Pop’n a new tradition

After a tradition, called the senior run, was banned from the school two years ago due to a student injury, seniors looked for a new tradition to end their year. According to Principal Kent Bergum, not only was the run a physical liability, the seniors also presented vulgar language and threw their books off the balcony. The administration viewed this as a negative way to end the school year.

When Bergum, Student Council, and some seniors met to see what else they could do to end their year, the idea of a balloon release was presented.

The balloons are supposed to be symbolic for letting dreams go and moving forward in life. The seniors will write their hopes and dreams down on pieces of paper, which will then be attached to biodegradable balloons and released into the sky.

According to student council and Bergum, the balloon release will replace the senior run and hopefully become a new tradition for the senior’s final day.

The event happened yesterday, Friday, June 5, 2009, during the scheduled advisory.

“Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five…” Students yelled.

Once the numbers reached to zero, hands jumped to the sky and fingers released hopes, dreams, and goals that the students held onto. Some balloons rocketed into the sky from the inter-circle of the school, others fumbled around the walls searching for its way out.

The students looked to the sky and snapped memorabilia of each other while others laughed and cried during the event. Murmurs of, “Now we know which way the wind is blowing,” was heard as the balloons were swept across the sky in one direction.

Many seniors took to heart the symbolism as they wrote down their hopes, dreams and goals, and released them into the sky on their last day of school. After today, they are graduated, and moving on in their lives just as their balloons did.

Here are some things that were written;

“Look out world, here I come! Class of 2009.” - Katelyn Gralewski