While Maitland High School's class of 2015 fiddled with ties, adjusted gowns and crafted immaculate ringlets in their hair for their school formal, one student was preparing for the rattle of clippers to leave her with only a few millimetres of hair.
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In October the Maitland Mercury covered the story of Maddison Teat, a 17-year-old who planned to shave her head at her year 12 formal in memory of her mother Rachael.
Mrs Teat succumbed to bowel cancer in 2014 and her daughter hoped to raise money and honour the mother she had lost.
On a stage in Newcastle City Hall in November, Maddison held up her severed ponytail while her peers and teachers cheered.
She raised more than $3000 for Bowel Cancer Australia.
"It was an amazing feeling," she said. "There are no words to describe it.
"I got dizzy and thought I was going to pass out - I was in shock.
"But I actually love it now."
For many parents, a child's school formal is the first time they recognise their offspring as a completely independent person, but Maddison's father Graham said that bittersweet feeling felt magnified since losing his wife.
"I got a text from her and all it said was 'It's done'. I didn't know what to expect," he said.
"I thought she was going to chicken out but - nope.
"For someone so young to fully understand the situation and the gesture is huge.
"I'm very proud of her."
Maddison said she felt closer to her mother since shaving her head and was happy to express solidarity with others going through chemotherapy.
"I want people to remember a quote that I can't forget," she said.
"Always love your mother, because you'll never get another."