We had our prom this past Friday, May 28th at the Mississauga Convention Centre.
From about 6:30 pm to approximately 7:30 pm, I was thinking why our staff and school puts itself in a position to deal with a sizable percentage of students that were well on their way to inebriation.
As a parent, you are thinking why do we allow these students into the event in the first place if they "appear" to be under the influence. Yes...we have our female staff volunteers check the purses of the female students and likewise for the male staff volunteers who do a brief but non-intrusive "pat" down of the male students.
As has been the case for the last 3.5 years as the Principal at CtK, we might find the odd "dime bag" or one of those tiny liquor bottles of which we seize and the student is sent home. There is the odd student that attempts to come through the doors obliterated which leaves us no choice but to apprehend the student....call their parents and then send them home.
Back to the sizable percentage of students that may have been under the influence. These students pose an ethical dilemma. For most of them, they have worked hard for at least four years and this evening is a culmination and celebration of their efforts. Do we send them home simply because we think they have had a few drinks? Easier said than done. We have built relationships with these students and a combination of duty, care, trust and compassion get intermingled when we are confronted with the decision to end their evening at the front door.
So....like so many other schools...we let them know that we are concerned about them and to be on their best behaviour or face the possibility of being sent home. This decision falls on me and only me.
So now to the time period between 6:30 pm and 7:30 pm. This was the most contentious time of our evening where it could easily have been a powder keg if cooler heads hadn't prevailed.
Many students arrived late for the dinner. Many of our students ignored the requests of one of our VPs to settle down as he was attempting to provide the ground rules for the evening for their safety. My other VP attempted to appeal to their sense of decency and managed to settle the crowd momentarily. I took the microphone shortly thereafter and mentioned that while the evening started in a disappointing fashion that I was very proud of them, complimented their appearance and wished them a wonderful evening. Fortunately, this was greeted with applause and was followed by Grace and then the meal.
To appease the unbelievable amount of students who needed to smoke throughout the evening, we allowed a few "smoke" breaks in between the transition of each course. Students filed into the smoking area to inhale a cigarette as fast as possible until one of the administrators asked .....frequently....to return to their seats for the next course.
The rest of the evening went very well as the meal and dancing had dissipated any alcohol that was consumed by the aforementioned students.
The Convention Centre was empty by 11 pm as most of the students were on their way to yet another party and in some cases one that would take place all weekend.
So....I ask you why we continue to have staff that put in MANY hours of their FREE time to make this event a special one. Why do I as the Principal put myself in a precarious position with lingering liability throughout the evening?
We do it for the many wonderful students that thanked us on the way out for our time and effort. As educators, we don't do what we do to receive thanks from anyone quite frankly. That said...the emphatic appreciation from these students was affirmation that this evening was worthwhile.
I guess it is all about perspective. Some of the staff that have been at CtK much longer than I said it was the worst behaved prom in our school's existence. When I mentioned this to a new staff member that transferred from Dufferin-Peel Catholic, she was surprised and said that the evening was far better than most of the nights that she supervised in her previous board.
Perspective indeed.
Thanks for reading. Looking forward to your comments.
hey thuuuuuur
ReplyDeletethought I would just say thank you for our prom. Even though we were drinking. Thank you for dealing with us.
<3 bffls
Mr. Desantis
ReplyDeleteI am surprised at your apparently shocked reaction to the students' behaviour. Is this some sort of 'eye-opener' to you? That high school kids celebrate for their prom? I believe the use of alcohol has been prevalent in all Prom's, I would believe even in your time as a high school student.
But maybe not.
In this day and age, young adults use alcohol as an integral part of their recreation. So why chastise your students for wanting to celebrate for their end of high school prom for drinking?
It's not as if the students were chugging back beers and vodka on the dancefloor. No, they arranged to respectfully drink at a designated pre-prom residence.
So you ask yourself WHY you have your staff put SO many hours of their FREE time to organize this prom? Has every student not paid for their ticket? Was every student not dressed nicely, and appropriately, for the occasion? I believe each student was VERY thankful that the school has organized a prom for them. This was the most anticipated event for months for these students!
