Row by row, among buzz and chatter, Community High School students and staff piled into St. Andrews Church to the sound of “Love You For a Long Time” by Maggie Rogers. As the opening day ceremony began, on the morning of Aug. 25, so did the 2025-2026 school year.
Every year, students gather in the church, surrounded by their forums, waiting in anticipation for the official start of the new school year.
Forum Council (FoCo) plays a huge role in organizing this school-wide event. Not only do the presidents host the ceremony, but all of the Forum Council board members spend time planning the slideshows and finalizing details of the first day.
“We had a few complications, but honestly, they were outweighed by the hype for school that all of the classes had,” said Alex Smith, the FoCo secretary. “So I don’t think anybody really minded.”
To start the ceremony, Piper Cooke and Ava Griffith, Forum Council co-president and vice president, introduced the staff and welcomed Dean Marci Tuzinsky to the podium to give her opening day speech.
“We are the only school in the district that has an opening ceremony this special,” Tuzinsky said. “Everyone except Community wanted the half day today.”
Afterwards, CHS club presidents took to the stage to share a bit about their club with the school. Avery Mayer spoke about Ecology Club, of which she is the president.
“I was pretty nervous, because I’m not the best at public speaking, but I felt confident and excited to share our club with the whole school,” Mayer said.
The sadness of summer coming to an end was blocked out by the loud cheers from all the students at the ceremony — cheers for the staff, for clubs and for each other.
“It is such a unique thing,” said Sarah Roldán-Dodson, a new CHS history teacher. “The student appreciation for the teachers is really obvious.”
The opening day is always filled with new faces from both the staff and students. This year, there were 135 new freshmen and five new staff members, displaying the vibrant and growing community that students are surrounded by.
It’s a day of new beginnings: for some, a whole new school, and for others, new classes and new responsibilities. For the class of 2026, this day marked the beginning of the end of high school.
Smith feels the stress of his senior year already, managing his schedule, including University of Michigan classes, where the responsibility is solely on him to reach out to professors and find a class that works. Far outshining any of this stress, however, is Smith’s excitement for the year, including senior activities and traditions.
“It’s super sweet right now,” Smith said. “It feels great. I feel quite ready for this new stage of my life.”
Just like Smith, many people have something they are looking forward to in the upcoming year. Roldán-Dodson is looking forward to having freshmen as some of her students again.
“I haven’t had freshmen in over 10 years,” Roldán-Dodson said. “I like having freshmen because I like helping them develop skills, and then sometimes I’ll have them in their sophomore year too.”
Roldán-Dodson has taught at Community before, but the students, staff and traditions have changed. A lot of Roldon-Dodson’s excitement for the year comes from CHS being a change of scenery for her, one to try new things and meet new people. Smith is familiar with the people and the school, but isn’t any less excited. For both, they can’t wait to see what these next 10 months of CHS—whether first or last—will bring.
