On the Fifth Day of Hopkins: Five Golden Rings 2025

For those new to the Hopkins community, “Five Golden Rings” isn’t just a line in “The Twelve Days of Christmas”. At Hopkins, it’s a full-blown production; a moment when the senior class takes center stage at the holiday assembly with skits, songs, and chaos. 

This year, the Class of 2026 is continuing the tradition, and, based on early interviews, the Class is planning something big! Class President and designated ringleader, Gabe Ciminiello ‘26 has been assembling a team of writers and performers from every corner of the grade. “I’ve been talking to people with interests in writing skits and planning things out. [This includes] the heads of Peaches, a certain boys soccer captain, and many other senior class comedians,” he says. His goal: include every senior in some capacity, however much they want, whether that be a big role or background.

The lineup of sketches? Varied and wide-ranging. “There’s a Judge Judy skit, Pop the Balloon, Impractical Jokers at Hopkins, a Hanukkah version of A Christmas Carol, and a possible music guest,” Ciminiello revealed. 

With so many ideas in play, the writing team has expanded. Jayda Robik ’26 joined the writing team to lend a hand and a script. “I wanted to help out our class president because I know there’s a lot on his plate,” she says. “I also thought it would be fun, since I enjoy writing short films. I figured that experience would help me write a skit.” 

Robik and her co-writer, Sydney Laganza ’26, are focusing on what makes a sketch truly Hopkins-worthy. “I’ve laid out a general outline on a Google Doc and have honestly been writing in a format similar to how I write my films,” Robik explained. “I think it’ll be funny to a majority of people at school, and it’ll touch on a lot of things we wanted to make fun of in Five Golden Rings”. 

“Can I spoil a little bit?”

“ Yeah, whatever!”

“All I can say is that justice will be served.” 

Aerin O’Brien ’26 agrees that good writing is all about the balance between inside jokes and universal humor. “I’ve always enjoyed writing, especially when it's creative and I can add some humor in,” she said. “A good sketch draws on inside jokes from the grade while also making them accessible to the whole school.” And for a spoiler? “I don't want to say much because I want it to be a surprise,” O’Brien said, “but I can say that the sheer [number] of gingers in my grade inspired my writing.” 

For Andrew Keisman ’26, who’s been dreaming about this since middle school, Five Golden Rings is more than just a performance; it’s his passion project. “I’ve always loved how funny Five Golden Rings is,” he said. “I’m really involved with video production around campus, and it’s been one of my dreams, since J-School, to write and/or do video production work for Five Golden Rings.” Keisman’s writing process is focused on audience reaction. “I think what makes a good sketch is something that can make everyone laugh,” he said. “It should be just a bunch of senior inside jokes, but the kind everyone else gets.” 

Henry Weinstein ‘26 blends humor and balance in his process as well, beginning with what he calls a “crappy first draft, where you’re writing for the simple sake of writing. Any and all ideas are good as long as there’s content. You can boil down and clean stuff up after the act.” For Five Golden Rings, he’s been trying a slightly more organized approach. “I’ve been doing a lot more outlining and refining (hey, that rhymes),” he joked. “A good sketch is something that’s easy to follow even if you don’t know the context. It should be pretty neutral, too. Like, you shouldn’t write something with the strict purpose of ‘I want so-and-so to play this,’ but leave it for interpretation.” And as for spoilers? “Gabe said no spoiling,” he sighed. 

Caryn Kim ’26, another writer, shared her approach and inspirations, adding a Hunger Games twist to the mix. “As a writer, I feel like I can actually let some of my ideas come to life and become, hopefully, a memorable part in the school,” she said. Her sketches include a rom-com version of the Hunger Games and a dating-game-inspired idea from a friend. Kim described her process as starting with logistics, “the characters, the settings" before mapping out the plot with “bullet points for moments I want to hit.” 

The challenge, Kimnoted, is making it funny “for the majority of the audience and integrating the Five Golden Rings part.” She also emphasized the value of feedback and collaboration as a major part of her process. “I’m relying on Gabe for advice, and I’m also turning to people with different senses of humor,” she said. Ultimately, “the actors need to bring the energy, and the audience will carry that energy if they’re engaged.” 

Olivia Mokotoff ‘26, who helped brainstorm ideas, shared her thoughts on what makes sketches successful. “It has to have a good mix of funny but also a plot line, not just cracking jokes the entire time,” she said. On a tiny spoiler for the audience, she added, “Orange.”

Although the seniors are keeping their scripts top secret, it’s obvious that their ideas span a wide range of comedic styles and creative concepts. Whether it’s Impractical Jokers at Hopkins or a ginger-themed masterpiece, this year’s Five Golden Rings aims to be a memorable moment for the Class of 2026 and a continuation of the long-running Hopkins tradition.

As always, the rest of us will be in the bleachers, counting down the verses until we hear those three magic words: Five. Golden. Rings.