In the days preceding Valentines Day, students purchased singing valentines for $3 for their friends and teachers. The acapella singers worked for weeks, and their efforts raised over $1,000.

“We had to form groups of three or four and come up with an acapella version of a popular love song that was appropriate and fit well with the Valentine’s Day theme,” said Jill Pocius, junior. “We have a week or two to work on them, and then we audition for Mrs. Burkemper to make sure we meet her expectations about two weeks before Valentine’s Day.”

Jana Abdul-Samad, sophomore, received three singing valentines this year. “When I got mine, I thought they were all pretty funny and embarrassing. Especially when my teacher started kind of dancing to the last one,” Abdul-Samad said. Abdul-Samad thinks that these valentines are a nice touch to Valentine’s Day. “It’s really funny to watch your friends get them.”

Mr. Robert Aurich, English teacher, also believes the valentines are a fun tradition. “I teach honors and AP classes, and a lot of times it’s hard to find ways to relax. The valentines definitely serve this purpose,” Aurich said . However, as a teacher, Aurich
also sees how the system is not perfect, or even ideal. “It’s kind of inconvenient when you’re teaching. I’ve heard of students purposefully inundating their class with singing valentines so they could just stop class completely.”