It’s one of the last get together seniors have with their high school friends before they graduate, and it gives the students a chance to be elegant.

Guys are renting tuxedos, while girls are searching for the perfect dresses and scheduling hair appointments.

Pencader Charter High School is taking a new look at a classic school dance. For this year’s theme, the senior class decided to travel around the world.

The 2012 prom, which will take place May 17 at the Waterfall Banquet Center in Claymont, will feature decorations that represent many countries. This year’s ticket is even styled as a passport.

Prom can be very expensive for the school and the students attending. High schools will spend thousands of dollars to make that one night memorable. This includes renting a conference center and purchasing food and decorations.

Each girl will spend about $800 just to make the night perfect. This includes the cost of a ticket, a limo, a hair appointment, a corsage, makeup, a nail appointment, and of course the perfect dress. All of these items combined can get expensive.

The prom day will be filled with lots of running around, with the girls rushing from appointment to appointment.

Students have even planned out their after-prom activities. Most students have the entire day planned out.

“I’ve gotten in contact with my date about when to get to my house, talked to my friends about pictures and where we are going to take them, made a hair appointment, gotten my dress and accessories, all of it,” said Pencader senior Jocelyn Gesner.

Prom is one of the last chances seniors will have to spend time with friends at a school event. At Pencader, this year’s prom coincides the seniors’ last day of classes, so there will be plenty of emotions that day.

“I’m most looking forward to having fun with my friends,” said senior Brianna Williams. “We will be making memories that I’ll remember for years to come.”

“I’m so excited,” added senior Michelle Tovar, “because it is our last year and we never know when we will see each other again.”

Students everywhere will remember this night for the rest of their lives.

Being knocked out of the NHL playoffs – and having your dreams of a Stanley Cup title crushed – is not a pleasant experience. For hockey players and die-hard fans, it is devastating to watch.

Last Wednesday night, the 2011-2012 Philadelphia Flyers played their last game of the season.

The Flyers fell to a much underrated New Jersey Devils team that many fans and players looked past. The Flyers thought the series would be easy. They were cocky. They lost.

In five games, the Devils stormed through the Flyers and advanced to the semifinals of the Stanley Cup Championship.

However, as the days go on and the disappointment gradually wears away, Flyers fans will be able to reflect on an amazing season for the orange and black.

Last year, after an early playoff exit, Flyers General Manager Paul Holmgren announced that it was going to be a rebuilding year. He sure did keep his word, and proceeded to trade away arguably the franchise’s two best players, Jeff Carter and Mike Richards, for players who we then knew nothing about and some quality draft picks.

These players and picks evolved into Brayden Schenn, Sean Couturier, Wayne Simmonds, and Jakub Voracek. Couturier (19 years old) and Schenn (20) both posted strong rookie years and will help create a dynasty in the Flyers organization in years to come. Simmonds (23) and Voracek (22) both had their best years yet and were huge parts of the Flyers first-round playoff success against the Pittsburg Penguins.

That opening-series win over the hated Penguins helped make this season a great one. Nobody gave the Flyers a shot against the predicted Cup winners. However, in six games, the Flyers dominated the Penguins and chased them from the playoffs. They won the battle of Pennsylvania.

Jaromir Jagr is another reason why this Flyers’ season was so fascinating. The 40-year-old winger made his return to the NHL, turned down a contract from his former team – the Penguins, and signed with the Flyers. He posted solid numbers, but more important was his locker-room effect.

Jagr is partially responsible for the most important part to this Flyers season: the evolution of Claude Giroux into a top-5 NHL player. Philadelphia Coach Peter Laviolette called Giroux “the best player in the world.”

With Richards and Carter gone, every fan knew Giroux had the potential to show something amazing this season. He didn’t disappoint. Giroux had a career year and became the Flyers leader and biggest offensive threat. Claude Giroux is now the face of the Philadelphia Flyers.

The most important thing to take away from this season is the room for improvement. With high-paid captain Chris Pronger’s career silently ending, the Flyers will have lots of wiggle room to go after another big-name defenseman or scorer.

Let’s keep in mind that in a “rebuilding year,” the Flyers not only made the playoffs, but also advanced into the second round to gain valuable experience. Now the younger players have a good taste of intense playoff hockey, and they have a better idea of what is required to go deep into the playoffs.

Without a doubt, this team is going to be good next year. In the near future, they are going to win, and they are going to win big.

The Titans are 3-12 with three games remaining, and the season has not turned out the way they had hoped.

“I think we should have won more games,” said senior catcher Lauren Havens. “Lots of the teams we played we could have beaten but unfortunately we didn’t and it is frustrating because we have a good team and I know we can win more.”

Christiana was one of those teams, and the Titans hope to get even with the Vikings today. Pencader lost to Christiana 16-6 on April 17.

Perhaps the outcome will be different this time. Perry Veasey, in his first season as Pencader’s coach, has seen improvement in his players as the season has progressed.

“Despite the wins and losses, we have come a long way, we have grown,” said Veasey. “We’ve moved some players to new positions, to make the team better, so we just have a lot of growing pains right now.”

One player who has caused pain to some of Pencader’s opponents is Havens. She has hit three home runs on the season, including two over the fence. At Christiana High, her homer was the first ball hit over the fence since the school installed the outfield fence last season.

Havens has also played solid behind the plate and has picked off four runners at first base.

