Class of ’23 puts on annual senior sunrise

Tegan+Livesay

Tegan Livesay

On the cloudy morning of Aug. 17, the seniors of Newton High School set their alarms for the annual senior sunrise. The senior class woke up early the day before school officially began. Students arrived at Centennial Park for the sunrise around 6:30 a.m. Students took many pictures as they ate donuts, laid on blankets, and hung out with one another. 

Although the sun was expected to come up, the weather surprised everyone. Instead, it was a very cloudy morning. This event was planned and organized by the members of the senior student council. Every year, they have now decided to host a senior sunrise for every future class. For senior Olivia Antonowich, she thinks the biggest con was the clouds that were in the way and that the sunrise didn’t show. 

“I liked it [the senior sunrise]. We could’ve used an actual sunrise but that’s life,” Antonowich said. “I think the day we planned was good besides the clouds.”

Antonowich wished more of the seniors would have shown up who aren’t as involved in the school. Overall, she thought it was still fun and a great way to connect with all of the seniors before school started.

“I hope the senior sunrise created a sense of motivation for everyone to get involved this year,” Antonowich said “It’s great to see everyone coming together to enjoy one last year of high school.” 

Senior Emily Torres said there were things that could have gone better. She realized the things that were a little disappointing, weren’t controllable. She tried to find more pros than cons to bring positive thoughts, instead of negative ones. 

“Unfortunately, the day of senior sunrise we had overcast almost all day, so the sky was all gray. What we ended up really watching was the sky turn from dark grey to light grey,” Torres said.

What she enjoyed most about the senior sunrise was being able to hang out with friends and to see and visit with people she hadn’t seen in a while. Everyone came together as a class to remember this moment. This beginning of an end for the senior class was bittersweet, Torres adds. It was definitely an experience, not one that was really expected but making the most out of the situation, staying positive and being happy and making memories with her class were really all that mattered.

“My thought on senior sunrise was that it was a bittersweet moment. It’s symbolic of the beginning of an end. It was definitely that,” Torres said “It wasn’t an experience that I absolutely loved, but I tried to find the positive because I knew it was a once-in-a-lifetime high school experience that would never arise again.”