With music blasting from the top deck of the Frederick L. Nolan Jr. ship, the Class of 2017 sailed around the Boston Harbor on Tuesday night during their first organized Senior dance of the year. According to Christopher Capano, Director of Student Activities, this was the first boat cruise dance since prom seven years ago.
The Student Activities Office, along with the Dean of Students Office, arranged the dance to give Seniors a night to de-stress and spend time with friends, according to Jennifer Elliott ’94, Dean of Students and Residential Life.
Capano said, “Last year, we realized that the calendar had this weird day where the Seniors kind of had nothing to do on Tuesday night, and no reason to go to bed early for a test on Wednesday. We realized we could do something fun. My senior year of high school, we did a boat cruise on Boston Harbor and it was super fun– I figured we’d see what we could afford.”
Student Activities chartered a vessel from Boston Harbor Cruises to leave from Long Wharf in Boston Harbor, using funds obtained from Student Activities, the Dean of Students Office, and the Head of School’s Office.
The boat ride was two hours long and had a D.J., snacks, and soft drinks on board. As students cruised around the harbor, they were able to see the skyline of the city at all times. The cruise was announced as a surprise during last Wednesday’s cluster meetings through a promotional video created by the class representatives, cluster co-presidents, and student body co-presidents. “We decided to have this Senior-only event at this time of the year because this is the time of year when conversations become dominated by stressful topics such as college apps, financial aid, grades, etc. We thought that an event that focused entirely on the Seniors’ enjoyment would be the perfect thing to make sure Senior Fall isn’t full of just stress. We wanted the Seniors to have a night to themselves and to have fun,” said Co-President Madison Pettway ’17. JayShawn Fuller ’17, Abbot Cluster Co-President, said, “One day [the cluster presidents] were having a meeting with the deans and they just kind of said, ‘[the school] rented a boat, we were thinking we could do something with it for our Senior event,’ so we were just kind of like ‘a dance, maybe like a dance on the boat,’ and they were like ‘do you think people will go for it’ and we were like ‘it’s a dance on a boat!’” Because Student Activities put in a deposit to reserve the boat for the evening, students were required to request permission from their cluster deans to opt out of attending the event, according to Elliott. Josie Simmons ’17 and Madeleine Stern ’17, who both attended the boat trip, agreed that the surprise allowed them to take time off from worrying about college applications and bond with their peers. “What I liked about the boat cruise was that it forced me to actually relax, because if I hadn’t gone on the boat cruise I probably would have stayed in and done college apps even more, but I got to meet a lot of new classmates and I had a blast– it actually really did help me de-stress,” Simmons said. Sterns said, “I liked that everyone in our grade got to hang out together without any pressures on us and that we got to meet the PGs and Seniors we didn’t know very well. I think my favorite moment was when we first got on the boat because everyone was so excited to explore the different rooms and decks and take pictures together,” Fuller also considers the class event a success. “Considering all the pictures I saw on Facebook, I think everyone had a pretty good time… I think it was just a really good atmosphere. Like, everyone was really into it, everyone was super willing to participate and super dressed up– It was good to see everyone in the mood for it,” said Fuller. Elliott hopes to offer a similar event next year and keep the tradition of Senior-specific events. “We were lucky; the co-presidents and the class reps were helpful in organizing and pulling things together, so I’m hoping we’ll be able to do something special for Seniors next year too– it may not be the exact same thing but we’ll see how it goes,” said Elliott.
The cruise was announced as a surprise during last Wednesday’s cluster meetings through a promotional video created by the class representatives, cluster co-presidents, and student body co-presidents.
“We decided to have this Senior-only event at this time of the year because this is the time of year when conversations become dominated by stressful topics such as college apps, financial aid, grades, etc. We thought that an event that focused entirely on the Seniors’ enjoyment would be the perfect thing to make sure Senior Fall isn’t full of just stress. We wanted the Seniors to have a night to themselves and to have fun,” said Co-President Madison Pettway ’17.
JayShawn Fuller ’17, Abbot Cluster Co-President, said, “One day [the cluster presidents] were having a meeting with the deans and they just kind of said, ‘[the school] rented a boat, we were thinking we could do something with it for our Senior event,’ so we were just kind of like ‘a dance, maybe like a dance on the boat,’ and they were like ‘do you think people will go for it’ and we were like ‘it’s a dance on a boat!’”
Because Student Activities put in a deposit to reserve the boat for the evening, students were required to request permission from their cluster deans to opt out of attending the event, according to Elliott.
Josie Simmons ’17 and Madeleine Stern ’17, who both attended the boat trip, agreed that the surprise allowed them to take time off from worrying about college applications and bond with their peers.
“What I liked about the boat cruise was that it forced me to actually relax, because if I hadn’t gone on the boat cruise I probably would have stayed in and done college apps even more, but I got to meet a lot of new classmates and I had a blast– it actually really did help me de-stress,” Simmons said.
Sterns said, “I liked that everyone in our grade got to hang out together without any pressures on us and that we got to meet the PGs and Seniors we didn’t know very well. I think my favorite moment was when we first got on the boat because everyone was so excited to explore the different rooms and decks and take pictures together.”
Fuller also considers the class event a success.
“Considering all the pictures I saw on Facebook, I think everyone had a pretty good time… I think it was just a really good atmosphere. Like, everyone was really into it, everyone was super willing to participate and super dressed up– It was good to see everyone in the mood for it,” said Fuller.
Elliott hopes to offer a similar event next year and keep the tradition of Senior-specific events.
“We were lucky; the co-presidents and the class reps were helpful in organizing and pulling things together, so I’m hoping we’ll be able to do something special for Seniors next year too– it may not be the exact same thing but we’ll see how it goes,” said Elliott.
