Friday, May 5, 2017 was an eventful day for Kempsville students. High school seniors have a long time tradition of senior skip day. It originates from a time when Prom was on Friday night. All the seniors would skip on that Friday, the day of Prom, to get ready. For girls, it would take a full day to get ready. Now that Prom is on a Saturday, many teachers see no reason for seniors to skip to get ready. However, seniors see it as a tradition they have been looking forward to since their first day of school. Therefore, many seniors skip on a designated “senior skip day,” which is the day before Senior Prom.

Senior Callie Dunham “woke up early and went to YoungLife campaigners” with fellow Senior Emma Crutcher and their YoungLife leaders. Throughout the day, Callie helper her mom clean the house before meeting up with Emma and a few others to get their nails done for Prom.

Many seniors spent their day inside relaxing and getting ready for Prom because the weather did not permit outdoor activities. While some seniors were not at school, some came to school because they had responsibilities. Senior Serena Acosta “went to school because, if [she] missed another day, [she’d] have to get a waiver.” Other seniors came to school for one class because they had a test or quiz.

These seniors who decided to come to school were met with a surprise along with the underclassmen. High School students in the Virginia Beach City Public School division heard an announcement in the middle of their first block class that they were to execute tornado warning procedures until around 9 am. Students were seated against the lockers on the ground for approximately 45 minutes before being released to their second class of the day.

This tornado, however, had no effect on the juniors who were not at school on senior skip day. This particular Friday also happened to be the day of the AP U.S. History Exam. Junior Kelsey O’Brien commented that the tornado warning had no effect on their testing. Referring to the Kempsville students in the exam, O’Brien stated they “just thought it was raining really hard, not that there was a tornado watch.” She also added that “the proctors didn’t tell [them] until everyone was done,” and no one could check their phone.

The tornado and excessive rain eventually led to the cancellation and rescheduling of many spring athletic games. All of the seniors who had to come to school because of their game ended up having their game rescheduled. “By the end of the day, the only thing that mattered was the excitement of prom tomorrow,” assured Emily Levy, Senior Class Vice President and Girls’ Varsity soccer player.