Monday, Feb. 13 was a quieter day on the Upper School campus than usual. The student body was missing about a quarter of its population, due to the annual Senior Skip Day.

This year’s Senior Skip Day aligned with one of America’s biggest events of the year, the Super Bowl.

“We chose that Monday because it was the day after the Super Bowl, and nobody wants to go to school after staying up late to watch the game,” recalled Student Council President Owen Nutter.

The seniors on Student Council play a large role in the planning of Senior Skip Day. They listen to the recommendations given by their senior counterparts and then collectively decide on a day they do not want to go to school. They also look to the past when choosing a date.

“The process [of selecting a day] is largely based on the precedent of past Senior Skip Days,” said Nutter. “Once we have a day in mind, we get it approved by Mr. Jacobsen and then it is finalized.”

Most seniors enjoyed getting some extra rest on their day off, including Nutter.

“I pretty much spent the day off sleeping in and then hung out with some friends,” explained Nutter.

Similar to Nutter, senior Wils Davis also slept in and enjoyed not having to wake up early for school.

“It was nice to be able to get some extra rest and wake up knowing that I didn’t have to go to school,” noted Davis.

Davis thinks the day after the Super Bowl was not the best choice for this year’s Senior Skip Day, however.

“I would have rather skipped the day after spring break because it would have been nice to have another day of break to extend our vacation,” said Davis. Ironically, Davis’s wish has been granted as all students have that Monday off after spring break.

Interestingly, most American schools schedule their Senior Skip Day for the day before prom. 

On Oct. 31, 2019, some students went against the norm. TikTokers randomly started posting videos urging teens to ditch school on Dec. 2. There is no clear evidence as to why they chose Dec. 2 in particular. Unsurprisingly, these videos went viral in a matter of days. Accompanied by perky background music, the videos began trending with #2December. The hashtag itself earned over two million views. As can be seen, the tradition of Senior Skip Day’ has a strange history.

Even though the seniors did not show up to classes, those who were playing sports were still allowed to practice or participate in their games. For example, it did not matter that Davis was absent from school, as he was still able to go to his tennis practice.

Overall, Senior Skip Day is a popular tradition by each year’s soon-to-be graduating class. Now, the seniors can only count down the days until the end of their high school careers.