English teacher Erin Angell works at her desk during her fifth period prep Wednesday.  Her senior classes are likely to be just as empty Monday.

– Elizabeth Sawka

Seniors likely will be absent from school in observance of Palo Alto High Schoool’s unofficial senior cut day this Monday.

Though not endorsed by the administration, many seniors will follow tradition in skipping the Monday after the completion of AP exams. This gives seniors a five-day weekend, since they didn’t have to come for STAR testing the preceding Thursday and Friday.

However, this year’s senior cut day falls before the final Saturday School of the year, May 21.  Thus, seniors who choose to cut risk racking up hours in Saturday School.  According to Karla Larson, attendance technician, and Trinity Klein, administrative teacher on special assignment, a student must serve one hour per cut in Saturday School for every cut over two within a semester.

“As for senior cut day, my understanding is that the attendance office only clears absences that are accompanied by a doctor’s note,” Klein wrote in an email.

However, because so many seniors are expected to cut, Saturday school School notices could go out to several hundred seniors.

“I’m not sure how we’re going to handle it,” Larson said.

Larson, who grew up in Kansas, said that her high school had “senior skip day,” though she doesn’t recall how she spent it.  Because her school instituted a Saturday School policy shortly after the 1985 film “The Breakfast Club” came out, they called the weekend detention the breakfast club.

Principal Phil Winston emphasized personal responsibility surrounding senior cut day.

“We give our students a tremendous amount of responsibility and freedom, and for the most part, people exercise great care and judgment,” he said.