Grade 9 Orientation

Taking first steps into Albert Campbell’s massive hallways and classrooms can be a very intimidating feat, as I’m sure most of you know from experience. In order to aid our Grade 9 students with the frightening transition to high school, Grade 9 Orientation is held every year at our school with a single intention: to make the Grade 9s feel comfortable at our school. This year’s Grade 9 Orientation was held on Wednesday, September 26th and was hosted jointly by the SAC (Student Administrative Council), SIA (Students in Action), and the Athletic Council.

The event began around noon. After a brief assembly where the candidates running for SAC delivered their ardent speeches, free pizza and drinks were delivered to every grade 9 homeform. At around one o’clock, the students marched outside, led eagerly by members of SIA. Bands of orange, green, and just about any other colour imaginable streamed across the field—each homeform was swearing a specific colour. Each group of Grade 9s proudly held out their impressive signs that marked the homeform they belonged to. Signs like 1P1’s beautiful three-dimensional one clearly demonstrated the creativity possessed by these talented newcomers.

Afterwards, the students hurried the football field and gyms for games. Organized by the Athletic Council, the games included Tug-of-war, Dodge Ball, Soccer Baseball, Bones and Chicken. The first three were familiar to most of the Grade 9s, and they dove into them without hesitation. As for the other games, Bones involved running and gathering popsicle sticks, while Chicken was similar to bordenball, except played with rubber chickens. Tug-of-war was easily the students?favourite game—their loud cries of “Pull! Pull!?and their cheers when they won could virtually be heard from the other end of the football field! At two-thirty in the afternoon, the Grade 9s squeezed into the forum for another assembly. After a short introduction, each team was asked to perform a cheer that they had been practising. The energetic cries of 1E1’s “Our homeform is geography. No no no, not history!?and 1J1’s “We’re number one! We’ve already won!?were just some examples of the enthusiasm shown by the Grade 9s. The assembly continued with a magnificent dance performed by the SAC and a short skit by SIA. The event finally closed with a refreshing and passionate dance by the Athletic Council.

LOGOS asked several Grade 9s for their thoughts on the event. The school spirit that Grade 9 Orientation fostered was evident. One of them said, “It helped me to make friends. Tug-of-war and soccer baseball were my favourite games because we got to work together as a team. It was very friendly, I never even heard one put-down.? Another grade commented on the assembly, saying that it made her realize how many people were in the school. She also enjoyed the friendly atmosphere the school had.

Not all the comments were positive, however. Particularly, one student said that the game Chicken was not explained properly and it confused him. Several others criticized the food, saying that the pizza should have been warmer.

Nevertheless, the enthusiasm and school spirit that Grade 9 Orientation helped to cultivate cannot be denied; the event was clearly another successful one. The hopes are high for the new students at Albert Campbell, as Grade 9 Orientation proves clearly that they are promising students who will undoubtedly grow into our school’s role models.