Skip day unsuccessful for senior class

By Mikey Madden

Excitement filled the senior class last week after students began to spread a rumor regarding a Senior Skip Day on social media.

After a long weekend, including Martin Luther King Jr. Day and a teacher in-service day, students were expected to return to school on Wednesday.

However, several members of the senior class posted to social media encouraging their classmates to extend their weekend and not show up for school the next day.

“I saw it on everyone’s Snapchat stories and was very excited,” senior Brooke Wolterman said.

The seniors’ absence on Wednesday was expected to happen, until an email was sent to the class Tuesday evening from Mr. Pendergest and other members of the administration. The email outlined the consequences of participating in a skip day.

“If there would be a Senior Skip Day two things would occur,” wrote Pendergest in the email, “One, the senior would be disqualified from Spirit Olympics. Two, any raffle free days that may have been earned due to ticket sales that will happen over the next couple of weeks would be canceled.”

The announcement disappointed several members of the class and discouraged them from skipping the following day of school.

“I wasn’t sure if I was skipping or not,” senior Brooke Wolterman said describing her reaction to the email. “I was really sad because I didn’t do any homework for the next day.”

Even though the email encouraged most of the class to attend on Wednesday, multiple seniors followed through with participating in the skip day. Whether or not the students who missed school on Wednesday would face punishment was unclear.

“It seemed like a lot of the seniors did not participate,” Mr. Imhoff said when asked about punishment. “Several were out with doctor’s notes and several were called in. The reasons they gave us were 100% true.”

Although this Senior Skip Day was unsuccessful, there have been rumors regarding another attempt in the spring. This way, Spirit Olympics and the raffle ticket sales can not be used as leverage. However, the administration seems to have already thought about alternative punishments.

“You wouldn’t walk at graduation,” Mr. Imhoff answered. “There is Prom and other events in the spring that can be held accountable.”

Although the idea of a Senior Skip Day can be exciting, it is important to remember the punishments associated with participating.

“Make the right decision and come to school,” Mr. Imhoff said. “We already had one of these things planned and the consequences could be unfavorable.”