Carpe Domenico!
We are blessed with bright warm weather for our last week with our Seniors, a week crammed full of melodious symphonies, outfit changing in between fancy dinners and games on the lawn, and nights the kind of tired you sink into after living in the moment. All through the dorms are sounds of tape smoothing over boxes full of this year’s memories, and snippets of congratulations among peers, the mutual hype and esteem catching us all in the fleeting whirlwind of wrapping up. As our seniors prepare for graduation, Gleb M. ’24 is “thinking about how to celebrate after getting [his] diploma, and trying to spend the most time with friends.” Alastair K. ’24 is getting crafty and “decorating [his] cap with the UCLA colors and cursive font.” Sela F. ’24 is graciously donating snacks and “taking all [her] pictures down and trying to compartmentalize it all.” Melo L. ’24 is preparing for graduation by “trying to treasure [his] last 48 hours at SD,” while Helen H. ’24 responded that she “is mentally prepared, but not packed yet.” The courtyard is festive with steaming stations for graduation gowns, and glittery supply stations for decorating caps.
Meanwhile, this week has been full of fun trips, including Chinatown and Foodieland Festival in San Francisco, and Hurricane Harbor Water Park in Concord. The long weekend concluded with SD’s End of the Year Memorial Day BBQ Pool Party, a classic summer day of smoky burgers, a pool filled with floaties, backflips, and impromptu water polo, and a game of kickball on the soccer field. Resident Faculty brother/sister duo Emily and Matt Polsinello stoked a friendly sibling rivalry, and their teams got heated. Em, as she is affectionately called, stated, “At the end it was really close, after Rafa G. ’25’s home run we were almost tied and their hearts were really in it.” The night winded down with polaroid collages scattering the tables, Henna tattoos across wrists, and learning a new fast paced betting card game by the fire from Aarya C. ’24, called Three Leaf. The following night, another yearly tradition commenced on the soccer field, the senior prank. I asked Ellie L.’24 how the plan came together. “We wanted it to be a time for bonding and having fun without making a mess or causing any problems. We all just set up blanket forts and tents on the lawn, and had a sleepover outside. Some people played hide and seek and soccer late into the night.” It was a mild night, the moon waning but full enough to illuminate the wild beauty of our campus, and we can certainly say the class of 2024 really put the REI in sEnIoR prank!
SD had back-to-back concerts this week for our listening pleasure: on Wednesday, Sinfonia, a student organized piano, brass, and woodwind concert, reverberated sweet as a summer breeze, opening with the light-as-air piece “Liz and the Bluebird.” It was lovely to see so many of our friends in boarding showcase their talent across time periods and genres. Flutist Paola E. ’27 beamed, “I got to choose the song Amparito Roca, which is a Paso Doble from Spain. I was nervous that people wouldn’t like it, but it’s a very happy song, and they enjoyed it as much as I did.” Pianist Martin P. ’25 reported, “It was nice seeing all the support from the community for an event that took so long to come together. It was hard to find time to balance sports, school, and music, but Enya L. ’25 did an excellent job organizing, making the gifts and setting the stage for all of us to celebrate our music together.” We also celebrated our accomplished musician seniors in the last VP Concert of the year on Tuesday. Spotlit up front to showcase their mastery, Alastair K. ’24 and Anthony C. ’24 charmed the audience not only with the bow and strings, but with their reception of laughs and bittersweet quips in speeches given by underclassmen peers. “[Alastair] is a great violist, the backbone of our section,” admired his peer. “Wherever Anthony is at, he contributes to benefit the interest of us all,” praised another. Director of Music Rob DeNunzio encapsulated the evening best with a simple wish. “What I want our students to think about is that you can keep music in your life forever, regardless of what other passions you have, what other things drive you, what other things you really want to experience. It can be part of your life for as long as you are here.”
– Resident Faculty Rachel Greenmyer