Seniors Glow at Sunrise

Friday, September 25th was a morning full of excitement, pride, and bittersweet nostalgia as the Swordsmen class of 2027 celebrated their Senior Sunrise. The 12th-grade Swordsmen arrived at St. Paul before the sun came out, ready to conquer the day.

Senior Sunrise is an annual tradition where the graduating class arrives at school before dawn; it includes time for games, food, and interactions with classmates as their senior year breezes by. The seniors arrived at 6:00 am in their cozy pajamas, while some even brought a nice little Starbucks coffee to enjoy. Upon arrival, the seniors used their time to take pictures with beautifully created photo ops and posters.

At sunrise, the seniors said a beautiful opening prayer (led by religion teacher Mr Lorenzo) before enjoying a delicious breakfast put together by St. Paulʼs Momʼs Club. Senior Shane Ortega was enjoying his time and said: “ Senior sunrise is going great, and the food was delicious!” While the seniors sat together eating breakfast, they watched their class movie, Toy Story. As the seniors finished up their food, they snapped a couple more pics before moving to the football field.

On the football field, the seniors played games like volleyball, Spikeball, soccer, and Jenga. While playing games, seniors were more than happy to share what made the morning so special for them. Fourth-year student Lidia Araya said, “ Senior sunrise is amazing; itʼs crazy to think that I was once so eager for this day to happen, and now that itʼs here, it all feels bittersweet. My favorite part so far is the opportunity to hang out with the people I love most during this huge step in life.” With the sun climbing the morning sky and the clock getting closer to 8:00 am, the seniors started to clean and prepare for classes.

Thank you to our Momʼs Club and ASB for putting together such a great morning as both organizations stayed at school the previous night until 8:00 pm and arrived at 5:00am the morning of sunrise to make this event one to remember. Senior Andrew Collins expressed his gratitude by saying, “This was such a great morning, and I appreciate all who made this day possible.” Now thatʼs a wrap on the senior sunrise of 2026. Good luck to all of our seniors, and see you at sunset! So long, partner.