While in the post winter break slump, the best news to hear is that there is a snow day or some unexpected day off of school, Sydney O’Hare ‘25 said. With there being no snow days called yet this year, and most seniors already having set plans for the future, school can become especially boring and repetitive, leading students to jump at any opportunity they can to miss a day of school.

“Senioritis is losing all motivation to go to school and not really seeing the point of everything you are doing [in school] even though it is still important,” O’Hare said. “You start to see no point in going to school because you’ve gotten into college and most people already know what they will be doing next year.”

In previous years, it was typical for there to be one senior ditch day, typically when juniors would take the SAT and freshman and sophomores would take the PSAT. This would allow for an extended weekend, and the ditch day could be used for “senior sunrise.” This day was usually one of the only official ditch days called; however, this year there have been many more “official ditch days.”

“I have definitely noticed an increase in senior ditch days, and there have been more ditch days this year than in years past,” Pre-Calculus and Calculus teacher Alex Wojcik said. 

Students are alerted of a ditch day through the Instagram account @stoollyonss, which is run by various LT seniors. They post a story on the account to alert all seniors about the ditch day. 

“Word [of the ditch day] gets spread around the school, so even if you don’t follow the account, you’ll hear about the ditch day,” O’Hare said.

While students are aware of the day off, teachers aren’t always given ample notice.

“Teachers are aware when there is going to be a ditch day but sometimes with more advanced notice than others,” Wojcik said. “Like the last one, post Super Bowl, I found out about that eighth period the [Friday] before.” 

Although a majority of students may be absent, learning still goes on in the classroom, Wojcik said.

“It’s frustrating when [students] ditch and then expect class to have not been taught,” Wojcik said. “Especially because there are some students who do show up. It’s also frustrating when students complain they didn’t learn [material] when they chose to not be in school.”

A group of students who do come to school on ditch days are student athletes who must attend at least five periods in order to attend their practice or game after school.

“I need to be at school for at least five periods,” Ethan Wuggazer ‘25 said. “I get a little FOMO (fear of missing out) not being able to skip. I want to skip, and it kinda sucks that I can’t just because I’m in a sport.”

LT does not recognize any senior ditch days as valid absences, Assistant Principal Adam Davis said. Parents and guardians are also responsible for reporting a student’s absence for it to be considered excused.

“Absences affect the learning environment because when a student is not present, their voice and contributions are absent from the classroom,” Davis said. “Their insights, ideas, thoughts and perspectives are vital to the overall learning experience, and without them, the dynamic of the class is incomplete. Additionally, when a student is absent, they miss out on direct instruction and support from their teachers—something that can never be replicated by simply reviewing materials on Canvas or Infinite Campus. Teachers are here to support students, and we cannot be as effective without their active participation.”

Along with increased ditch days has also come an increase in senior absences. LT reported that 310 LT seniors have attended 90% or less of school in the first semester. In comparison, only 211 juniors were reported in the same category. Additionally, LT has seen a vast increase in tardies compared to those of last year’s seniors. First semester, this year there were 2,953 incidents of tardiness among seniors compared to the 1,856 incidents seen with last year’s seniors first semester.

“I think I am [a victim of senioritis] to an extent,” O’Hare said. “It’s not as fun to come to school anymore, and I’m lacking motivation because there is no reason to do that well anymore [in my classes].”

To try and combat this problem, the Student Support Team, consisting of the grade-level Assistant Principal, counselors, social workers, campus nurse, and Division Chair for Student Services, meet weekly to discuss individual student concerns, with a particular emphasis on attendance across all grade levels, Davis said. 

“[I continue to skip because] my grades are fine, and skipping a day here and there hasn’t affected them, but I know that is not always true for everyone,” O’Hare said. “[I’ve found if I] spread out [the ditch days] enough [I’ll] be fine and can catch up really easily.”