On Wednesday morning, hundreds of DHS seniors rose early—well before dawn—for the first big event of their senior year.

“Senior Sunrise,” a tradition observed by many U.S. high schools, is especially anticipated at DHS because it always takes place on Number Hill, which rises in the backdrop of the school and its surrounding neighborhoods. As part of this annual tradition, which takes place at the start of the school year, the senior class wears their senior pajamas and/or hoodies and climbs up the historic hill to watch the sunrise, regarded as marking the beginning of their final year of high school. This year, to ensure they caught the very first rays of sunshine, the class of 2025 began gathering as early as 5 a.m.

The trek upwards is quite the journey, and many students had to take care not to fall while both going up and coming down the hill. Once up, many seniors enjoyed themselves thoroughly, taking pictures and enjoying the views that the hill offered of the entire city of Dublin. Students could be heard laughing and chatting, and many ran around all morning, finding people they knew and taking pictures. 

“I feel like it was very fun to hang out with all of my friends before the sun rose and celebrate the start of our senior year together,” says one senior, Ria Kanwar. 

Though most students were focused on the sun, the moon rose high in the background, offering a stellar background no matter which way people looked.

Of course, students play a more active role than just watching the sunrise: DHS leadership, parent volunteers, and many students bring bags of flour to help Number Hill earn its namesake, pouring the flour into the number of the year of the graduating class so that it can be seen from the Dublin High campus below. While they’re at it, most students instigate flour fights, throwing handfuls at each other as they run around and meet their friends. However, complications arose from student negligence: the number “25” on the hill was just barely visible from being placed higher up than usual. Further difficulties came from mischievous non-seniors altering the number: by the next day, the number looked much more like the junior class’s “26.”

This tradition, moreover, is complemented by its counterpart, senior sunset, when students gather again on the hill to close off their high school journey. With the prospect of this closing event now imminent, many seniors begin to feel the regret of finality: one anonymous student tells the Shield, “I really couldn’t believe my last year of high school started until after Sunrise. But now it’s hitting me.”

After Sunrise, many students headed down to enjoy their last few hours together before school began. Parent participation enriched the celebration: volunteers were seen offering an assortment of fruits, granola bars, and even donuts to students at the base of the hill, which many eagerly took. Others walked or drove to local breakfast favorites, such as Denica’s Real Food Kitchen and Johnny’s Donuts. Some students even headed back home to wash off the flour that had gotten on their face, clothes, and hair. No matter how they spent their time after sunrise, though, seniors had to make it back in time for school to start at 9:00 a.m.

Though many students did not enjoy spending the school day covered in flour, many nonetheless look forward to Senior Sunset, and all the other school events to come.