To have you criticize them for their somewhat 'overly-joyous' state of mind is unnecessary .
And as you mentioned about your new staff member from Dufferin-Peel Catholic, she was 'surprised and said the evening was far better than most of the nights that she supervised in her previous board'.
I believe you take these students for granted.
"the worst behaved prom in our school's existence" ? How so? Because some students were 'inhaling' cigarettes? Because some arrived a little late? Let me assure you, most of the students thought the restraint on them during the dinner was absolutely laughable. Students weren't even allowed to go the washroom, or LEAVE the dinner early? Since when do our children deserve to be treated like high risk inmates?
I think you should alter your perspective about your own students. They know how to have a good time; apparently you dont.
Ok so you say that this was the worst prom you've attended to? I'm sorry but you need to get out more. My child said she had a blast however at the beginning, she filmed what you guys did and I find this absolutely appalling. Why must the students be treated as if they were little children who didn't know how to control themselves?
ReplyDeleteI find that this comment put up on your school website is even more degrating. You need to consider the fact that this is public domain and people from all over are able to see this. You need to realize that this prom night was NOT for you it was for THEM ! Get over yourself and maybe delete this so that CtK doesn't need to feel ashamed of their principal.
Thanks.
Mr DeSantis, As both a parent of a teenager and an educator I truly take offence at the comment you made with regard to the behaviour of the graduating class of 2010. I do agree with you that teenagers can be troublesome and beligerent at the most inopportune times. As a 23 year teacher I, too, have had many a prom experience with inebriated revellers. From what I encountered the minority rather than the majority are a problem. With this in mind, I do not feel you should tarnish the reputation of the majority because of the egregious behaviour of a motley crue of misguided, and parent sanctioned I might add, group of misfits. My daughter was thrilled to finally participate in her prom. She was well behaved as were her group. I only wish you praised those like her for their excellent comportment as much as you criticized those who were misbehaving. As to why we continue to volunteer of our time to do this? The answer is simple - we love these kids and even though they frustrate us and distract us to no end we continue to love them just as Christ teaches us. Is that not our role as Catholic educators????
ReplyDeleteI am a parent of one of the students who was late and i would like to say i am appalled that you would call them out. They can not help that their incompetent limo driver did not bother to pick them up, and you have absolutely no right to say anything about that, it is not your place and you should be disgusted with yourself
ReplyDeleteI am student at your school and i do not appreciate you putting this blog up. You should act more like an adult and tell the students you have a problem with to their faces instead of acting like one of the children you are bashing.
ReplyDeleteProm is suppose to be an extremely exciting time for an adolescence, if not there most exciting point in their life so far. It confuses me that you say you were appalled by the idea of them cheering and being happy. Are you condemning happiness? These children have worked so hard for the past 4 years of their lives, and i believe they deserved this night to let loose and have fun. The type of behaviour that you and your fellow staff members displayed to the teenagers was not something i would expect from the staff of CTK.
ReplyDeleteFor the most part, you as a principle know how well behaved the students of your school are. You know what well mannered and mature young adults these students have been. You and your fellow staff members have seen them grow through out their four years of schooling and have watched them become these respectable young adults. For you to bluntly state that this is the worst prom you have ever been to not only makes the students look much worse than they actually are, but it hurts their feelings. Reading this post with my daughter, I could see that she truly felt bad. She felt bad, yet was not at all one of the students to display this terrible behaviour you speak of.
You cannot say that all of the children were "inhaling" cigarettes. I think it is safe to say not even half the school was partaking in this activity, so why are you lumping all of these children together so they appear much worse than they are. I think that is disrespectful to the students who were very well behaved. These students deserve some recognition for their well behaved activities.
So this post, where you are bringing down the students that are suppose to be happy and excited to move into the next stage of their life, is completely because some children were too excited to quite down. I completely agree that this is something that could get easily frustrating, but i believe that you went about the situation all the wrong way, and this post is a continuation of the wrong way of handling this. I don't think you understand this is making people upset, and I believe this post should be deleted so no one else's feelings are hurt.
