As the final month of the 2016-2017 school year begins, Cathedral Catholic High School seniors are rounding the corner, finally running down the home stretch of high school.

Although there are only a few weeks left of school, seniors are busier than ever studying for finals, preparing for graduation, and prepping for their first year of college. The end of the seniors’ high school career is closer than it seems.

To celebrate the end of the year, El Cid gathered a list of upcoming events.

May 11: The senior and junior outreach classes have worked tirelessly all year to give CCHS students inspiring praise and worship nights. Because May marks the end of the school year, the senior outreach class assumed the task of hosting the last XLT night. For seniors, this XLT will be the last of their high school career at CCHS.

“The theme for this XLT is moving forward,” senior outreach student and class president Annalise Castro ‘17 said. “Seniors have the challenge of continuing their faith life during their busy daily routines in college.

“This XLT is to help remind us that we can do simple things everyday like say a morning prayer, read a short bible passage, or invite our friends to mass to continue growing in our faith.”

May 1 – May 12: Though National College Decision Day has come and gone, seniors are reminded to keep their heads above water and study for their AP exams; extra college credit is always a plus.

May 13: As a reward for hard work and dedication to the CCHS community during the past four years, administration offers a senior Knott’s Berry Farm trip, and all seniors are encouraged to go.

“I’m really excited for this weekend at Knott’s because it gives us a chance to bond with our friends and classmates before we graduate,” CCHS senior Sam Angeles ‘17 said. “Senior year really flies by so it’s nice to be given this opportunity.”

Senior class moderator Mr. Joe Filippone encourages the senior class to attend, noting the trip to Knotts Berry Farm is one of the last chances to bond with classmates before leaving for college.

May 17: After three years of hunching over in the bleachers for mass, seniors are granted the privilege of sitting in lawn chairs on the gym floor. For last time during the school year, as the feast of St. Paschal approaches, seniors will sit with their class to celebrate liturgy.

Seniors, though graduation is just around the corner, must remember to wear dress up uniform to avoid having to spend 45 minutes after school in detention, instead of making memories with friends.

May 22: The countdown to graduation becomes lower and lower as graduation practice takes place. Here, seniors will receive invitations and tickets to the baccalaureate mass and the graduation ceremony to hand out to friends and family.

Seniors do not have to attend school on this day, as they will be practicing for the ceremony, which will take place at the University of San Diego.

May 26 – June 1: The finality of high school becomes a reality with the advent of finals week. After studying hard during dead week, seniors and all students at CCHS will buckle down and take final exams.

“I know it’s really hard to keep up with the school work when you’re so close to the finish line,” CCHS senior Hailey Nagma ‘17 said. “I myself have probably one of the worst cases of senioritis, but I think it’s important to push through this last month as if it were the last month of your junior year.”

Final exams may not seem important after having chosen a college, but everyone is encouraged to study hard and to do their best to finish the year strong.

June 1: Though school is officially out, seniors are not Dons alum just yet, and the graduation festivities are far from over. After finishing the final exam for Gold 6, seniors will get prepped and ready for the senior luncheon which will take place at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina.

Currently, parents of the graduating class are still able to reserve a table for their family, but it is crucial to RSVP by May 19.

June 2: Just a day away from graduation, CCHS reminds the graduating senior class to always keep Christ at the center of their lives with a celebration of mass. The baccalaureate mass, held in the Claver Center at CCHS, marks the last mass the graduating class of 2017 will celebrate together.

Donned in their caps and gowns, the seniors will share in the most unifying aspect of the CCHS community: the Eucharist.

June 3: The class of 2017 will finally make it across the finish line on the third of June when 400 seniors walk across the stage of the Jenny Craig Pavilion at USD, the familiar melody of “Pomp and Circumstance” only adding to the decorum of the ceremony.

The ceremony starts at 10:00 a.m. and seniors are encouraged to get there early and in dress code, in order to go over last minute preparations before finally kissing high school goodbye.

Final Notes: The eagerness and anticipation for graduation is palpable among the graduating seniors of the class of 2017, but with only a few weeks left of high school, seniors are starting to feel more than a little nostalgic.

After having spent the past four years within the CCHS campus walls, it is time for seniors to take a final bow and wave high school goodbye. for many students, the past few years may have passed by too fast, or not fast enough, but there is a general consensus that now is the time to savor what’s left of the academic school year.

In her blog entitled “Just a Thought,” Nagma writes a final goodbye to her fellow seniors.

“I think we can all agree that with one month left, this really isn’t a time for the typical pointless drama or little arguments,” Nagma said. “We only have this one month and our summers left together with the people we’ve grown up with these past four years… We might as well make the most of it.

“Go out and do everything you always said you’d do and have fun with the people you love.”

In a few months time, the class of 2017 will have a whole new set of curriculum, a big new environment, and many new friends.

Soon, the class of 2017 will be the class of 2021.