Senior sunrise

Almost 300 students arrived two hours early for the first day of school Thursday, but it wasn't because of an alarm clock malfunction.It was for Granite Bay High School's annual Senior Sunrise celebration that began for the Class of 2006 at 6 a.m. This highly anticipated event has become a tradition with the graduating class, which watches the sun rise to commemorate their first day as seniors. In June they'll assemble again to watch the sun set to mark the end of their high school careers.As senior class president Mike Reynolds helped get things organized at 4:30 a.m., many of his 585 fellow seniors began arriving for breakfast."Senior Sunrise is a great way to get everybody motivated and give it the ole' one-two punch," Reynolds said. "The ceremony has really become a tradition we've all built. It's our way of letting everyone know the seniors are here. We dominate."The festivities took place in the football stadium where students huddled together to fend off the morning chill and blow bubbles that were passed out among the crowd. Even with the chilly temperature at the early morning hour, spirits were warm and the cheers began as students watched the sun make its way into the sky from behind the trees.Brittani Hamm, 17, was glad she got up at 5 a.m. to experience it all."I think this is awesome. It's inspirational," Hamm said. "It's one of the first of many times we're be brought together as a class. It was worth getting up so early."Lauren Razzano, 17, also didn't mind the early hour. She viewed the ceremony as a way to see many friends she hadn't seen in awhile.In addition to watching the sunrise, Principal Ron Severson told the group they would have to make many decisions and choices this school year and he was glad they made the choice to participate in the sunrise celebration."You're going to have an amazing year," Severson told the group. According to Severson, "there are two keys that will help make it successful." Severson advised each student to stay involved their last year at Granite Bay and hoped they wouldn't miss anything."Relish the year," he said.He also told the students to take time to care about each other, even those they may not know, because as the years go by and conversations about high school come up, the talk won't be of SATs or football games, but about relationships, he said. "You never know what effect you'll have," he said.ASB President Allie Holt feels the sunrise tradition is important for her class because it lets the seniors know how important they are to the school."This is a great way to start the year off, with lots of energy," Holt said.The 6 a.m. ceremony concluded with Reynolds inviting the seniors to help decorate the gym for the opening-day, all-school rally later that afternoon to celebrate Granite Bay's 10th year in existence.Susan Belknap can be reached at sbelknap@surewest.net.