I am a student of CtK and also do not appreciate this blog. I, for one, did not participate in the pre-parties, and feel as though you are simply stereotyping all of us due to a small minority of students.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, I was one of the students who arrived late- not by choice however. Our limo did not show and our parents were forced to drive us to Prom.How this is our fault, I do not understand. Upon arrival we were told to go straight to our seats, which we did.
It paints a negative painting on the whole evening, which was an amazing night. The teachers who put so much effort into creating a memorable prom succeeded with flying colors.
I hope you take this into consideration, and write a new blog focusing on the positive aspects of Prom, rather than the negative.
Mr. DeSantis,
ReplyDeleteI attended prom on Friday night, and I must say that I had a lot of fun, although I was among those who were late because of the limo situations.
Though I was not present for the entirety of that infamous "first hour", I heard about, and witnessed much of this poor behaviour of which you speak, and I recognize where you are coming from. Many of us had been drinking, and this was QUITE evident, from the yelling and stumbling around. But at the same time, many of us hadn't.
I completely understand why you have posted this somewhat irate poste: it's about safety. Safety ALWAYS comes first before "having a good time", and your anger and frustrations clearly stem from the possible endangerment of our safety, by showing up to the function intoxicated.
As well, we know that you are always proud of us when we behave properly and according to the rules, so it comes as absolutely no surprise that you would be disappointed when we do not, as was the case Friday night. Thus, your disappointment is completely warranted in addition to being understood.
Yet, even though many of us acted disrespectfully, there were still many more of us who conducted ourselves properly and with respect for the faculty who worked so hard that night, and it feels a little unfair that we are all being labelled the same way.
As to the lateness, unfortunately that was out of our control for most of the cases, as limo’s did not show up at scheduled times, if they did indeed show up at all.
Anyways, I would just like to say thank you, and that I know the graduating class will never forget prom and how much hard work went into making it a fun night, because we really do appreciate it!
So, thanks!
Part I
ReplyDeleteI would like to take on the role of defence attorney in my response, as I am troubled by a number of things I have read on this discussion board. I will represent (without expressed written consent) both the students and the Principal in a respectful manner and try to outline some concerns of my own. So respectfully, here it goes.
Students: While the majority displayed a great respect for the evening, including the guidelines, staff and fellow students. There was certainly a greater number students that appeared under the influence of alcohol or an illegal substance. I would hope that parents/guardians and students alike, appreciate that, should there be an accident/incident that can be attributed to illegal activities before, during or after the prom, someone is responsible. Often, it is human nature to view things on how it affects us, and not others. I believe that the greater majority did follow the guidelines set out for the successful celebration of graduation. But the minority of the population matters! The guidelines established for this event are implemented for various reasons. As are laws! When someone attains their driver's license, they are not allowed to follow the rules of the road that apply only to them. This would put others at risk. If we are OK with students drinking underage and using drugs as an acceptable part of their social lives, than we are acting irresponsibly. The last thing anyone wants is for one of our students to have their much anticipated evening ruined by the table next door. While the evening is designed as a celebration, responsibility and respect must rule. This evening is a privilege for staff and students. The culminating activity! It is not a right by any means, for anyone. If people find it acceptable to use drugs and/or alcohol as a recreational tool for our students, personally I would never question a parent’s right to make decisions for thier child. However, as an initiative of shared respect, would it not make perfect sense that the adults responsible for our students support one and other. Staff is responsible for the safety and well-being of the students while they are in our care. Staff strives to put that priority first at all times. In order for this to be effective at school sanctioned events, the support of parents/guardians is imperative. What happens at home can stay at home, what happens at Wasaga can stay at Wasaga. What happens at a school sanctioned events is the responsibility of the school.
