On Friday, Oct. 13 at 6:45 a.m., elaborately-decorated cars filled with high school seniors pulled into the parking lot overlooking the baseball field. Students climbed on top of their cars and embraced their friends for the iconic photo-op.
The annual Senior Sunrise, first introduced less than 8 years ago, is an event designed to bring the graduating class together to watch the sun come up, a sort of concluding ritual for the final year of high school.
“I think it’s a new tradition, if there is such a thing,” remarked Ms. Forstot, co-advisor of the senior class and an integral member of the planning committee.
Forstot described the Sunrise as a bonding experience for seniors, and the students seem to feel the same way.
“We all made some good memories,” said senior Eden Weisman.
While students had fun at the event taking pictures and enjoying the bagel breakfast, the preparation the night before, according to senior Jenna Rush, was one of the best parts. Groups of friends adorned their cars with various inside jokes and senior-year-related phrases, drawn in colorful neon markers.
The co-advisors had to postpone the Sunrise twice due to scheduling conflicts. With big events such as Homecoming and the annual decorating of the senior hallway, they decided it would be best to align everything on the same day.
Choosing a date was the biggest challenge in planning, according to Forstot.
“There was concern about the date,” she explained. “Students wanted different things. Ms. Davitt and I were concerned about making sure that we had students here to help decorate the hallway.”
Despite concerns, there was plenty of turnout for hallway decorating the night before the Sunrise. Students put up wallpaper, designed surfboard-inspired signs, and decorated lockers to achieve the theme of “Surfing Seniors.”
The co-advisors served bagels that morning at the snack stand by the football field alongside butter and cream cheese spreads for the seniors to enjoy.
All-in-all, the Senior Sunrise fulfilled the goal set by the co-advisors: to bring students together. The class of 2024 is looking forward to future events like this one.
