Adam Wisnewski, left, and Ryan Boub prepare their candle bags to be lit for an early morning ceremony marking the beginning of their senior year at Wyoming Area.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Labor Day morning sees students gather to celebrate sunrise on the dike
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Sailym Jones, left, and Gianna Colella, place candle-lit bags along the walk path at the dike at Wyoming.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Wyoming Area senior Aubriana Marranca, left, gets her temperature checked by Jessica Santos from the parents association as students arrived for Monday’s sunrise event.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
This group of Wyoming Area seniors met at 6:15 a.m. on Labor Day to mark the sun rising on their senior year.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Wyoming Area seniors Lydia Pealer, left, and Olivia Kwiantkowski look over breakfast goodies provided by the senior parents’ association.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
WYOMING — Wyoming Area class of 2021 started what could possibly be a new tradition at the school as seniors gathered on the dike to watch the sun rise on a new day and the final chapter of their high school career on Labor Day.
As the school district begins virtual classes on Sept. 8, the class of 2021 met on the dike next to the Midway Shopping Center for the first time since school was shut down this past March. Classmates congregated at 6:15 a.m. as the sun was about to rise in the Borough of Wyoming.
“Some students were going to do something on their own, so we decided to help out,” Sherry Slusser, Wyoming Area Parents Association member, said. “The year is not going to be what it normally would be, so we figured whatever we could do to start them off. They’re not going to be in classes together for the first quarter so it kicks off the school year for them.”
The parents association took students’ temperatures as they arrived and assigned each a bag with a battery-operated candle to line the walking path on the dike. The association also provided pastries, coffee and orange juice for the students.
“I know they’re (Wyoming Area) trying to keep us safe, but a lot of stuff has to be re-planned,” Sailym Jones, senior class member, said. “We are not going to have any normal events. Homecoming is going to be different, football games are going to be different, but I know they are trying to keep us safe.”
Jones, a member of the varsity cheerleading squad, said they would only be able to cheer at home games going into the 2020 football season.
“It will just be the cheerleaders, the band, and the football team at home games,” Jones added. “I hope we’ll be able to enjoy our year like the same way other seniors have been doing.”
Former junior class president, Adam Wisnewski, is unsure who the senior class officers will be until the school decides the best way to hold an election.
“It’s going to be hard to have any kind of election, especially if we do an online one,” Wisnewski said. “We don’t know how many people will be able to participate in that.”
When schools shut down in the spring, it was very uncertain how the district planned to conduct online virtual classes, but over the summer, school officials have come up with a plan for the fall curriculum.
“Last spring it was a change of pace and some students didn’t do so well,” Wisnewski said. “This fall will be different because we will have online lectures.”
Wisnewski had a very busy junior year as the Webmaster and editor in Key Club; board game club secretary; law club vice president, and a member of student council. This year he is the captain of this tennis team and a captain of the soccer team.
“We could have a maximum of 250 people, players and fans, at the field for soccer matches,” Wisnewski stated. “It’s going to be different.”
“I’ve never seen anything like this ceremony, especially around here,” senior Gianna Colella said. “Maybe this will be a new tradition here at Wyoming Area and we’ve worked hard for 12-years, I think we deserve something.”
The 2021 class official attendance has not been posted, but it is estimated there are between 150 to 170 senior students.
“We are hoping the class will be able to salvage half the year in school,” Slusser concluded.