The school year is back and so is the senior planning (splanning) class. After the previous removal during the 2023-2024 school year of a period dedicated to splanning, the 2025 class officers were presented with the idea of making it an official class again.
Splanning is responsible for organizing fundraisers and planning events for the senior class, which subsequently extends to the whole school. Such events include a new favorite, which is the tie-dye event, senior sunrise/sunset, Putting on the Hits (POTH), Thursday Night Live (TNL), student-staff basketball game, prom and fundraisers.
Earlier in the year, the 2025 class officers had expressed that they would prefer splanning to be a class again, however the actual decision was somewhat out of their control. During the splanning interview process, the officers and class of 2025 sponsors had the intent of the splanning period being advisory. Ultimately that decision changed, which allowed the officers to accept more applicants but also made them lose a few applications because of scheduling conflicts. “The main reason for bringing splanning back as a class had to do with accountability. Overall there’s just a lot of work to be done so both myself, the new applicants, and the officers, felt we needed the time in class to get everything planned out and done without feeling like we were being rushed,” senior class sponsor Victoria McCarthy said.
On Aug 25, the Sunday before school started, splanning held their first event of the year, which was senior car decorating and photos. Seniors who chose to participate got together with their friends and decorated their cars with bright paint markers. These decorations celebrate the idea that they are graduating and they made it through most of high school. Common decorations include ideas such as “Grateful to be a Senior,” with drawings of the Grateful Dead bears, and phrases such as, “Re2pect your Elders5,” which is the word play of the inclusion of their graduating year. “Decorating our cars before school felt a bit surreal; it was a blast but it was hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that I am actually a senior, “ senior Marissa Cook said.
On Sep. 6., senior sunrise was held on this school’s turf field. Seniors were advised to arrive at 6 a.m. and bring blankets and friends. The main idea behind senior sunrise is to get the entire graduating class together to sit and watch the sunrise to kick off the beginning of their senior year. People take photos to capture the moments and enjoy the memories. “Senior sunrise was a lot of fun to plan. Since it is a traditional thing at school, it was not that hard to come up with ideas. Despite the sun being covered by clouds, the event went great and I am proud to say I was able to contribute to the planning behind it,” senior Emily Teague said.
