All photos by Ciara Nicdao-Richardson
St. Patrick’s Day falls on March 17th annually; however, this year at Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School it shared the day with Senior Citizen Day.
On this day, senior citizens are invited to the high school for a day full of fun and entertainment. Student Government Association runs the event, and with the help of student volunteers, the senior citizens are introduced to the happenings at our high school.
Senior Citizens arrived at the high school, head to toe in St. Patrick’s day attire, around 10 am.
The Moonglowers performed classics as the senior citizens began to settle in.
After coats were hung and student volunteers received a senior citizen buddy, the moonglowers entertained the crowd with a game of ‘Name That Tune’. The Moonglowers would play anything from Frank Sinatra to the Jersey Boys to give the senior citizens a chance to name that song and artist. The winner was rewarded with a gift bag containing SPFHS apparel.
The next activity on the agenda was bingo. SGA officers lead an intriguing game of bingo and three winning senior citizens were given a gift bag to take home.
The SPFHS Step Team, the Blue Diamonds, commanded the old gym with their trophy-winning performance just after bingo. A few moments after the Blue Diamonds, the senior citizens were able to watch the SPFHS dance team perform.
Minutes after, the halls were filled with senior citizens on their commute to the auditorium. This is where they received a sneak peek of the SPFHS’ Repertory Theatre’s spring play, ‘The Mystery of Edwin Drood’.
Ultimately, the day winded down with lunch and cake before the school’s guests made their way back home.
Seventy-two year old, Robert Van Duyne, attended Senior Citizen Day as an SPFHS alumni. Van Duyne graduated in 1961 and was a part of the first class to start on the current SPFHS campus as a freshman. Van Duyne explained that the high school was previously a farm before it was built.
Van Duyne participated in football, baseball and basketball as a Raider, making him a former ‘Iron Raider’.
After visiting his old school, Van Duyne had only good things to say about SPFHS.
“Senior Citizen has changed to me because I get to see the new young people,” said Van Duyne. “Young people are what the world is going to be and I have faith in the world now because of the good people I get to talk to today.”
