Senior breakfast, planned and hosted by Senior Planning, was held on Oct. 19 with over 520 senior students and 18 parent volunteers in attendance.
In May of last school year, dozens of seniors were tweaking their applications for Senior Planning, a semi-exclusive group that would be required to participate in a one-period class each day the following year. Beyond the 28 students who are taking the class this year, no one else knows exactly what happens behind the squeaky, closed door of room 291. We can only assume there is a lot of talk about tight budgets, balloons and design ideas.
The class planning group, or “Splanning” (short for Senior Planning) plays a huge role in the organization of fundraisers and events and the purchasing of class merchandise, among other things, one being the annual “Senior Breakfast.”
At the beginning of the school year, the students in Splanning split off into several separate committees—a committee for the homecoming float, the homecoming hallway, the senior breakfast, prom—the list goes on. Students in the senior breakfast committee included seniors Meredith Rathburn, Maggie Gaus, Sarah Alkon, Breece Parsons, Jocelyn Merkin, Nahom Yimam, Holly Lyberger, Kevin Choi and Alyssa Yi.
The food covered not one, not two but three long cafeteria tables. With a spread like this, a lot of set-up and clean up was in order.
“I woke up at five in the morning for and set up everything. You’re welcome everyone,” Rathburn said.
The food at breakfast included muffins, pastries, bagels with cream cheese, cookies, yogurt, granola, fruit, orange juice, apple juice, apple cider, lemonade but no coffee. “The spread of food was really, really amazing and my stomach was ready,” senior Jake Gross said.
This seems like a lot of food to purchase, and let’s be realistic– the senior class is living on a tighter budget than a first-year grad student who only has the money for ramen. The class didn’t have to pop open their collective wallet, though. All of the food was donated by students’ parents who dropped off the goods the morning of the breakfast.
Though most of these donations were consumed (students tended to take around three muffins as well as a pastry or two each), the leftovers were donated to the Montgomery County Coalition, a nearby homeless shelter.
The general consensus from seniors was positive regarding the entire event. “The food was amazing, and it was so fun to just hang out with our whole grade,” senior Yosi Talaminaei said.
Other students conveyed how the experience was a high school milestone. “I’m glad that I was finally able to experience what senior breakfast was like,” senior Jaylin Conner said.
The Splanners who had been on the committee for the breakfast are now moving on to committees for events like POTH and various fundraisers.

Julia Gastwirth
managing editor