Written By: Natalie Williams & Sara Robinson

On Monday, February 5th, the seniors of Newport Harbor took part in the nation-wide senior “ditch day.” Although some seniors still attended school, the majority started their last semester of high school right by heading to the beach, pool, or just avoiding the first day of their second semester. This senior ditch day exemplifies the classic “second-semester senior” attitude of wanting high school to end and move to the next chapter in their lives.

Senioritis is in full swing as the second semester finally begins. With the grueling process of college applications, finals, and the stress of approaching college acceptance or rejection letters, seniors are looking for any way to alleviate their school-related stress. Here’s how a few seniors spent their day:

Senior Annie O’Connor chose to spend her day off by “sleeping in, watching a movie in the morning, and then getting Ho Sum for lunch and eating it at the beach.” With college applications and finals, seniors are completely overwhelmed in their first semester, so Annie and her friends needed a break from their busy school lives. Like many others, they spent this free day at the beach as it was an unusually warm day for February.

On the opposite side, Senior Tristen Warmington attended school as per usual to avoid missing classes from her loaded schedule. Tristen’s hardest courses are AP Calculus, AP Government, and IB Lit, so it is important for her to not a miss a day of school, especially not the first of the semester!

Another student searching for a fun time in the new semester is Annie Mader, who claims that by skipping classes to go to the beach she is “juking school one ditch day at a time”. Although she missed the first day of class in her second semester, Annie was present later that afternoon at lacrosse practice because the season is quickly approaching and every practice counts to ensure that they get into CIF as they did last year.

This long-held tradition at Newport Harbor is a great way for seniors to celebrate the end of their high school career and give them the motivation to persevere through their final semester. By taking a day off and making the given three day weekend into a four day weekend since Newport Harbor’s Winter Formal is on the Friday before this day, the seniors are given the much-needed boost of rest and relaxation to take on their final semester in high school.