On the morning of August 22nd, the 2024 Senior Class gathered on the football field to enjoy the sunrise at the start of the school year. The viewing of the sunrise is a new tradition created by senior students, and many were excited for this event to kick off their final year of high school. 

It was a surprise that so many seniors showed up, as it was held on the first day of school. Some students had to wake up as early as 4:30 AM. Even so, the tired students rolled out of bed for the day. When waking up, most were surprised about the foggy roads and started to worry if the sunrise would be shown at all. Despite this, over half of the students in the senior class attended and made the best of the event.

“It’s a cool experience for seniors,” John Kimrey stated. When the students crowded over to the stands and field, the possibility of no sunrise settled in. It was incredibly hot and humid outside and there was a fog so thick that “…you couldn’t see the sunrise, so I didn’t know that it had ended.” 

There was much speculation about what kind of event this would be with many students believing that food would be provided. Ava Maupin said, “I thought there would be food.”  It seemed like the lack of food was a complaint of many including John Kimrey: “Nobody brought any food, which was kind of upsetting.” Many students thought to bring their own food anyway, and a lot of students talked about food being provided for the Senior Sunset at the end of the seniors’ school year. 

Despite hazy conditions and lack of food provided, a majority of the senior class spent their first day back to school in the football field as a kind of celebratory start to the end. There were a total of sixty-eight students who attended the Senior Sunrise.  Jada Smith explained, “It was a perfect way to start the senior year, being surrounded by people you grew up with, fog or no fog.” It’s safe to say that this mindset was shared by many.  Regardless of the weather, most seniors were out on the field for well over an hour just enjoying the company of their friends and ‘ peers. Jada continued,  “It was amazing to see all of my peers together.”