Upper School hosts senior goodbye rally
May 22, 2015
The varsity dance troupe performed to Beyoncé and Fifth Harmony. The senior goodbye rally was held yesterday.
The Senior Goodbye Rally was held at the gym at the end of the school yesterday, in which new council members were inducted and performances, skits and videos were presented.
Various clubs and organizations created videos and performed skits, songs and dances for the seniors as a way to thank them for what they have done these past four years and to say goodbye.
Junior Malvika Khanna commented on how she feels about the seniors leaving.
“I’m really sad because I had a really big bond with the seniors this year,” she said. “I’m really going to miss them because they have become one of my best friends.”
The rally began with a performance from Jazz Band, featuring senior Julia Wang, who sang “Polka Dots and Moonbeams” by Frank Sinatra.
Following Jazz Band, DECA performed a short skit, where they held a competition of “Sharker Tank,” a parody of “Shark Tank.” Next, the Journalism Program played a short video where they previewed a world with no seniors, and the athletics students created a video to honor senior athletes.
Debate also played a video, which included pictures of students from freshman year to senior year. The varsity dance troupe performed to Beyoncé and Fifth Harmony. Student council inducted next year’s senior council members and Associated Student Body (ASB) members.
Downbeat sang to Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Funk,” where seniors Madi Lang-Ree, Caroline Howells, Sachin Pedada and Jeton Gutierrez-Bujari had solos. To finish the rally, the Multimedia Club played a video that they filmed which featured faculty and students giving shoutouts to seniors and talking about some of the best qualities of the Class of 2015.
Freshman Akshaya Vemuri reflected on the rally.
“It was really special because all the performing arts groups that had seniors perform,” she said. “Right now they are all able to talk to their teachers so I think it’s cool that they all get to be together with their teachers.”
Graduation will be held on Saturday morning at 9 a.m. at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga.
Farewell to the seniors
Jazz Band performed “Polka Dots and Moonbeams” by Frank Sinatra. The senior goodbye rally was held on Thursday.
The sound of cheering and excitement erupted throughout the gymnasium as students clapped and cheered on the heartfelt videos and acts dedicated to the graduating seniors.
Students from all grade levels and faculty members attended the senior goodbye assembly yesterday, which was held in the gymnasium after period eight.
The assembly included different videos from journalism, debate, athletics, as well as performances by DECA, Varsity Dance, and Downbeat; there was also the swearing of next year’s 2016 class officers and ASB members. The entire show ended with a farewell video dedicated to them from several different teachers and peers.
Economics teacher Samuel Lepler commented on the purpose of the assembly and why certain groups showcased a dedication act.
“The event is supposed to represent the whole school bidding farewell to the seniors,” Lepler said. “What we really wanted to do is get every department or every program on campus involved; most of the seniors are involved in at least one of them so every senior got an opportunity to have their program say goodbye to them so that’s where the main concept came from.”
As for the final farewell video, the Multimedia club worked behind the scenes to help produce this heartwarming contribution to the seniors.
Shay Lari-Hosain (11), who is a member of the Multimedia club, expressed his thoughts on the meaning and pertinence behind the video.
“The senior goodbye video means a lot to people to see their peers who will be taking over next year, and to send them goodbyes,” Shay said. “And I think a lot of people have strong memories on this campus so it was sentimental and it was nice to do.”
After the assembly ended, seniors were able to bid farewell with their teachers and with each other.
Jason Jeong (12) commented on how quickly things have gone by over the past four years of high school.
“I don’t think it’s hit me yet that I’m about to graduate,” Jason said. “It definitely feels like four years and I’m ready to leave but everything just seems really unreal right now.”
Underclassmen also felt the sadness lingering in the atmosphere after the assembly, but are genuinely happy for the seniors who are about to leave for college.
“After hearing the seniors’ reaction to the video and how emotional they got, it made me feel really good because I think we got the point across about how much we cared about them,” Sohenee Banerjee (9) said. “And that’s the main reason we did the contribution video; we’re really going to miss them.”
Mathematics teacher Lola Muldrew was part of the final goodbye video to the seniors. She revealed her thoughts about the senior class and how she plans on staying in touch with them even after they graduate.
“It’s really kind of hard for me because I’m so bonded with my advisees and with the class,” she said. “I just love the class of 2015, probably because I’ve grown with them as well and I just think that they’re a really special group of people. It doesn’t matter how long it is, if it’s ten years before I hear from one of them, it doesn’t matter because we’re family.”
Even seniors themselves hope to keep in touch with each other.
“I think that our class is full of really crazy people as well as really nice people and I look forward to seeing everyone again,” Suzy Lau (12) said.
The senior showcase was held yesterday at the Mexican Heritage Theater at 7 p.m.