My DS went to prom last year with a friend. He gave us less than a weeks notice before the cutoff date at the tuxedo shop. Those DC may yet surprise you! Definitely a pack the puffs event!!
There are no senior dues, but all the little things add up. Cap and gown are $27. Yearbook, $35. Photos (school version) about $25. And so on. They had their first prom last year and it was open to the entire high school. No middle school, though. Many of the teachers dressed up and went too-it was very nice, right on the water, catered and everything. They donât do limos or after parties, though. D is on ASB so she will be planning the prom this year. Last year her date was a fellow student and was so awkward that she didnât have much fun with him. Iâm betting sheâll invite this family friend that sheâs liked since they were toddlers. They went to the 8th grade winter dance together and had a great time.
They voted on âSenior Superlativesâ today. They made sure every kid got at least one nomination, which is nice-they made up extra categories just for that reason. D was nominated for several, including âmost likely to marry her phoneâ, which she will likely win. But that was balanced out by âmost likely to become presidentâ.
I canât imagine anyone skipping graduation. Itâs sort of the launching place to adulthood. D will likely have 50+ attending hers-thatâs more than the size of her whole class. Should be a rollicking time in between the Puffs or Kleenex.
I have never heard of senior dues. Is that a private school thing? I recall cap and gown for D13 as being minimal cost â maybe 15 or $25. Prom is about $100 plus tux or dress and after prom is usually $20 DS doesnât seem to want a year book.
I have never heard of senior dues, and Iâve already graduated one. What is it supposed to be for?
Our senior dues are 40.00 although Iâm not sure what the funds go to.
DD goes to public school. I am not sure what exactly included. As far as I know: cap and gown, yearbook, rental fee for the location. Probably something else.
@momofzag Iâve never heard of Sr dues either and my kids have all gone to private school. So, do tell people, what is this Senior dues thing? Just a collection of the fees they owe?
P&G and Kimberly-Clark are sure to jump into this thread any moment now; probably to ask for a cut of the dues.
No prom, no class ring and no yearbook here either. Son is just ready to be done with high school. He hasnât refused to walk at graduation yet though. I think I would have to put my foot down on that one.
There are no senior dues at DDâs large suburban public HS, but cap and gown are around $25 and the yearbook is $75. I just got DDâs senior portraitsâfor a relatively modest package it was around $160! Prom ticket prices havenât been set yet, but will probably be around $120, including the prom after-party. DD has talked about going to the prom in the past, but Iâm not sure sheâll go when the time comes. She will definitely be at graduation though! When she was 3 years old and first diagnosed on the autism spectrum, I couldnât imagine her making it through kindergarten, much less high school. But through sheer determination and a positive attitude, she has surpassed all expectationsâexcellent student, NMSF, math whizâand is now applying to college. Needless to say, at her graduation I will be bringing plenty of tissues!
At our school, senior due includes yearbook, cap and gown. There are few more stuff I cannot remember.
DD did not have her middle school graduation because she was accepted to the current school at 7th grade which is the only entry point at her school.
$330 includes yearbook, sweatshirt and tâshirt, prom ticket, senior breakfast and some other activities. I have no idea if D will attend prom.
My sonâs senior pictures cost about $150. We will also have the expense of invitations,gown and yearbook. He does not plan to go to prom. If he is accepted ED to his #1 school we will owe a $500 enrollment deposit in Jan. We are also saving for his graduation gift. He will major in graphic design so he needs a good laptop. We are currently debating between a Mac and Surface 4. Anyway, senior year will be very expensive.
Public school here.
Senior dues cover cap, gown, andâŠwell, honestly, I have no idea. There are a lot of senior activities that it probably finances. And since weâre not-quite-Title-One I suppose part of it is to cover the cost of cap and gown for the kids who canât pay.
Public suburban wealthy district for us - no senior dues that I know of, but lots of fees for everything.
It makes it very uncomfortable for kids who need to ask for financial assistance, because it is a repeated embarrassment for each thing. For example, prom tickets cost $120 each, yearbook costs $150, etc. My family is what I would consider solidly middle class, but as a teacher (DH is a scientist) we qualify for financial aid for most of these expenses at the school based on income, and so each one is an email to the faculty advisors who are also my colleagues (awkward!). I would much rather they have a senior dues of $600 or whatever the total will be, and then give a discounted rate one time for those on financial aid. I get far from the maximum aid, by the way; there are lower income kids bused in and they get a different sliding scale. Again, so awkward to do for each expense.
Oh, and we also just got the email with details for AP registrations - those are close to $100 each and as is the case for most, I think, my family does not qualify for FA on those.
We do not pay âsenior duesâ for cap and gown, etc. We do purchase yearbooks but the district provides the caps & gowns. My D gripes about having to go to graduation but we explain to her that it is not only for you but for your family who have rode this wave with you for all these years. D is also in the mindset of wishing for High School to be over since Freshman year! She thought it was comical how so many of her peers were lamenting on social media (before the school year began) how they were so upset that high school was almost over. Even though this year has been the best of all the four years she is still not upset at it being over. She is looking forward to her acceptances and finding the school that has the balanced challenging academic environment with vibrant and accepting social environment that she has been searching for all along. I am sure she will be nervous about moving on to a new place but she is excited too!
@Mom2jl I am right there with you (previously with my S14 and now D16). You work so hard to help them assimilate to their school environment and then you blink and its senior year. While everyone is a proud peacock on graduation day (and rightfully so)âŠthat day is a bit more overwhelming when for many many years you were not sure your child would be able to make it through with the paths that the school districts generally paved for the majority of the students.
Everything costs more in my area (Northern NJ). Yearbooks are $90. We did not purchase senior portraits. The cheapest package was $150+ and my son was not happy about having to look like everyone else (boys have to have a tux in the yearbook pic). We did family portraits with a few individual shots of each kid instead. Some families go to a professional photographer for senior portraits. I looked into it and it was even more!
My son is also eager to get out of HS. Heâs felt this way for a few years now. Heâd skip graduation if I let him (I wonât). Unless something changes, heâs not going to prom.
Cap and gown was $30, year book is I believe $45. D16 has gone to prom for the past 2 years, itâs $25 and you get a tee shirt. It is in a hall and they have soft drinks and cookies. Pictures are done there and they give them to them at the end of the night, they are included. No limos here but they usually do something as a group before, last year it was a pot luck at our house before and after. Shirt and tie, no limo. I did cave for professional pictures and she did get sweats (which she sleeps in) and a hoodie. I think they might have be $50 for both. Now sheâs collecting college merchandise!
I wanted to skip my graduation. The only reason I went was that my parents got my Grandma to drive over from NC. My plan had been to sit in the audience while my best friend gave his valedictorian address and meet up with my friends after it was all over. My wife finished high school early, so it wasnât a big deal for her. I can certainly understand parents wanting to see their kids walk, and donât judge anyone for making them do it. For me, I wouldnât feel good making my sons do something I had to be pressured into doing. Also, their graduation is off site at a large facility with a limited number of tickets per family. Our son was willing to give his unused tickets to friends, but they had to order a cap and gown to get them. The only mention of prom was when we were watching a NFL Hall of Fame acceptance speech where former Steeler Jerome âThe Busâ Bettis wore a bright yellow jacket. He said that if he decided for some reason to go to the prom heâd wear a jacket like that.