As the final stretch of the 2025-2026 school year approaches, Coral Gables Senior High’s annual Senior Picnic united the Class of 2026 on April 2. The event began with the streaming of a movie on the auditorium screen and concluded with a competitive round of tug-of-war. At the start of the school day, seniors received wristbands and visited a Starbucks-inspired breakfast area in the chorus room, where Students Activities members served coffee and pastries.
“We arrived at school really early, at 6:30, so we could set up breakfast for the seniors. Right after we had finished setting up, seniors came into the room and we served them their food. It was definitely a lot of work but also really fun to be able to help set up a Gables senior tradition that everyone enjoys,” sophomore Natalia Quick said.
Attendees formed 15 teams of 10, creating custom names, chants and outfits. When participants regathered in the auditorium, mistresses of ceremonies Lucia Rodenburg and Gabriella Roa presented senior superlatives. The class voted for 28 seniors to receive titles based on their personalities.
Following a screening of “Ratatouille,” the “Wacky Olympics” began on the field. Student Activities volunteers organized five stations where teams competed for points. A winner and runner up would be determined by a slip of paper, where Gables staff tallied the points and awarded the Wacky Olympics champions.
“My brother is a senior and so are many of my friends’ siblings, so we’ve seen how pumped they have been for this day. I’m so excited to spend the day hanging out with my classmates and competing once it’s my grade’s turn,” freshman Maria Aborio said.
Events included the blindfolded water race, the water balloon toss where students had to pass a water balloon from one side to the other using a bedsheet, tic-tac-toe, a the ski race and the noodle pass. The ski race featured five seniors on a makeshift group ski, created from pieces of wood and rope. Lunch followed the games, featuring Sophia’s Burgers and Kona Ice.
Sudden rain forced students to take shelter twice during the event. Instead of stopping, the Class of 2026 played volleyball, tag and soccer in the mud. The undying Cavalier spirit surged through each obstacle and solution shone throughout the event.
“My favorite part of senior picnic was definitely the fun we had during the rain. Although it was pouring and the games had to be stopped for a while, the seniors still found a way to have fun. From games like volleyball, tag and soccer, we were able to enjoy ourselves,” senior Daniel Wu said.
Tug-of-war concluded the day, with the final round matching “The Chuds” and “Music Makes You Lose Control.” Following the match, team “Sl1me” was crowned the Wacky Olympics champions.
“When we found out we won… I was just excited and kind of in disbelief. However, what really excited me was that I got to win with my friends in senior year. We were super focused on each game in order to do well and it paid off,” senior Corina McDanal said.
As the mud dried on their sneakers and the last of the Kona Ice melted, the scoreboard became irrelevant. The Class of 2026 left the field not just as “Wacky Olympic” competitors, but as a unified group ready to face their final weeks of high school.
