Planning a prom

  • Level: High school
    Age group:
    Students ages 15 to 17
  • When:
    All year

Areas of learning:

  • Career planning and entrepreneurship
  • Citizenship and community life
  • Environment and consumption

Main objectives

  • Plan and carry out a major project
  • Track earnings and expenses
  • Meet deadlines
  • Work cooperatively

Execution

Students actively participate in the various committees. They plan the event, determine the ticket price and oversee the funding and yearbook production.

All the documents you need to carry out this activity are in the right-hand column under Useful links.

Task 1 objectives

At the end of this task, students will be able to compile the money raised and determine the price of prom tickets.

Instructions

  • When
    November to June
  1. Schedule regular meetings for the organizing committee and subcommittee members to discuss the tasks to be completed, money raised and expenses incurred.
  2. Help students compile the expenses related to prom organization, yearbook production, etc.
  3. Ensure the tracking of estimated costs, actual costs and sums received from graduates attending the prom.
  4. Suggest that committee members deposit the money raised in an account.
  5. Be sure that committee members communicate the prom organization costs to the school's other graduates. To do this, use traditional media (newspapers, radio) or social networks.
  6. Help students calculate the actual cost of the prom and determine the ticket price. They must compile the amounts raised individually, then calculate the payments already made by students, if applicable.

Teacher's notes

  • Help students ensure careful monitoring of the established budget.
  • Suggest that the school's graduates pay for their ticket in several instalments. This method requires follow-up by the fundraising committee.

Task 2 objectives

At the end of this task, the student members of the organizing committee will have collaborated with the various committee members on prom organization tasks.

Instructions

  • When
    November to June
  1. Ensure that students on the organizing committee make decisions democratically.
  2. With the committee members, brainstorm on how to plan the prom.
  3. Assist them in their dealing with various suppliers (e.g., reception hall, hotel, musicians, etc.).
  4. Suggest that they request quotes to better estimate the costs.
  5. Suggest that the committee survey the school's graduates on the theme and activities chosen for the prom.
  6. Analyze the survey results with all committee members and let them make a final choice democratically.

Teacher's notes

  • Examples of decisions made by the organizing committee:
    • place
    • date: consult the school administration to avoid scheduling conflicts with end-of-year field trips and exams
    • menu
    • music and entertainment
    • decorations
    • photos and videos
    • ring
    • etc.
  • Ensure that students live cooperative values. For example:
    • self-help, self-responsibility and responsibility for others (e.g., organizing committee members can be responsible for sharing the results of their research with others)
    • equality (e.g., everyone can express themselves with regard to the various choices to be made)
    • equity (e.g., everyone contributes to organizing the prom)
    • solidarity (e.g., everyone supports what has been decided by the group)
    • democracy (e.g., students consult each other and make decisions together)

Task 3 objectives

At the end of this task, the student members of the fundraising committee will be able to choose and coordinate different fundraising activities.

Instructions

  1. Brainstorm with the members on the different collective and individual ways of funding the prom. Use the costs of previous years as the basis for discussion, if they are available.
  2. As a committee, democratically choose the fundraising methods that seem most effective.
  3. Ensure that the fundraising committee communicates the final choices to the other graduates.
  4. Plan and organize the fundraising activities with the committee members.
  5. Be sure that the committee follows up on the fundraising activities and compiles the earnings.

Teacher's notes

Examples of group fundraising activities:

  • fashion show
  • spaghetti dinner
  • carwash
  • etc.

The money raised will then be shared among the participants.

Task 4 objectives

At the end of this task, the student members of the yearbook committee will be able to produce the yearbook cooperatively.

Instructions

  1. Help the yearbook committee members manage the drafting of texts that will appear in the yearbook.
  2. Ask the administration, other teachers and the student committee to write a message for the yearbook.
  3. Suggest that the yearbook committee call on everyone to find anecdotes and photos of graduates that have been taken over the last 5 years of high school.
  4. With the committee members, estimate the number of pages required for all the yearbook messages and the content on other pages (e.g., photos, sponsors, graduate contact information, etc.).
  5. Help them with their requests for quotes from different publishers and printers.
  6. Advise them on organizing a design contest for the yearbook cover page. Use the means of communication chosen by the organizing committee.
  7. Ensure that the committee sends all of the content, photos and messages to the publisher within the established timeframe.

Teacher's notes

  • Ask other teachers to collaborate on the yearbook project. For example, suggest a cooperative activity for the English teacher (e.g., write yearbook messages) or art teacher (e.g., design the yearbook cover).

    Examples of cooperative activities for all Grade 11 students:

    • Form teams of 4 students.
    • Each student writes the name of the person to their left in uppercase letters on a sheet of paper, shares an event or anecdote or writes a comment about him or her, then signs the message.
    • After a certain period, ask each student to change places and write a message about another student on his/her team, and so on.
    • Students validate the messages in teams, democratically, and complete them as needed.
    • Each student then asks a friend to write his or her final message, drawing inspiration from the messages written previously.
    • Correct the texts and assess each student's written communication before sending the final texts to the yearbook committee.
  • Suggest that students find sponsors to offset the cost of the yearbook.
  • Determine the number of pages to be used for sponsors and democratically set a package price per page with the committee members.
  • Remember to ensure a date of receipt for the yearbooks that will allow you to distribute them to graduates before the prom. This way you will give students time to sign and leave notes in their friends' yearbooks.