VIDEO: Mt. Hope Seniors Paint Their Mark on the New School Year

It's a tradition going back decades. Each year before the start of school, incoming seniors gather for "Painting of the Rocks," a messy, but fun, activity that lets the teens paint their names and other greetings on the rocks to the left of the main building.

On Thursday afternoon, Mt. Hope's Class of 2012 got its chance to make a mark. The students spent about half an hour painting up the rocks, but also one another. Many of the students were nearly covered in white paint by the end of the event.

Mt. Hope Dean of Students Nat Squatrito said the school first spends a day painting over the markings from last year's class. Each rock is prepared with a blank slate of purple — school colors — just in time for the new seniors to cover them with their own fun.

"Painting of the Rocks," Squatrito said, "is the first official event of the senior class."

Seniors who came out Thursday said the event was great because it allowed them to see all of their friends again, just days before the start of school. Many expressed a nervous excitement about the days to come. Stay tuned to Patch to hear what the seniors had to say about preparing for graduation and heading off to college.