Appreciating the time we had together

Spring is truly my favorite time at Lawrence Woodmere Academy, even though it comes with the stress of finals, Advanced Placement exams, and the end-of-the-year jitters. Students can be seen studying and playing sports outside together, and this truly highlights our sense of community. The end of the year also comes with annual traditions such as LWA’s May 1 College Commitment Day assembly, academic and athletic awards ceremonies, and Field Day.

This year, the Commitment Day assembly fell on a Wednesday. The whole week was devoted to a senior spirit week dress down. Monday was dress code as usual; Tuesday was flag day, a day devoted to honoring the places that we came from; Wednesday was college day, when seniors came to school dressed in the apparel and colors of the college they had chosen; Thursday was senior day, when we all dressed up as senior citizens; and Friday was black out day, when we dressed in all black.

Our Commitment Day assembly was one of the most special ones to me. Our college guidance counselor, Susan Lettieri, created a digital map of the world to show where everyone in the class of 2019 is headed next school year. It was weird to see how far we are all going from one another. Being able to celebrate our decisions with our school makes it even more evident how LWA is a family. This along with our senior spirit week truly promoted our class pride.

We are currently gearing up for the Academic/Athletic Awards ceremonies, Field Day, and the dreaded final exams. Although this is truly one of the craziest times, our award ceremonies has us joining together and honoring students’ achievements, and allows us to build upon our constantly growing community.

Preparation for Field Day is also in the works. Each grade is currently in the process of creating and designing class T-shirts for their grade. Student are also thinking about the Field Day events that they would like to take part in. Events include tug-of-war, the 50- yard dash, an egg toss, the three-legged race, and, new this year, a balloon tower contest.

The end of the year is always bittersweet. As a result of our close-knit community, leaving for two months is a difficult adjustment for some of the students. I am excited for the end of the year, although these are my last few days as a student at Lawrence Woodmere Academy. LWA has been my family for 15 years at the summer camp and three at the school in Woodmere. I love LWA and I am sad for my time there to end.