Following a series of meetings between students, families and administrators, the long-anticipated decision has been made: the class of 2021 isn’t going to Disney. 

While the trip, originally planned for March, was postponed until late May to increase the possibilities of going, RV administration made the decision to pull the plug on the trip all together. Principal Joseph Martin said in a release to the RV community that “new logistical information from Disney, current COVID regulations and an approaching deadline with financial implications for [RV] families” all impacted their decision on the cancellation of this annual senior tradition.

Throughout the entire pandemic, RV has been working very closely with the local Burlington County Health Department and following guidelines set by the CDC, and Martin said it is “the recommendation by our local experts and the CDC… to not travel in large non-family member groups.” Martin also notes how “unfeasible” and “nearly impossible” the logistics and planning would become in the instance where they would have to prepare for numerous worst-case scenarios. 

Even with all of this information, seniors are finding this decision hard to digest as they come to terms with losing their rite of passage.

“It’s strange to have something you’ve been looking forward to for four years, and many before that, be taken away from you in the blink of an eye,” senior Alanna Burden said. “For many of us, it was one of the last chances [we] would get to see some of [our] friends and be able to just have a good time in our last year of high school.”

In light of this news, however, “[RV] staff is currently working with parent and student groups to navigate other opportunities for [the] senior class for the remainder of the school year,” Martin said. This group includes active parents of seniors in the RV community, elected senior leadership and other representatives of the senior class who will work together to plan several different social events for their class throughout the end of the year. 

Although the class of 2021 may not be taking pictures with Mickey in May, Martin said, “we WILL make the end of [this] senior year very special.”