After months of preparation and planning, student leadership’s efforts toward Night of the Stars (NOTS) came into fruition at the Holiday Inn’s ballroom in downtown Fresno, Jan. 24.

The 15th annual formal evening featured a catered dinner and an Oscar-like awards ceremony for the class movies, as well as a parent-sponsored dance.

Although an annual event, student leadership members made several changes for NOTS 2009 that set it apart from past years.

The location changed from Cornerstone Church to the second-floor banquet room at the Inn in order to provide higher-quality dining, leadership adviser Katie Mendenhall said. In addition, student leadership members transformed the dinner room into a dance floor to host the controversial parent-sponsored dance.

“It was fun to have a change instead of NOTS being the same old thing,” Olyvia Franklin, ’10, said. “I liked both the previous year’s NOTS and this one, because there were old things I liked last year and new things I liked this year. I’m not sure which one I liked better, but there was more anticipation this year because you didn’t know what to expect, so that made it exciting.”

While in past years each class presented a movie for the student body to watch at NOTS, student leadership members chose to present the films over the course of three chapel periods during the preceding week. The change was made in order to shorten the length of the event and allow time for the dance, Mendenhall said.

“NOTS turned out better than I had expected due to the decisions the leadership students made,” Mendenhall said. “The students were divided into different committees and started planning in September to make sure everything would be done on time without any stress. They had enough time to plan and choose the best options for the event.”

In accordance with the “star-struck” theme, students entered a dimmed room adorned with dark decorations of fabric hanging from the ceiling and twinkling lights. Student leadership members placed stars of various sizes and material around the room as well as hanging ornaments and wall decorations. In addition, scattered fake diamonds encircled the square vase centerpieces filled with clear marbles.

“I wasn’t sure what NOTS would be like and I didn’t know what to expect, but the whole event was so well done,” freshman Lauren “Dolly” Mizner said. “The decorations were good and I liked the setup. My favorite part was seeing many students from school attending something together. It was fun being there with my friends and I know I’m going to go again.”

After Milne Photography captured posed pictures next to a giant star and a night sky backdrop, students converged at their assigned tables for the dinner. A NOTS-branded lip balm lay at each seat as a token of the event.

The meal included salad, bread and chicken picatta with rice or New York steak with mashed potatoes, both with a side of vegetables. The Inn served raspberry cheesecake for dessert and iced tea and water for refreshment.

While attendees ate dessert, student leadership members began the awards ceremony for student cinematographers and actors. Volunteers ascended the stage to present each of the 14 awards with a scripted speech ? often mocking the lack of a movie from the sophomore class ? while short clips highlighted the nominees.

“Even though we didn’t have a movie, we still won as many awards as the freshmen,” Justin Wilson, ’11, said. “People will remember us because we were the first to not have a movie. I didn’t care that they made jokes about us; it was funny and it made me laugh.”

The senior class dominated the ceremony and secured nine awards for their portrayal of the 1993 comedy, Mrs. Doubtfire. The junior class took home the remaining five awards for their adaptation of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986).

The freshman class produced a rendition of School of Rock, although the film attracted little recognition. As the first class in NOTS history to not create a movie, the sophomores held minor interest in the awards ceremony.

A secret judging committee composed of campus staff chose the winners of each award, excluding the Parents’ Choice and Students’ Choice awards, video productions adviser Scott Callisch said.

The Students’ Choice award, a new addition to the selection of recognitions, was determined by students who voted after watching all of the class videos during the preceding week. Campus parents attended a special presentation of the movies on the day of NOTS in order to vote for the Parents’ Choice award.

For their final event, the seniors hoped to create a memorable movie to establish the class of 2009’s reputation of NOTS success. Seniors Mitchell Callisch, Andrew Rurik and Scott Orcutt presided over the production of their film and worked to make it their best, Mitchell said.

“It was a great feeling to be recognized for all the hard work put into the film, and to finish my senior year with such success,” Mitchell, the director and producer, said. “I had hoped to win, and I was pleased with the quality of the movie. It was a comedy and a drama at the same time, and I think the actors pulled it off. The appeal of Scott Orcutt dressed as a woman probably contributed to how many awards we won.”

NOTS 2009 officially concluded with the awards ceremony, allowing students to either leave the premises or remain for the parent-sponsored dance, which lasted until 12 a.m. Although the close of the event may have disappointed some, the juniors and seniors left the scene with tangible rewards for their work.

For more information on Night of the Stars movies, visit the Jan. 19 article, Seniors pursue NOTS immortality, the Jan. 22 article, Freshman movie grooves NOTS or the Jan. 19 article, NOTS to produce star-struck evening. For photos of the event, check out Sparkling sophomores, Starry night success or Freshman firsts.