8th Grade Proms/Formals

[luvsJack]

***this isn't really a huge issue, just something I was wondering about.

Does/did your child's school have a prom for 8th grade?

DD is in the 8th grade and they will be having a Prom/Formal Dance in a couple of months. We will start dress shopping in the next couple of weeks.

If your child's school has/had a prom for this age group, how much of a "date" type thing is it? I mean, should we be expecting the boy's parents to come and pick her up? Are there corsages and bouitneers (sp?) involved?

I have already talked to a photographer about making dd's pictures before the dance at the old train station in town. And dd wants to include the boy in the pictures--so that makes me think we should be going to get him rather than expecting his parents to bring him down there. (I don't know his parents, so not something we can really discuss and for that reason I would really prefer to take them)

Last year several groups of parents went in together and rented limos for the kids. Seems a bit much for 8th grade to me. But, otoh, it would solve the problem of who is driving who and we could just let it take them there and then each parent pick up their own kid. And if the kids wanted to go out to eat before the dance, the limo would solve that problem too. But, jeeze, that is a lot of expense for the 8th grade!!

 

[mamamary]

My son had an 8th grade dance. Boys and girls got pretty dressed up. My son did have a date (had to be a fellow student from 8th grade) but it wasn't necessary. He got dropped off at one friend's house and a bunch of them gathered there and took pics. He seemed to stay more with his group of friends than the girl but had a nice time. Parents were invited into the dance for the last 15 mts. for a slideshow of the kids so this way a parent was there to pick their child up.

I wouldn't have gone for a limo - the school is two mts. from our house (dance was at the school).

I only saw a handful of girls with flowers (I worked refreshments) and no boys whatsoever with a bout. I gave my son the option if he wanted to get flowers for her (I sorta thought he should) but he said none of his friends were so we didn't.

 

[mjkacmom]

I don't think we do this in 8th grade, but there is a 6th grade dinner dance, where the girls wear cocktail dresses, and the boys where shorts , and the girls get their hair done, and some do limos. It's held at a local banquet hall, with a 4 course dinner and DJ. Since your's is an actual prom, won't there be a photographer? I don't know much about dates, as very few go as couples to the 6th grade dances.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

***this isn't really a huge issue, just something I was wondering about.

Does/did your child's school have a prom for 8th grade?

DD is in the 8th grade and they will be having a Prom/Formal Dance in a couple of months. We will start dress shopping in the next couple of weeks.

If your child's school has/had a prom for this age group, how much of a "date" type thing is it? I mean, should we be expecting the boy's parents to come and pick her up? Are there corsages and bouitneers (sp?) involved?

I have already talked to a photographer about making dd's pictures before the dance at the old train station in town. And dd wants to include the boy in the pictures--so that makes me think we should be going to get him rather than expecting his parents to bring him down there. (I don't know his parents, so not something we can really discuss and for that reason I would really prefer to take them)

Last year several groups of parents went in together and rented limos for the kids. Seems a bit much for 8th grade to me. But, otoh, it would solve the problem of who is driving who and we could just let it take them there and then each parent pick up their own kid. And if the kids wanted to go out to eat before the dance, the limo would solve that problem too. But, jeeze, that is a lot of expense for the 8th grade!!

Our 8th. grade formal is to teach manners, presentation, etc.

NO long gowns, but the girls must wear a nice dress, stockings, and dress shoes with heels no higher than 2" if I remember correctly (could be three). The boys wear a suit with tie and suit coat. The school handed out corsages and boutonnieres and properly placed them on the child showing them how to do both.

Limo's were not allowed. If you showed up in the limo, your parent was called to check you in. Parents went inside to pick up the child.

While "dates" were not encouraged, it happens especially if a boy already likes a girl and vice versa.

It was never an "expensive" evening, just a few steps above normal. (They had suitcoats at the school, dresses, etc if money was an issue)

Your formal sounds like a full blown prom.

 

[DebD4T]

We have an 8th grade "Prom". It takes place at a catering hall with a DJ.

