By Andrew Revord
News Editor
Prospect, despite its many activities and its student involvement, has until now not held an event to address the end-of-summer blues that have plagued so many incoming students. This fact was on the mind of the students who attended the J. Kyle Braid leadership conference in May proposed the idea of having a Back to School Bash for students to ease into the school year ahead.
“[The Bash] was a student idea the whole way,” said social science teacher Frank Mirandola, who was responsible for leading the Bash.
“Our first idea was [to hold] a sporting event,” said senior David Suarez, one of the students who attended the JKB conference. The original plan was to host a celebration during a Prospect football game. Suarez said this idea was shot down because something similar had been done last year without a serious turnout.
Then someone in the JKB group asked, “What if we had something before school?”
From there, the Bash was born.
“One person sparked it and we all added in,” Suarez said.
The Bash, held from 6-9 pm on Tuesday, August 24, was fleshed out when the JKB students sat down with Mirandola and brainstormed ideas. While it was a student idea, the Bash needed the blessing of adult leadership.
“I have the power to make things happen,” Mirandola said regarding his involvement with the event.
Once the planning was complete, the Bash was advertised through Facebook and fliers sent home in the student information packets.
The Bash featured an obstacle course, a climbing wall, a mechanical bull and free hot dogs as well as Underground spirit wear available for purchase.
Mirandola and the rest of the event planners hoped that the attractions like the climbing wall and mechanical bull would attract students and make the Bash more than just a social event.
“The kids want something more extreme,” he said.
Most importantly, this event gave students a chance to relieve end-of-summer stress.
According to Mirandola, “We’re celebrating the end of summer as much as we are celebrating the start of the school year.”
Mirandola believes that the Bash has other benefits besides celebrating.
“It’s a great opportunity to meet more people [especially freshmen] and get a feel for Prospect,” Mirandola said.
Suarez was impressed with the number of students that showed up to the Bash.
“It was a pretty good turnout, considering it was a first year [for the Bash],” he said.
The Bash is not just a first for Prospect, but also a first for the entire district. Mirandola hopes it will become a big tradition at Prospect.
“We do cool things; we have a great community,” he said. “We take care of business in the classroom, so we should be able to enjoy each other outside of the classroom.”