After prom, seniors attend Morning Madness

“Alcohol is not necessary to have fun,” said parent Gina Knauer, who co-chairs the Morning Madness committee. “All [students] need is the camaraderie of their classmates.”

For the past 19 years, the Long Beach High School PTSA Morning Madness Committee has worked with the Long Beach School District to ensure that seniors and their dates could have a fun-filled evening in a safe, alcohol-free environment.

Knauer, who hosted a pre-prom gathering at her home, said she was pleased with the turnout of this year’s event, after 245 seniors and their dates attended the annual post-prom party, held at Dave & Buster’s in Westbury on Thursday, June 24, following the prom festivities at Crest Hollow Country Club.

The arcade closed to the public and was open exclusively to Long Beach High School seniors and their guests. Students that did not attend prom were bused to Morning Madness from their homes.

Beginning with a mandatory pre-prom meeting and ending with the substance-free "all night" Morning Madness post prom party, the district has partnered with the PTSA to create a safe and memorable evening for students and their dates. The Morning Madness committee, co-chaired by Knauer, Randi Andosca, Linda Birnbaum, Maria Martin, and Darlene Tangney, worked all year to raise money to treat all graduating seniors and their dates to the early morning festivities, complete with food, games entertainment and prizes.

Rosemary Leonetti was one of the many parents who said that she was able to sleep peacefully on prom night, knowing her children were safe.

“It gave me lots of reassurance as a parent to know my two children would be happy and safe,” said Leonetti, who works as the district's public relations representative. “It’s a wonderful thing for the community, the parents and the kids.”

In order to be eligible for the grand prizes, teens had to be in attendance for a special raffle drawing at the end of the evening. Organizers said that students are encouraged by past grand-prize winners, which was a big incentive for this year’s attendees to stay the entire evening in the hopes of clinching the biggest prizes. Senior Jamie Prendergast won the Dell Netbook computer, while Lamont Maxwell was the lucky winner of the evening's most coveted prize: A shiny new 2010 Nissan Sentra.

Students who remained at Morning Madness the entire night were also given the opportunity to spin the scholarship wheel winning anywhere from $50 to $250 dollars.

Knauer said she felt that the main purpose of the evening — for the kids to be safe and to enjoy themselves — was a success.

“Over the years, we have been proud to give our seniors a send-off they will always remember. This year was especially emotional for me, since my youngest daughter Gillian was graduating,” said Knauer. “I will always be grateful for the overwhelming support of our community, staff, and administration at the Long Beach Schools. Thanks to this joint effort, we have been able to make this a successful, safe and rewarding prom tradition for everyone.”