The girls usually wear dressy dresses, but not gowns.

In my experience, they don't go with "dates", just groups of friends.

Any pictures that I took were on the front lawn of whoever's house they were meeting at.

No limos for us.

Hope your DD enjoys her Prom!!

 

[MomofKatie]

Our middle school holds an "8th grade only" dance near the end of the school year. It is different from the other, whole school dances held throughout the year- girls wear dresses (no long formals, more like cute springy short churchy dresses) and guys wear dress shirt/tie. The regular dances are all held right after school, so kids just wear normal school clothes. This one is on the weekend, I believe, so it is a bit more "special".

As far as I know, it is not a "date" type thing- groups of friends go together or hang out when they get to the dance. I'm sure there are some kids who have a boyfriend/girlfriend already and they come as dates, but it is definitely not required, or really encouraged. It is in the school gym and there is a DJ, and is meant to be a celebration of the kids finishing middle school.

DD has a really cute dress already for the dance- it is a pretty looked-forward-to thing here. I've never heard of anyone renting a limo or hiring a photographer, but I suppose it has been done- everyone I know just takes their kids pics at home then drives them to school.

 

[jrmasm]

Save the flowers, dates, photographers and limos for the real prom. It's an 8th grade dance!

 

[Luv Bunnies]

Our middle school doesn't have any formal events. They have three casual dances each year, but the boys end up dancing on one side of the room and the girls on the other! My DS said girls and boys hardly even mingle at those dances. The formal "couples" dances don't really start until high school in our area.

 

[englishteacha]

We have a middle school semi formal. The kids are encouraged to dress up, but not in formal wear. The boys wear shirts and ties and dress pants and the girls wear party dresses (not gowns). There's usually a photographer there taking pictures, and there's a real DJ, rather than one of us teachers doing the music. They decorate and it's a big deal, but the limos/gowns/tuxes were outlawed when things started to get out of hand a few years back. It's for grades 6-8 in our school. Kids can bring a "Date" from a neighboring middle school, but no high schoolers allowed. Most kids go in groups, but some 8th graders do have a "date" for the dance.

 

[luvmy3]

Save the flowers, dates, photographers and limos for the real prom. It's an 8th grade dance!

Do that yourself, the OP didn't if she should save things for the "real" prom.


My dd's formal is in a few months too, and most kids go with groups of friends, but some do with their date. I'll offer to drive or pick up the group and take pics of them when I do. I don't plan on doing a limo, but I'm sure some kids will arrive in one.
If I had a nice place to take dd for professional pictures I would. Its not every day she'll be dressed up, and who knows if she'll even go to her HS proms.

 

[jen0610]

They have an 8th grade only dance. They hold it right after school - school lets out at 2:35 and the dance starts at 3:00. Dance is over at 5:00. The kids go in what they wore to school that day. Most of the kids wear something nicer, but very few wear their "sunday best" and no one wears anything that would be called formal or even semi-formal.

I know that serval years ago there were some moms that tried to make a big ta do about it and they let their girls skip that day and took them to get their nail, hair, and make up done. They dropped the girls off and had to turn around and come pick them up, as they weren't allowed in the dance as they hadn't been in attendance for classes that day. The school had heard rumors that this was being planned and had told the students that no one would be allowed to go to the dance that didn't come to school that day. Multipule times the kids were told. They also sent home fliers with this info, had it posted on the schools web site, in the school new letter.

The funny thing being, the one mom was on the PTA board. SHE knew what the school had set up. She must have thought that since she was on the board, that those rules wouldn't apply to her dd and her friends.

I like it the way it is. It's just about the kids having one last celebration together, before going to their different high schools. It's not a competition to see who can out do who. That's bad enough in high school.

 

[Art 1]

Yes. They also had a formal dinner and dance for the students, parents and teachers together.

 

[jrmasm]

:headache: Do that yourself, the OP didn't if she should save things for the "real" prom.

