On Thursday, Sept. 5, the senior Monarchs attended their Senior Splash in the NDB pool. The yearly tradition is held during Collaboration early in each school year as a way to celebrate the beginning of a class’ senior year. This year, students wore purple, their class color, as they jumped into the water and posed for the annual class photo.
The Senior Splash is a long-standing tradition at NDB that is one of numerous events marking the beginning of students’ final year as Tigers. Many look forward to the afternoon as a time to celebrate the accomplishment of reaching senior year, and a thrill is added since it is held at the pool, a location usually reserved for Aquacades and water polo and swim team practices.
“I was really excited because it’s such a tradition at the school, and I’ve only been in the pool a couple of times,” said senior Genevieve Land.
This year, students enjoyed the afternoon in the pool and on the deck, swimming with friends and appreciating the summer heat. Aside from jumping into the water, students were also able to cool off by ordering ice cream from Mister Softee, a popular ice cream truck that proved to be a hit amongst the students, as the line was long throughout the entire event.
The senior student council was in charge of organizing the event along with Senior Class Coordinator Kate Mahoney. As this is a relatively simple event compared to others, not much planning was required ahead of the afternoon, besides logistical issues concerning timing and ordering certain items online.
“Back in, I guess it was in the springtime, [the] end of the school year, [Alisia Bergholm and I] looked at the calendar to kind of pinpoint which Collaboration in the first couple weeks of school that we wanted to have the Splash take place. … And then Mrs. Bergholm will usually reach out to Mister Softee to reserve that,” said Mahoney. “And then, I start working with [the] senior class council on anything that they want for it, in terms of floaties and other snacks and things like that. And then we coordinate with Cat [Adamis] and Mr. [Mark] Thiesen for photography, to take the photo.”
Although the treats and swimming were important additions to the Splash, the most memorable part of the afternoon was the class photo taken at the beginning. While it is rare enough to have a photo featuring the entire grade, the truly exciting part was jumping into the water. With many students trying to stay afloat as they smiled at the camera and others posing from the pool deck, it is sure to be an image students will remember taking.
The afternoon served as a bonding experience for the senior class as well as a break from the academics that have begun this school year. As this is the beginning of their final year of high school, students took the opportunity to reflect on their friendships, extracurriculars, memories and all NDB had to offer over the past three years.
“I think senior year bonds any class, so I think it was the start of forming … even stronger bonds,” said Land.
With this tradition, the Monarchs have officially jumped into the deep end of senior year both physically and symbolically. Although students will no longer be attending NDB next year, they will continue to be members of the community as alumnae who are always willing to support them as they take a leap into a new chapter.
