Staples’ senior prom is set for Saturday. The junior prom was held last month.
Sometimes those traditional rites of passage even live up to their hype.
But for sheer joy and celebration, nothing beats Staples’ Best Buddies Ball.
A tradition for 10 years, it’s the school’s gift to other Connecticut chapters. Best Buddies, a national organization, promotes friendships between people with intellectual disabilities, and those without.
Nearly 200 students from 7 schools attended Saturday’s event. Some districts provided transportation. Ridgefield’s attendees arrived in a stretch Hummer.
The crowd was “diverse in every sense of the word,” says school social worker Sandy Dressler, Staples’ Best Buddies adviser and a ball organizer. “The kids look forward to it all year.”
Staples paid for the DJ and decorations. Sandy and her Best Buddies turned the cafeteria into a disco. The PTA donated food.
Staples students can get jaded by their many proms, celebrations and active social lives. The Best Buddies Ball shows that for some teenagers, a little glitter and music makes all the difference in the world.
Here’s some of Saturday night’s action, courtesy of Staples sophomore Madeline Hardy:
awesome
Wonderful emotion in the pictures and stories. These are the kinds of moments that make me really glad I work in a school and teach. Thanks Dan and Madeline for the work and coverage.