The Titans started off the season with a 1-8 record before finally winning two in a row, beating McKean 18-12 and Dickinson 26-6. But four more losses followed, and now the team hopes to end the four-game skid with a win at Christiana.

In two of the team’s 12 losses, the opposing pitchers held the Titans without a hit.

“I don’t think our hitting is bad as a team,” said senior pitcher and infielder Sarah Havens. “I just think that we have made too many mistakes and that is what has cost us some of our games.”

While the team has experienced players, it also consists of quite a few young players. Despite the different levels of experience, they have stuck together.

“Our season has been a rough one but I think that we have a great team and I love all the girls to death,” said senior infielder Courtney Sparklin. “This year is just a rebuilding year for us.”

In addition to her three homers, Lauren Havens has three triples and five doubles this season. Sarah Havens has three doubles, four triples, and 13 runs scored. Senior Rachel Drake has 11 hits and 16 runs. Senior Candace Trader has 14 hits and 10 runs. Sparklin has 10 hits and 14 runs.

Other players helping out offensively have been junior Sandra Morales (12 runs) and senior Crystal Collins (8 runs).

With three games remaining, the Titans remain confident in their coach and hope to close out the season on a positive note.

“I think our coach is a good coach and he pushes us to do our best,” said Sarah Havens as her sister nodded in agreement. “This is certainly not how we pictured our senior season but I think that our girls will learn from this season and I know that next year will be a whole better season.”

Titled “Think Like a Man,” the movie takes a look at four couples as they strive to be in solid relationships. Along the way, the women (and eventually the men), turn to Harvey’s bestseller to gain an edge in the relationship game.

The audience is first introduced to the four men, who spend time together having a drink or playing basketball. The four men are labeled as “The Player,” “The Momma’s Boy,” “The Noncommitter,” and “The Dreamer.”

While the audience will find much to laugh about in each relationship, perhaps a fifth man in the group provides the most laughter.

Comedian Kevin Hart, short in stature but tall in the stand-up comedy world, plays Cedric, a man going through a divorce. As his friends discuss their struggling relationships, he continuously rants and raves about his soon-to-be ex, Gail.

Hart’s goofy and hilarious lines put his comedic stamp on the film, making it even funnier, and the audience is sure to laugh some more when it finally sees the woman who plays Gail.

On the women’s side of the four main couples, the biggest name is Gabrielle Union, who plays Kristen opposite “The Noncomitter.” Kristen is disappointed in her boyfriend’s lack of ambition, and she is disheartened each time she looks around their home, which is decorated more like a dorm room.

When “The Dreamer” meets an independent woman with high standards, that relationship becomes the most interesting and entertaining. To be with her, he must pretend to be more than he is, and soon it catches up to him.

A sixth man, one who is happily married, hangs out with the men. He is a constant reminder of a solid relationship, and of course when he pipes in the jokes fly back and forth.

While the couples’ stories may be a little predictable, they are each entertaining. There are plenty of laughs along the way as we wonder if any or all of the four relationships will have happy endings.

The crowd can sit back and relax as the battle of the sexes unfolds in a movie rated PG-13 for profanity and sexual situations.

Harvey’s book is first used by the four women to help them find ways to keep their men. Eventually the book becomes a bible for the men to get what they want from the women.

As a date-night movie, “Think Like a Man” is perfect. On a scale of 1-10, I rate this romantic comedy as an 8, and it is a must see.

After we leave high school, all we have left is a diploma and recollections of the happy and sad times that made us love or hate high school.

Graduation is moving closer and closer for the seniors here at Pencader. Soon, everyone will go their separate ways and in no time be reflecting on their time spent here.

In high school, mistakes are made, friendships are developed, and relationships are ended. These situations could happen frequently or not so often; it all depends on who you are and how much you like drama.

In my time at Pencader, I have had several experiences that I wish would not have occurred. There are a few instances that stood out as being the worst. For example: fighting the quarterback on the practice field, getting caught up with several girls at once, and getting in an obnoxious verbal argument with a female on the bus.

Besides the bad times, there were plenty of occurrences where I was happy here. These times include, but are not limited to: my whole day brightening up after seeing that one beautiful girl’s face, blindsiding the other teams’ football players all season long, and listening to the hilarious conversations students have in my precalculus class.

High school takes a toll on one’s sleep, free time, and social life. Ninth to twelfth grade makes one completely stress out with long nights of homework, a life full of drama, and cramming before the big test. Although we have to deal with all of these headaches, most people believe that it is not that bad.

These four years are where students find out who they truly are. I have seen many people mature since I have been here and I have also seen people turn for the worse.

I have attended Pencader Charter High School for nearly a year and a half, which is a lot less than the seniors who have been here for four years consecutively. All in all, my time here has been splendid. At first, I was not sure about coming to this school and I asked my mom to switch me out. My mom denied my request to switch out. Now, I look back and I am fully satisfied with finishing out my high school career here. Could you look back and say the same?

Although the teachers and administrators have to enforce rules because it is their job, they are out to have just as much fun as us students. These people do their best to make our time here enjoyable. For this we should all be appreciative.

I am going to Delaware Technical and Community College next year, and in two years transferring to the University of Delaware. Some of you guys I will see and others I will not. Though May 17 may be the last time I will see most of you, I promise to remember our best times here and all of the people I have met. I will remember for the rest of my life.

So I leave you with a reminder. Remember, wherever life may take you, always strive for what makes you happy.