Throughout the years, Channel Islands students anxiously wait for the day they will become seniors and be able to participate in the plethora of traditions here at the Islands. For years, students have made it a tradition to participate in such events before entering adulthood.
Kid Backpacks
Wearing kid backpacks in your senior year calls back to the backpacks from elementary school. Most backpacks have childhood characters like SpongeBob, Pikachu, various Disney princesses, Strawberry Shortcake, Bluey, Spiderman, and many more.
The backpacks allow students to feel nostalgia before graduating and becoming adults. There seems to be no official creator of the trend, but it’s a nice way for students to have fun in their senior year.
A senior at Channel Islands, Jimena Garcia, gave her opinion on wearing kids’ backpacks.
“I think it’s a great way to have fun, since it’s your last time being a kid before you go into the real world,” Garcia says. She claims at first she was a little hesitant to participate in the tradition, but “then I realized that it was my last year…so I might as well do as much and have as much fun before graduating.”
Senior Sunrise
Senior sunrise is another tradition practiced here at the Islands by students. Students gather together to celebrate their last year of high school. This year, all schools under the Oxnard High School District celebrated together. The tradition is celebrated nationwide and has no accredited creator.
Grad Night
Grad Night is another tradition celebrated at Channel Islands High School. This year, students who wish to pay will attend Six Flags Magic Mountain on Thursday, May 22nd.
The tradition itself was started by a Disney employee in 1961. The event drew in around 8,500 students from across 33 different schools. It featured celebrity performances and was, at the time, the biggest graduation celebration ever.
Senior Assassin
A student-organized game is played by different schools across the country. Here at CI, students this year are competing in teams. Rules are laid out, and students are given their targets. The winning team will, at the end, receive a cash prize.
The tradition itself started with a book from 1982, which laid out the rules for the game that would later be known as Senior Assassin.
Senior Ditch Day
A nightmare for the administration, Senior Ditch Day is another tradition that has been kept alive at the Islands. On a secret date, seniors take the day off from school on what is known as Senior Ditch Day.
The tradition itself has no accredited creator, yet it can be traced back to the 1930s, and it gained popularity in the 1980s after the film “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”
