Headline- Senior skip days: Are they a fun tradition or a recipe for falling behind?
Deck- Senior skip days are a fun tradition for graduating seniors who need an academic break

Senior skips days are organized days (usually scheduled for a day to lengthen an already extended weekend) where the entire Senior Class plans to skip school. These days are typically viewed as a right of passage for the graduating class, and when done in moderation most schools typically turn a blind eye to these organized absences with the exception of following their attendance policies. Senior skip days as a whole are a harmless way for seniors to celebrate the end of high school and spend time socializing outside of school.

Skip days usually involve hanging out with friends, going outside, or seeing new places. The idea is to spend an entire day free from the responsibilities of school while the bulk of the student body still attends.

“We’ve been through a lot together; 12 years of school. It’s nice to just have a day where we can all get together, have a break, and just be ourselves outside of school,” senior Ryan Grimm said.

Grimm explained that while participating in November’s skip day, he enjoyed being able to get together with a group of friends and spend the day not worrying about school or work, which takes up much of his time when off campus.

“It’s not just a day off from school. It’s a day where you’re supposed to make plans with friends and go do fun stuff,” senior Sydney Adee said.

Adee explained that it’s easy to have an enjoyable, laid back day without falling behind in classwork at the same time.

“A couple friends and I went out for lunch together and then enjoyed driving around for a bit after, but then we went home because we had stuff to finish,” Adee said.

Senior skip days don’t come without the danger of falling behind. Taking an impromptu day off so close to graduation can be a risk for many students. Additionally, teachers become less and less lenient with late work as skip days have started earlier in the year, and became more frequent in recent months. Skip days are recorded in students’ attendance as unexcused absences, which are typically exempt from teachers’ late work policies.

“If a student believes that the missing day could hurt their academic progress, they shouldn’t participate. It’s up to the student to decide if it’s good for them or not,” Grimm said.

It’s important to remember that while Senior skip days are a great way to enjoy a day off before graduation, it’s always the students’ choice to participate or not.

As a whole, Senior skip days are a great opportunity for upperclassmen to spend a responsibility-free day enjoying time with their friends as graduation nears. While the risk for falling behind academically is present, students are always able to complete work ahead of time, after the fact or choose to not participate altogether.