On Friday August 26th, Seniors from the class of 2023 gathered in the early hours of the morning to celebrate a bittersweet occasion. Donning golden paper crowns, students and staff alike watched the sunrise to commemorate the beginning of the graduating class’s year. The community came together to plan the event via Facebook. Organizers took it upon themselves to bring food and drink to set up a breakfast buffet for the attendees. Among the refreshments were bagels, donuts, yogurts, and different pastries, along with coffee and juice, all provided by the community.

Senior Sunrise is a tradition shared by high schools nationwide to celebrate their seniors’ last-first day. It is a symbolic event where the entire class gets together to watch the sunrise, a metaphor for the beginning of the end.

“I think it’s a great tradition to start senior year, it’s something that I hope the school will keep doing,” Senior, Andrew Meadows, said.

The class of 2023 is Gainesville High School’s first graduating class and both staff and students alike are excited for the year of firsts ahead. The school is really putting an effort toward making the first seniors feel like their last year is special.

“The senior sunrise was quiet, but it was fun and really welcoming. It made me feel like I was part of a community, not like just a single student on my own,” Meadows said.

From the breakfast buffet to the golden crowns that were given to everyone in attendance, an emerging sense of community was fostered between peers.

Senior sunrise is not going to be the only senior-exclusive event of the year. More activities are on the horizon before graduation, including the upcoming senior trip to D.C., a senior bonfire in the fall and the highly anticipated upperclassman prom. With a packed itinerary and a critical year ahead, the first annual Senior Sunrise was the dawn of the class of 2023’s journey to setting traditions and becoming GVHS’s first graduating class.