Molly Limaye ’21, Madison Hanssens ’21, Kristen Weil ’21: Aurora Vesper Day, a tradition of 8 years in the upper school, was cancelled this year due to rain.Many faculty members and students, especially seniors, want it to be rescheduled. On Aurora Vesper Day, the school is divided into two teams: Aurora and Vesper. Both teams compete in numerous fun activities to score points, and the team with the most total points in the end wins. The action-packed afternoon includes many activities such as “Knockout,” “Lava Crossing,” “Pictionary,” and the all time favorite, “Tug of War.” AV Day is considered by many to be an important tradition.
AV Day usually is held a few weeks into the school year, but this year, for the first time, it was scheduled for the first day of school. Unfortunately, due to weather conditions, it was cancelled. Many students and faculty were very disappointed. Cheryl McLauchlan, Form Dean and Student Council Advisor, comments, “I was incredibly disappointed for totally selfish reasons, because on Labor Day weekend Mrs. Edwards and I spent many, many hours putting everything together and making sure we had everything ready to go. We set up all the stations and on Tuesday we were ready to launch it.” Kelly Edwards, an Upper School math teacher, said, “Of course it was disappointing for Mrs. McLauchlan and I to spend the time we did trying to organize the event for you all, just to have the weather get in the way.”
Many other administrators were also disappointed, including the Interim Head of the Upper School, Mike Letts. “I was disappointed that AV Day was cancelled the first day of school. I was upset for the students, since it would’ve been a perfect start for the year, but the weather didn’t cooperate,” said Letts. Zachary Richards, the Dean of the Class of 2021 agreed, saying “I am very disappointed that it was cancelled. I was very excited about the move to the first day of school. I thought that would be a great way to kick off the school year and have a really fun afternoon together.”
Many students were also dissapointed. Seniors need this tradition to continue due to its large impact on their EA experience. Episcopal lifers, students who have attended since either Pre-K or Kindergarten, value this day, and associate it with their incredible EA memories. Lifers have waited since Pre-K to compete as seniors in AV Day and lead the school in this tradition. Molly Giles ‘18, a senior lifer says,“It is a huge tradition at EA and it would be very sad to not continue it. The Upper School has gone through so much change in the past few years and having this constant event is very meaningful.” Lauren Weil ‘19, another lifer says, “It is exciting to talk to EA Alums about whether they were Aurora or Vesper and being able to have that special connection with them and share experiences from AV Day together. The day should not be cancelled because it has been a longstanding tradition and a lot of the students value it.”
Aurora Vesper Day needs to be rescheduled since seniors want to participate. AV day is something that students look forward to as a chance for friendly competition; it is the perfect bonding experience between grade levels. One upperclassmen says, “I love meeting people in other grades. I remember when I was a freshman and I was so scared of the older students, but after spending time with some of them during AV Day, I felt so much more comfortable and welcomed at the school.” Richards states, “The purpose of Aurora Vesper Day is to work together in small groups with kids that aren’t necessarily your closest friends and also to just have some fun with a great EA tradition.”
Students urge administration to find a time to reschedule Aurora Vesper Day. Seniors do not want to lose their tradition of having this day to look forward to and bond over.