Honoring Our Senior Class During The Pandemic

With the coronavirus causing a nation-wide lockdown, schools have been shut for over 2 months now, and out of all the classes, the senior class has been the hardest hit. There are so many senior traditions that are carried out every year, many of which occur at this time of the year. However, because of the lockdown, events like senior prom and Misster RMHS have been canceled. To make sure that the senior class is still recognized, the Senior Class Office of RMHS, led by President Maura Drummey, has been coming up with creative ways to continue some old traditions and to create new ones.

Door Decoration

Seniors and their families have decorated the doors of their house with pictures of the senior that lives there along with their name and the logo of the school or their sports team. This is a way to honor the seniors and a way to get the community to see the seniors in their neighborhood who are graduating this year. Almost the entire senior class has decorated their door. A video was compiled on the RMHS Class of 2020 Parents Facebook Page with pictures of all the decorated doors. 

Along with door decorations, families have also put out lawn signs that were safely handed out to every senior by the class office. These were also given out as a way to honor the senior class.

Virtual Prom

One of the most disappointing outcomes of the school closure was the cancellation of the Senior Prom.  Many seniors had already bought their prom dresses and rented their tuxedos. To prevent all that money from going to waste, the class office organized a virtual prom on May 10. Students were able to sign up for free on a website and, at 7 pm, a livestream began with a DJ. A separate video conference was also organized for students to interact with each other on the side. Some students also decided to FaceTime each other or hold other video conferences to chat. Students dressed up and took pictures of themselves which they shared on social media.

Countdown to Graduation

The class officers took over the RMHS Class of 2020 Instagram page(@class2020rmhs) and decided to continue the tradition of creating signs that count down the final twenty or so days of classes for seniors. The countdown began on May 11 and the final day was May 22. Students signed up to traditionally or digitally create a poster for the countdown with memes, jokes, words of encouragement, and memories. These were uploaded to the Class of 2020 Instagram page for its followers to see.

Virtual Senior Week

The class officers decided to hold a virtual senior week from May 18 to May 22. There was a theme and activity assigned for each day of the week. Students dressed up according to the themes and sent pictures of themselves to the Class of 2020 Instagram page. A winner would be selected amongst the pictures and they would receive a gift card for a store. The themes included Jungle Day (in honor of the show Tiger King), Fancy Day, and Senior Shirts Day. Along with a theme, an activity would accompany each day of the week. These activities included a Kahoot with RMHS trivia, a scavenger hunt around town looking for the letters of the word SENIOR, and a release of the acts of Misster RMHS on YouTube. Class Office created senior week to engage the seniors in activities and help them enjoy these last few weeks of school. 

Senior Parade

On May 23, a parade is being held to honor the senior class. The parade will begin at 10:00 am at Jordan’s Furniture in Reading and will end at Reading Memorial High School. The RMHS administration will ring the Victory Bell as families drive by the school. Parents and guardians will drive the seniors as people watch and cheer along the parade route. RMHS faculty and staff are invited to safely gather along Oakland Road and the parade route to cheer for the seniors.