On Aug. 14, Aragon seniors gathered in center court to kick off the school year with Senior Sunrise, an annual tradition that symbolizes the start of senior year.
The event began at 6:30 a.m. Like in years past, many seniors arrived in pajamas and brought tents and blankets. Breakfast, provided by Aragon’s Senior Parent Group, consisted of bagels, coffee, and chocolate-covered strawberries.
The senior class’s student council planned and organized Senior Sunrise. Senior Class President Shu Yang says, “Our senior class council started planning for Senior Sunrise during the summer. There were a lot of logistics to go over in terms of food, presentations, and activities.”
Senior class advisor Katherine Ward comments on the evolution of this tradition, saying, “Senior Sunrise has expanded throughout the years. When the first senior class council organized it, seniors met in the morning, had breakfast, and then went to class. Now every year, we add different choices of activities.”
One new activity created this year by the Senior Class Council was inspired by the game of Rock Paper Scissors. Yang explains, “Everyone [came] to the center of the field. We are [played] Rochambeau and whoever [lost had] to tag the winner’s shoulders and chant [his/her] name until there [was] only one winner left in the entire class.”
Senior Class Vice President Danny Halawi explains the importance of these activities. He says, “This year, we put a significant amount of effort to get everyone to go to Senior Sunrise because inclusion is our top priority. That is why we started the sunrise off with an icebreaker game. We wanted to familiarize everyone with each other.”
Senior Takuya Miwa, who previously attended San Mateo High School before recently transferring to Aragon, also saw Senior Sunrise as an opportunity to introduce himself to the senior class, saying, “I dressed as our mascot so people [could] recognize me as spirited member of Aragon’s senior class, even if this is my first year here. Senior bonding and school spirit go hand-in-hand, and my goal this year is to establish excitement [at] both senior events and school events in general.”
All in all, the reason for attendance at Senior Sunrise may be due to its function as an opportunity to create memories before graduation. Senior Andrew Wang concludes, “This week, the reality of being a senior and leaving people I’ve spent nearly every day with more four years sunk in. I feel like the people here really want to embrace our last year.”
