A sea of vibrant green and the rising senior class’ spirit enveloped Archer during the annual Moving Up Day celebration Friday, June 2. Moving Up Day takes place on the last day of the school year and celebrates the non-graduating students’ accomplishments and their transition to the next grade level.

During Moving Up Day, students had their last mentorship and class meeting of the year. Upper and middle school students attended separate awards ceremonies, where academic and character awards were presented to students.

All students then attended the Moving Up Ceremony, where 2023-2024 Student Body President Anaiya Asomugha (’24) gave a speech, and the new Student Council and Honor Education Council were sworn in for the upcoming school year. The day concluded with the Maypole dance, where the sixth graders performed a historic dance honoring Archer’s past.

The rising senior class — with the help of the faculty — decorated Archer’s exterior, courtyard and halls with their class color, green, and their chosen theme of money. As students got off their buses in the morning, the rising seniors welcomed them in the front doors of Archer with a human tunnel, loud music and cheering.

“The rising seniors really took everything into their own hands. They had a vision. They already had a theme, and so they wanted to keep running with that. My role was primarily support and just being here on campus to supervise them. This class is motivated, organized and very creative,” 11th grade dean Casey Huff said. “We are honoring juniors becoming seniors entering their final year of high school because they are really on the precipice of becoming adults, so it feels that we are a little bit more focused on them, and that feels right.”

The sixth graders prepared for the Maypole dance, an age-old Archer tradition, several weeks in advance. Sixth grader Samaira Modgil said it was a very long process, but it felt rewarding to see all her hard work pay off.

“I really got to bond with my Archer sisters in preparing for the dance,” Modgil said. “Doing the dance really brought me a lot of joy, and it made me have a lot more courage because I had to stand up in front of a lot of people and dance around the pole.”

Class representative Francie Wallack (’25) said it was fun to see the rising senior class’ personality emerge and to see how closely bonded the class has become since her sixth grade year.

“It’s fun that the [rising seniors] have their takeover because it’s their time to step because the seniors graduated last week,” Wallack said. “It’s now their time to step into their new roles and be the oldest ones in the school, which is really fun.”