Prom season is underway at Bernards High School, and students are scouring the internet for the perfect dress, going on social media for inspiration, etc. However, at BHS, students are not the only ones who are deciding how to do their hair or get ready for prom. On May 1st, 2026, the Bernards High School Key Club will be hosting its annual Intergenerational Prom, a prom for senior citizens.
Once a year, the BHS Key Club brings together all the senior citizens in the community for a night of joy, laughter, and dancing. The Intergenerational Prom is an annual event hosted in the school’s cafeteria and was initially held over a decade ago. This night is a way to appreciate the older people in the community, celebrate them, and give them a chance to go back in time and relive the experience of a high school dance.
Mr. Kaplan, the teacher advisor for the Key Club at BHS, explains what people can expect from attending the prom: “We serve some dinner, we do trivia, we get the dance floor going.” He then went on to explain what participating in the event means to him: “I think it’s a fun night of people coming together for a good reason,” continuing with, “It feels like you’re doing something nice that is genuinely putting a smile on [people’s faces].”
Coordinating an event this big can take a lot of time and effort, which is why planning for it starts around late November and continues into early December. There are people within the community who help with the process of planning, and on the day of the event, many parents pitch in to help set up the prom.
When asked about what goes into planning, Mr. Kaplan explained the process, “[We first] pick a theme, then communicate with the people in the community who help us out,” he goes on to explain that “[they create] sign-ups for volunteers and then form student committees.”
There are two student committees, the decorations committee and the entertainment committee. The people who decorate decide what to buy and how they want to set things up for the dance, correlating the decor with the theme of the event. The entertainment group arranges the activities of the night, like Prom King and Queen, and trivia. Students start setting up at around three o’clock in the afternoon, and are given two hours to ensure that the cafeteria is a perfect ballroom setting for the senior citizens.
Current sophomore Gabby Paterno ‘28 helped set up the prom last year and explained why she wanted to participate in the event, “I [volunteered] for this event because it gave me a chance to get closer with the elderly community.” She goes on to highlight how she engaged with the event, “[She] helped decorate bulletin boards and when everyone showed up, I served food and drinks.”
When asked about what she liked about the event, Paterno ‘28 explained that “[She] liked seeing the smile [the prom] puts on everyone’s faces and just the fun that everyone’s having, just watching that is [amazing].” She also underlined her favorite part about the night, which was “Dancing with the senior citizens and watching who would get voted prom King and Queen, and also listening to their conversations.”
The Intergenerational Prom is more than just about community service or getting in hours, as Mr. Kaplan put it, “It is a nice way to bridge the gap between generations.” This night brings the whole community together, from the young to the old, and everyone in between. People of all ages and backgrounds interact with each other, learn different stories, and become more intertwined with the area they live in and the people who fill it.
For those who want to spend a memorable night filled with vibrance, music, and community, the Intergenerational Prom is the place to be.
