Norsestar senior issue PDF 2022

14
Activities
Senior activities return after two years of cancellations
VIVIAN RICHEY
Writing wizard
Due to the global pandemic, there have not
been any traditional senior activities since the
class of 2019 graduated. The class of 2022
is more than ready to celebrate graduation in
the traditional way safely for the first time
in two years. While everybody is excited for
these events, they do require lots of planning
and preparation that goes beyond Parkway
North staff and students.
“My mom has been volunteering and
planning for the Senior Bash for a while
now, and my brother did it four years ago.
There hasn’t been one for a while. I’ve heard
so many good things about it, and I’m really
happy that it’s coming back,” said senior
Olivia Epstein.
The Senior Bash is not the only celebratory
event making a comeback. Seniors are also
anticipating the Senior Walk. The Senior
Walk is an emotional yet gratifying farewell
to peers and teachers. The last Senior Walk
that Parkway North saw was the class of
2019, meaning that the only grade level that
has been present for a Senior Walk at all is
the class of 2022.
“I know it's going to be really emotional,
but I’m so excited to get one last look at the
halls before I graduate, as well as saying
goodbye to my friends who are underclassmen
and my favorite teachers,” said Epstein.
This graduating class of seniors has had
an experience like no other, since this class is
the only one at North that had experienced a
full year of traditional high school before the
pandemic and things went virtual.
“I feel like [the pandemic] made me
appreciate everything that we got this year.
All of the seniors last year kept telling me
to not take anything for granted, so I came
in this year with that mindset, and it made
this year a lot easier even when things got
difficult. I keep reminding myself that at least
I get a prom because not everybody did, and
I’m really thankful for it,” said Epstein.
Prom is another activity that the last two
graduating senior classes missed out on due
to the global pandemic.
“I’m really excited for prom. This is my
first one since COVID prevented it last year,
so the anticipation has been intense,” said
senior Carson Lorenz.
One issue that students faced was being
away from their closest peers, which caused
a disconnect between the class of 2022, but
students remain excited and grateful to be
back with classmates.
“The pandemic brought its fair share of
disappointment to my class, but I’m grateful
that we are ending our year with some kind
of normalcy. The two classes before us got
pretty much all of their senior activities taken
from them, so being lucky enough to have
prom and graduation is pretty fortunate,” said
Lorenz.
The Senior Picnic was supposed to be
held at Creve Coeur Park on Tuesday April
5, but due to weather conditions it was
canceled. The picnic was highly anticipated
as it was one of the first events over the final
months leading up to graduation.
“I was pretty bummed when the picnic
got canceled. I was really excited to hang out
with all of my friends and teachers in a more
fun and casual environment than school. It
wasn’t a huge deal though. At least it got
canceled because of the weather and not
COVID,” said senior Parker Cohen.
The COVID pandemic has caused
students to be more aware than ever of how
lucky they are and has helped students learn
to really appreciate the opportunities that
May 11, 2022
Parkway North High School
A major event that the seniors had missed out on before this year was the Senior Sunrise. In the week
preceding Homecoming, seniors arrived at North about an hour before school to eat donuts, drink juice, play
games and enjoy each other’s company. “Senior Sunrise is one of my favorite memories from high school. The
anticipation of homecoming was building and everyone was so excited,” said senior Sarah Stolze.
they get.
“Even at the start of the school year, I
wasn’t sure we were actually going to get to
come back for classes. Everything just kept
getting worse for awhile, and I eventually
just accepted the fact that I would probably
be virtual for the rest of high school and not
get a normal prom or graduation. I think that
it really caused me to appreciate my time
with everybody a lot more,” said Cohen.
Nothing will make up for the experience
that the class of 2020 and 2021 missed out
on, but on the bright side, the class of 2022
has learned that time apart can bring people
together in ways that nobody planned on.
“I think missing out on so much brought
our grade together because we spent so much
time apart. We automatically grew closer in
the short time that we have left together. It
means a lot that we get these experiences in a
more festive way than we spent most of our
high school time,” said senior Molly Reeves.
Another event that the past two graduating classes missed out on is the annual Powderpuff game in which the senior girls take on the junior girls and the boys cheer
them on as cheerleaders. This year, the seniors won by a score of 7-2.
On May 7, Prom was held at the Sheridan Inn at
Westport Plaza for the first time since May 2019.