Thanksgiving is the holiday almost every single one of us tends to overlook! The moment November hits, shelves are stocked with gleaming Christmas decorations and Mariah Carey’s vocals are blasted until that jolly day comes around. However, the Day of Turkey should be given more credit. Instead of focusing on what the perfect gift would be, friends and family gather to give thanks and eat mountains upon mountains of amazing food. Here at Becton Regional, we make sure to put more emphasis on this special holiday. 

The Thanksgiving Feast, which began as a senior tradition just last year, was introduced by Ms. O’Driscoll, one of our school’s amazing gym teachers, and Mrs. DePeri, one of the outstanding teachers from the history department, to bring an entire class together. The pandemic took a toll on the mental health of many students. We were all confined to our homes, not really able to interact with other people for around a year. Mrs. Scalera, English teacher and senior class advisor, explains that with, “… the uncertainty of COVID [Mrs. DePeri and Ms. O’Driscoll] were doing events to make the year as much fun as possible.” This is Mrs. Scalera’s first year taking on a key role in the planning of this class event. One may think that planning an event like this would probably take a few days, maybe weeks. But on the contrary, Mrs. Scalera stated that “It takes a month or so to put the whole feast together from ordering food, ordering decorations, etc.” A ton of time, effort, and patience are necessary for planning these magical events for the class of 2022. 

Seniors were able to enjoy delicacies such as turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and pie. They were also able to relish the chocolatey taste of Dunkin hot cocoa and/or rich coffee with whipped cream for that home-y sweetness. One student exclaimed, “The food was great! Especially the turkey!” Some spoke of how scrumptious everything was, others highlighted their favorite parts of the meal, such as the variety of desserts that were served. Many seniors enjoyed not only getting a free pass out of class but also having a chat with friends while munching down on a traditional Thanksgiving meal. There was also a guest appearance by a special turkey named Mr. Sansone who brought smiles upon the faces of many upperclassmen. 

Towards the end of the festivities, the class was surprised to find out that the staff had organized a little ticket raffle. There were three $5 gift cards from Dunkin Donuts, Five Guys, and Panera. As the numbers were being called out and students groaned when the next one that came out of Ms. O’Driscoll’s mouth wasn’t theirs, more and more tension built up in the room. When the winners were all announced, they victoriously picked up their prizes. Most seniors agreed that events like these are a great privilege, one stating, “It makes all the stress of having all these new responsibilities worth it.” One student explained that while it’s all super fun, “…it makes [them] sad because this is the last school year that [they’ll] have any of this.” The upperclassmen have also concluded that events like these bring the class of 2022 together because they are all brought into the same room to spend time together. 

Although it was very cold outside, Mrs. Scalera was pleased with the result, saying, “I thought the feast was successful and I look forward to being a part of it next year.  I think to see the majority of the senior class in the cafeteria having a catered lunch was a very nice scene heading into the Thanksgiving break.” Maybe turkey day isn’t so dry after all.