Part II
ReplyDeletePrincipal:
Christ the King is lucky to have a student body that thrives, socially, academically, athletically, musically, and in too many more ways to mention. We live in a community that sets the bar very high for our young people. A mentor once told me, "If you set the bar high you will be amazed at how they will react. If you lower the bar to levels that are too easily attainable they (students) will become bored." The weekend of events surrounding prom has become 'just' another date on the social calendar for many. The Prom remains the culminating activity for the greater majority. While the behaviour of some in the first hour was disappointing, perhaps it can be attributed to a sun filled afternoon, and the excitement of the evening. The staff should be applauded for their participation, not to mention the hours of work put forward by the organizing committee. You sir, are bang on when you suggest:
We have built relationships with these students and a combination of duty, care, trust and compassion get intermingled when we are confronted with the decision to end their evening at the front door.
Perhaps, it is time to turn over that responsibility to those whose challenge the guidelines. That could end the disconnect on some of the touchy issues discussed on this board. Parents are not aware that students are not permitted to leave their seats during dinner as a safety issue outlined by the staff at the Convention Centre.
If people insist on drinking prior to the dinner, than perhaps a breathalyser could help determine ones entry. Take the human element right out of the equation.
Let consequences be consequences. Students can determine their own experience.
Lastly,
Sorry to sound preachy. Somewhere in the middle is the right answer. I am certain the majority had a great time! And I know Administration and staff had an integral role in that. Administration and staff were extremely fair and respectful, together with the majority of the graduates.
To the moron who posted a comment June 1st 8:45 AM...I am clearly hoping that you are not a parent ! To condone underage drinking as their right to celebrate points to an individual clearly void of common sense and decency.I am appalled at your lack of moral value and the respect of the laws clearly established to help protect us from individuals like you.
ReplyDeleteposter above: "moral value" is arbitrary, and it can be debated that at this point in teenager's lives, a drinking age is established simply because a line has to be put somewhere. therefore, it's absurd you would judge a parent's ability and right to voice their disgust for the excessive security and harsh generalization of the entire grade in such a way.
ReplyDelete"clearly void common sense and decency"? please.
I think we all need to take a step back and let the students be students, this is their year. We cannot make everything right in the world today. I know that my child had a great time and as a parent of older children who went through CTK this prom was no different than past parties, kids will drink, limos will be late, teachers will say it was the worst. To the principal of CTK Mr. D and his staff, relax , enjoy your time at CTK, all the time your staff spend after hours is much appreciated.
ReplyDeleteMr DeSantis:
ReplyDeleteAs a parent of a 2010 graduate, I find it disappointing that you've aired your comments in a forum for "anyone" to see. It tarnishes an evening that these students longed for and prepared for months. Perhaps a letter home to voice your concerns may have been just as effective.
I don't condone excessive drinking, and was disappointed at the condition of how some of the students got onto their limo buses, but it's important to keep a perspective that weighs the pros and cons; something I believe you as educators do every day. (Unfortunately I don't always agree with those decisions, but you are the "experts".) Throughout the years you have provided your students a "smoking pit". If you really wanted to enforce the law, they shouldn't be smoking unless they are 19 yrs old. So do you punish the entire school? NO! You have police officers do random locker checks. When drugs are found are those students incarcerated and do you then punish the rest of the students? I think not! All I am trying to say is that "spanking" everyone for the actions of those that acted inappropriately is sending the wrong message. Perhaps we all should look at just how fortunate we all are living in a community where drugs, gangs and weapons are no where near as prevalent as the city just a mere 30 kms east of us! Thankful that students from 2 different high schools (of different boards) know each other and actually socialize as opposed to being hostile towards each other. To my knowledge on prom night there was no damage to the Convention Centre or any limo. There were no "brawls" resulting in injury, no arrests as a result of criminal activity, and other than the odd boyfriend/girlfriend spat, everyone survived!!
As these young adults mature they will reflect on the evening and realize that some of their choices may not have been the best. Experience and reflection is how the majority of us have all learned, grown and become responsible adults.
We should all be greatful for the CtK community (teachers, students and parents) for their contribution to Georgetown. For that I thank everyone!!
