Senior Year Traditions to Finish Your Time at St. Agnes
Senior year traditions add incredible value to a student’s high school experience. Some traditions have been around since the seventies! Read on for a peek inside St. Agnes senior traditions.
This is it, the final year of high school! While there are many significant hurdles to jump before the graduation celebrations can start, the St. Agnes community holds many senior year traditions close to our hearts!
Year-Round Senior Year Traditions
St. Agnes senior year traditions occur during the fall and spring, with some even beginning the prior spring when the previous class is no longer present on campus ("seniors first," anyone?).
While all traditions are enjoyed by many, not all are mandatory. Students partake in as many or as few traditions as they wish, with the more important and ceremonial events such as Senior Retreat, Madonna Day, and Graduation as a few of the mandatory events.
Read on for traditions that occur year-round, in the fall, and, finally, in the spring.
1. Year Round Traditions
"Seniors First"
You can hear this fun chant in almost all school-wide assemblies. After any pep rally, Mass, or all-school assembly, speakers politely invite faculty, staff, and guests to exit before the student body president and vice president address the senior class with "seniors, one, two..." and are met with the response "seniors first!" The graduating senior class jumps out of their seats with their hands holding up "#1" while they chant the phrase before exiting the assembly hall before all other students.
Senior Privileges
Senior privileges usually vary by grade and are brought to the Dean of Students for approval by the senior class president and vice president. These privileges are rolled out throughout the year and are earned by good behavior. Privileges in years past have included:
- Free dress Fridays
- Off-campus lunch
- Athletic shoes at winter formal and prom
- Free dress during finals
- A designated "senior area" in the student commons
- College shirt days
College Commitment Instagram Account
Seniors love having a separate account. According to the school handbook, "Students are not allowed to create any social media account on behalf of St. Agnes Academy, using the school's logo, image, name, etc. Disciplinary consequences will be given to students who incur infractions with any technology policies."
With special guidance from the Marketing and Communications team, students manage an account (@stagnesacademyseniors) under the St. Agnes brand to share updates on where their classmates plan to attend college in the upcoming fall.
Yard Signs
Yard signs are sold in the fall for families to stake in their front (or back) yards, showcasing that a St. Agnes Senior lives in their house!
Class Gift
The senior class scholarship was created for graduating classes to say "thank you" to St. Agnes. Gifts from this fund provide financial aid to future Academy women. Each graduating class is encouraged to reach 100% participation from every member.
Athletics Senior Nights
Many athletics teams at St. Agnes host "senior nights," in which graduating seniors are honored at a home game. The special recognition of the seniors usually takes place before the game and can include a call out, presentation of flowers, or a special walk with their parents or guardians out on the field or court in front of fans.
Senior Sweatshirts
Each class gets to design a sweatshirt, unlike other grades who create t-shirts. Seniors get to wear their sweatshirts on certain days throughout the year.
Signing Days
Another fun event within Tiger Athletics is a "signing day." These are the ceremonial "signings" in which college athletes who have been recruited or have committed to continuing their sport in college "sign" an agreement during a presentation. These days occur in both the fall and spring and are fun for teammates, classmates, and family to attend.
2. Fall Traditions
Senior Sunrise
Taking place during one of the first weeks of school, seniors arrive early morning in decorated cars to watch the sunrise together. This morning activity is a sweet way to kick off their year. There is often a sister event at the end of the year called "senior sunset," in which they watch the sun go down together.
Welcome Week
St. Agnes Welcome Week is a time-honored tradition and one not to be missed! This week, seniors are paired with first-year students as their "big sisters." Each day has a unique mini tradition, such as beach day, baby day, and reveal day, celebrated with Mass and ending with a final shebang of the costume parade and orientation dance.
Senior Style Show
The Mother-Daughter Luncheon and Senior Style Show is another longstanding tradition. Local Houston boutiques and larger department stores lend outfits for the senior girls to wear and walk the runway in front of adoring guests.
No school is on this day, so other students are invited to attend the luncheon. Senior families and friends often come to watch their senior students as a family bonding event.
3. Spring Traditions
Senior Retreat
As with the other three years, seniors spend nights away on a class retreat. The final retreat is more relaxed and offers special bonding moments for the class to reminisce and bond one last time while away from Houston.
Powder Puff Football Game
This flag football game is a class competition of juniors versus seniors after school one day in the spring. The coaches are made up of St. Ages athletics coaches and players' friends from Strake Jesuit.
Seniors' Last Day
On their last day of high school, our seniors are invited to decorate their uniform skirts with colors and symbols representing the college they plan on attending. The day is filled with some of the cutest photos the seniors can treasure for many years to come.
Dads and Donuts
“Dads and Donuts” takes place simultaneously with the seniors' last day of school. Dads from the graduating class are invited to campus to serve donuts to their daughters. This breakfast is another one of those sweet moments parents enjoy sharing with their daughters before they leave for college.
College Shirt Day
While many seniors start to wear their school colors and logos on free dress days, there is one day designated that all graduating class members are asked to wear the shirt of the school they plan to attend. This group effort lends itself to a memorable class photo showcasing every member of the class present that day.
Madonna Day
Madonna Day is a ceremony the day before every St. Agnes graduation honoring Mother Mary. It includes the crowning of Mary by the class valedictorian and salutatorian and a celebration of the Eucharist.
During this ceremony, the class is graced with an address from the class salutatorian and remarks from the principal. The class president and vice president sign and present the class scholarship before the class views a slide show and sings the ages-old "Senior Song" to their family members in attendance.
Graduation
The St. Agnes graduation is very typical of other ceremonies of the like. It includes formal processions, prayers, an address by the Head of School and valedictorian, presentation of awards, conferral of diplomas, turning of tassels, and formal recessional.
How Can Senior Year Not Sound Fun?
With all of these traditions to look forward to, how can you not want to attend St. Agnes? Our graduating students are sent to the world with some of the most incredible friendships and connections high school can offer.
Besides our network of outstanding alumnae, our students are blessed with memories, friends, and teachers that have truly shaped them into the adults they will head out into the world as.
We are continually impressed with the achievements of our graduates and constantly hear praises of how wonderful they are to so many they meet.
If you are looking for a school that offers these connections and senior year traditions, look at St. Agnes Academy. Reach out to our Director of Admissions today!