My dd's formal is in a few months too, and most kids go with groups of friends, but some do with their date. I'll offer to drive or pick up the group and take pics of them when I do. I don't plan on doing a limo, but I'm sure some kids will arrive in one.
If I had a nice place to take dd for professional pictures I would. Its not every day she'll be dressed up, and who knows if she'll even go to her HS proms.

Lovely

And whether you or the op like what I said, it doesn't change my opinion.


Save it for the real prom.

 

[indimom]

My daughter is having her eighth grade formal in the spring. (She already has her dress. )
I've never heard of anyone renting limos and doing corsages. I suppose a few families may, but it would be pretty rare.
At this point, only one of my daughter's friends has a steady boyfriend, so they are all planning to go as a group.

 

[maslex]

Both of my boys had an 8th grade dinner/dance that parents were invited to also. It was at a beautiful catering hall. A photographer was hired to take the students pictures. And if you wanted your picture taken, the photographer took a couple individual photos of each student, a couple with the student & their parents and then random group shots of friends, etc. She also took a few different shots of the class as a whole (like a serious pose and then a funny pose). You didn't have to buy any photos if you didn't want to but they were available for purchase. I of course, bought a couple each year.

There was a full buffet for dinner. A couple big cakes/cupcakes for dessert. Plus there were these neat candy centerpieces on each table. There was also "raffles" Well, not so much a raffle but at the beginning of the night every student got a raffle ticket with a number on it and when you're number was called, you went up to the DJ and got your "prize". Every student ended up with somethin whether it was a $5 gift card to fast food place, a school sweatshirt/hat, $10 gift card to a local pizza joint, etc. Actually I think both my boys ended up with a $10 gift card for pizza. There was also a slideshow of all the teachers and also of all the pictures that the yearbook club had taken throughout the year.

All boys had to dress up with dress pants/dress shirt and a tie. And girls had to wear a dress. Like others have said, there were no "gowns" or corsages or anything like that. The girls dresses were all what you would see them wear on a summer day or in church.

All in all, it was a good night out.

 

[Auggietina]

My dd was in 8th grade last year. They had a winter semi formal. A letter was sent home with the plea not to make the dance into a "prom" The school asked not to wear formal gowns, not to spend unecessary money on hair, nails and limos.

I thought that was wonderful and would not make anyone feel out of place at the dance. Not everyone can afford to buy new formal dresses and go to the salon.

My dd wore a cocktail dress, did her own hair and nails. I dropped her off. She met her date there and I picked her up when it was over.

They did a nice job of decorating the gym and they did have a DJ. Parents brought in snacks and drinks.

 

[Coconut36]

Prom? No never heard that term used for the 8th grade "formal".

A formal dance at the end of the year..yes that was common even back in my day (I am almost 37). My DH often has the "joy" of chaperoning. The kids often dress in their dressy outfits for graduation and it's not all that much different from a regular dance except they dress a bit nicer. As far as I know from my DH (has taught middle school for 12 years now) there are no limos. Maybe some corsages but that's about it.

 

[pyrxtc]

cocktail dresses, buffet for food was there and they had dates or went in groups. I didn't see any limo's. They did have a photographer there for pictures.

 

[krcit]

Our district does not have any dances for 8th grade. We did have a 6th grade dance at a catering hall. It's cute, no dates, the girls wore cute summer dresses or dressier clothes and the boys wore polo shirts and shorts or button down shirts. Honestly, I'm glad they don't do the 8th grade dance. I see what some of these girls wear to Bat/Bar Mitzvah's I honestly don't understand how their parents let them out of the house.

 

[Magic Mom]

DD's school does an 8th grade formal. They don't call it Prom. You will find a wide variety of clothes from formal down to Wranglers and Ropers (we're rural). Most of the kids will be in the middle, nice dresses and khakis with button down shirts. I am sure some kids will go crazy with the limo and photographers and flowers (I think I can name the ones that will), but I won't be doing that. We will have fun shopping for a dress, she will meet her friends or a date at the school, and I will take a few pictures and then leave them to have fun at the dance. She'll have to wait from Prom for all the extras.