Oh my! How everyone likes to pontificate! With respect to the CTK prom and any other high school prom students need to be held accountable for their actions. Mr. DeSantis, your comments as leader of this school should not have strayed from the positive. As the leader of the school your role is to praise the accomplishments of your followers. The minority who choose to break the rules and behave badly should be dealt with in a timely and quick manner. If they do not toe the line they are evicted - no prom - enough said. As a parent, if I had received one phone call about my child's poor behaviour, she would have been picked up and her prom would have been over. People make choices in this world, and not often good ones; however, they must be held accountable and rather than harp on the bad you should have praised the good. Teenagers have a pack mentality. If one is excited, all will be. Although this does not excuse their behaviour in the infamous 'first hour' of the prom it does explain why they had selective hearing when asked to be seated. I don't have tell you how to settle them down as I am sure you did - but you need not belabour the fact. Really, that was a minor issue and is quite common - why address it?
ReplyDeleteI am both a parent and a veteran teacher and I must say your concerns are not new. As to the staff saying it is the worst prom in the history of the school - colleagues your school is not that old! And from what I gather the incidents were minor and few.
So students - stop complaining and move on. Some of you screwed up and that's that. I'm sure you have only fond memories of your last celebration in high school.
And teachers - embrace those difficult, selfish, inappropriate students who can, on a dime, prove to be most loyal, loving and intelligent. We lead by example and if we are constantly complaining and pointing out the bad than how can we expect them to do any differently or behave any better?
God bless and please don't let this be blown out of proportion and ruin the excellent reputation of Christ the King.
Ok,
ReplyDeleteAs a teacher at Christ the King for the past eight years I must first say that I LOVE going to Prom every year. As educators, it provides us with the opportunity to see the fruits of our labour. Those students that entered our building as children four years ago are now leaving as mature adults ready to take on the world. It’s a time of reflection and pride.
That fact is I often enjoy Prom more than the Graduation Ceremony. It’s a night where we are given the opportunity to mingle with the students and have a final chat before they leave us for their post secondary endeavours. It's really a bitter sweet event. Sweet because we know that the hundreds of hours we’ve spent teaching, mentoring (and many times counseling) these students has ultimately paid off. Bitter because we’ve spent years with these students and know that, chances are, it’ll be years before we see them again.
Mr. DeSantis is right in stating that we give of our free time to run events like this. And yes, we do this willingly because, as one parent pointed out “we love our students.” I can honestly say I love my job and that taking time out of my own personal life has never been a chore. I can also say that each year there are definitely a few individuals that seem “happier” than normal and yes, it is true, we normally overlook this heightened enthusiasm and chalk it up to excitement over Prom.
So, why then did Mr. DeSantis refer to teachers that said this was the “worst CtK Prom ever?” In my personal opinion it was mainly due to the lack of respect from a SMALL cohort of overtly inebriated students. Those few students decided that they would not only show off their drunken state to the whole Prom but also refuse to listen to anyone in positions of authority. THIS IS WHAT UPSET ME. Our time as supervisors was spent worrying about a small group of people and this action took away from everything positive that was happening. As teachers we usually chat with, laugh with and sometimes even dance with the students throughout the evening. It’s an enjoyable event for all. Unfortunately much of this was lost this year.
Regret #1: That all students have been pegged as disrespectful. Definitely not true! You are an amazing group of young adults and I will miss you next year.
Regret #2: That we as teachers did not stick to our guns. We let it be known ahead of time that students who were “obviously” drunk would not be let in. Those of you that are bashing Mr. DeSantis should consider the fact that he did not want to ruin Prom and decided to let in students despite what was happening.
All in all this is probably one of our BEST graduating classes ever! The majority of students have a guinine love of the school and have incredible memories of their journey to graduation.
Stay classy CtK and let’s not let this ruin what we’ve spent 4 years building!
P.S. I'm posting anonymously not becuase I don't want people to know who I am but because this is not about me, it's about our grads.
