Seniors Show Their School Spirit at Cicero Prep
Cicero Prep May 16, 2023 -
With their Senior Thesis projects behind them, the senior class of Cicero Prep commemorated the week leading up to their College Decision Day with the first ever Senior Spirit Week, where seniors celebrated themed dress up days each day of the week. It was a great way to cap the year and the entire high school experience for these seniors.
Senior Grace Blanchard explained that while the school normally has a similar school-wide spirit week leading up to homecoming, this was the first year they held a senior-focused spirit week. “I was kind of just going around gathering ideas, specifically during our break between classes to see what themes people would be interested in seeing and themes they wish we could have done for our other spirit weeks through high school. I compiled this really long list and headed to the Dean’s office with a friend. And that’s how it was born.” Blanchard said she didn’t set out to be the ringleader of the spirit week, but she was glad to be the voice for the senior class.
“The senior spirit week was timed perfectly, between prom and senior tribute night in fourth quarter. It brought a lot of joy, levity, and gratitude into what can be an intense time of year (and life) for our seniors. I am proud of Grace and the others for initiating this. Plus, it’s always a plus to walk around school in a medieval robe,” said Betsy McClelland, Humane Letters Master Teacher and Mentor Program Coordinator.
Monday, the first day, was Senior Citizen Day, where the senior class dressed as senior citizens, complete with canes, vintage clothing, and gray wigs.
Tuesday commemorated Dante’s Inferno and The Divine Comedy. “One of our teachers just recently had a child and named the baby Virgil, and because we read the Aeneid [written by the poet, Virgil] this year as well as The Divine Comedy which has Virgil as a character, we had Virgil Day, where we could dress up as Virgil or Dante,” said Blanchard.
Wednesday was called Rhyme Without a Reason Day, where seniors coordinated with one or two other students to dress as something that rhymes but doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with one another. The seniors were really creative with this theme. “So, I dressed up as Taylor Swift and my friend dressed up as a Christmas gift.” Get it?
Thursday was Twin Day with a faculty member. “I e-mailed my Spanish teacher and coordinated with her as to what to wear that day and then I showed up in something similar.” This was a fun way for the senior class to bond with teachers they have had throughout their high school experience.
The week ended on Friday with an already confirmed tradition. This is the day that Cicero Prepcommemorates Decision Day with the seniors wearing their college shirts depicting the school they are attending in the fall. Blanchard, who has attended Cicero Prep since 8th grade, donned a Grand Canyon University shirt, where she will be studying psychology with an emphasis in forensic psychology in the fall. “It was so fitting to finish off the week with showing where we’re spending our next couple years,” said Blanchard.
“I think as seniors, especially in fourth quarter, everything we do has the potential to be the last of it, and I really wanted to make something special,” said Blanchard. “I just think it was really special to have one week where you could be a little silly. It was so nice to just kind of relax and create a lot of community in our in our small senior class.”
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