On Wednesday, September 3rd, the seniors of Fayetteville-Manlius High School gathered in the student parking lot and participated in the long-standing tradition of Senior Sunrise. The graduating class of each year meets on the first day of school to celebrate the kickoff of their final year of high school.

The sun rose at 6:31am on this cold morning as the students played games, ate food, and met up with friends. Senior Sunrise allows students to reconnect with their friends after the summer and bring the class closer together. In the spirit of this, many students opted to wear Class of 2026 apparel. Kara Evans, a senior who participated in the event said, “It was pretty cool because everyone was matching with, like, their ‘Senior’ pants, and…people had ‘Senior’ on their cars. I think everyone had the connection with wearing ‘Senior’ clothes.” The students took a picture all together as a way to commemorate the event. Senior Sunrise was organized by the class advisor, Ms. Brennen, and the principal, Mr. McNamara.

With lots of people attending, there were many options of activities to participate in. “I saw spikeball, that was there, they had, like, muffins, they had some danishes, bagels, I think they had some drinks there, they had posters laying around that had like Senior Sunrise and Senior ‘26 that everyone could use and take photos with,” said Evans. 

After it was over, some students headed into the building while others went out with their friends before school started. Senior Harrie Thayer said, “My senior year was not that different at first…Scheduling my classes was my least favorite part.” Evans said that she felt “…pretty confident about [her senior year].”

The tradition of Senior Sunrise has served as a chance for seniors to reconnect with friends after the summer and to give them something to look forward to with the start of their final year of high school. Good luck to FM High School’s Class of 2026!