With Valentine’s Day falling on a Saturday, M-A began the festivities early. From dressing up in pink and red to card making and caroling, Bears were able to dive into the loving mood this Friday.
Rose Grams
A long-time tradition at M-A is rose grams, in which students and parents can purchase a rose to be delivered to someone on campus during the school day. Though dating back over 15 years, rose grams are now run by AVID and Marine Biology teacher Erika Shepard. She picks up 500 to 1,000 roses from a florist the morning of the event, and AVID puts them in small tubes of water to keep them alive through the school day. A small card is also attached to each rose.
“It’s a major fundraiser for AVID and also just a really great way for us to build community and spread some joy on campus,” Shepard said.
Despite being a long-standing tradition, the nature of the rose grams has shifted over the last few years. “It used to be that a lot of people would buy roses for their friends or their significant other. In the last three years, it’s kind of shifted to a lot of parents buying them for their kids, which I’m also totally here for,” Shepard said.
Leadership Caroling
Leadership spread the love through their caroling, dropping into classrooms the week leading up to Valentine’s Day. Junior Olivia Fong and senior Millo Skhiri planned and executed this exciting act. “We first made a Google Form, which had what song the class wanted and whose name you wanted. Then we advertised it through M-A today and a flyer on Instagram with a QR code,” Fong said.
Demand turned out to be high. “We had at least 100 requests, so we couldn’t fulfill everything, but we tried to go through as many as we could,” Fong said.
Activities on the Green
Leadership also hosted lunchtime events on the Green on Friday. Stations included a sticky note compliment wall, a card making station, and a table to decorate cookies. Bears quickly gathered to participate.
The cookie station was especially popular, with heart shaped sugar cookies, pink icing, and conversation hearts available free of charge.
Style Watch
Students also decided to get into the holiday spirit with red and pink outfits.
“I was going to wear my Ford sweater, but I thought it’s the eve before Valentine’s Day. I should probably wear something red,” senior Owen Kaenel said. He is excited to wear red and pink again over the weekend, when he plans to celebrate the day with a double date at Pebble Beach.
Freshman Lucy Thayer also chose to show off her spirit via her attire. “In the morning, I was looking at my clothes. I was like, ‘Why don’t I just put something on, fun and festive before the break?’,” she said. “I like how Valentine’s Day brings people together, and I can show my love for my friends.”
“I don’t have anybody to love, I have to only love myself,” freshman Justice Toilolo, who chose to dress up by bundling himself in a blanket, said. He got the blanket at Kohl’s a few years back and likes to use it every Valentine’s Day.
Freshman Elena Overby and Sofia Visser both decided to take old pieces out of their closets to bring the pink and red vibes.
“I used to really like the color hot pink in sixth grade, so I decided to bring it back for Valentine’s Day and just boost up the spirit,” Overby said.
“I’ve had these glasses for a long time and I never get to wear them. So, of course, I had to today,” Visser said. She added that she will be skiing on Valentine’s Day, so today was her only chance to dress up.
