffing, DJ, photo booth, and refreshments. All profits will be split between the senior and junior classes and used for whatever the ASB sees fit. According to Lori Tomko, senior class advisor, seniors will spend the money on events like the senior breakfast and cruise.
The original theme for this year’s senior dance is “Space Prom,” an idea suggested in jest by Adam Marsh, a math teacher at the CHS. The idea was cultivated and molded into Dancing with the Stars. With a smaller budget this year, there will be an extreme focus on the lighting to ensure the night is reminiscent of a clear night sky in the Milky Way galaxy.
“The kids are so excited,” Tomko said.
Tomko said the return of traditional school dances marks a return to normalcy and might end the mundane nature of being a student during the COVID-19 lockdown. Even though there were some school dances during 2020 and 2021, they didn’t help the students find a sense of normalcy with the safety protocols in place.
“Last year when we wanted to have a prom it was crazy because you could only have 10 people dancing— they had to be six-feet apart and they had to be wearing masks,” Tomko said.
With having to wait until May, CHS is also throwing a Spring Fling all-school dance for the entire student body. The event is on April 23 at Cheney High School from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m.
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