How many days until summer?

…is something you may ask yourself every morning you wake up for school.

The school is also keeping track. Each year, the school has marked these last days with a celebratory dinner to remind our seniors how little time they have left at ODA. This dinner, hosted in our own Black Box Theater, is known as the 100 Days Dinner. It is not only a celebration of the senior’s last days, but a celebration of the amazing faculty who supported and guided our seniors throughout high school.

You may think a sentimental marking of time like this may be a dark, sad time. Faculty and seniors, have no fear. To lighten the mood and make the night memorable, seniors are tasked with coming up with a theme. This year, the 100 Days Dinner theme is Hollywood Stars.

The 100 Days Dinner consists of a myriad of speeches, food, and of course, amazing costumes.

“It is one of ODA’s many traditions. When I came here in 2002, the 100 Days Dinner theme was superheroes. Everyone dressed as superheroes to say that all the teachers were superheroes,” says 100 Days Dinner director, Academic Dean, Ms. Evans.

“[The seniors] will honor the teachers through personalized speeches. I love this event because we are able to choose the teacher we are most comfortable with and provide meaningful words on why that teacher is a great contributor to not only like the students education, but to the ODA community,” says one of the many 100 Days Dinner planners, senior Jackie Olson.

Last year, the class of 2015 had Disney themed 100 Days Dinner.

“It was one of my favorite days of the year! It was cool to see all of the nice things people had to say about the teachers and it was really sentimental. It makes you realize how much you appreciate the teachers and what they do. I dressed up as Minnie Mouse and Oliver Tannheiser ’15 dressed up as Mickey Mouse,” says Madison Shaw, ODA alumna 2015.

Faculty also anticipate the arrival of this celebrated day.

“My favorite costume was Mr. Lemieux’s who dressed up as Snow White,” also says Madison Shaw.

“A bunch of my students and I decided to find some book, work, or Disney theme we wanted to do where we can all be part of the same costume group. We decided on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs because of the abundance of characters. My students begged me to be Snow White, but I will never do that again,” says English Department Head Mr. Lemieux.

The 100 Days Dinner is one of the most meaningful events held prior to graduation.

Seniors, it’s time to start thinking of your costume idea and get ready to walk down that red carpet all the way down to graduation.