Memorial Stadium to the naked eye last week looked like some sort of festival. Hundreds of people packed in together, everyone with an excited look on their faces, trucks selling snacks and sweets and stands for merchandise.
However, those present knew it was the Memorial High School banner signing, where students had the opportunity to meet their upcoming teachers and sign the banner that will be hung at the new schools.
Both Memorial and Legacy the week before held matching events to meet faculty and drum up excitement for the new school year.
Among those present at Memorial’s banner signing was junior Luke Lemming.
“I came because I wanted to meet all my new teachers and get my name up on the banner, check out all of the new stuff,” Lemming said. “Being here makes the new schools feel a lot more real, but at the same time there are just some good vibes here, it’s really exciting.”
While the stadium was full of excitement, there was a bittersweetness there as well, which junior Aniya Bascombe felt.
“Going to the new school my last year kind of makes me sad,” Bascombe said. “My senior year was supposed to be a time where I kind of said goodbye to my friends while I go to college, but now my junior year is becoming that because I’m getting separated from my friends.”
Not only was it a good opportunity to meet new teachers, but also to meet new peers for the new schools.
“I came because I wanted to see all the people I’m going to be going to school with,” Bascombe said. “If I’m going to be separated from all my friends I want to be able to see who my new friends are going to be.”
While saying goodbye can always be sad, sophomore Ruby Dean, who attended the Legacy banner signing, was optimistic about the new faces she will get to meet along with the new school.
“It wasn’t too crowded, but there were a lot of new faces and a lot of new people, which made me realize I’m probably going to meet a lot of new people,” Dean said. “I’m sad about my friends who are going to be going to Memorial, but I’m really excited to meet new people to be honest.”
Communication with old friends can’t always be guaranteed, which is a worry future Legacy student Catarina Granado had.
“I had a lot of friends that were going to Legacy but now are transferring to Memorial,” the sophomore said. “I’m going to have faith that they’re going to put effort into keeping contact as much as I have, but I can’t guarantee that.”
Granado didn’t just meet new faces when she attended the Legacy banner signing.
“There were a lot of people (at the signing of the banner) that I knew from middle school, so that was a little scary to see, running into old people, but it was very inviting,” Granado said.
While there’s an undeniable sadness to leaving behind Rider, there was an excitement in the air at both events.
“I honestly think it’s really cool to get to go to the new school for my last year, getting to be the very first graduating class for a new school,” Lemming said. “It’s an honor.”
