Class of 2022: Starting New Traditions
by Deliliah Sabatella, Senior, iPreparatory Academy
by Deliliah Sabatella, Senior, iPreparatory Academy
After spending the better part of our sophomore and junior years apart, 2022 marked a fresh beginning for the senior class as everyone was reunited again. Last year, we were isolated by the pandemic and subjected to virtual learning, from our homes, in fear of contracting Covid 19, and we knew that the prior class of 2021 missed out on most of the many long-anticipated and well deserved senior events like Grad Bash, Prom, and Senior Breakfast.
So, this year, our seniors were not only able to participate in the typical senior events, but also we were able to start some new traditions: Senior Sunrise, a class picnic, Friendsgiving, and Senior Sunset.
For the iPrep classes to come: Here are our collective memories that you can consider to make your senior year just as great as ours was.
So, this year, our seniors were not only able to participate in the typical senior events, but also we were able to start some new traditions: Senior Sunrise, a class picnic, Friendsgiving, and Senior Sunset.
For the iPrep classes to come: Here are our collective memories that you can consider to make your senior year just as great as ours was.
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Senior Sunrise:
The first activity to bring us together was senior sunrise. During the second week of school, we organized a plan to take a trip to the beach, early in the morning, and watch the sunrise. On September 16th, 2021, we got there at 6am to play football, swim, dance, and sing together until we all took a pause to watch the breaking of a new dawn. After the sun rose, most of us chilled on our beach blankets and ate the snacks we brought to share. Pia Rugel remembers the day for her dancing and singing to her favorite songs with her friends; she recalls, “It was fun! Everyone was in their own groups, but we were all hanging out together. I definitely felt closer to everyone after it.” Many of the seniors this year have known each other since elementary and middle school, so this was definitely a fun experience that brought us all a little closer. |
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Friendsgiving:
After a chaotic junior year, seniors felt grateful for the opportunity to meet in person to make up for lost time together. Thanksgiving was approaching and we all wanted to spend some time together, so Matteo Hurtado, our Senior Class Senator, invited everyone to his home for a holiday feast. Matteo’s mom made everyone a delicious turkey, and other people brought mashed potatoes, mac & cheese, green beans, pie, and more: Their favorite Thanksgiving side dishes. After dinner, the seniors ended the night with some soccer, volleyball, and music. |
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Senior Picnic:
After raising $4,500 dollars for our senior class through the Readathon fundraiser and $4,000 through our bundt cake fundraiser, we took a trip to the park to celebrate. Everyone laid out their picnic blankets with snacks and drinks, listened to music, and enjoyed the breeze on the bay. After a fun and relaxing day at the park, we all met back at the front for a class picture before leaving for an eagerly awaited Winter break. |
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Grad Bash:
Grad Bash was another event that our class was able to start again this year. Grad Bash is held in Universal Studios/ Islands of Adventure where seniors from schools across the country are invited to stay at the park past closing hours to have a night for only seniors. We got there early which we all agreed was nice because of the super short lines. Once the park closed and it was just the seniors, things got noisier, but we had fun finding our friends from other schools to hang out with them, and meeting some new people too. Everyone was pretty tired by the end of the night, so we had a quiet ride on the way back, counter to the one we had on the way up. |
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Prom:
Prom was another highly anticipated event we were lucky to be able to start again this year. On Prom day, a lot of us left school early to have extra time for getting ready for the night. Doors opened at 7am and closed at 8pm. Between that time, we were each greeted at the door by Ms. Gonzalez, Ms. Diaz, Ms. Muller, and Ms. Hernandez. Once we all got there, dinner was served, so a lot of us ate together. After a great dinner and hours of dancing, we were happy to take a break to announce prom king and queen: Giselle Pico and Edwin Digeronimo. After some more dancing and singing, the night was just about over. We all left by 11pm to go celebrate more |
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Senior Signing Day:
Senior Signing Day has been a tradition at iPrep for years, but for the past two years, there hasn’t been one due to COVID-19 circumstances, so it was good to be able to make some more progress in the return to normalcy. Basically, the senior class dresses up in their college gear, and then we sign our names on a poster next to the college we are committing to as we are called up individually. Hearing our friends' names being called out to different universities was an emotional time for everyone as we quickly realized the reality of our rapidly approaching graduation and what that means for us all. After everyone signed off on their college and the freshman and junior audience left, we took pictures and enjoyed some congratulatory cake. |
We still have more fun to come, but those are our highlights so far. On behalf of the class of 2022, we encourage you all to consider carrying on some of our traditions, and most importantly we encourage you to invent some of your own within your graduating class.
