I didn't go to proms when I was in high school - long and short story that doesn't matter any more.

Anyway, every year our school has a real prom, complete with tuxedos and prom dressed for our students - all mentally impaired, but pretty high functioning - enough so that they all know what prom is.

Everybody is all excited, even staff - who also dress up!

Tomorrow night is my first prom. I'm chaperoning and checking students out when they're picked up. But I'm going and I'm going to have fun. I've already got a dance on my dance card!

And on Saturday - my first official 5k. It's a walk - I'm not up for even a slow jog for 5K. It's the 30th running of the Riverbank Run through my town. With over 12,000 participants, I'm not driving downtown. I'm taking the city bus. I've got my ChampionChip and everything.

On a more personal note: the week after, on the 19th, I'm walking with a student in my classroom for a fundraiser for the Noorthoek Academy - it's a college experience for special needs students. They do drama, poetry, history, field trips - the whole shot. At my graduation, a Noorthoek student got his honorary AA - after 18 years of attendance. Fred has Down Syndrome. He and his wife both attend the academy and he was so proud to get his "degree".

My student and I are both walking in "The Big Step Walk", a 5K to benefit the Academy and I'm taking pledges (my goal for the summer is to walk in 10 5K walks - hopefully and eventually doing an official run in November.

If anybody is interested in donating, write me privately - it's a great cause and these are great people!