What do a water gun, roller coaster park, and a picnic all have in common? Skyline students know: these are some of our most-loved graduation traditions: Senior Sunrise, Senior Breakfast, Prom at University of Michigan, the Senior Picnic, and Graduation at EMU.
“It is much more than just graduation traditions,” says SLC Principal Terri Patterson, one of the administrators in charge of the Senior Picnic event. “Many people are involved and there is a lot that goes into putting on this event. In reality, the Senior Picnic is so much more than a picnic. It is a true celebration of our students. We are actually looking at changing the name to Senior Celebration. We use local caterers, employ psychic readers, have games and give out prizes. When people think of picnics, they think of hamburgers and hot dogs. This event is so much more!”
Skyline’s graduation ceremony itself is held at EMU college with teachers, administrators, board members and everyone’s families. “Something I’m looking forward to this year is it’s been a tradition of teachers who have children graduating from here get to give them their diploma,” says Math teacher Michael Lovelace. “So I’ll be up there giving Wesley his diploma.”
The first graduating class in 2012 also held its ceremony at EMU and had a tradition where everyone wore shirts representing the colleges they were attending. “Sometime around graduation, we had a lock in,” says Kayla Steinberg (‘12). “Seniors slept in the school, and there was a fortune teller…a bouncy house, and all these activities.”
Currently Skyline hosts many senior events, including Senior Sunrise — when, as the name suggests — seniors gather early to watch the sunrise together.
“The whole senior class does this game called Water Wars, where they team up, get water guns and goggles, and they kind of just shoot each other with water guns,” explains Mary Ellen Vance (‘25). “The winner gets a cash prize.”
This year, the Cedar Point trip is not happening. Vance notes that “they’re phasing it out, which is kind of upsetting because I was excited for that.”
Despite this, Skyline’s traditions continue, big and small. “Another tradition the choir has for graduation is that when a choir student’s name is read [at graduation], the whole choir stands in recognition of their peers,” says Lindsay CieChanski, Director of Vocal Music.
