A time to dance
Two Yosemite High School students combine efforts to organize a “Senior Prom for the Senior Citizens”
BY DAVID RICHARDS - EDITOR@SIERRASTAR.COM

DAVID RICHARDS
Carolyn and Barry Bartlett smile during a song played at a senior prom Saturday, organized especially for those Mountain Area residents 50 and older.

Carolyn and Barry Bartlett have graced dance floors on and off for 48 years, ever since they met at the College of the Sequoias.

On this night, their dancing choice is swing, a variety that’s changed names from time to time.

“In high school, they called it the jitterbug,” Barry said firmly, dressed in a charcoal suit.

The Bartletts were two of more than 40 attendees at the “Senior Prom for the Senior Citizens,” held from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Oakhurst Community Center Saturday.

The occasion was pulled off through the work of Yosemite High School students Amanda Schotke and Samantha Lorenzana, who organized the event as part of their senior project requirement for graduation.
After months of planning and approaching business owners for donations ranging from raffle prizes to cash used to purchase appetizers, such as California rolls, the effort paid off.

“I think it’s going well,” Schotke said toward the beginning of the dance. “I’m hoping more people show up after 5 p.m. and there’s a lot of food, so it all has to be eaten.”

Live music was played by a local band called “Lisa and Company,” which featured a guitar, saxophone, drums, bass and a vocalist.
Song choices ranged from the slower selections to the up-tempo ones. The Bartletts preferred the latter.

“We like the faster songs,” Carolyn said.

Also making an appearance on the dance floor were Edward and Shirley Bailey, who have been married 43 years and dance every chance they get.

Wearing matching crimson outfits, Edward twirled Shirley, who seemed to smile permanently during one song that featured a drum solo.

“This is very nice,” she said of the occasion.

During the rare times the music would stop, Schotke and Lorenzana awarded raffle prizes, items ranging from a picture phone to a gift certificate for a haircut.

“Overall, people seem pretty excited about it,” Lorenzana said. “They seem happy we did it.”

Senior projects have been a requirement at Yosemite High School for more than 10 years and a component of the senior English curriculum, said Principal Steve Raupp.

“We have never had a student who didn’t complete it,” he said. “Some of them (projects) are better than others. I will say the quality of them every year seems to get better and better.”

Each student must also weave some sort of community service aspect into their project.

For Schotke and Lorenzana, it was organizing an event for those Mountain Area residents age 50 or older.

“It was a lot of work, but I liked what the end result was,” she said.
She wasn’t the only one.

“I think it’s a nice project for the girls to do,” Carolyn said.

Yosemite Joint Union High School District News