The class of 2023 poured out of the cafeteria door on May 13 at 11:10 A.M,  onto the turf, where they concluded their final day of senior year with a picnic, gifted by their administrators. 

The senior picnic marks the end of regular classes and the beginning of senior internships, which results in the majority of their classes being left with very few junior students for the remaining month of the school year.

Annika Reddy ’24 believes the senior’s final days are exciting because it leads to a reduced workload.

“Having the seniors gone has surprisingly been enjoyable,” she said. “In most of my classes, especially my AP ones, the class has become more fun because there is so much less work.” 

On the other hand, Avery Muller ’24 thinks that their absence negatively impacts him in class.

“Having the seniors in class was entertaining. Luckily, I had many good friends of mine in my classes,” he said. “I also hate having the majority of the attention from my teachers, since there are so few of us remaining in class.” 

Juniors enrolled in one or more of the 32 AP classes offered already completed their course’s curriculum. Most juniors and seniors completed the AP exams in the two weeks leading up to the senior’s final day.

Emma Morris ’24 shared the difficulties of the course load prior to the exam.

  “The first semester and first half of the second semester were really challenging because of two AP courses. However, after completing both official exams, I felt so prepared,” Morris said.  “Staples staff does an incredible job of getting you ready to take these exams.” 

Now that exams are over, many are wondering what the few remaining juniors in each class are doing for the rest of the school year. 

Reddy explained how having just projects removes the intense pressure from the difficult classes.

“Both of my AP classes have become so much less of a stress factor. We no longer have weekly quizzes or anything,” Reddy said. “The rest of the year is just project-based, which is a lot less intense.”

Morris agreed with Reddy, sharing what her AP European History class will be doing.

“Since the day the seniors left, we have been watching the series ‘The Crown’ on Netflix. Alongside that, we only have one major assignment, which is a project that we started now and will turn in on actual finals week,” Morris said. 

With the year coming to an end, Muller explained how his hard work paid off.  

“It seems like just yesterday I was starting AP World History. I feel like the early end of the AP courses serves as a reward because we have worked so hard for those classes at the beginning of the year,” Muller said. “It also lightens up my stress about homework because I can really spend time on my other classes now too.”