Agnes Irwin hosts virtual prom

Riya Mukherjee ‘23 

In the midst of living with the realities of COVID-19 and the recent news of the campus closure, our community has begun to take charge living with limitations. The Agnes Irwin School has not only transferred their learning to an online platform but have also hosted a virtual dance for their seniors. “Even though it was short and not close to the real deal it was nice to have one. Instead of being sad at home about not having a prom we were all able to dress up and talk to each other and have some fun,” AIS student Parker King ‘20 explains. “Obviously it was not going to be as fun as a regular prom but it definitely was memorable. I will forever remember all the details of my virtual prom.”

Although the prom took place on an online basis, this did not stop students and faculty from attending and continuing to make the best of the situation. Eliza Pendergast ‘20 says, “Since school was cancelled only two weeks prior to our prom, almost everyone had their dresses, shoes, jewelry, [and their] prom looks planned out, so when we realized it was cancelled everyone was upset, not only because of the memories we’d be missing, but also because everyone had their looks ready to go.” The best way for the Agnes Irwin School to honor their seniors was to continue the prom tradition to the best of their abilities. Eliza Pendergast ‘20 added,“Almost every member of my grade and most of our teachers were present on the zoom call, and everyone, or, their torsos at least, was dressed in formal prom-wear. Everyone’s favorite local DJ, DJ Howard, was originally booked to host prom, and luckily for us, he kept his commitment and hosted zoom prom.” The AIS faculty were asked to chaperone the prom and encouraged students to keep dancing despite the awkwardness of having the dance through a call. The 15-minute prom, although simple, ended up being an event that AIS students can reflect on forever. 

Students and faculty were able to depend on zoom to hold the dance even with reports of security and connection issues. Parker King ‘20 reported, “[The dance] ran very smooth under the circumstances. There weren’t any major glitches or complications.” Additionally, Caroline Shaver ‘20 stated, “[They] had to be on mute in order to hear the music,” which normally would not be ideal but considering the zoom call, it was the best that the Agnes Irwin School could come up with. 

As for planning this event, it seemed that little work was necessary to create the memorable night. Parker King ‘20 explains, “All [the organizers] had to do was give us a time and date and send us the google meet link…There wasn’t much prep that needed to be done.” Caroline Shaver ‘20 added, “They sent out an email and even came up with a theme ‘A Few Minutes to Remember.”’ 

Students at EA are certainly interested in having a ‘real’ dance, however if circumstances continue to get worse, our faculty advisors may have to reassess our wishes.  Veronica Garrubbo ‘21 says, “If all else fails, I wouldn’t be surprised if EA followed in the footsteps of other schools and decided on a virtual prom… students should know that our form deans and administrative team are truly on our side amid the pandemic.”  

If things seem to get better, EA will be able to host a normal prom, just later than in usual school years. Kris Aldridge, senior form dean, says, “Frankly, a virtual prom doesn’t cut it. It’s a lovely idea but the execution is just not the same and hardly a replacement. The most wonderful part of being human is sharing real life experiences with each other, so we are hanging on the hope that we can have the real thing even if it’s delayed.”

Although the prom took place on an online basis, this did not stop students and faculty from attending and continuing to make the best of the situation. Eliza Pendergast ‘20 says, “Since school was canceled only 2 weeks prior to our prom, almost everyone had their dresses, shoes, jewelry, [and their] prom looks planned out, so when we realized it was canceled everyone was upset, not only because of the memories we’d be missing but also because everyone had their looks ready to go.” The best way for the Agnes Irwin school to honor their seniors was to continue the prom tradition to the best of their abilities. Eliza Pendergast ‘20 added,“Almost every member of my grade and most of our teachers were present on the zoom call, and everyone, or, their torsos at least, was dressed in formal prom-wear. Everyone’s favorite local DJ – DJ Howard – was originally booked to host prom, and luckily for us, he kept his commitment and hosted zoom prom.” The AIS faculty were asked to chaperone the prom and encouraged students to keep dancing despite the awkwardness of having the dance through a call. The 15-minute prom, although simple, ended up being an event that AIS students can reflect on forever. 

Students and faculty were able to depend on zoom to hold the dance even with reports of security and connection issues. Parker King ‘20 reported, “[The dance] ran very smooth under the circumstances. There weren’t any major glitches or complications.” Additionally, Caroline Shaver ‘20 stated, “[They] had to be on mute in order to hear the music,” which normally would not be ideal but considering the zoom call, it was the best that the Agnes Irwin School could come up with. 

As for planning this event, it seemed that little work was necessary to create the memorable night. Parker King ‘20 explains, “All [the organizers] had to do was give us a time and date and send us the google meet link…There wasn’t much prep that needed to be done.” Caroline Shaver ‘20 added, “They sent out an email and even came up with a theme ‘A Few Minutes to Remember.”’ 

Students at EA are certainly interested in having a ‘real’ dance, however if circumstances continue to get worse, our faculty advisors may have to reassess our wishes.  Veronica Garrubbo ‘21 says, “If all else fails, I wouldn’t be surprised if EA followed in the footsteps of other schools and decided on a virtual prom… students should know that our form deans and administrative team are truly on our side amid the pandemic.”  

If things seem to get better, EA will be able to host a normal prom, just later than in usual school years. Mrs. Aldridge, senior form dean, says, “Frankly, a virtual prom doesn’t cut it. It’s a lovely idea but the execution is just not the same and hardly a replacement. The most wonderful part of being human is sharing real-life experiences with each other, so we are hanging on the hope that we can have the real thing even if it’s delayed.”