Monte Vista Seniors Granted Early Spring Break

On Thursday, March 24, the school bell rang at 1:10 p.m. on the Monte Vista Christian campus, which signaled that the students were free for spring break. However, about 140 students had already started their break two days earlier.

These students were all seniors and were excused from classes for a good reason. They were rewarded for almost completing high school by attending what is commonly known as the senior trip.

"I am really excited to hangout with good friends and build friendships with other people," said senior Kayla Moran, before departing on the trip.

The students arrived on campus on Tuesday night where they had to entertain themselves for four hours. The kids played games such as basketball and volleyball, and ate pizza and chips while talking to friends to keep themselves awake. However, others couldn’t keep themselves awake, and fell asleep on the bleachers.

When 2 a.m. arrived, three charter busses carried the students to Marie Calendars in Valencia for breakfast, and then to Six Flags Magic Mountain. The students enjoyed thrilling roller coasters, and some jokingly said they felt like they had some mild concussions.

“I loved spending time with everyone in my class and getting to know everyone better outside of school,” said senior Emily McCook.

Afterward, the students hopped back on the bus where they were caught in typical LA traffic, but made it just in time to Medieval Times in Anaheim for dinner and a show.

Armed with paper crowns, the students took their seats in the renaissance-themed arena. While horses performed tricks and knights fought each other with swords and shields for the hand of the princess, the seniors were served dinner, which included the main entree known as “baby dragon.” The seniors represented Monte Vista extremely well, always enthusiastically cheering and booing when necessary.

After some pictures with the knights, the kids were ready to sleep on an actual bed instead of a bus seat, the students went to the hotel. For some, sleep was still out of the picture because of the frisbee game in the parking lot. After the festivities, everyone headed to their rooms to get some serious sleep for the next day in Disneyland.

After eating breakfast and hanging out in the hotel parking lot, the Monte Vista seniors walked to Disneyland and California Adventure. After receiving their park hopper tickets, the class of 2016 dispersed between the two parks.

“My favorite part was when the Matterhorn broke down and we had to get off the ride, and we got to see the inside of the ride,” recalled senior Zach Williams.

The students and chaperones spent fourteen hours at Disneyland experiencing the themed rides together, waiting in long lines, walking around the park with the sun shining, and relishing in the freedom of being with friends instead of being at school.

The group met at 11:30 p.m. to depart for Monte Vista. As if the students didn’t do enough walking, they had to trek back to the busses.

Students arrived back at MVC at 7 a.m. ready to regain their lost sleep. With the senior trip now in the past, the class of 2016 is looking forward to graduating from high school in late May.

Check out a video of the seniors day at Disneyland in the multimedia section of The Vista.