Sad to return, hopefully not for long

On Jan. 4, Lawrence High School students took to social media to express their dismay at coming back to school from our December break. No one was eager to stop sleeping in or binge watching their favorite shows on Netflix. 

While it does hurt to trade in break privileges for tests and homework, students are still looking forward to their winter schedule. Our seniors can’t wait until Lawrence’s Senior Weekend, where they take a trip to a hotel upstate and enjoy activities including horseback riding, sledding, and paintball. 

It’s the time of year when the college application process is nearing its end and seniors start hearing back from colleges. After a stressful couple of months, Senior Weekend seems like the perfect way to celebrate the end to applying and the accomplishments we’ve achieved so far, and the others to come. 

The week before holiday break, when students and teachers entered the high school they were greeted by musical groups from Lawrence’s music department who performed holiday tunes during the annual “Hall-a-Day” concert. The main entrance filled up with groups of people who gather to watch the chorus, orchestra or band play their favorite songs. Each Hall-a-Day concert is a success and gets everyone in the holiday spirit. There’s nothing like watching the faces of both faculty and students light up as they walk through the door. When I graduate in June, this special event will be one of the things that I will miss most about Lawrence. 

In addition to gearing up for our Winter Concert, we’re also preparing for our trip to Disneyworld in March. Every two years, our music department has the opportunity to perform in Disney. The trip lasts for four days and three nights. When the band, orchestra, dance team and chorus aren’t taking turns performing at different parks, they are exploring the parks and going on rides. It’s not a bad way to spend your weekend. 

To prepare for the trip, we fundraise. Two of our biggest fundraising events so far were a fresh fruit sale and our Dining for Disney event at Panera Bread, where members of the Lawrence community dined at Panera Bread, while musical groups performed. A percentage of the profits from that night were given to our music department and put towards our trip to Disney.