The music echoed in the gym while students entered into the “Cars” themed academic rally. After all classes were sat, a noticeable empty section was missing: the seniors. Suddenly, all teachers flooded the gym floor, creating a tunnel with yellow pom poms, yellow being the Class of 2024’s color. With a transition to upbeat and nostalgic music, seniors walked through the gym, surrounded by teachers cheering them on. The final rally of the 2023-2024 school year had just begun. On Friday, April 19, the academic accomplishments of students were celebrated, along with the seniors’ four years of achievement.
“I thought the rally was very memorable, especially as my last rally due to all the small details put into making it special for the seniors,” Winston Wu (12) said. “One of the things they did to commemorate the seniors was the senior walk between all the teachers which was a sad, but memorable experience as I got to see many of my past teachers.”
Given that this rally would be the Class of 2024’s last rally in their high school career, the United Student Body (USB) class made efforts to honor the seniors. Seniors were instructed to enter the rally through the back doors of the gym after the rally had already begun. They were greeted by cheers from respective classes and teachers, as well as a bleacher section filled with gold balloons.
“We brought back senior tribute in hopes of creating a special moment for seniors, something we haven’t done since before COVID,” Assemblies and Rallies Commissioner Marian Lin (11) said.
The rally officially began with MCs, Mrs. Jacqueline Saiid as Lightning McQueen and Mrs. Brielle Novy as Mater, introducing themselves.
Wrestling team was called up to the stage following introductions. Although the rally mainly consisted of academic recognition, the wrestling team who won league championships were honored for their accomplishments.
Staff recognition was also included in the rally. Mrs. Cindy Seebalac won the Golden Bell award for her contributions to the school.
Additionally, all grades participated in the class competition. The Class of 2027’s performance was a dance including various teachers who wore inflatables, along with freshmen who were decked out in their pink class color. Similarly, the Class of 2026 also performed a group dance that ended with dancers lifting up a purple bandana, resulting in a roar of cheers from the sophomores. Two juniors sang a musical duet to represent the Class of 2025. While one student played the guitar, the other sang along; the gym was filled with flashlights from students taking in the last moments of the rally. The Class of 2024’s band concluded the class competition. With their energetic performance, the band received many cheers from audience members.
“Class competitions are important because they promote school and class spirit, while also being able to show individual talents and skills,” Class of 2025 performer Terran Chu (11) said. “They also encourage friendly competitions between classes.”
To continue the competition between classes, each grade sent up a representative to the gym floor for “Red Light, Green Light.” The juniors won first place after two rounds.
Throughout the rally, each classes’ top 10 were also recognized. During the senior top 10 announcements, Stephen Hung and Lukas Cao were officially announced valedictorians, and Aiden Choe was announced salutatorian.
The Bulldog Spell-Out competition between classes concluded the last rally of the school year. The seniors proudly cheered their final spell-out, winning the competition. The rally ended on a special note with all students and staff in the gym chanting “2024! 2024! 2024!” for the graduating class.