To think that a principal can only post positives is not realistic: it is idealistic. You can’t parent a child and only say positive things. Sometimes you do question their actions and encourage them to reflect. I think that is what this blog did. The school is not the parent to our children – we are. However we are certainly partners. Our partner brought issues forward and now look at the criticism he is taking. He is dialoguing with the parent community and he is getting a response. This is more communication that I have seen in the past and I like it. As well, do you not remember the good news post cards that show up in the mail? How about those individual comments on the report cards? I think this principal does a lot to express the positive to the kids. The thing about him is that he does it on a INDIVIDUAL basis as well as in a group setting.
ReplyDeleteand as a follow up to my previous comment
ReplyDeleteit would have been nice to consider, that is was not your Chrsit the King students that were an issue. It was the guests that caused issues.
So before you critisize our entire gr. 12 population, (actually, I guess it's a little late), you should have kept that in mind !
thanks again
Get a grip people. What are we talking about? A prom! Now I understand why so many young people are accused of having an over inflated sense of entitlement - it comes from their parents! Parents who condone underage drinking, undermining of authority, rudeness and overindulgence. I’m saddened that we’ve fouled our planet… for what? For oil…? For gas…? For limos that drive students to prom…? How's that for a sobering thought?
ReplyDeleteThis whole situation has been overblown.
ReplyDeleteMr. Desantis has a right as principal to criticize the inconsiderate and appalling behaviour of my peers. The rudeness of the sector of inebriated students was ridiculous and was in no way appropriate or reflective of the Christian values we learn in our 4 years at Ctk, religious or not. HOWEVER, attacking the entire student body for the lack of propriety shown by a minority upsets me and other students who were just there to celebrate the culmination of our 4 years at CTK. Those who made stupid choices should have been dealt with at the time, instead of the leniency that was shown to them. They made our prom less than what it should have been, and I feel that it was entirely preventable had the staff been less laissez faire and actually kicked people out.
Here are the facts:
ReplyDelete1. It is illegal for kids under 19 to drink.
2. Those who showed up inebriated, were unruly (during prayer I might add)
3. These students are fortunate to have even attended their prom.
4. Parents who allow students to drink are trying to be their friends; it is easier to be their friend than their disciplinarian.
5. Ridiculous parents who allow their son/daughter to drink excessively before a school sanctioned event (and even purchase the alcohol for them) puts teachers and administrators in a very bad spot where they are liable for these drunkards.
6. Desantis and the admin acted appropriately and have every right to state their frustration, whether to the faces of the drunk students or on the school blog.
7. Some of the parents in this community need to recognize that their kids CAN do wrong. The majority are great, but some need to stop making excuses for their children's ridiculous behaviour. YOU ARE NOT THEIR FRIEND!!!!!
I would like to say as a student that attends ctk, I think Mr. Desantis and all the teachers have every right to say what they have to say. People who are commenting and saying that he was focusing on only the negative, you need to GROW UP, learn how to take some critism!!! THat is LIFE!! Do you think your boss years from now is going to only focus on the positive of you if you give him shit results on your job? NO! And to the parents commenting on this blog, you're no better than your children who showed up drunk. Honestly the part about "this is their time to celebrate and what's the harm in pre-drinking" really, just really? I didn't show up drunk and I had a good time, one that (oh funny) i'll remember. I think that's more worth it then feeling drunk all night. When I was reading the comments I noticed a lot of people complaining about how there's no positives. Were you people not reading?! or are you just dumb? Cause he definately put in some positive comments in there. I think it's high time for people to realise that educators are NOT out to get us. Yes our catholic educators are more strict than some, but we are also the classiest. And if you think being strict means requesting quiet while someone is trying to speak, then you've got another thing coming and it's time for you to open your eyes to the real world. And yes on the smoking topic, maybe "inhaling" was not the right word for it, but 10 minutes is PLENTY of time to have a smoke. Also I didn't mind the break because it gave us time to walk around and mingle with our friends we weren't sitting with. The fact of the matter is everyone who is complaining about Mr Desantis' post needs to shut up and grow up, life doesn't get easier after this and you'll always be critisized for something you do be it a job or just the way you live your life. To the so called "parents" commenting on this blog, they should really take a step back and look at how they send their kids off to events before coming down on an educator who frankly is right. I would know I was sitting beside two of the drunkest girls there, and let me tell you it was the most ANNOYING thing ever. No one enjoys that. In short thank you Mr. Desantis for stating what needed to be said and for putting in the time you did. I'm sorry that we disappointed you and that people are failing to see your point of view as well as theirs. And thank you to all the other teachers as well.
