A junior drives into the school parking lot, wondering why it is so empty. They remember their senior friend telling them about senior skip day. Throughout the day, they notice that the halls feel empty, along with classrooms containing only a few students listening to lectures. Realizing how fast the school year is coming to an end.
MCHS’s annual senior skip day happens on the Monday coming back from prom weekend. The day has been a tradition for many years at MCHS, and continues to live on for seniors to look forward to every year.
“It’s tradition, you know,” senior dean Jeffrey Schroeder says. “I’d like to think that the kids are making good decisions and maybe getting to know each other outside of school and as a group … that’s a positive I see coming out of it.”
Administrators of MCHS feel that it is good to keep traditions going, while making sure students are aware of the consequences.
It gives seniors an extra day to their prom weekend,” MCHS senior Marko Stojich says. “So they can make more memories with their friends … I was staying at the Wisconsin Dells with my friends, so we were able to spend another night together to make more memories before we graduate.”
Most seniors spend time with one another and get to enjoy their long weekend off, but this isn’t the case for everyone.
According to MCHS athletic rules, students must be present for four periods out of the school day.
“I’d say I am upset about skip day,” MCHS senior Kilynn Axelson says. “It’s kind of sad because you only get one senior skip day, and for it to be taken away because you have to compete at a meet, is just kind of annoying.”
Students and teachers alike feel the struggles of senior skip day, causing issues for teachers trying to get their final lessons in before the year is over.
“I guess I’m a bit torn,” MCHS English teacher Ashley Diedrich says. “I understand that it’s a tradition, and students want to partake, but it definitely does cause a struggle for teachers, especially when they only have 10 days left with them to get things planned.”
The junior watches as the next day all the seniors’ teachers are scrambling to make up for lost time before they graduate next week. The senior students look calm and well rested after their extra long weekend, leaving the junior excited for all of the traditions they get to experience in their senior year.