March: a month famous for the death of a Roman dictator, St. Patrick’s Day, virtually no days off from school, and, of course, Class Night season. The beloved LHS Class Night tradition consists of the four grades creating original scripts based on the year’s established theme. Each grade implements four dance numbers into their script–girls’, boys’, couples’, and kickline–while creating individual props, handmade backdrops, painted banners, and three-dimensional displays. A panel of anonymous judges, all LHS alumni, rank the skits, dances, and artwork; these scores are combined with points earned from each grade’s Homecoming banner and Sports Night scores to determine the final scores. With all this in mind, it is not too hard to realize that the 99-year-old tradition takes a tremendous amount of work on the part of students and administrators to get the sets, actors, and art all onto the gym floor. 

Principal Matthew Sarosy, the former longtime “Master of Class Night,” has seen firsthand the amount of effort that goes into turning the tradition into reality each year. “Administration is responsible [for setting up] the initial meetings in February with each grade’s class officers,” he said. “Their role is to handle the election of the Class Night chairpeople. Once chairs are elected, administration meets with them and distributes a packet with all the information they need to put a skit together for Class Night. This includes the practice schedule, the rules and regulations, as well as the financial information.” In addition to this, administration also orders the lighting, establishes supervisors, and handles the ticket sales. Thus, it is not surprising that there are administrators watching over the three weeks of practice. “While Class Night is a student-run event, administration is present to help oversee everything,” Sarosy added.

Junior Dea Pulatani, a chairperson for the Class of 2024 last year, had to experience the pressures of Class Night leadership for the first time due to the pandemic. Describing her experience with the Class Night workload, Pulatani emphasized the large amount of discussion that happens among class advisors and peers. “It takes an extensive amount of work and dedication,” she said, adding that “staying organized helped our grade make it a reality!”

For Class Night veteran and senior Alyssa Inserra, March is a time when there is a lot of “tension in the air,” especially if competition between the grades is high. “There’s also a sense of stress, wanting to get everything done and perfected before the actual performance; overall, though, there’s just this excitement of wanting to do something fun with your classmates,” she explained. However, with show choir and the spring play on her plate, Inserra often finds herself very stressed in March. “I know I have a lot coming for me that I have to mentally and physically prepare for, as well as starting to study for AP exams,” she said. “Also, I now have to focus on college commitments. So, I definitely have a lot to look forward to, to put it nicely.”

Despite the packed schedules and time-consuming meetings, Class Night is still a source of joy and an event many in LHS look forward to every year. “While the night itself is the product of a lot of hard work, the thing I look most forward to is the process. It amazes me to see how each skit goes from nothing to something within a few short weeks,” said Sarosy. Believing she will be less stressed this year, Pulatani has “learned from the mistakes” she made last year and is most excited for the costumes and learning the dances. As for Inserra, the rehearsals allow her to socialize with her friends and “make memories,” even in the midst of the stress Class Night brings.