A new school year has started, and the class of 2023 has already gotten off to a great start! Their first week of school was jam packed with a bunch of different events that they could participate in. These events were chalking the walk the night before the first day of school, waking up early with their peers to go see the sunrise at school, and attending the senior retreat where they could relax and have fun with their classmates in a variety of different ways.

On August 15th, seniors congregated at the front of the school at 8 pm to continue the Westminster tradition of “Chalk the Walk.” “Chalk the Walk” is an activity where the seniors decorate the front of the school with their words of encouragement for their underclassmen and decorations that get students and faculty excited for school. 

“I thought [that] Chalk the Walk was great! It was a fun way for the class to get together, have some fun, and kick off the start of the school year. I loved seeing everyone’s faces at Chalk the Walk because I hadn’t seen some people all summer!” said Carolann Muschick, a senior who participated in the activity. 

Zachary Leeker, another senior who was at Chalk the Walk, said, “Chalk the Walk was awesome! It was so fun to hang out with my class before our last year together got started, and getting to write freely in the entryway was just an added bonus.” 

Because of the rain that came on the first day of school, the senior sunrise got pushed back to Wednesday, August 17th. At around six in the morning, the seniors came to the plaza to watch the sunrise at 6:16 am. There, they were able to bond with their peers and enjoy the beauty of God’s creation. Afterwards, some seniors even went to go and get breakfast with their friends before school started.

“The senior sunrise was a great way to start off our senior year. We were all there as a class as we all watched the sunrise. We all talked and laughed so much, and it was a great opportunity to get to know people that I have never really talked to before. After the sunrise we went to go get bagels and just enjoy the last part of our morning before school started,”  explained Samantha Lee, a senior who saw the sunrise.

The final event that the seniors got to experience was the senior retreat. At the senior retreat, the seniors were able to do a lot of fun activities including swimming in the lake, playing putt-putt and beach volleyball, playing in the gym, eating as much soft-serve ice cream as they wanted, and so much more. They were also divided into different teams to compete for points and make the senior retreat even more fun.

“I had so much fun at the senior retreat! My favorite part was playing sand volleyball at night with friends, and I definitely think that the seniors were able to bond more, mostly in our groups as we had to work together and communicate. I really liked both Mr. Seilback and Mrs. Patton’s lessons [devotions on senior year] and the messages that went along with them. It was really nice to be able to hear that as a class and know that they had us in mind while writing it,” said senior Amelia Bendick.

In the near future, the seniors are going to have even more fun activities and events to participate in to further their relationships with one another.