ReplyDeleteP.S who ever wrote that Desantis is a coward for not saying all this to our faces.....first of all pretty sure he did MANY TIMES. Second of all...it's a two way street honey, you can post anonymously here, so can he, difference is he put him name on his blog!
The problem here is that discipline is a thing of the past. Parents tend to only want to be their children’s friends rather than parents for fear that their child will ‘hate’ them.
ReplyDeleteWatching how the school system has changed over the last 10 years has been pretty shocking. Gone are the days when teachers were able to fail a student because they did not pass on their own. They are given numerous chances to pass and never have to actually hit a deadline when submitting their assignments. Parent’s here should shoulder much of the blame. If their child had to work or just simply didn’t do the work in time, they will call and give a sob story as to why they need an extension. This is the same with the amount of absences they are allowed to accrue per semester. It was only less than 10 years ago that is you hit 15 absences, than the credit was gone. And the only thing that would save it is a serious medical condition.
These students seem to think that they should be catered to by everyone and that everyone else is there to serve them and that rules and laws do not apply to them. You are NOT entitled to anything simply because you want it. You ALL are going to be shocked when you get out into the real world and realize you do in fact have to deal with consequences. Skipping work because you don’t feel like going in will get you fired! The way children are raised now, they might not feel that failure is real and have no clue how to deal with it. But, watch out. It is very real!
Mr. DeSantis was right in calling out the ones who frankly were breaking the law. He did not have to let them into the Prom. It was not their “Right” to be there. It was a privilege. That was a huge risk he took in taking responsibility for them that evening. He should be thanked, not chastised.
Thank you to all the Staff of CTK.
ReplyDeletecant wait for next years prom, going to be an even bigger DRUNK FEST! WOOOOOOOOO!!! cant wait to see all the protective parents who wont let their kids touch a beer till their 25 start talking about how immature and rude my comment was, but i dont care, you live once, prom is supposed to be a time for fun, not following directions of how to have fun. obviously respect should be shown towards those who made the event happen, but for all these "uptight" parents to be bashing the kids, its kind of ridiculous. i feel bad for the kids of those kind of people, so what if you get your kid a 95 adverage by not letting them go out friday nights, or not letting them go out with their friends until their adverage is up to your satisfaction. Your only young once, im not saying dropout of school and smoke drugs and drink beer everyday, but let your kid have a life, ive seen some of the students in our grade who i can tell are deprived of having fun becuase of parents pressure... it has to stop, put yourself in their shoes, just because you had no life in highschool doesnt mean your kids have to follow your footsteps..
ReplyDeletei think you rock :)
ReplyDeletesooo heres the deal
ReplyDeleteeveryone needs to get over the fact that mr.d decided for two seconds to voice his opinion, yes he has some valid point and yes some of us dont agree with what hes saying.
no offense mr.d... but why does everyone care so much. its so pointless, like clearly your not going to change what he already wrote so how about we all relax, take a step back and think wwjd.
and that isnt only the people bashing him, this goes to those people who are sticking up for him aswell. why all have an opinion as we see in the above comments and they are all different, thats why its YOUR opinion, not each and every person is going to agree with you all the time,
so lets cuts mr.d some slack and stop ripping on him for two seconds, and enjoy the 3 weeks we have left of highschool
im pretty sure if your a principle you should not be making fun of your students maybe you should grow up, why do you even have a blog this is pointless you will only make people upset with this. this school is for learning not for you to judge students you should be here to help them instead of bad talking them. as well as i heard the food was not severed properly, where people ordered veggie meals and were not provided for them personal that does not sound like 75 dollars worth dance and the waiters were rude stop judging your students in your school you were most likely no better then them in high school.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you should keep in mind that many of the limo services were late/didn't show up before you go critisize our entire grade 12 population of being late.
