What once was a roar of cheers and applause from the gym turned to the sound of silence as freshman walked into the school for the first time. This year, tradition broke as the announcement was made that the assembly that welcomed new students would be cancelled. 

“We thought it was good for them to come in, and figure out the building,” principal Gretchen Pontious said. “That’s what makes them really nervous at the beginning; where they go and how they get there.” 

Instead of meeting in the gym, new students walked into the school, and began circulating in the commons resembling a usual school morning.

“There were lots of people greeting us at the doors,” freshman Rae Dosher said. “Everyone was very welcoming and helpful.”

Before the cancellation, many groups like the marching band, cheerleaders and pantherettes had been preparing for one of their first performances of the year.

“I think that it was kind of disappointing because we didn’t get to show the school what we had been working on,” freshman Pantherette Bailey Grubb said. 

Some were looking forward to the assembly because their group was participating in it.

“I was excited to see the band play.” freshman Ava Cates said. “I think it would be a cool thing to get to see everyone play because I’ll be seeing myself in that place next year.”

For sophomores who were the last to experience the assembly, the cancellation wrong. 

“The red carpet and crowd made me feel almost like a celebrity and very appreciated.” sophomore Cam Whitener said. “It made my first day much more special than I thought it would be. I think that the lack of assembly might have made the school feel less welcoming, and it doesn’t seem fair to do it just for the class of ‘27 and others.”