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One Last Ride: Senior Relection By Mahlia Glass
Senior Sunrise. Seniors gather together on August 21st for Senior Sunrise at Bear Creek Park. Senior Sunrise is a tradition that symbolizes the start of the school year. Seniors will meet again on the last day of school for a Senior Sunset to “close off ” the school year. This year, participation was up dramatically as seniors took stock of their “Pandemic Senior Year” ahead.
Left: Rylan Dowling, Sierra Dooley, Spencer McCumber, Lauren Boyd, Abby Carlson, Lanna Searle, Lindsey Dwinell, Davis Ortonward, Chloe Donegan, Dana Gutiérrez-Santos, Tera DeRemus, Grace Trahey, Heidi Martin, Caden Harris, Ellie Wickes, Alexis Harper, Grace Olson, Isaiah Thomas, George Cerneck, Audrey Speicker, Lars Marquardt, Mahlia Glass, Joah Armour, Porter Fredrickson, Michael Vanderwerff, Travis Flett, Kat Yenne, Wally Hoehne, Sophia McKeown, Jesse Jorstad, Brian Blake, Harleigh Moreno, Kianu Flores.
MSHS Journalism photo file
Not only was the stress rising as the class of 2021 prepared for their senior year, seniors were also living through the added-on stress of a pandemic. Through all of the quarantines, online classes, canceled events, and covid outbreaks, there were also many positive things to remember. To start off the 2021 school year, the seniors got together as a class for a senior sunrise. Not being able to have the sunrise in its usual spot on the MSHS track, seniors met at Bear Creek park to eat donuts and watch the sunrise together before the first day of school. This was the last time most of the seniors were in one place
together. Being on lockdown for almost 15 weeks, the Manitou volleyball team used volleyball as their outlet. The team used their free time during the summer and the first few weeks of school to get together and play outdoor grass volleyball on the high school practice field. Getting outside every day and being able to see close friends for a couple of hours made staying home a little bit easier. The volleyball team was able to start building connections early in the year so they could have a great season in the spring. Seniors, Mahlia Glass and Sophia McKeown played huge leadership roles on the team and were 100%
ready for their season to begin. When everyone thought that things were just starting to get back up again Manitou had a bad outbreak within the football team. The whole football team and anyone they were in contact with had to be full-time online and were not able to come to school or participate in anything going on. The football season got pushed back to the spring and was now going to happen during boys soccer and volleyball. With football now being in a new season, there was lots of new interest in people now wanting to play. The girls basketball team was during season B and after getting cut short last year, they were ready to have a successful season. Being so close to
the end of the season a positive test forced the whole basketball program to quarantine for two weeks missing many important games making them unable to make it to playoffs. After a long time, things were finally starting to get back up in running. Although girls volleyball and football are originally supposed to be part of the fall season, they were pushed back to the spring. Volleyball got off to a great start to their season with a 3-0 record. Football doing the same with a 2-1 record so far. Football has a very strong senior class full of great leaders. All 12 seniors goal for the season is to make it to the state playoffs for the first time in a while. Theatre class was able to get started on
productions and senior Morrigan Williams has had the honor to be a student director this year. A big project she was in charge of was the Theatre Buffet and getting all of the pieces put together for that. For choir, theatre, and band they were unable to have performances and productions in the first semester. As the second semester rolled around, band was able to start sending people to virtual competitions, choir was doing outdoor and virtual performances, and theatre was able to do outdoor productions while also doing fun activities in class. With activities back in action students were also very excited about being fully in person. Being full in-person
school also meant student sections at events, eating lunch with friends, walking the track with other classmates, and seeing people in the hallway every day. As senior year is coming to an end, seniors get to look forward to many positive things to finish off their high school years. Things like prom, homecoming, yearbook distribution and signing, award ceremonies, graduation, and a normal college experience in the Fall. Although homecoming is usually in the beginning of the year it is an exciting thing to end senior year on.
FuelEd seniors learn from home By The Prospector Staff
way- or in a negative way, and that’s okay! I got the chance to do something a lot of people don’t do, and I learned a lot more about me and focused on growing with that person.”
Photo courtexy of Avrie Tomsik
Senior year online. Senior Avrie Tomsik works on her FuelEd course work in her room this year.
While most members of the Class of 2021 juggled changing school formats and quarantines, Araceli Roldan and Avrie Tomsik opted to complete their senior year online through the district’s FuelEd option. Both Roldan and Tomsik decided to complete senior year online because they prioritized keeping their high risk family members safe. Roldan, who lived with an aunt with stage IV pancreatic cancer, felt that the decision was the best
for her situation. “I knew I didn’t want to go back for the first semester because I wanted to spend any and all moments I could with [my aunt]. Not only did I grow closer with her in her last six months, but I also grew a lot closer with my other family members,” Roldan said. Both Roldan and Tomsik found other benefits to FuelEd. “It was nice having the flexibility in creating my own schedule. With no due dates, it
was great to be able to work and do school without too much stress. It also allowed me to be around my family more often and do school in the comfort of my own room. I felt like I learned a lot and was able to do very well,” Tomsik said. Roldan also enjoyed the time she had to herself this year: “I know it may sound silly, but in four years you realize that you change a lot,” she explained, “and you may change in a positive
In the end, both Tomsik and Roldan felt that their decision to spend their senior year at home completing FuelEd was a positive experience. Both seniors thrived in their work and were able to grow personally and become closer to their families. Next year, Avrie Tomsik plans to attend UCCS and major in Criminal Psychology. Araceli Roldan is taking a much needed semester off to spend time to discover what she really wants to do with her life.
Of course, spending senior year at home wasn’t always easy. “I missed being able to see friends and having direct contact with a teacher. Even though I enjoyed teaching myself, it is always nice having a teacher you can easily talk to if you need help, so I missed that aspect of on-campus learning a lot,” Tomsik said. Roldan felt the same way. “A person I missed from school was my advisory teacher Mrs. Kerrigan; she was a safe place at school. Not only her as a person, but her classroom was a safe space. She never judged you for who you were, and she let you be you. She could talk to you about your feelings, and made sure you were okay. As a teenager growing up and not knowing who you are, it’s always nice to have Photo Courtesy of Araceli Roldan Working Girl. Araceli Roldan cleans the bathroom at a person/place to go to,” Raising Cane’s with co-worker Mia Proctor at closing. Roldan said.
