Written by: Arianna Bernas, Year 12

Sweaty palms, clear skies, and pollen-related sneezing fits can only mean one thing at BSM. You guessed it: it’s prom season. As per tradition, Winston is tracking down the most hilarious, elaborate, and unique promposals in this special feature. Join us as we relive this month’s highlights as the BSM community gears up for a night to remember.


That Suits Me Fine
John Becker → Chrystel Uy
Prom season officially kicked off when John Becker executed a promposal that was sure to gain the seal of approval from Suits fans everywhere. But, there was only one fan he truly wished to impress: Chrystel Uy. Nearly all of Year 12 gathered in the library to witness him get down on one knee to re-enact Mike’s proposal to Rachel. He accompanied his well thought-out speech with hand-drawn posters, flowers, and a box of chocolates that earned John a “yes” from the pleasantly surprised Chrystel. Needless to say, it was a more than suitable way to set the bar high for other aspiring promposers.

Birds of a Feather Go To Prom Together
Alex Giles → Ella Lee, Julian Bernas → Alex Hirooka 
This two-in-one account details how best friends Ella Lee and Alex Hirooka were surprised with clever puns, free food and a ticket to prom (AKA the magic formula).

Alex Giles made the first move on Ella Lee. He surprised her in Cluster F, carrying a shoebox. Ella opened it to find protein bars, and the words “Promtein: So Ella, is it a Yes, or No Whey?” written on the lid. As if that weren’t enough to crack a smile, he accompanied his humourous promposal with a bouquet of white carnations that gained him a yes from the tremendously delighted Ella.

Julian Bernas took a slightly different approach, crafting what he referred to as a “chicken nugget bouquet.” He offered Alex Hirooka not one, but two bouquets: one of white roses and one of nineteen McDonalds chicken nuggets, telling her that he would be “one lucky nugget” if she accepted. He ended his promposal with an interactive twist - wearing a t-shirt with check boxes that read “Yes” or “McNo” and providing Alex with a Sharpie. Check the picture below for her answer. (Hint: She was lovin’ it!)

If The Shoe Fits, Wear It To Prom
Daphne Rocke → Alvaro Gemperle
Why should the boys get to have all the fun? Daphne certainly didn’t think they should. She crafted a simple yet witty promposal for Alvaro that started out with a metal owl in a small box that said “Owl-d like to know…” followed with a little piece of paper that popped the question. Further encouragement came in the form of a shoebox (this seems to be a recurring theme) containing a pair of Nike Flyknits that read, “Yea, let’s just do it.” After all her efforts, I think it’s safe to say that Daphne was delighted she wouldn’t be attending prom sole-o.

I Have A Quiz-tion For You...
Chuckie Borromeo → Maddie Go
Anticipation brewed in the cafeteria as Chuckie waited nervously for Maddie Go to finish her meeting. It was perfectly planned to look as natural as possible: Chuckie had printed out short ‘quizzes’ for his group of friends to do at breaktime.

When Maddie handed in her quiz, Chuckie exclaimed that he’d made a mistake - he’d written the wrong question! He then flipped over a clipboard he was holding to show Maddie the right one: “Prom?” The entire refectory cheered as Chuckie got down on one knee and presented Maddie with a rose. Needless to say, she gave him the answer he wanted to hear.

Written by: Jacqueline Teer, Year 12

Promposal: the amalgamation of the words “prom” and “proposal”, coined by 21^st century’s generation. As the word implies, promposals mimic grand and elaborate marriage proposals, only without the lifetime commitment and the ceremonious splitting of property. They are nonetheless just as spectacular and also exist in many shapes and sizes.

In BSM, we are at the peak of prom season with only a few weeks to go until the event; the air is filled with the scent of freshly picked corsages, and crisp, ironed suits. With this atmosphere, promposals are becoming not only more plentiful, but also more creative. It is no longer enough to simply ‘pop the question’; it is evident that the boys of BSM have taken very inventive approaches to personalizing their own promposals. They have impressively taken their lady’s personal preferences into account and have come out victorious in their courageous quests for their partners’ hand in prom. Here, we present a collation of the best promposals so far:

The saying “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach” doesn’t only apply to men, as clearly shown by 2 promposals received by our year 13 foodies.  

Sabino Padilla promposed to Joanna Ko, talented violinist and singer, with his use of humor and Krispy Creme’s summer donuts. Not only did he take into account that Joanna had an occasional sweet tooth, but he further personalized his invitation with a corny music joke. Needless to say, it was a successful endeavour. The donuts were a true testament to what a promposal really should be: sweet and one of a kind.

