The Senior Trip to New York City offers more than just the classic selfies taken atop the Rockefeller Center Observation Deck – it kickstarts a long list of fun events for the senior class. Filled with bonding activities, unique destinations and the liveliness of NYC, this day trip is one of the major highlights for students’ senior years.
“I’ve heard nothing but good experiences from the trip and from people in other grades who I’ve talked to,” senior Maddie Quinter said. “It’s just like another cool bonding activity.”
This year, the trip took place on Nov. 15, 2023. The senior class of ’24 visited the Rockefeller Center, saw a Broadway show, and had an opportunity to explore the Times Square area on their own.
“We’ll go up to the top of the Rock Observation Deck,” said Ms. Debra Kennedy, assistant to the Head of the Upper School. “The kids have a beautiful view of the city, and they like to take pictures and hang out up there for a bit.”
“When we leave [the Rockefeller Center], they are free for almost two hours to go have lunch on their own and explore the Times Square area a little bit. Then we are seeing a Broadway show,” Ms. Kennedy said. “We will see & Juliet, which is the story of what would’ve happened if Juliet [from Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet] had lived, and she gets to make new life choices. It’s got a little pop vibe to it, so it should be fun.”
“I just love all of the music [in & Juliet],” Quinter said. “[Max Martin], who originally wrote all the music, worked with so many different pop stars, so it’s a jukebox musical. It’s got songs like Roar by Katy Perry, there’s some Backstreet Boys in there, and there’s a mixture of a bunch of classic pop songs.”
Photo Courtesy of Marrisa Fortunato’ 24
“I think November was the perfect time [to have the trip],” senior Zara Bhatt said. “When we went to the Rockefeller Center it was pretty much all decorated [for the winter], and they had the holiday markets up in Bryant Park since we’re getting closer to Christmas. It wasn’t too cold out either.”
The trip, which has been a GA tradition since the early 2000s, has featured many different events. Recently, however, the main events of the trip have started to settle into the current ones for this year, mainly due to student feedback and logistical reasons.
“We’ve done other things, but with the New York City traffic, traveling with a bus is really hard. It really only works if the bus can pull in, drop us in one location, and then pick us up after,” Ms. Kennedy said. “But in the past, we have done the Natural History Museum [and] Madame Tussauds, but kids weren’t that excited about it, so it was easy to drop. And it’s been years since we’ve done any of that.”
For this year’s senior class, this trip was particularly special. The Class of 2024, who were in eighth grade when Covid hit, never got the chance to embark on many trips considered GA tradition, such as the eighth-grade trip to Washington DC or the freshman retreat.
“Especially with my senior class, we came in freshman year during Covid, so we didn’t really have the chance to bond or get to know people as much,” Quinter said. “We were stuck in Covid and the only other chance we had, [the Six Flags trip], was canceled, so this is like the first time we’re actually going to go, as a grade, on a trip.”
Reflecting on the trip, many seniors enjoyed the opportunity to become closer with their friends and classmates.
“My favorite part of the trip was getting to spend time with my friends,” Bhatt said. “We got two hours to spend with our friends and we just kind of walked around and had lunch. My friends and I went to Bryant Park, and it was just a great opportunity to walk around the city.”
Looking towards future trips and potential changes, Bhatt suggested leaving more free time during the day and potentially shifting towards an overnight trip as opposed to a day trip.
“I felt like the majority of the time was taken up by finding a restaurant and actually eating lunch, so we had very limited time to explore the rest of the city and do different things,” Bhatt said.
“I definitely think it would be better if it was an overnight trip since the bus ride was almost three hours long, so we spent most of the day traveling,” Bhatt continued. “If it was an overnight trip we’d get a full day in New York and be able to do more. It would also be more fun, since we haven’t had an overnight trip since seventh grade.”