A Tradition Persevering Through The Pandemic: The Senior Lock-in

Every year, as the seniors reach college acceptance season, approach their IB exams, and ultimately inch closer to their graduation, the stress in their lives reaches an all-time high.  However, to combat this stress, several senior-oriented traditions have been created – the most notable of which is “The Senior Lock-in”. As the name suggests, the seniors get “locked in” overnight and have to spend a night in school as a grade. This event takes place annually on the night of the Talent Show, as a majority of the seniors attend it in order to participate in the beloved “senior dance,” another rite of passage the seniors go through every year. This year, the seniors participated in many activities during the lock-in, ranging from gaming to playing tag and soccer out on the field in the middle of the night.

“It was a really fun experience,” said senior Paoping Y. “It was really great to just get an opportunity to spend a night with all my friends and relax, not needing to worry about all the assignments we have.”

Every year in the past, however, the talent show, and therefore the senior lock-in, have taken place in late April, much closer to the IB exams and the summer.

“When we did it a couple years ago, there were a lot of mosquitoes and it was really humid all night.” said alumni Eagle C. “It was also right before our IB exam season started, so it felt like a lot of people didn’t want to be there and would rather have stayed home to study.”

Senior Andy C. agreed with these sentiments, adding that “the timing this year was much more preferable, and there were less bugs because of the colder nighttime.”

The senior lock-in is definitely an extremely anticipated event every year, and it is a great way to send off the seniors with a final bonding memory as a class before they graduate. With every year, the activities and the event as a whole improve, and it is exciting to see what will happen next year!