Post- Shiriyah Interview With Mrs. Septimus

This year's Shiriyah has officially ended, and as much as we had fun, it's important to remember that a lot of behind-the-scenes planning went into it. This past week, I got the opportunity to meet with the mastermind of Shiriyah herself, Mrs. Septimus, and discuss the work that went into making the event so special. Mrs. Septimus normally begins the physical planning and preparations of Shiryah after midterms. However, the ideas and themes of Shiryah are created right after the previous Shiriyah has ended- talk about planning in advance!

Mrs. Septimus does this because she wants to come up the ideas, topics, and possible future improvements for the next Shiriyah while while the past one is still fresh in her mind. Although plans for next year’s Shiriyah have not been laid out yet, there will be meetings soon with students, as well as other faculty members, in order to improve on this year's competition and also find the right place to hold the final night of Shiriyah. Mrs. Septimus thinks that this year's Shiriyah went so well because of how actively students participated and had fun. Obviously, a few hiccups are bound to come up, what with organizing the grades, having individuals know what they are doing, and maximizing productiveness during Shiriyah night. She also shed some light about the organization of last two Shiriyahs, which were held during the crux of COVID. She was glad that we decided to hold Zoomiyah because although it might've not been just like a normal Shiriyah, the students of the school needed uplifting.

All that being said, why do we do Shiriyah? What makes it and its themes important? As Mrs. Septimus put it, Shiriyah is a time when different students with many different abilities can show off their talents and be supported by friends. People are uplifted, grades are brought together, and cliques are broken. So in one word, what does Shiryah do? It unites, and that's something you can't put a price on.