ReplyDeleteThis is an embarrassement for Christ the King. I cannot believe a CATHOLIC principal can do nothing but focus on the negative of the situation. I don't think I read one positive comment in this blog.
Being a student that attended prom and had a limo that was an hour and fourty minutes late, I clearly wasn't thrilled that the limo driver wasn't ontime but that wasn't anyone's fault except the driver and you have no right to call students out on that. And in reality, only a quarter of the students were 'under the influence'. Of course they're going to be drinking, you can't expect much different from a group of 18 year olds. You should respect the fact that MOST of them did it responsibly.
I think that you making a blog about prom being so terrible is out of line and maybe you should have commented on all the amazing work that the students have done 4 years prior to this and the students that were well behaved rather than a few who ruined it for the bunch.
To the student who posted on June 3rd. at 11:51 a.m. Good for you! Somebody brought you up right. I think that if CTK can turn out students like this they did something right.
ReplyDeleteProm was one of the best nights of my life!
ReplyDeleteI fully understand where you're coming from Mr. Desantis and I want to apologize on behalf of the students who were misbehaved. I don't really understand where all this criticism is coming from, as a student of ctk I took no offense to the blog. Anyhow, thanks again for putting up with us all, it was a night to remember! (Even for those who can't)
Thank you Mr. Desantis for your Blog,
ReplyDeleteThanks to all the staff and the prom comittee their time to organize this event.
I absolutely agree that the prom is an event for students to celebrate a "special" night for all the hard work that goes into completing high school. I just don't understand why kids think that it has to be a "drunkfest". Why even bother attending the prom? Why not just have a great big party somewhere and leave the students that want to celebrate at prom alone? The problem is that kids have not been taught the difference between having a good time and going over board. I guess that's why there are laws and why society doesn't consider them adults. There are many parents that contribute to their kids bad behavior and until that stops, we will continue to see this type of bad choices. There are MANY good young adults and I'm sure are offended that they are being labelled with those kids that just don't seem to get it.
Ctk is a Catholic school? Wow...A principal cannot send a student who has been drinking home? Which one of these 'respondees' would have Mr. D's back if/when a serious injury/incident occurred? I think all of us know the answer to that rhetorical question. Parents supporting underage drinking? Not surprising but disappointing...a sign of the times...Catholic education in the year 2010, what would the pioneers and founders of Catholic education think of this attitude of Catholic students, but more discouragingly, Catholic parents? I would like to think that parents would support their principal and teaching staff, who give of their volunteer time. If a school cannot provide a safe environment then the plug should be pulled on that event...some food for thought...it is a volunteer event not one mandated by the Ministry of Education...with freedom comes responsibility...perhaps this is the lesson here...I think that everyone should give their head a shake, school events should not involve alcohol, drugs, etc...if this is not the expectation we should not only shut the doors on the Prom but we should shut the doors of this 'Catholic' school.
ReplyDeleteChris Peet
Catholic teacher, parent
I find it sad how parents of teenagers take such little responsibility for their child's actions. They defend their child and try to keep them from accepting their own responsibility for their actions. It is easy for a parent to post here "if my child was drinking I would pick them up." as a hypothetical. As a teacher at another school I have seen parents come to prom demanding that their drunk son be let into the prom.
ReplyDeleteThe arguments here about "keeping it in perspective" are borderline moronic. That same argument can be put towards anything. Millions of people died from cancer last year; no big deal, keep it in perspective, it wasn't billions or anything. Let your children deal with their mistakes, if they haven't learned to act properly by now let them deal with it. I think it is embarrassing that an 18 year old needs their mom to come online and defend their feelings. If it wasn't them that was misbehaving, then why are they offended?