Students dress up, hang out with friends
Roller coasters, rides, and thrills awaited the 168 students heading to Sadies 2018, Oct. 27. Charter buses and cars buzzing with anticipation left Fresno Christian at 8 a.m., making the three hour drive to California’s Great America. Dressed in occupation themed costumes, students spent the day enjoying rides and water slides with friends and peers.
“Sadie Hawkins” first appeared as a comic strip in 1937, portraying a character who got to choose the man she wanted to marry. This contributed to the women’s rights movement in America, as well as providing a future dance idea, where the girls ask the guys.
Contrary to most schools, FC chooses to host an off-campus trip, rather than a school dance. Girls ask guys with posters and signs and the groups later travel to places like Six Flags, The Fresno Chaffee Zoo, and this year, Great America.
Arriving at the park at 12 p.m., students visited attractions and rides such as Demon, Gold Striker, Drop Tower, and Tiki Twirl. Smells of cotton candy and popcorn drifted around the park as guests rode roller coasters and took in the fall festivities.
English teacher Andrea Donaghe chaperoned the trip with fellow English teacher, Kyle Dodson. Wearing Apple employee t-shirts and name tags, Donaghe and Dodson encouraged students to participate in Sadies and enjoy time off-campus.
“I enjoyed the fact that this year’s theme was occupations and the kids were super creative,” Donaghe said. “Sometimes themes are really lame but this one wasn’t! I think Sadies is such a great time to get involved with your school. I taught at a public school previously and you don’t see a big turnout there, so to see our small private school getting involved was really encouraging. Normally you’d just have a dance in the gym with a really bad DJ, but this so surpassed dancing.”
Students coordinated their outfits for the trip based on the theme, occupations. A wide range of costumes were seen, from flight attendants, to In-N-Out workers, to professional soccer players.
Dressed as a firefighter, sophomore Caleigh Alday attended Sadies with her date, Mason Blowers, ‘20. Alday enjoyed the time to connect with friends outside of the normal school environment.
“My favorite part of Sadies this year was the group I hung out with,” Alday said. “Another really fun thing was going on Gold Striker as our first ride. We weren’t expecting it to be so intense and fast so when it started going we were laughing and having a great time. I think it’s so cool that Fresno Christian goes off-campus because I’m friends with a lot of people from public schools and our trips are so much more fun than school dances.”
Seniors Ronnie Peterson and Alina Ochoa went to Great America dressed as a police officer and a convict. Peterson enjoyed his last Sadies and hopes FC will continue to have school involvement in future events.
“My favorite part about Sadies was being able to have fun with my friends,” Peterson said. “I was also able to connect more with people outside my friend group. You should go to Sadies because it is a great experience and you will have a lot of fun, whatever place it is at. I’m sad, it’s my last year, but I hope Sadies will continue for all the future classes.”
For those uninterested or unable to ride thriller coasters, the park offered a variety of low energy rides such as Celebration Swings, Carousel Columbia, and Delta Flyer’s. Still providing the theme park feel, these rides made the day fun for visitors of all ages.
Leadership student Avery Loeffler, ‘22, helped plan Sadies this year. With 80% of the high school’s participation, Loeffler enjoyed seeing groups engage in the festivities. She looks forward to the school events in years to come.
“I dressed up as a professional third wheel for Sadies this year,” Loeffler said. “My favorite part was going on Flight Deck which was super fast and felt like you were flying. I think everyone should go to Sadies because it is a really great experience to bond with your friends and grow closer as a class. I would definitely go again next year!”
Arriving in barista costumes, senior Landon Goldsborough and his date enjoyed going to Great America for their last Sadies. Goldsborough appreciated the short lines and experiences with friends.
“I think Great America was a great choice because of how short the lines were and the quality of the rides,” Goldsborough said. “It’s a really cool way to hang out with friends outside of school and get to know someone better. I think in the future it would be cool if FC did something less expensive, but overall I had a really great time for my last Sadies.”
Kayla Vanderlinden, ‘20, experienced new rides and thrills at this year’s Sadies. She enjoyed the new attractions and looks forward to future opportunities to spend time with friends.
“My favorite part of Sadies was hanging out with all my friends and being able to make memories with them,” Vanderlinden said. “My favorite ride was Rail Blazer because it was super fast and fun. This Sadies was similar to Six Flags last year, but the rides are way different, and the people you’re with make it a different environment. I had a really great time this year!”
Sophomores Samantha Portale and Brynlee Schmidt rode the Xtreme Skyflyer at Sadies, Oct. 27.
Sophomores Sam Portale and Brynlee Schmidt ride the Xtreme Skyflyer at California’s Great America for Sadie’s, Oct. 27. The attraction took the students up 154 feet and dropped them at up to 50 miles an hour! What was your favorite ride?@thefeather #thefeather pic.twitter.com/c7Ke3Dp0pA
— Addison Schultz (@SchultzAddison) October 31, 2018
As the excitement from Sadies comes to a close, students look forward to Powder Rough, a boys volleyball tournament coached by the girls volleyball team. Dates and times will be released as the event draws closer.
Thank you to all the students who sent in photos and videos from the day. What was your favorite ride at Great America? Let us know in the comments below!
For more articles, read California water restrictions impact Central Valley agriculture or Residents discuss Fresno’s north-south divide.
Addison Schultz can be reached via email and via Twitter @SchultzAddison.