Huntley High School Student Council Hosts Senior Lunch, Presents Class Gift

Driving to the Huntley High School campus on Harmony Road was not an easy task Friday. Parents picking up students from final exams, seniors driving to graduation practice, and delivery from Papa Saverio’s were all heading toward HHS, causing traffic to build up beyond the main entrance.

 The chaos did not stop the HHS Student Council from serving a pizza lunch to the seniors at 12:30pm before their graduation practice. This was the first year for a graduating class to not have a senior breakfast due to timing and money, but a helping hand from the student council allowed the seniors to unite before graduating.

“We knew everyone would be upset so we thought we’d have a lunch,” student council vice president Haley Loprieno said. “We have that money sitting there, why not use it?”

According to Principal Dave Johnson, 2011 marked the first year graduation practice has been held in the afternoon. Graduation ceremonies will be held at the school at 2pm Sunday.

In the past, it took place at 8am on a regular school day, and teachers would be called down from class for practice. However, because the graduation practice fell during finals week, when school lets out at noon, it was decided to make the practice at 1 p.m.

“It was much easier to avoid conflicts with teachers participating in the ceremony,” said Johnson.

The pizzas cost $750 and the lunch as a whole was less than $1,000. The money was taken from the student council’s general budget, which otherwise would have been transferred for use next year, according to Allison Ritzert, secretary of the HHS student council.

“I’m glad they took the initiative and pressed the issue,” said Tom Kempf, student council adviser.

Guidance Counselor Karen Miller announces class gift 

Senior class sponsor Karen Miller presented the class gift to the seniors at the lunch as well. Two 47-inch televisions installed in the cafeteria will now serve as a way to display the morning announcements during lunch periods and throughout the day.

“What’s neat about it is they’re wired so if we want it to be school wide, it would be possible to expand,” Miller said

The monitors cost $4,700. The money is taken from the senior class budget and was raised over the past four years by fundraisers. Senior class representative Maria Sciortino originally came up with the idea for the gift after seeing TVs being used for the same purpose at Woodstock North High School.

“The original concept was to use them as a way to relay information instead of just the announcements because nobody can ever hear them,” she said.  

Miller anticipates that the screens will display PowerPoint presentations that will be changed daily during the school year.

“It gives students the chance to see information that is important to them,” said Johnson

Previous class gifts include landscaping and a “Drive Carefully” sign located at the exit from campus.     

 “I know we spent a good chunk of change,” said Ritzert. “We wanted to leave behind something useful.”

—Amanda Svoboda is a member of the Huntley High School Class of 2011 and is Huntley Patch's newest contributor!