As the crowd buzzed with excitement, Principal Gregory Shelby reflected on the fact that since 2019, a graduating class had not experienced a true Goodbye Rally. With a chance to celebrate the relationships, moments and hard work over the last four years, many were thrilled that an indoor rally had been confirmed for this year.

As SCHS’s choir wrapped up the National Anthem, spirit reps Jamal Howard and Prateek Kundu took center court. After using the spirit stick to build hype among the students, Howard and Kundu introduced the year’s top ten teachers, a long standing tradition at SCHS. After announcing history teacher Jean Liao as the favorite among seniors, Kundu and Howard introduced the new spirit reps for the school year of 2023-2024, sophomore Jo Ann Smith and junior Miranda Gutierrez. Following the rally, Smith commented on her mindset as a spirit rep.

“I don’t think a lot of people can do this,” Smith said. “I didn’t even think I could do it. I know a lot of people and I can’t imagine them doing what I just did, so I’m glad that I took it on as a leadership role.”

The introduction of the new spirit reps was followed by the announcement of the new ASB representatives for next year, starting with Asher Dubin as the new ASB President. Next, Smith and Gutierrez took the time to present the new posters for each class, symbolizing the promotion of each grade level. After the rally, Sophomore Class President Ryan Borromeo reflected on the value of posters.

“I think each class had a perfect theme that suited their class,” Borromeo said. “The importance of posters is definitely to show how creative we are. We’re not just a class that plans events, but that we have creativity and we’re able to use different skills more than public speaking.”

The poster rollout was followed by the highlight of the event, the senior memories video. Around 15 minutes long, each clip received a wholesome reaction from the audience. Vice Principal of Activities Sharon Freeman especially enjoyed the reception from the crowd.

“I really liked all of the energy. Everyone was so excited,” Freeman said. “It was great to see because I was actually standing over by the screen for the video and watching everyone’s reactions to the people that were on the screen, or the messages that were there. That definitely put a smile on my face.”

When setting aside his leadership role and reflecting on the video as a student, Borromeo was able to gain an appreciation for the time that he has left at SCHS.
“If I think about it in a more student perspective, the video was amazing,” Borromeo said. “It showed how time passes by so fast and how seniors enjoy every moment they have together. I was able to be a student and think, ‘Hey, I’m gonna be there one day. I am gonna be on that video and be sitting on the opposite sides of the bleachers.’ I don’t have that much time left, and I should be able to enjoy my moments.”

Additionally, the Goodbye Rally was also an emotional event for Borromeo due to the fact that this was one of the last times he will see his favorite senior, Erin Mizota, at SCHS.

“That’s just someone I’m just gonna miss the most because I won’t get the same advice from her,” Borromeo said. “I won’t get the same treatment from her. She definitely is not part of my bloodline, but she just felt like a sister to me like an older sister and someone I can inspire to be like.”

As seniors spend their last days on campus, Freeman wants them to know that change will come in life and they should be proud of who they will become.

“Make sure that they (seniors) stay true to themselves,” Freeman said. “That self might change from who you were in high school because now you’re going to a whole different part of your life, whether it be college or work or whatever it is. Make sure that you’re true to who you want to be with your friends, with your career choices, with your class choices, all of those things.”

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Joshua Cedro