Come Sail Away, With Me!

Come Sail Away, With Me! from Chad Bruns on Vimeo.

When Kelsey ditches Danielle for fun time in California, how will Danielle operate? I mean, Danielle doesn't even know who she is without Kelsey! And prom is coming up! How is she going to handle THAT?! Oh that's right, she's better off without Kelsey. This video answers any questions you had about prom, and addresses some you probably hadn't even thought of.

Grand March 2010

HCHS Grand March 2010 from Chad Bruns on Vimeo.

Recording of the entire HCHS 2010 Grand March.

Come Sail Away With Me-Emily Bierl

What do you think about Harlan's prom? Does it make you feel like your money was well spent? Is ours better than other schools? I'm going to get the inside scoop on what our students think.

First we start the night with The Grand March. The Grand March is where everyone who is attending the prom is announced to the Harlan community. Dylan Garrison said, " I think it's a good thing to have, so everyone will get noticed." The students each go on stage with their dates, get recognized, and pause for pictures. Some of the couples like to get creative by doing either a hand shake or a dance while on stage. In my opinion, it's a great thing to have so that our familys can see us before we leave for the dance.


Nate Pattee and I being announced at The Grand March. (Not very visible due to the darkness in the auditorium)

From there, we head to the Lauritzen Gardens in Omaha for the dance. Some schools don't even leave their own town for their prom, so we have a good deal. When we arrive there, we get in line to have our picture taken. The pictures turn out really nice, due to all the flowers in the background. After having our pictures taken, we get to enjoy an awesome meal. The meal consists of chicken, roast beef, potatoes, fruit, and best of all, cheesecake! Once our stomachs are full of food we get to watch our fellow classmates be hypnotized. This is probably my favorite part of the night because it is so funny to watch! After that is the dance.

Finally, we head back to Harlan after all of the fun. But, it's not over yet! The schools offers a Casino Night at the high school. You get a chance to win some great prizes. I like casino night, but it felt like a really long activity. Some students didn't really enjoy it but others did. Nate Pattee said, " I liked how you had the chance to get some cool stuff, but it seemed to run a little long. I think I would like it better if it was around an hour instead of two." I think it is cool how so many people donate money for us to have Casino Night. They serve us sandwiches and pizza too.

So, overall I think our prom is pretty awesome. Hanna Bissen explains, "I love being able to dress up nice and have fun with my friends. The whole night is just amazing." We get to go to Omaha and even ride in nice coach buses. I heard that some schools have to ride in their school buses and that doesn't sound fun at all. We get good food and great entertainment. We are really fortunate to have a prom as nice as we do.


Dylan Garrison, Becca Stein, Nate Pattee, and me before The Grand March.


Some of the senior girls and myself before the big night.

Senioritis (The Silent Killer) by Victoria Thomas

As the end of the year nears, more and more seniors are beginning to experience senioritis. What is senioritis you ask? Well, the Urban Dictionary describes senioritis as ‘a crippling disease that strikes high school seniors.’ A crippling disease? Yes and a killer to grades. Is the disease contagious? Of course; any student slacking off in class has fun, which rubs off on the students around them. Symptoms often include repeated absences, lack of studying, and excessive wearing of ugly sweatpants.
Many students don’t feel the need to try at schoolwork anymore, and can’t get their mind off of graduation. Most seniors who get the disease do not know how to cure it, or don’t care to. Senioritis is most commonly caused by stress, among many other school issues. The disease sometimes shows up after an individual has been accepted into college. This student feels as if they no longer have to try, because all their after high school plans are all laid out. Seniors do not realize that colleges can still reject them. They begin to feel tired, bored, and annoyed of the routine. They begin to realize that most of their important tests are over, and that they no longer need to gain high school level knowledge. Another cause is senior festivities such as prom and ‘Senior Survivor.’ These activities free seniors’ minds, and let them relax.




Professionals say that the only known cure to ‘senioritis’ is to receive your diploma. What do you think? Do you think you can beat the disease? Or will you be doomed to procrastinate in school for the next few months?

If you are experiencing senioritis, please, don’t hesitate to speak to a counselor, a friend, anything! There is help for you! Senioritis can be a fun thing to experience, but there is also a serious side to it, as sometimes it will lead to a student trying drugs/alcohol for the first time. Seriously, if you notice one of your friends starting to fall behind, or think about doing something unintelligent, talk to them, see if they need help.
Do not let the disease go unnoticed. If your friends are slacking off in class, give them a little punch, whip them into shape. Senioritis is killing America. Our kids are getting lazier and lazier towards spring. We must prevent senioritis. Many teachers may try to kill the disease, but it is not up to them, it is up to you, the senior. Good luck in beating this widely spreading disease, and farewell.

The Conned Princess

It’s finally time for the epic night to come around again. It is the night that young girls look forward to since they enter the world of school. It is the night that a girl gets the chance to look like a princess and go on a date with there high school sweet heart. That’s right it is time for prom once again. But is this year going to break every teenage girl’s wallet?

How much do you think girls are willing to spend on a dress? Is it around fifty dollars, a hundred dollars, two hundred dollars?? No most HCHS girls have been spending close to four or five hundred dollars on a dress. It seems that since there is such a lack of stores around this area teens have been going to stores like Glam to get there dresses. At stores like this the chances of you getting a dress fewer than three hundred and fifty dollars are almost slim to none. So I, Kelsey McDaniel, am posing the question. Is it just simply the fact that girls spend this much money cause they have to or is it teen girls looking for a materialistic item that will provide them with one night of feeling like a princess?

Well yes it is true that stores do price dresses high, but stores such as Glam are not the only stores that sell these dresses. There are many stores that sell cheaper dresses even in a reasonable driving distance. These stores are ones that many people here are familiar with and ones that girls maybe are not. When a girl is going dress shopping they are aware of the fact that they are going to have to spend some money. The problem is that teenage girls tend to look past the fact of the price and more towards how they look in the dress. Which is perfectly reasonable, you want to look good in the dress, but what you want to do is find a happy medium, a medium between price and brand.

Okay girls are you ready for this… I have one word, bargains. Yes it is possible to find a dress for a hundred dollars or less. Here are some ways. You can go to a half and half store and buy a nice used dress. Go online and buy one off of eBay or Craig’s list. There’re always stores such as Deb that aim for low prices. Also there is always the option of asking a graduated girl about borrowing there dress for the night. Than there is a possibility that if you have some one in your family or a close friend who is good at sewing. They could make a dress for you. All you have to do is pay like a hundred dollars for the fabric. There’re many ways to avoid spending to much money.

Basically girls I am trying to encourage all of you to not buy the first dress you try on. Take your time. So based on the facts that I have just given you I leave you with the question. Is it just simply the fact that girls spend this much money cause they have to or is it teen girls looking for a materialistic item that will provide them with one night of feeling like a princess? What do you think?

HCHS Prom 2009

This video is courtesy of Joe Schmitz.

Harlan Community High School Prom-2009 from Chad Bruns on Vimeo.

2009 HCHS Prom Grand March

HCHS Prom Preview