I voted for the first option, of having it focused on the school year in some way, just because it seems to me that it'd give something to do.  A common link that would force people together that wouldn't normally interact.  Like, instead of what happened with the last go-around, with the two different parties that seemed to be broken down among clique lines, having a single place where everyone is going to be, where they're given the reason to be around others.<br/><br/>However, with that said, I do like what was mentioned with it being focused on the last few weeks/months of the school year.  Senior trips, senior day, pranks, etc.  I think that would give a lot to play with, while avoiding the monotony of both starting from the beginning of the year with classes, as well as just drifting from party to party or trying to find reasons to get characters together that normally wouldn't.