Promposal season has just begun, and everyone at the Day School is anxious to see who will make the first moves. The halls of PDS seem quiet now, but just wait a few more days, and the school will be filled with the snaps of camera, the cheers of friends, the cries of rejectees, and the casual “oh, buff bocian, of course I will go to prom with you!” 

As of now, the season has been uneventful and slow, but if this year is going to be anything like 2019, it is not going to have a boring ending. Last year provided innumerable creative and beautiful promposals. Here are what the Spokesman has determined to be the Top Five. 

5) Athena West & Spencer Knerr – As many people know, last year’s Editor-in-Chief Spencer Knerr is a great writer, but he is definitely not the best dancer. In an effort to win over his friend Athena West, who he knew to be a dancer, Knerr created an eloquent poster that asked her to teach him to dance, at prom. He then went on to complete his promposal and  surprise Athena at the upper school entrance. Unfortunately, though West said yes, according to Knerr, he never “actually learned to dance 🙁 .”

4) Julia Chang & Luigi Soriano – This promposal was truly one of a kind. For the past few weeks before promposal season, Chang had been working on a huge project called #BurstYourBubble, which encouraged people to leave their comfort zone, learn more about those around them, and engage in conversations. Aware of this, Soriano made a sign saying that he was bursting his bubble and asking Chang to prom. In addition to his adorable sign, he bought all of his friends bubble blowers for them to use while he worked his magic.

3) David Sherman & Anna Ellwood – These two are best friends, so it’s no surprise Sherman promposed to her. Being the smooth man he is, Sherman went outside of the box for his promposal, refusing to create a poster. Instead, he got a pizza company to deliver him a pizza with “Prom?” spelled out in pepperonis. “I spent over an hour on the phone with New World employees. 0/10 would not recommend,” David commented. It all worked out in the end, though. After receiving his food, he rushed off to the campus center and Ellwood loved the surprise.

2) Jaylin Champion-Adams & Reyna Bhens – Champion-Adams had promposed to Bhens before, so this time he had to make it better than the previous year. Champion-Adams objectively succeeded in doing so. Even before his promposal started, the location and time spread around the Upper School, so countless people were waiting in Shepherd commons when the event actually began. Bhens was sitting in front of a crowd, and surprising everyone, a video of Jaylin began to play. Finishing the act, Jaylin rushed to deliver his gift and finish his promposal. Bhens added that, should anyone need help with their poster this year, they should contact her, Grace Marshal, and Emily Cavuto. 

1) Imani Hall & Wesley Leggett – Finally, the Spokesman’s “Best Promposal of 2019” goes to Wesley Legget and Imani Hall. During Upper School Announcements, four upperclassmen (Aidan Njanja Fassu, Alan Norcott, Jared McDonald, and Jaylin Champion-Adams) lip synced to telephone man, without any warning or explanation. The four individuals had held rehearsals for this hysterical act, and when they were on stage, they were truly impressive, lip syncing perfectly and dancing in unison. It was certainly unusual that the administration let people perform this randomly during Upper School Gathering, but everything started to become clear as the four lifted off their coats revealing four letters: P, R, O, and M. Immediately after, the crowd went wild as Leggett rushed in with a poster and promposed to Hall.

The PDS community just finished its third week of virtual school, and many of us are still trying to find new ways to connect with one another. However, what seems to be on the minds of Upperclassmen is an event that was supposed to take place on Saturday, April 18: prom.  

March through June at PDS can be the most chaotic and exciting time of the year. Besides the typical end-of-the-year workload, the event schedule is also packed with some of the most celebrated events of the school year. Unfortunately, events such as Blue and White Day, Senior Send-off, and prom have been affected by the current coronavirus outbreak, as Head of School Mr. Stellato emphasized in a recent email: the school is going to remain online through May 15. 

Given that everyone is currently at home, practicing social distancing, and quarantining to prevent the spread of the virus, prom has been postponed. However,, many are wondering, will prom be canceled? On Upper School Announcements Mr. Stellato stated that nothing is quite certain as he is trying his best to bring everyone back on campus. He also expressed that it is in the school’s best interests to push back all the events. Following the announcement of PDS postponing the restart of school until May 15, a month later than originally planned, the chances of having a prom soon are quite slim. The only question remaining is whether prom is completely canceled, or just delayed. 

Junior and Prom Committee Head Holly Teti gave her insight into the matter, stating that “The future of prom is, like all other spring PDS events, up to the administration. Mr. Stellato said in a video that he is purposefully dragging his feet on these decisions to preserve our safety. I’m sorry to everyone who is missing prom–I am just as disappointed as you are.” Prom is an event to which many students look forward, especially seniors who will be saying farewell to their high school experience. 

In the meantime, if you are longing for as close to a prom experience as you can get, check out senior Josh Rafferty’s prom playlist!