Hunter College High School - School Events and Traditions

School Events and Traditions

Students at Hunter often enjoy various social events that are sponsored by the school administration, faculty and the student-run General Organization. These include:

• Seventh Grade Picnic: an orientation and welcoming event held in Central Park in September. Seventh-graders play various sports and become more familiar with each other under the supervision of 11th grade "Big Sibs."
• Spirit Week: a week in October in which each day consists of activities centered around a "theme" (e.g. retro) as designated by the G.O. It was created in the 1990s as a replacement for a spring "Field Day", which was once organized by the Athletic Association.
• Spirit Day: the second to last day of Spirit Week. (Unless it rains, then Spirit Day is held sometime in the spring.) It is a day-long school-wide excursion to a recreation spot. The trip is often to Bear Mountain State Park, but in certain years, the destination has been Belmont Lake State Park, Playland, or Central Park. It includes the annual Senior-Junior football game.
• Homecoming: a day in which the previous year's graduates return to the school to revisit current students in December. A Varsity Basketball game is usually scheduled on this day.

• Senior Walkout: carried out on the first day of snowfall. Seniors leave class for the day to engage in snowball fights or pursue other activities outside of the school. Often these snowball fights will take place in the school courtyard. During years without snowfall, Senior Walkout is transferred to the first day of the year in which the temperature tops 90° Fahrenheit. In recent years, the Hunter Administration has attempted to restrict and ban Senior Walkout, due to violence in recent years. Differing from the past, Hunter's Term Council is now consults with the Hunter Administration for an appropriate day to have a sanctioned Senior Walkout. After 2008, Hunter seniors were forced to remain in the courtyard during walkout, and prohibited to leave the school grounds. In the winter of 2010, the Hunter administration suspended two senior students for "interrupting the school community." No specific charges were brought or announced. For the Class of 2011, however, the Hunter Administration attempted to cancel Senior Walkout indefinitely. The Class of 2012, however, brought the return of the unsanctioned walkout, as seniors left with neither administrative sanction nor snow.
• Ski trips: one is run by Action Tours and takes place in the last weekend of January.
• Carnival: a major end-of-year event for the student body. It usually has a theme, features both live and recorded music, and stalls run by various school clubs that showcase games, food, or other items of interest. The 2012 theme was Where's Waldo?
• Senior Week: traditionally the week after Carnival and before graduation. During this week, there are events designed to say goodbye to the graduating seniors. They include:
  • Senior Tea: students of the graduating class are presented with white carnations and served refreshments by their teachers.
  • Senior Barbecue: graduating students serve lunch to the faculty.
  • In addition to these, the hall of the graduating class becomes off limits to all but members of said graduating class. In 2011, an agreement was reached to let faculty through.
• "Intel Trip:" A trip run by the Hunter Science department that takes students to Washington D.C. to view Intel Science Project finalists and sightseeing in surrounding areas.

Several formal dances are arranged throughout the year:

• Prom is a similar event to many proms held all across the United States, consisting of formal dress and a sit-down dinner. The event is usually followed by an after-party at a student's house. In June 2001, Prom was held at the World Trade Center (Windows on the World). Prom is held on a Thursday evening. Attendees return to school on Friday in their finery so students and teachers can admire their glamorous outfits.
• Semi-formal is the "junior prom", held for eleventh graders.
• Lower-termers have their own annual dances, including dances for Valentine's Day and Halloween for the seventh and eighth graders, as well as ninth and tenth grade dances. In some years, there may also be themed dances; for example, in 2006, dances included the Halloween and Valentines' Dances as well as a "Black, White, and Silver Dance" for seventh and eighth graders.

Several classes and extracurricular groups hold annual trips outside of New York City. International trips include the bi-annual AP Art History trip, the Shakespeare Etc. club trip, and trips taken by various school-run musical groups (such as Jazz Band or Chorus).