Before the hallways emptied and backpacks were zipped for spring break, students hit the stage with full force in the 2025 edition of Airband. This year’s judges were Mr. Myles Bacon, Communications and Marketing Manager Ms. Nico Waters, Director of Athletics Digital Media Mr. Ian Davidson, Physical Education and Health Coach Charles Johnson, Director of Athletics Coach Paula Conway, and Director of Bookstore and Faculty Substitute Ms. Erin Saldaña.
Starting off with the middle school division, the sixth graders took third place with a lively performance inspired by musicals, while the eighth graders claimed second place with a setlist featuring songs from the Billboard Hot 100. The seventh graders secured first place with a rewind of hit songs in the past few years, impressing the judges with their energy and choreography.
As for the upperclassmen, the rankings panned out in the order of grade level, with the seniors in first place with a nostalgic tribute to past Airband performances, followed by the juniors in a Back to the Future-inspired set, sophomores with Mamma Mia!, and finally, the freshman in fourth staging out iconic 2000s movie scenes.
The excitement leading up to Airband grew as students reflected on their experiences preparing for the event. Claire Cochrane (‘28) remarked, “It is so fun to work on it the weeks coming up to the performance day and have it be the final time the school comes together before spring break! Creating the choreography and costumes allows people to step away from the stress of the day and just enjoy the moment.” SonSon Santiguel (‘26) highlighted the competition aspect, and said, “I love the friendly competition. You can feel the sensation surging through the school.”
Though all of the performances were followed by enthusiastic applause and cheering, certain performances also stuck out to the crowd. For Jojo Perham (‘27), it was the sophomores’ Airband. “Their Mamma Mia theme was awesome — the choreography and costumes were so well done, and it was such a fun concept,” she said.
Isabel Zorrilla (‘26) complimented the seniors, as she could feel the “time and effort” they had put into their dances. Ryan O’Donovan (‘27) gave a special mention to the ninth graders and explained, “Ninth grade is usually an age where people are more self-conscious and hesitant to participate in things like this, but they came out with so much energy and enthusiasm. I think that showed both self-confidence and school spirit, which was really cool.”
For the seniors, their victory was bittersweet, as this was their final Airband. Their performance, a tribute to their past performances, secured their second victory in a row. Senior Emma Donnelly, who helped organize and choreograph their performance, said, “I am definitely sad! I LOVE Airband and so do my friends!… We chose senior year musicals to honor all of our hard work these past six years! I am for sure going to miss the brainstorming, planning, and the chaos of trying to coordinate last minute practices.”
Audrey Donnelly (‘26) reflected that “Seeing [the seniors] so dedicated to the process always inspires me to work harder and make an even better performance the following year. My older sister Emma takes a huge role in choreographing her airband and getting everyone together and she always inspires me! Watching the class of 2025’s performance is always so fun.”
Following the performances, ASB’s bead necklace competition came to a close, too. The weeklong contest called for students to play rock-paper-scissors with each other, and the winner would take the loser’s necklaces, with whoever had the most necklaces by the end of the week becoming champion. However, with several students having too many necklaces to count, an impromptu round of rock-paper-scissors was held, leading to Mihir Sur (‘31) claiming first place, followed by Jojo Perham (‘28) in second, Valerie Combs (‘30) in third, and Noelani Lasua (‘29) in fourth.
As the excitement carried over to spring break, students and teachers alike will eagerly await next year’s Airband, already anticipating another set of outstanding performances.
