Dear Class of 2026,
Forever.
That word echoes through the minds of so many parents and families as they welcome a child into the world. For many of your families, 2007 or 2008 was the year you came into their lives. It was a moment that changed everything forever.
Back then, the year 2026 felt impossibly far away. It seemed like a distant point somewhere far beyond imagination. But time is funny like that. What once felt like forever has passed in the blink of an eye. That blink held your first steps, your first games, your first days of kindergarten. It held birthdays, family trips, new homes, new friendships, and, more recently, keys in your hands as you learned to drive.
And then came this year filled with so many lasts. Your last first day of school. Senior Night. Senior Prom. The Senior Trip. A final season, a final performance, a final walk through the hallways.
Forever is an instant. And yet, forever is also a lifetime.
The Class of 2026 knows what forever means. It means love for your classmates. It means legacies written on athletic fields, on stages, and in classrooms. It means leaving things better than you found them. It means forming friendships and relationships that do not end with a diploma; they last a lifetime. They last forever.
On May 31, you will join a prestigious group. You will become Rocky River alumni. That title is forever, too. And with it comes a powerful tradition. Rocky River graduates have gone on to impact the world in ways both big and small, and there is no doubt the Class of 2026 will do the same.
As you take your next steps, carry the lessons you have learned here with you: hard work, integrity, compassion, and the commitment to becoming your best self each day. These values will serve you well wherever life takes you. And never forget that investing in your community, pouring into others the way others have poured into you, makes all of us stronger.
Your class has lifted this community in ways that words can barely capture. You have lifted one another through triumphs and challenges alike. As you cross that stage and begin this next chapter, make the most of your forever.
For your families, this forever has passed in a blink.
Congratulations, Class of 2026. Rocky River is incredibly proud of you.
With Pirate Pride,
Mr. Schirg
With Pirate Pride 