Prom

For many Howard County parents, a child's senior year in high school is one of the most proud and exciting times in their lives. It can also be one of the scariest. What many teen-agers call rites-of-passage and coming-of-age events that "everyone" does can be wild, unchaperoned, risky activities. That's why the PTSA at Oakland Mills High School and the Centennial High School Parent Support Network put together a program this week called "Everything a Parent Ever Wanted to Know About Prom, Graduation and Senior Week, But Was Afraid to Ask."

Aria Real, a student at Aberdeen High School, was the winner of a Toyota Camry donated by Jones Junction for the school's recent after prom party. Aberdeen High PTSA president, Keith Bruso worked with Jones Junction to secure the donation. Aria is an honor student who has been accepted into High Point University for the coming fall semester with the class of 2017 to study Vocal Performance and Interior Design. She said in a press release she is blessed to have received this car, because it is one less thing to worry about as she transitions to North Carolina.

Do you have fond memories of your high school prom? Was it romantic? Hilarious? Were you voted king or queen? Or was the whole thing a nightmare you're still struggling to forget? To salute the arrival of the audience-interactive show The Awesome 80s Prom at the Hippodrome's M&T Bank Pavilion on Sept. 27, The Sun is asking you to share your experiences with us for a coming article. Send your memories to arts@baltsun.com, with the word "Prom" in the subject line, by Sept. 22. Please include a daytime phone number where you can be reached.

So, last week, I wasn't here for performance night and Dorothy withdrew on results night. Oh, and TOM BERGERON REPLIED TO A TWEET OF MINE AND TALKED ABOUT HIS BUTT AND I DIED AND AM WRITING THIS FROM THE GREAT BEYOND. Ahem.   Tonight is "Prom Night. " Of course I went to my prom; I didn't want that "something's gone missing" feeling Iona described in Pretty in Pink. Oh, fun! The judges are decked out for prom night - Len in a bright pink ruffled tuxedo shirt and Bruno in a white tuxedo.

The places and times of the public school proms and after-prom parties: Atholton Prom: Tomorrow, Baltimore Radisson, 7:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. After prom: AMC Theater, The Mall in Columbia, 12:30 a.m. to 5:30 a.m. Centennial Completed. Glenelg Completed. Hammond Completed. Howard Prom: Today, Turf Valley Resort, Ellicott City, 8 p.m. to midnight After prom: AMC Theater, The Mall in Columbia, 12:30 a.m. to 5 a.m. Long Reach Completed. Mount Hebron Completed. Marriotts Ridge Prom: Tomorrow, Hyatt Regency, Baltimore, 7 p.m. to midnight After prom: GenXaret, Columbia, midnight to 5 a.m. Oakland Mills Completed.

- The American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi is suing to force a school district to host a prom it canceled after a lesbian student asked to bring her girlfriend and wear a tuxedo. The lawsuit was filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Oxford on behalf of 18-year-old Constance McMillen. The Itawamba County School District said it wouldn't host the April 2 prom at Itawamba Agricultural High School after the ACLU demanded McMillen be allowed to escort her girlfriend. District officials said they hoped private citizens would sponsor a prom instead.

It was a night of food, fun and dancing at John Archer School's first prom Friday night. Approximately 21 students from John Archer School celebrated the school's first ever prom at the school Friday night joined by faculty, family, friends and other volunteers. Giovanni's Restaurant, Double T Diner and theMcDonald'son Plumtree Road provided food and drinks for the dinner, Dee's Florist in Aberdeen donated boutonnieres and corsages for each student and photographer Julieanne Taylor snapped pictures for keepsakes.

The dread of finding yet another dress. The sinking feeling as another disc jockey spins that song, again. Another ride in another stretch limo - yawn. The prom? The problems! The Big Night has turned into a series of increasingly smaller nights for those who don't have the stereotypical prom problem - ending up without a date - but the opposite: going to too many proms and discovering the law of diminishing returns. "Proms are overrated," says Kelly Soth, a senior at Roland Park Country School who when the season finally ends will have attended three proms.

Approximately 1,900 seniors will graduate from the Howard County public schools in June. All commencement exercises will be conducted between June 3 and 6. All of the schools will have proms. The schedule and location for these events is:School: AtholtonProm: May 11, BWI MarriottGraduation: June 6, 2 p.m., Merriweather Post PavilionSchool: CentennialProm: May 11, Baltimore Grand HotelGraduation: June 4, 8 p.m., U. Maryland- BaltimoreSchool: GlenelgProm: May 10, Martin's WestGraduation: June 4,8 p.m., Glenelg High SchoolSchool: HammondProm: May 18, Marriott Inner HarborGraduation: June 5, 8 p.m., U. Maryland- BaltimoreSchool: HowardProm: May 25, Kittamaqundi Room, Spear Ctr.Graduation: June 5, 8 p.m., Howard High SchoolSchool: Mount HebronProm: May 11, Martin's WestGraduation: June 6, 7 p.m., Merriweather Post PavilionSchool: Oakland MillsProm: May 11, Hyatt RegencyGraduation: June 5, 7:30 p.m., Merriweather PostSchool: Wilde LakeProm: May 18, Omni in BaltimoreGraduation: June 3, 7 p.m., Wilde Lake High School

