No longer do seniors have roaring crowds at Friday night football games sending them off in the fall. Nor do they get to dress up, dine and dance with their friends on a Saturday night in spring. Senior picnics, fairs and goodbye brunches are a thing of the past. 

Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, seniors have been lacking the fanfare that usually surrounds their departure from the WCHS community. In order to remedy this, the senior SGA is hosting a drive-in movie on April 27 and 28 at the DC Party Box in Rockville. 

“A senior parent group came to us and said that they wanted to help us plan events for the Spring because the school is not allowed to do any,” senior class president Maeve McGuire said.

The WCHS administration is largely unable to hold in-person events without special clearance from Montgomery County officials. This group of parents, unaffiliated with the school or the PTA, decided to step up. 

They held a Zoom meeting earlier this month to discuss ways to celebrate their seniors. The drive-in movie was by far the most popular idea. Once they were happy with their plan, this group approached the SGA.

“The parents figured out most of the logistics,” McGuire said. “They just came to us and said ‘what days are good, what movies are good, do you want this?’”

In order to find a movie, the SGA sent out a survey to all students. They chose to show the three most popular options: “The Breakfast Club,” “the Avengers” “and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” 

“I really like that there’s a variety of options to cater to different tastes,” senior Hannah Hankim said. “I feel like there’s something for everyone.”

The hosts of the movie, DC Party Box, have taken precautions to ensure safety surrounding the COVID-19 Pandemic. Cars will have a maximum capacity of four people and students must stay in their cars at all times. In addition to this, only 50 cars are allowed per session.

In general, students seem to be excited about this event and the opportunity to interact with their classmates face to face.

“I’m super excited for the senior drive-in,” senior Jay Wood said. “It’s an amazing way for the senior class to have a safe in person event. I can’t wait to go!”

The SGA, honored to help put on this event, is optimistic, too. 

“I really hope that this provides us with some type of closure or reconnection before we all leave,” McGuire said. “It’s going to be very fun.”