Every year, about 500 Northwood students close their high school chapter: a final goodbye to a favorite teacher, one last frantic cram session and that bittersweet step out of the classroom. As this school year winds down, it’s time to show how much we’ll miss them. Across campus, each community finds its own way to honor the laughter, joy and camaraderie they’ve shared.

Instrumental Music

Beyond the clangs and plucks of their instruments, the instrumental music program hosted its final banquet on May 10 to celebrate past performances and its seniors.

They all had the chance to get their picture taken professionally by parent volunteers as a keepsake. Together with their friends, graduates took to the stage to announce their future plans and answer trivia questions regarding their experiences in the program. Toward the end of the night, a nostalgic video featured senior photos and their childhood pictures, sending everyone home with a smile and a few tears. 

“It was nice knowing there was always going to be an extremely supportive and welcoming community on the campus that I can go to whenever I need them,” flutist senior Michael Lei said. “I feel grateful to be a part of it for the four years of my high school, and I’m going to miss my friends and the time that I have with this program.”

Dance

After months of literal sweat and tears, the countless hours of dancing as a class culminated in the final spring show. The event ended in a bang with three final performances featuring all the seniors. In addition, seniors had the opportunity to perform a duet or solo, showcasing their individual growth and talent. The show concluded with a heartfelt slideshow filled with pictures and memories, celebrating the seniors and their time together.

“I’ve come a long way since I started, and I will definitely miss the people,” senior Karen Young said. “They make me laugh every class, and they’re so sweet being sad that we’re leaving.”

Science Olympiad

In the Science Olympiad club, each non-senior crafts a personalized scrapbook page for each of the 10 seniors on the team, with each senior’s pages then bound together as a keepsake. Every page reveals photographs of shared memories, funny chat excerpts, inside jokes and quirky doodles. 

At the end-of-year banquet, each senior received their scrapbook, then settled in for a heartfelt video montage and a playful superlative-awards ceremony.

“When I’m making the scrapbooks, I feel very nostalgic because you scroll through your past messages, you look through every old photo and you reminisce on all of the old memories with the seniors,” junior Leanna Lo said. “It’s really bittersweet because you’re so grateful that you were able to make all these amazing memories. I know all of us are going to be sad to see them gone, but I hope that they’ll miss us too.”

Tennis

For sSenior night on April 15, freshmen and sophomores on the boys tennis team created personalized posters for each senior to show their appreciation. Coaches gave all seniors a chance to play that day and the celebration afterward included food from parent volunteers and gift bags from coach Kayla Almazan. Adding to the excitement, the team secured a spot in CIF that same day, allowing the players to soak in both the joy of victory and the emotions of the seniors’ imminent departure.

“The whole team was super loud and hype. Everyone was cheering, screaming. I lost my voice,” varsity tennis player Ethan Jacob said. “It’s hitting me a little hard now. Especially after CIF, the kids were all playing sad music of how we’re all going—the last bus ride, the last game some people are gonna play. It was super emotional because I think these last four years of tennis were some of the most fun we’ve ever had.”