The 2021 senior class has overcome many hurdles this year.  Seniors have missed homecoming, normal football games, and other senior festivities. To top it off, they are not getting the traditional prom many have dreamed of since freshman year.  

Due to COVID-19 and social distancing guidelines, the Cherokee County School District school board had concerns on the safety of prom such as having no way to contract trace. 

“If a student ended up getting COVID-19 after prom, it would be extremely difficult to trace who they were around since it was going to be in a smaller venue,” Brittany Chandler, English teacher, said. 

To alleviate these issues, the school board devised a new plan: instead of a traditional prom, an after-school carnival will be held on May 14 from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. This will include various food trucks, carnival games, bouncy houses, Instagram picture backdrops, and more. The carnival will be outdoors, allowing for more space to prevent the spread of the virus. If it happens to rain, there will be massive tents covering the field to make sure the celebration can still go on.  

“Seniors are going to get a meal ticket that they can use at different food trucks. They get to select one dinner and one dessert. There will also be different activities and games for them to participate in,” Rachael Bourne, English teacher, said. 

Some students are disappointed with these new changes, as they have anticipated senior prom for years.  

“It is sad that most of us seniors never got to experience a prom at all, even though that is one thing that we have grown up looking forward to,” Julian Vaccaro, senior, said.  

The senior celebration is meant to be a recognition of Etowah’s class of 2021, as it is one final gathering for seniors to share an afternoon before their post-high school plans. 

“We know that seniors are disappointed that there isn’t a prom this year, but we are hoping that we can create some memories, so they have something to say they were a part of,” Chandler said. 

For more information on the senior celebration, students can check out the Etowah Prom Instagram page.