Taking a cue from Sabino, Joshua Whyte executed a promposal that was as cute as it was delicious. To woo Georgia Mann, he simply utilized her ‘weakness’ for summer cupcakes. As she was confronted by the word ‘prom’ written on the box and the scent of sugary pastry, Georgia couldn’t help but scream. The whole scene eventually concluded with her eventual acceptance. Josh felt that he “didn’t want to freak her out with a huge promposal”, explaining his relatively simple approach that left the whole IB common room in high spirits.

This ‘sweet tooth’ approach, however, was not how Arsalan Shamsudin decided to prompose to Siobhan Moylan. A simple gesture was not enough; this promposal seemed to have almost come out of a movie. Shamz guided Siobhan on with an intricately planned scavenger hunt, which consisted of their 8 closest friends, including Shamz’s dad and some bodyguards. They gave her favorite treats and items such as popcorn, flowers, and gummy bears and led her to the helipad of Shamz’s apartment complex. It was there that she came across a pathway of rose petals directing her to the sight of Shamz atop the building next to his own, holding a sign with the magic word ‘Prom?’ against the Manila skyline sunset. Needless to say, it took a lot of effort to prepare the whole picturesque ordeal. Shamz had to attend 3 meetings to negotiate his position on top of the building, simply to prompose. All efforts paid off when Siobhan said yes, and they received a definitely insta-worthy picture via Paolo Vera.

Kai Stroem took a more private and laid-back approach when executing Mika’s promposal. He arranged glow-sticks spelling out the word ‘prom’ that elegantly floated in Mika’s house swimming pool.  The promposal exuded simplicity and privacy which lended a more relaxed and tranquil atmosphere for both Kai and Mika. This modern twist to a classic proposal gained it rights to her acceptance, and to this list.

However, privacy is an element lacking in most modern promposals, as illustrated by the following examples. Usually, power in numbers- ‘peer pressure’ - is utilized as a form of coercion and hype. The promposals below, although different in character, found the exhibition method successful in garnering positive results by taking advantage of the element of surprise.

First up, we have Osama Bin Aslam who promposed to Issabella Ver, of 12CT. In the midst of a regular History lesson, Issabella was completely unaware of the hoard of business students that swarmed outside Ms. King’s classroom attempting – miserably - to keep quiet. As Osama’s heart pounded, clutching onto the poster that his more artistic counterpart, Nina Ti, had hurriedly prepared, he barged into the classroom exclaiming the question “will you go to prom with me?” urging the dumbfounded Issabella with his repetitive “Yes? Yes? Yes?” After a long silence, she finally echoes him. “Yes?” she finally says, and the two classes cheered together, loud enough to be heard from Cluster D.

Next, we have Matthew Johnson’s more systematic and less dramatic use of entrance to follow. He waited until the clock struck 12 at lunchtime, then had Josh come to Sabrina with an iris, followed by a further 7 Iris holders. It became clear that this was a carefully planned promposal unravelling before everyone’s eyes. After Raine Yang handed the last iris, Matthew, with a bouquet of pink lilies and white gerberas, finally appeared out of the corner of the glass doors. A silent tension filled the cafeteria as Matthew waited whilst kneeling; the tension fizzled as Sabrina stood up, gave Matthew a hug and said the magical word “yes.” Sabrina described it as “unexpected” and she said he had “the perfect timing,” which should always be considered by a promposer.

Third was Albert Rano’s heartwarming promposal to Jamie Harvey, 12NB. He came running to her exclaiming “Oh my gosh, the boys were playing football, and [Matthew] Campos got injured!” Albert’s continuous participation in drama productions paid off as he sent the compassionate Jamie into a scurried fuss to help. Both Albert and Jamie ran across the benches outside of the cafeteria and ended up by the railings that looked over Don Jones field. Expecting to see a crowd of concerned people and an injured Matthew, Jamie instead saw six boys in t-shirts that spelt the word “Prom? <3 <3”, one of whom was the not-so-injured Matthew. Jamie said yes, but took the opportunity to take a picture before answering to Mr. Rano’s emotional rollercoaster ride of a promposal.

From orchestrating promposing on the Don Jones field, to promposing on the top of a skyscraper, it has been abundantly clear that the boys of BSM have carefully thought-out and personalized their promposals. A good promposal takes into account the personality of the one being asked, but a great promposal is crafted in such a way that it accounts for the reaction of the one being asked. We look forward to seeing how creative next year’s promposals will be and whether they will top that of this year’s!