Seniors gathered together to kick off their first major class event of the year at Senior Unity Day on Wednesday, September 21.

Donning their green class t-shirts, seniors arrived at 9:45 am to receive their team bandannas and schedules for the day before gathering in the Upper Gym to hear introductions from Mr. Hollin and their class officers.

Students had been pre-divided into teams in order to meet new people and connect with some of their classmates who were not necessarily already part of their friend groups. The teams then went around various stations on campus to compete in different activities.

Activities included Zumba with Mrs. Diana Pinargotte and Mrs. Stephanie Temple, Quiz Bowl with Mrs. Sherri Woosley and Ms. Cathy Edge, and Nine-Square with Mr. Matt Blair and Mr. Rob Torres. At each station, teams took selfies to confirm their completion and receive points.

Senior Dylan Mannlein said, “I especially enjoyed the soccer shootout against Mr. Fendryk.”

Mr. Jim Fendryk, Ms. Hayley Howe, and Mr. Rodney Johnson led the soccer station, where students tried to score goals against Mr. Johnson and face off in juggling competitions with Ms. Howe and Mr. Johnson.

Senior Ryan Frampton commented, “My favorite activity was the video game tournament with Mr. Grzanna and Mr. Lawler.”

At the end of the time that teams had to compete, everyone gathered on the football field for their Class of ‘23 photo then up to Ed Miller Way for lunch.

Students then went to the cafeteria for a service project. Senior painted bowls that will be auctioned off to raise money for charity.

Senior Joshua Schrader said “It felt good to do something for charity, and I thought the bowls looked very nice.”

At the end of the day, everyone gathered in the gym for an end-of-day award ceremony. The teams that came in first, second, and third received gift cards. In the end, the Black team took first with 2200 points. Second and third places went to the Navy Blue and Grey teams.

All seniors who completed 15 or more of the challenges earlier in the day had their name entered in a drawing for additional gift cards.

Mr. Jake Hollin and Mrs. Louise Geczy drew names and called the students down to receive their prizes.

They also recognized several faculty members who made significant impacts on the day.

Overall, Senior Unity Day brought the class closer together.

Senior Hannah Hamill remarked, “I thought it was a really great way to connect with people I had never talked to before. I had a really great time bonding with new and old friends.”

Senior Unity Day is a class tradition started with the purpose of uniting the class as they begin their final year of high school.

It is the first full-class major event of the school year.