On Friday Sep 15, Ripon High Sober Grad hosted its first ever movie night. This event was held in the RHS amphitheater and was open for all students to attend. Students who came got to spend time with friends and have fun singing along to High School Musical. While movie night was put on as a fun thing to do with friends, its main purpose was to help raise money for the senior Sober Grad Night. 

Sober Grad is an organization run by students, parents, and teachers with the goal of raising money for a senior graduation party. Their goal is to help prevent accidents caused by alcohol at graduation parties by offering a sober, school-run party instead. In order to make this possible, Sober Grad hosts many fundraisers throughout the year. 

“We wanted to kick off this school year’s fundraising season with something very student focused,” says Sylvia Ochoa, vice president of Sober Grad. Ms. Ochoa teaches Spanish at Ripon High and has been involved with Sober Grad for 7 years. At meetings, she and other members of Sober Grad brainstorm different events for the school year. When asked how they came up with the idea for movie night, Ms. Ochoa says, 

“This was actually our second choice. We wanted to do something with the swimming pool, but then it turned out to be too big, so we came up with the movie in the park idea instead.” While it would have been fun if the pool idea had worked out, movie night was still a roaring success and was enjoyed by everyone who went. 

One student, sophomore Kylee Machado, says, “My favorite part was getting to watch it with my friends.” Machado loved movie night and was happy to see High School Musical for the first time. 

If you missed it this time and wish you had gone, don’t worry because Sober Grad is already planning a Halloween themed movie night. To stay updated, make sure to follow Ripon High Sober Grad on Instagram.