Century High School's junior class, in partnership with Deja vu Boutique in Mount Airy, will host a Prom Fashion Show on Saturday, Jan. 5, 6-9 p.m., at Century High School, 355 Ronsdale Road, Sykesville. Students will be able to view the latest prom fashions, and visit vendors for flowers, limousine rentals, jewelry, hair, nail and make-up. Tickets for the show are $5 each at Century High School or at the Déjà vu Boutique in Mount Airy. The ticket includes entrance into the show and a chance at winning a $500 credit toward a prom dress.

Today is the last night of the Proms , and I will be at the paragraph factory instead of the Royal Albert Hall watching all the carrying-on. (Whom do I kid? If I were there, I'd be standing in Hyde Park or somewhere with the throng that couldn't get tickets.) One of the highlights of the last night is a rousing performance of "Rule, Britannia. " I have heard broadcasts or recordings of various artists, but my favorite is the 2009 performance by mezzo-sporano Sarah Connolly, dressed in a naval uniform of Nelson's era. It's a performance that is notable also for employment of Dr. Arne's original setting of the text.

The Bel Air High School After Prom Party committee would like to thank the following area businesses and/or individuals for their generous donations, which helped to make our after prom party, held at the Bel Air Athletic Club April 28 -  29 a success. Three hundred and seventy seniors and guests were entertained in a safe, chemical-free environment, thanks to: Applebee's, The Arena Club, Aruba Tanning, Bel Air Athletic Club and Spa, The Baltimore Ravens, Bella Amici Salon, Bellissimo Seafood Bar & Grill, Bertucci's, Best Buy, Blue Ridge Mountain Cookery, Inc., Dianne Bowen, Boyle Buick, Doris Brown, Brian Bunce Barbers, Burger King, Chick-Fil-A, Chili's, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Churchville Golf, Color Lounge Salon & Spa, Commercial Ware Washing Services, LLC, Costco Warehouse, Curves, Melanie Desilets, Dick's Sporting Goods, Edible Arrangements, Einstein Bros.

Our favorite gleeks go to prom and there's a sweet surprise ending! Confession: I'm a 16-year-old girl trapped inside of a 24-year-old body and thus, I was probably more excited about this week's"Glee"than normal people would be. Student body president Brittany S. Pierce decides this year them should be dinosaurs. Thus, Prom-asaurus is born, where hair gel is banned because it didn't exist during prehistoric times. Blaine, naturally, is heartbroken. And the prom court nominees are...Finn, of course, Rick the Stick Nelson (who?

It is no fun being a Catholic woman these days. In fact, it is almost embarrassing. First, the church hierarchy reminded us that those birth control pills in our medicine cabinets are forbidden. Then the bishops repeated their opposition, in various state legislatures, to any legal standing for our gay friends, family members, neighbors or co-workers, somehow casting their opposition as a matter of religious liberty. Now the Vatican is screwing the lid down on American nuns, who the church thinks are spending too much time on social justice issues and not enough time pounding home the message about birth control and abortion.

It was a night of food, fun and dancing at John Archer School's first prom Friday night. Approximately 21 students from John Archer School celebrated the school's first ever prom at the school Friday night joined by faculty, family, friends and other volunteers. Giovanni's Restaurant, Double T Diner and theMcDonald'son Plumtree Road provided food and drinks for the dinner, Dee's Florist in Aberdeen donated boutonnieres and corsages for each student and photographer Julieanne Taylor snapped pictures for keepsakes.

For the first time in the six years since Victoria Chakwin was diagnosed with a deadly lung disease, the gown she wears won't be hospital issue. The 18-year-old from Martinsburg, W.Va., will go to her senior prom Saturday night in a red-and-black number she found on the Internet. A rite of passage for most teens, the event is more momentous for Victoria - who's known as Tori - because people diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis generally live only three to five years. That she is headed to her prom demonstrates not only the possibilities of modern medicine but the will of the teen and her mother, according to Tori's doctors at the University of Maryland Medical Center, who in late January replaced her scarred, dysfunctional lungs with a donor set. "We can do a lot with technology, if we're not afraid to use it," said Dr. Aldo T. Iacono, medical director of Maryland's lung transplant program, one of the few in the country that will transplant scarce organs into someone so sick.

Underage drinking and drug use is a concern in our community throughout the year, especially during April and May, when our teens will make celebration decisions on prom night. Parties often involve peer pressure to engage in underage drinking, drugs and thrill-seeking behavior. This combination can contribute to teens making bad decisions. How our teens celebrate on prom night is affected by their options. All 12 Howard County high school PTAs are addressing the need for safe after-prom celebrations by providing a safe, fun option in an alcohol and drug-free setting with adult supervision.