On Monday, Needham High School seniors will receive their diplomas at the Class of 2011 commencement ceremony on Memorial Field, but last week, it was all about the dancing. The teens headed into Boston on Thursday to enjoy their prom, and Needham Patch stopped by a few houses to snap some pictures.

The day before, Needham and other towns in the area prepared for a possible tornado after the National Weather Service issued a watch and then a warning after a tornado was spotted in western Massachusetts (it eventually touched down in Springfield, causing some major damage). In Needham, the storm mainly brought heavy winds, dark skies, rain and rapid-fire lightning late into the night.

Despite the uncertain weather, representatives from MassDOT went forward with a public hearing on the latest design plans for improvements to I-95/I-93/Route 128 on Wednesday night at Broadmeadow Elementary School. The hearing brought out a few Needham residents and town officials, plus people from the towns of Wellesley and Newton, who also will be affected by the changes.

In police news, a cyclist was struck by a van, a Needham man was arrested for breaking into homes in Wayland and customers at the Highland Avenue Hess station got an unusual kind of car wash.

Meanwhile, Needham teams had a solid week as MIAA tournaments kicked off. Girls tennis defeated Framingham on Friday, while girls lacrosse beat up Dartmouth in the first round of their MIAA tournament. Girls LAX went on to beat Newton North in the quarterfinals and will face the winner of the Mansfield vs. Notre Dame Academy game in the South Section semi-finals on Wednesday. Girls tennis is set to take on Notre Dame in their quarterfinals today (Sunday).

As for the boys, the tennis team beat Natick on Saturday and will play next on Tuesday against Framingham. The baseball team ended their tournament season on Saturday, falling to Boston College High School. And on Saturday, the boys lacrosse team beat Westford Academy, securing a spot in the next round against Masconomet.

The week kicked off with the annual Memorial Day ceremonies and parade around Needham. Check out our photo gallery of the day’s events.

Did we miss something? Got a news tip, a feature idea, a calendar item or just want to weigh in on something going on around Needham? Contact Needham Patch editor Becca Manning.