I vividly remember my first day at Community High School. I wasn’t prepared for high school, and two years of quarantine made every interaction strange. But there is one task I had to complete on my first day at CHS: I had to find my Forum.

For students from different grades and backgrounds, Forum is one of the most important ways to connect. For all the freshmen at CHS, knowing their Forum first was their task on the first day. As a junior, it has been two years since my first day at Forum. Looking back at these two years, I’ve gradually come to understand the importance of Forum bonding and the uniqueness it has brought to CHS.

Max Johnson, a junior in the Mosher Forum feels that forum is more than just an advisory — it’s a place where strong bonds are made.

“There’s a first impression. It’s like homeroom advisory, but it’s different because it feels a bit more personal,” Johnson said. ”Because we have these Forums, it’s a lot different than other high schools. It’s more personal. It’s more connected.”

Students spend hours every week with each other in Forum, and bonding is what makes these hours meaningful. Forum bonding is straightforward: for four years, students get to connect with different kinds of people. Throughout this bonding process, all grades intermix. In the first year of high school, most freshmen are still figuring out their academic and extracurricular interests, but in Forum, upperclassmen can advise underclassmen to explore their interests and encourage them to perform better academically. When those freshmen become upperclassmen, the cycle of mentorship continues.

These connections supported me through the transition from middle school to high school. When I was a freshman with no knowledge of the nuts and bolts of high school, those peers and upperclassmen in my forum taught me those necessary skills for high school. Throughout these bonding events, I learned more than just the basics (importance of extracurriculars, GPA, etc.). They taught me how to expand my extracurriculars, properly communicate with teachers, and most importantly, how to enhance my connections with the people in my Forum. Gradually, I realized building connections in Forums is important because I have been with those people for all four years of high school.

Additionally, bonding brought more benefits that students might not have noticed. I observed that after a long day of school, when students come into the Forum, most of them are either thinking about their homework or going off to their sports. Forum offers a place for students to focus on different topics outside of school.

Danelle Mosher, a French teacher and Forum leader for 29 years in CHS, talked about the importance of bonding after school.

“When we have a focus day, we spend the day together as a group and talk about the fun things we are going to do,” Mosher said. “That relieves a lot of the pressure.”

Among those bonding activities, Forum Day is the most special. Students get together in their Forum to celebrate the start and end of the school year. Seniors get to enjoy the last bit of time they have at CHS. Students can spend a day outside of school without worrying about coursework and solely making connections with their forum. Differing from lunch or after-school Forum, students are less rushed and more relaxed. Students have a different mindset on how they are going to spend the day because of the abundance of time they have to spend together outside of school on a Forum Day.

In retrospect, the time that I spend with my Forum on a Forum Day strengthens our connections, and it is an experience only offered at CHS. Last year, we came together one day and made it happen after all the preparation. Throughout this process of planning and executing, we had a lot of fun and shared experiences. Forum Day brought us together, and it allowed us to enhance our connections as a Forum.

“Those bonding and events just give you friends really,” Johnson said. “You could talk about planning, hang out, or whatever you want. Friends will make you go to the forum. Those bonding events brought us together, and it was fun.”

Forums make CHS special, and there is a historical reason for it.

When Community High was opened in the 70s, the founders of CHS wanted to create Forums composed of students and Forum leaders; in the school’s blueprint document, Forum was essential to the school’s foundation and mission. The founders in the 70s had Forum as a fundamental idea of CHS.

Forum is more than just bonding. It is the foundation that has connected students for over 50 years. We need to remember this and not take the time we have together for granted.