By Joyce LEE

The Crescenta Valley High School senior class of 2015 kicked off their school year with the traditional senior bonfire beach trip on Saturday, Aug. 2.

Each year, CVHS boasts a large graduating class. This prevents students from interacting with unfamiliar peers in different settings. Therefore a tradition was established by the Associated Student Body – ASB – cabinet members for seniors to come together and bond as a whole at an informal beach trip.

The ASB cabinet members were in charge of the social; school officials were not responsible for the event. The cabinet members publicized the trip and because the event took place during the last week of summer break when students don’t see each other everyday, the ASB cabinet members utilized social media to raise interest in the beach trip. A Facebook event was quickly created and approximately 500 seniors were invited. Information quickly spread through the posting on Instagram but since not everyone is involved in social media, friends invited their friends and further spread the word.

Advanced planning for such an undertaking was necessary. The ASB members purchased needed supplies, such as firewood and s’mores. Despite leaving for the beach five hours ahead of time to reserve a fire pit for the senior class, Jasyln Pe to was unable to get one. (Fortunately, a kind family was willing to share their fire pit with the students.) Megan Torres, Lauren Seh, Marina Torres and Vanessa Young also carpooled to the beach early to set up. It was due to the hard work of the ASB members that the event was a success.

“I did not envision more than 30 seniors showing up because the senior class is made up of a multitude of cliques, which often deters our willingness to hang out with people outside of our friend group. So when 50 or 60 seniors from all different areas of CV ended up coming, I was super thrilled!” ASB cabinet member Vanessa Young said.

The beach setting offered plenty of activities for the senior class to engage in. Many students swam, roasted marshmallows, ate pizza or caught up with friends. The bonfire surpassed the seniors’ expectations and everyone seemed to get along well.

“I witnessed a lot of conversations between seniors I would not usually expect to see together,” Young said. “I felt that was the result of having an open and chill environment in which people definitely had fun and were able to socialize with ease.”

  Joyce LEE