Published: May 18, 2008 10:02 pm            

BOCES: ‘Fiesta’ prom is a rite of passage

SHELBY — Dressed to the nines, students enrolled in the special education program at Orleans/Niagara BOCES celebrated their prom Friday morning.

Themed a “Mexican Fiesta,” there was plenty of food, dancing and socialization for the students at the sixth annual event. But what’s a prom without royalty? As in year’s past, the king and queen were chosen by pulling names from a bag, and Andrew Ozzimo, 20, was crowned king with classmate Katie Nuwer, 21, as his queen. The two shared a dance, Ozzimo guiding Nuwer’s wheelchair with his hand on throughout the song, before enjoying the afternoon and the honor of being this year’s royalty.

“I’m having a great time,” Ozzimo said. He also said that being crowned king was good.

The king and queen are two of 12 students who will be graduating this year from the special education department. The ceremony will be held June 6 at the Orleans/Niagara BOCES conference center in Sanborn. Special education teacher Vera Giuliano said the class of 2008 is the largest in a long time.

Before donning caps and gowns and receiving their diplomas next month, the students had to have their prom, an event that Michele Fiannaca said is “a special prom for special students.”

“A lot of them are not going to the school in their district,” she said. “They were missing out on a high school rite of passage.”

The prom has been held annually for the students who have multiple handicaps — cerebral palsy, Down syndrome and those who are developmentally delayed. According to Fiannaca, students attending the prom can purchase a dress or suit, but the department also has dress clothes for them if they cannot afford to purchase new attire for the event. The clothes have been used again and again, and now they are in need of some new gowns, suits and shoes.

Although the students are able to go to their home school senior proms, many of them choose not to because they don’t know any of their classmates there, Fiannaca said. Celebrating with the classmates they have spent many years with at BOCES was the perfect solution to giving the kids the opportunity to experience the event.

Plans for the special education prom begin in September and continue being made through the year. The students are involved in the designing of the invitation, the thank you notes and the posters that are hung around announcing the event.

Though the prom is an event of the special education department, everyone has a hand in putting it together and making it a success. The BOCES food service program provides the buffet lunch, students in the cosmetology department cut and style hair and give manicures, and many of the vocational students attend to help get the prom-goers dressed and ready for their day. They often stay to dance and have a little fun with their peers, Fiannaca said.

“It’s something that’s built up all year,” she said.

Anyone who wants to donate prom dresses or dress clothes can do so by dropping them off at the Orleans /Niagara BOCES Special Education Building, 4232 Shelby Basin Road, Medina.

Contact reporter Miranda Vagg at 798-1400, ext. 2225.

        

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