The Senior Send-Off drive-thru event will be hosted on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. The event will run for about an hour, and feeder schools will be allotted areas to cheer as seniors drive by. 

“The district just recently gave us permission to host [this event], and we’ve been planning it for [about] two weeks,” assistant principal Dr. Vanessa Zavar said. “Last year, we had drive-thru stations to give students signs, collect textbooks and iPads. [We’ll be] modeling [the send-off] off of that.” 

Typically, seniors visit the feeder schools and walk through the hallways of their previous campuses. Though altered, the send-off will still enable seniors to see a handful of old teachers and faculty. 

 “I understand that this year, with all of the different changes, has been very stressful,” Zavar said. “For some folks, it’s been a bit of a let down. They weren’t able to have the traditions that they [looked forward to] for a long time. I’m hopeful that this — even though it may not have been what was imagined — might give them an experience that’s just as fun or interesting [as it would have been on a normal year.]”

Each feeder campus had the liberty of deciding what types of posters and decorations they want to use for its designated area. The route will begin on Charles Street, pass by the Hawk Activity Center, go in between the main and freshman campus and exit on Plano Parkway. 

“With everything that’s happened this year, I am sad that it’s not normal,” senior Ali Niaz said. “I am still grateful to be able to do something similar to [the original event.]”

The drive-thru will set up school zones chronologically, starting with the elementary schools, then middle schools, to HH9, finishing with main campus teachers at the end of the route. This way, students can retrace their K-12 experience. 

“I’m hopeful students will be able to see some of their teachers from the schools that they went to,” Zavar said. “I [hope] students are excited and that they get the [final] piece of the pie missing from their senior experience.”

Following the send-off, the school will host a senior sunrise and breakfast on Friday, May 21. In addition to the senior sunrise, graduation practice will also be held on the 21. Graduation will take place May 29 at The Star.

“No one will ever have the same experience as the Class of 2021,” Niaz said. “It [was] really unique, and I’m thankful for it; I feel like I’ve grown a lot as an individual during quarantine and through this year. I’m thankful to have had this experience, to be challenged to think in a more creative way and to think on the bright side of things.”