This year, on April 9, Battle held their annual Senior Day, where various events were held to celebrate the upcoming graduates. The day started with an early senior meeting held in the gymnasium beginning at 9:00 am. Admin gave key information and reminders about events such as the all-night senior party, prom, and graduation. The meeting concluded with the Spartan Chant led by senior class president Kerynna Jarman and senior class public relations officer Grant Hughes.
Students were dismissed to find their seating for the Signing Ceremony. Seniors sat at tables classifying their post-secondary goals and signed a letter of intent to continue representing Battle, no matter what they do in the future. The students were categorized into their future plans, such as college, military, and workforce. Keynote speaker Paige McGee gave a speech that touched on subjects of growing up and life after high school. McGee is a two-time All-American, multiple-time state champion, Olympic trials qualifier, and Battle alumna. She serves as a reminder of our next steps and the excellence that comes from Battle.
Afterwards, a new tradition developed by seniors Morgan Sheaffer and Taylor Heath for their leadership class, called the Carnation Ceremony, was introduced. “We wanted to do it but we just didn’t have enough time before the end of the school year so we wanted to make sure that got done this year because it was something we could really hype up the ceremony for not only seniors but everyone watching […] loved seeing them and seeing who all their favorite teachers were so that was fun to hear that not only seniors but also teachers and underclassmen enjoyed it” said Sheaffer.
Carnations had been placed at each student’s seat while all of the administrators and teachers lined the gym. Students had five minutes to go to their educators of choice, who would then tie a ribbon to the stem of their flower. Seniors were given the choice of passing down their carnation to an underclassman or drying it as a keepsake.
Joshua Wedemeyer, a teacher and alumnus at Battle participated in the ceremony as well. “I think it meant a lot to of teachers, the teachers i talked to they were skeptical, it’s always a nervous feeling you don’t wanna assume students are going to come to you as somebody who meant something or had an impact, but talking to people afterwards every teacher had at least one student come up to them, for me personally it was a good reminder of why I started doing it [teaching] because it’s a tiring job, and it can really wear you out but it’s all worth something. I think it was a good reminder for teachers of the students they impacted and who remembers them.”
During third block, seniors dressed in their graduation caps and gowns to parade down to Eliot Battle Elementary. Walking through the hallways of the elementary school, students lined up with signs for each senior. Many elementary students cheered, and many offered high-fives or hugs as seniors walked by.
Afterwards, seniors who attended Battle Elementary School were taken aside to get a group photo together. The seniors walked back to the Battle High School football field and began lining up on outlines of the numbers two and five for an aerial photograph taken by a drone. “It was a little uncoordinated, it was a super windy day […] it was alright, I haven’t seen it yet so we’ll have to wait and see if that was worth it,” senior Charlie Adam.
Many of the traditions showcased this year are new to Battle. “When I was a senior here it was the second year it was open, so some of the traditions were very new […] a lot of it was things we were trying to create. There wasn’t a lot of like, set traditions.” said Wedemeyer, “I remember always feeling special but as far as traditions I feel like there is more going on for seniors now than there used to be.”
