On Sept. 2, the day before school began, the senior class decorated their cars and the Upper School building. The following morning, the Class of 2025 gathered at the Lincoln Memorial to watch the sunrise together before heading to campus.
Senior Emily Klein, a member of the Senior Traditions Committee, worked with students both on and off the committee to plan events for their class. In previous years, Student Government managed most senior traditions and activities, but this year’s seniors decided to delegate responsibility throughout the grade. After the entire class chose the word “Passion” to represent their senior year, the committee worked together to align annual traditions with that theme.
Senior Sophia Stylianos heads the committee, while Klein is in charge of financial decisions and grade-wide communication. Klein sent out a spreadsheet for the senior class to sign up to plan events throughout the school year, one of which was decorating. Specific seniors volunteered to organize the school’s decorating, though many of their peers were also in attendance. On the financial side, Klein set up a Venmo account for the seniors to fundraise for their activities.
Klein added that the decorating and sunrise traditions have helped “bring together the grade.” She’s excited for the “full circle moment” when the grade will watch the sunrise again after prom. Other aspects of senior year, like using children’s backpacks, have also added to the fun and excitement of the beginning of her senior year.
Car decorating is another tradition that seniors participate in to kick off the year. Seniors gather in the school garage the day before school and decorate their cars with paint pens. Senior Cat Shin shared that this was her most fun senior tradition. “Seeing everyone together before school started was a great way to kick off the year,” Shin said. “The senior sunrise serves as a way to build community within the senior class and is a ‘we made it’ moment to mark the beginning of senior year. “
The senior sunrise tradition at Sidwell is relatively new. Alumni and science teacher Cecelia Laguarda ’13 recalled other senior traditions but said that senior sunrise did not exist when she was in high school. Instead of decorating cars before the first day of school, seniors would decorate parking spots with chalk, unofficially claiming it as their spot for the year.
While some traditions have been added, others have been taken away. Senior classes used to perform ‘senior pranks,’ such as Laguarda’s 2013 prank, when the seniors turned the Upper School into an airport. However, that tradition has since been banned.
While the traditions have evolved, they still serve the same purpose: to unite the senior class before the start of school and to create memories of school outside of academics.
