Senior Citizens Go Back to School
After a three-year-long hiatus, Dallastown hosted its annual Senior Citizen Day- a fan favorite for students, teachers, and the community.
Senior, Ben Poff, escorted his grandparents, Cathy and Steve Bortner, around at their fourth Senior Citizen Day.
On March 30, over 100 senior citizens from the local community went back to high school for the day at the 37th Annual Senior Citizens Conference sponsored by the Dallastown High School Student Council.
This event is often seen as one of the best days of the year for students and staff, but especially for our visitors, many of whom have consistently come for years.
“We have one visitor that has kept her agenda from every year she has attended,” says Student Council advisor, Mrs. Jill Boyd.
A large portion of our visitors have lived in the district for many years, and a lot of them were Dallastown students themselves, including the parents of Counseling Office secretary Mrs. Monica Tyson.
“Walking the hallways of Dallastown brings back fond memories of when they were in school,” Tyson said.
Despite not having a Senior Citizen Day since the spring of 2019, “the day went very smoothly and I’m so grateful that we were finally able to bring it back this year,” Student Council president, Michaela Long said.
The day began in the cafeteria with introductions to the Student Council representatives who would be chaperoning throughout the day. Each representative was given 2-3 people to be with.
Some students council representatives were even paired with their own families, like Senior, Ben Poff, who got to hang out with his grandparents.
Poff’s grandmother Cathy Bortner claimed, “Being with Ben has been the best part of our day so far.”
During second period, groups were escorted to many different classes around the school to observe. For students, teachers, and visitors, this is always the favorite activity of the day.
Our senior citizens delight in visiting classrooms and seeing the amazing advances in education compared to when they were in school. — Mrs. Boyd
Our visitors not only sit in on classes but also learn and interact with the lesson as well.
“We hosted three senior citizens who studied characterization and setting in To Kill a Mockingbird with us,” says English teacher Mrs. Bethany Yuninger.
Second best is the brunch served during third period. Sponsored by Chartwells, our guests were given a full meal complete with many desserts. Student Council gave out many prizes during the bunch including gift cards to local restaurants and potted flowers.
After lunch, they were treated to a special performance of our spring musical, Anastasia.
Often, many do not realize how much many of our visitors have given to our school district, so we use this day as a way to thank and honor them.
“It’s important to have Senior Citizen Day because we as a school district give back to the people who have given us so much and we welcome them into our schools to let them know that they are appreciated and valued,” says Mr. Robert Donatelli.
One thing’s for sure, Senior Citizen Day is officially back and will be around for many more years to come.
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