Something that happens every year that students can spend years dreaming about is almost here: prom. The organization will announce this year’s prom theme on April 11 when students climb up to the fourth floor of building ten to buy their tickets. Preparation for this special event has been going on since the beginning of the school year.

“We probably met in the first couple weeks into school and started coming up with theme ideas and such,” teacher and prom planning advisor Jared Crisco said. “At the end of December is when we first sat down and started thinking decoration wise what we need. It was probably about mid-January when we really started to start collecting things.”

It is not only teachers who have to do some prep-work before going to the event. It is mandatory that students and their dates fill out a prom contract, regardless of whether their date goes to a different school. This is a way to gauge numbers of attendees and keep students in line.

“A big reason is so we can kind of easily identify our students,” Crisco said. “More than likely, teachers or administrators that are going to be there can identify them, whereas if your date doesn’t go here, how am I supposed to know who they are. It’s holding you and your date accountable for what you do.”

The contracts have been available in Crisco’s, Heather Hall’s and Laura Wooten’s classrooms. Students are expected to bring their form with their money for tickets. If a student’s date attends a different school, the student needs to have a copy of their date’s photo ID.

“If someone from not this school does something that they’re not supposed to, it’s a good way to help find them and have appropriate consequences for them as well,” Crisco said.

The contracts remind students to abide by school handbook policies since they are at a school-sponsored event. They have been in place for years, and the rules have stayed nearly the same since they were implemented.

“Ms. Rasburry showed me one from like 2012, and it’s actually the exact same thing that y’all get today, but the only thing that’s different on it is the date the oldest someone can be,” Crisco said.

Despite the one extra hurdle between students and prom, Crisco hopes that everyone has a great night.

“I think it’s going to be really good,” Crisco said. “It’s a night that a lot of students look forward to, especially seniors. Short of graduation, it’s the last big event that they’re going to have, and for a lot of the juniors, it’s their first year that they get to come and do it on their own.”