Opening Day Assembly, 2026-2027

On Thursday, August 27, the Burroughs community gathered in Haertter Hall to mark the beginning of the school's 104th year. In keeping with tradition, members of the senior class sat on stage, facing their families, teachers, and fellow students as the year officially got underway.

The assembly opened with the national anthem, performed by Aria Langley '27, Julia Burr '27, and Sylvia Andrews '27. Head of School Andy Abbott then welcomed the community with a reflection on "cathedral thinking," honoring the parents, teachers, and coaches who invest in students, knowing they may never see the full outcome of that work.

"I ask every student here on this first day of school to take a moment and give thanks to all those incredible people who see you as their cathedral," Mr. Abbott said. "To your parents and your many teachers and your coaches who have and will pour themselves into you, and who may never see the kinds of people you will become and the kinds of families you will raise and the kind of impact you will have or the kind of cathedrals you will go on to build. And we are all here in this room today because we believe that can happen, and we believe that this year it will happen."

Following Mr. Abbott's remarks, the community heard from senior class president Sienna Kelley '27 and student body president Finn Hohenberg '27.

A Test of Adaptability

Sienna Kelley '27 framed the year ahead not as a quest for perfect decisions, but as a test of adaptability. Between impulsive teenage brains, busy schedules full of sports, arts, and social commitments, and circumstances beyond anyone's control, she noted, it's impossible to always choose "right."

"I hope that, instead, we trust ourselves to meet each moment as it comes," she said.

The Year of Action

Finn Hohenberg '27 challenged the community to act on the opportunities presented to them this year, drawing on personal stories of chances he let slip by and ones he seized.

"Let this year be the year of action," Hohenberg said, "so that at its end, when our minds attempt to torture us with what-ifs, we can respond not with regret, but with pride for the risks we took, the friends we made, and the impact we created."

The assembly concluded with a performance of "Lift Every Voice and Sing" by Ricco Martin '27 and Sydney Lanton '27, accompanied by Peter Sykes (Performing Arts).

---

The full remarks of Sienna and Finn's speeches are posted below.

Sienna Kelley

I’d like to pose a few questions to my fellow classmates. Who are you sitting next to, right now? Can you remember what you ate for breakfast? What did you choose for your senior backpack? When you look out into the audience, where do your eyes go first? 

Right now, you’re making a decision. And this year, you will make hundreds more. Because, at its core, senior year is all about the choices we will make. Some are smaller.  Where are you gonna sit on the first day of class? Is there time to get a fun drink before the first bell rings? Really, the ordinary choices go on forever. Others feel more significant: which colleges to apply to, which major to study. I can’t speak for everyone, but I know I used to believe that a successful year came from making all the “right” choices. However, one of the problems with senior year is that we’re making these choices under “suboptimal” circumstances. 

As I’m sure we’ve all heard repeatedly, biologically, our brains are still figuring things out. The decisions we make now will be more impulsive than the ones we’ll make in 10 years. And even with fully developed brains, our schedules don’t always allow for thoughtful, unhurried decision-making. We have countless athletes who have, overall, contributed to 13 state teams. We have actors, musicians, and artists who have starred in approximately 14 plays and performed some unforgettable music assemblies. Not to mention, we basically carry the Dance Show. And how could I forget our never-ending social media presence, where we created some pretty great hype houses and lifting accounts. Bottom line, while we are an impressive class, we are also a busy one. Finally, some of the hardest choices we make come from decisions where we can’t control everything. Flour babies get taken, tables break. Between the nature of this year and the uncertainty of life, it’s impossible to make the right choice every time.

