Lawrence High School employees found a giant heap of grass clippings piled on the concrete outside the school earlier this week.

LHS Principal Steve Nilhas chalks it up to a harmless senior prank.

“They’re just kids having a little bit of fun,” he said.

Today marks the end of senior week at LHS, a traditional celebration held the week before prom. Festivities this year included a barbecue on Thursday, a senior “skip day” today, and a few minor pranks.

“Senior week is basically about seniors getting the reign of the school,” LHS senior Ian Jones said. “It’s very tame this year. No one’s toilet-papered anything yet.”

Free State High School will have similar senior-related events next week leading up to its May 7 prom. FSHS associate principal Ted Berard said there’s been a growing emphasis on safety during recent senior weeks.

“We’ve just tried to get the message out the last few years that it’s a time we need to get ready for graduation and be serious about our academics,” he said. “The kids have been really responsive to that.”

Nilhas said hazing used to be an informal part of senior-week activities, but he said the staff at LHS has made sure students know it’s “out of bounds.”

C.J. Fowler, a senior at Lawrence High School, tries on a tuxedo at Randall's Formal Wear, 815 Mass. Fowler will miss his school's dance this weekend but will attend the Free State High School prom May 7. Store sales clerk Martha Arbuckle is in the reflection at right.

“That’s just something we don’t want to practice anymore,” he said.

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