Turpin High School launched its 50th anniversary celebration on Sept. 25 with student performances, historical displays and an original composition written by one of its graduates.
The Anderson Township school, which opened Aug. 22, 1976, is marking the milestone with events throughout the 2026-27 school year, according to the Forest Hills School District.
The Sept. 25 kickoff drew school leaders, parent volunteers and district staff to Turpin's campus. Students in the choir, marching band and orchestra performed, and a string quartet debuted "Golden Jubilee," a piece composed for the occasion by Aadhivan Ramkumar, a 2020 Turpin graduate.
Ramkumar, who goes by Aadhi, began playing in Lynn Poffenberger's orchestra class at Sherwood Elementary School. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in 2024 and a master's in composition from the University of Miami Frost School of Music in May 2026, according to a district profile of the project.
"As a trained musician, it was hard for me to think of a better way to give back to Turpin High School than through the gift of music," Ramkumar said in a district statement. "I have been exposed to music since I was born, and I was an orchestra member at Turpin for all four years from 2016-2020, so this just felt right."
Four current Turpin students performed the debut: Kathryn Dillman on first violin, Olivia Anderson on second violin, Miyla Dunkle on viola and Nicholas Giglio on cello.
The celebration also featured school tours and a projection mapping art display before the evening's football game. The Forest Hills School District worked with the Anderson Township Historical Society to pull articles, headlines and photographs from 1976 editions of the Forest Hills Journal, assembling displays that showed how the community covered the school's opening five decades ago.
Superintendent Suzanna Davis said the kickoff brought generations of Turpin graduates together and celebrated the school's 50-year legacy, according to the district.
The district had also scheduled a second performance of "Golden Jubilee" at the Turpin orchestra concert Oct. 13 in the school auditorium. That performance was set to include Paul West, longtime Turpin orchestra director who helped open the school in 1976.
More commemorations are planned at sporting events and student performances through the rest of the school year. West, who was there when the doors first opened, was expected to rejoin the students who carry on the program he helped build.