Fortunately, that’s only half of the story. There’s a much lesser-known fact about teenagers that doesn't come up in brain development studies. In 2016, scientists conducted an experiment comparing adolescent and adult rats. Both groups were given a right lever and a left lever, and eventually, every rat learned that if they pressed the right lever, they would receive a food pellet. Then, the scientists switched the levers, and what they found was that the adolescent group adapted much faster than the adults. Now, apply this to us. While we may not have perfected the art of decision-making, our ability to adapt is through the roof, which, given the constantly changing environment we live in, may be even more important. In fact, we’ve been living in this study for the past five years! When a tornado put a pause on our legendary 7th grade dance, we brought the party to the basement, playing games like Mafia and Fishdom with our friends. That same year, we didn’t let a COVID outbreak stop us from eating lunch with our friends, even if we were 6 feet apart in the field house. Sorry for the COVID reference, Mr. Abbott. And, more recently, we had no trouble navigating a very rainy Senior Drey Land, where we gracefully slept in some unconventional places to stay dry. We survived geometry. Languages. Physics. Whether we made the right choices or not, we were able to adapt anyway to make the most of the experience.

My last question for you. Will you try to seek out what's “perfect” this year? I hope not. I hope that, instead, we trust ourselves to meet each moment as it comes. Because even if we pull the wrong lever at first, it’s gonna be okay. As we’ve been doing for the past one, three, even five years at this school, we will adapt and make the most of it. Thank you, and I’m so excited for the year ahead.

Finn Hohenberg '27

As I look out at this great crowd today, I feel a lot of emotions — like nervousness to be up here and anticipation for the weeks and months to come. But perhaps what I feel most strongly is excitement. Excitement for many things, such as the upcoming spirit week, potpourri, or Mr. Abbott’s rap on stage at pep rally. What excites me most, though, about this upcoming year is the opportunity that it presents us with. Opportunity to accomplish great things, yes, but also to overcome small hurdles. To meet new people. To get involved and interested in the programs JBS offers. To try new things.

In keeping with recent tradition, I want to use today to designate this year with a theme that I believe is meaningful — a word of the year, if you will. That word will not be "opportunity." Because opportunity, especially at this great school, is plentiful. This year, I want us to strive for more than simply opportunity — I want us to ignite that opportunity, to capitalize on it, to seize it, to act on it.

Last year, I was presented with the chance to do THIMUN. However, instead of realizing how much of a privilege being able to participate in the Model UN program was, I saw the extra workload required for it and used that as an excuse to stay passive. I was scared of breaking my routine, of committing to something difficult and new, and so I sat back and let the chance slip by. As is the case every year, those who did THIMUN returned with incredible stories about the trip, their learning, and how beneficial it was for them, leaving me with nothing but regret. A “what if?” that I now have to deal with in the back of my mind — one that I don’t have an answer to and never will. 

Thankfully, I have also been able to experience the flip side of this. This past summer, I was a camp counselor in Wisconsin for nine weeks. My cabin had incoming 7th graders, and it was a lot of work — 7th grade teachers, good luck! Despite the apparent hardships, though, I took the risk this time. I signed the contract and essentially got paid to have a blast in the woods for a summer. I could have stayed at home and relaxed, and it might have been nice. But I would have experienced far less growth ... and far more sitting around. Worst of all, I would have had another “what if?” to deal with in the back of my mind.

This brings us back to the topic of the upcoming year. As I said earlier, I see opportunity when I look at the wonderful student body gathered here today. Opportunity to grow as learners, as friends, and as citizens of the world. Opportunity to find new interests, forge new connections, and build something remarkable together. But that is only opportunity — these things will never happen if we sit on the chance we’ve been given. We must act: take the risk and talk to the person you’ve never met. Delve into your interests unabashedly, regardless of whether or not your friends are into them. Try something you never even considered doing. You don’t necessarily need to do something insane or world-changing; you just need to DO something.

Let this year be the year of action, so we don’t squander the potential we have to accomplish extraordinary things. Let this year be the year of action, so that we grow during our time together rather than sitting paralyzed by indecision. Let this year be the year of action, so that at its end, when our minds attempt to torture us with what-ifs, we can respond not with regret, but with pride for the risks we took, the friends we made, and the impact we created. Thank you.