As the 25-26 school year comes to a close, Sierra Vista High School celebrates the Class of 2026 with its annual Senior Sunset event themed after Dr. Seuss’s famous, “Oh the Places You’ll Go.” As the sun set on the SVHS football field, the senior class came together for one final memory before their last two weeks of high school.
Juniors in the SVHS student council worked throughout the month of April planning the event, creating decorations, and piecing together a cohesive, nostalgic theme. Junior Class President and future Senior Class President Naomi Synrod shares, “My inspiration behind the theme was just reflecting on someone’s senior year and the last year of being classified as a kid. I thought back to my childhood in school, which sparked the idea of the childhood books we all grew up with, for the overall theme of senior week. I wanted to capture that in a senior sunset as well, with a popular book people use for graduation from when they were little, which is why I chose “Oh, the Places You’ll Go.” Student Body Head of Assemblies and future Senior Class Vice President Makayla Best shares, “We wanted the seniors to have a sense of childhood and remembrance as they looked back on their years of high school, so we decided that Dr. Seuss would give them that perfect feeling. It created a nostalgic, full-circle vibe and ended up being very successful.”
Overall, the theme became a major hit with the senior class, with many enjoying the nostalgia and sentiment of it. As the class of 2026 prepared for all the places they’ll go, senior sunset served as one last time for them all to reminisce, take photos, and reflect on their high school memories with one another. With several photo backdrops, balloon arches, and even a lit-up “26” stand, the beautiful decorations reflected the hard work and dedication of the junior student council class. Best comments, “After deciding the theme, we decided to look for inspiration on Pinterest and TikTok for games and activities that would match the theme, but also follow the norms of a typical senior sunset. We then designed all of the backdrops and prop elements weeks in advance. After everything was designed, we immediately transitioned into bringing them to life, which included ordering stuff for the table activities as well.” These activities included decorating sunglasses, decorating senior crowns, leaving painted handprints on a “senior sign-out” poster, and even taking personalized Polaroid pictures. Additionally, many seniors also spent their time playing games like jumbo-sized Jenga, cornhole, and bubble ball battles.
Several members of the student council media team walked around the event with cameras and photo signs for seniors to pose with. Capturing the moment became the highlight of the event as seniors took their final photos with their childhood friends and created long-lasting snapshots of their time in high school. Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) President Derek Macaalay shares, “Senior Sunset was a great way to have all of the seniors get together one last time. To me, Senior Sunset meant the end, but it was also a beginning.” Savannah Boisseire shares a similar, bittersweet sentiment: “To me, senior sunset means the beginning of a new era.”
Reflecting on her memories with her class as they prepare to begin senior year and reminiscing on the event as a whole, Best describes, “My favorite part of senior sunset was seeing all of the seniors have fun. I could feel the joy and nostalgia in the air, and it almost made me feel like I was a senior. I also had a lot of fun bonding with my fellow juniors, and all of us enjoyed the night together.”
As many seniors prepare to leave their longtime childhood friends for out-of-state college experiences, Senior Sunset allows them to reminisce and look back on all of the times that they shared together. Student Body First Treasurer and future freshman at Boise State University in Boise, Idaho, Gabriella Frey shares, “Senior Sunset was definitely bittersweet. I got to spend time with a few of my best friends that I’ve known since elementary school, and it was a great way to make some final high school memories before I leave them to go to college out of state. High school can be so stressful, especially for seniors, athletes, and anyone involved on campus, but events like Senior Sunset give us all an opportunity to take a break together and laugh over all of our shared memories.”
Now that the sun has officially set on the Class of 2026, the SVHS seniors anxiously wait for graduation day on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, at 9 am at UNLV’s Thomas and Mack Events Center, which may very well serve as the final day that they are all in the same place together.
