On April 30, post lottery drawings, decisions and lots of excitement, the class of 2028 visited their future high school for AAPS transition day. The current eighth graders from across Ann Arbor got a taste of what their next four years will look like.
Caitlinn Cho, an eighth grader at Clague, found the experience to be both fun and educational.
“I got to learn a lot of things and see new clubs and classes I haven’t seen before,” Cho said.
While this event took place across the AAPS district, Community High School made sure the current eighth graders got a unique experience for the unique school they will be attending.
The afternoon kicked off with a gathering in the craft theater, where students were greeted by the music of the CHS Jazz program. They were then introduced to their counselors and forum leaders, including many of their future teachers.
Meet and greets with forums, having a buddy to show them around, and time to explore CHS’s distinctive programs provided a window into the Community experience. For Morgan Chen, a peer of Cho’s at Claugue, it also cleared up a lot of confusion Chen had, especially around split enrollment, which was discussed in one of the breakout sessions. These sessions provided information for CHS-specific student experiences; besides split enrollment, CET and Mock Trial overviews, as well as a mini-club fair, were a few highlights.
Another important aspect of transition day was the connection between current and incoming students.
“We all felt really welcome,” Chen said. “I never got lost because I always had someone who knew where they were going.”
Chen, among many other students, felt that being paired with older students helped make the experience much more enjoyable. Having a buddy gave them someone to rely on in a new and possibly scary place.
Buddies were matched up through forums, but students also had a chance to meet more of their future forumettes. While entire forums were not in attendance, about five students from each stayed at CHS after the halfday to help with transition day. In forums, students got to learn more about what a forum is and does, as well as what their particular forum is like.
“I thought it was cool how everyone was connecting; it felt like a community,” Chen said. She decided to go to Community because of its smaller size and openness, but found that the connectivity was another thing she had to look forward to next year.
The connection went both ways. Current students, such as Max Rosewig, a CHS freshman, loved meeting the new additions to his forum.
“It was very cool seeing some of the next generation of community students and reflecting on my experience doing what they did last year,” Rosewig said. He was in their places so recently, but is now immersed in CHS, just as some of the incoming freshmen are starting to notice and find this connection.
From both new and old students, the consensus was clear: next year is going to be great. The main idea that the eighth graders took away was the importance of connecting with others at CHS. They learned about specific activities and what may become important to them in high school. They can find these specifics as they enter the next four years of their lives.
