Boat racing and egg-dropping, are only two of the many events that students partook in on First Friday, an annual event where Middle and Upper School students can join in on a day full of activities, with their grade and advisors, to kickstart the year.
Each grade had a specific activity that they engaged in to grow closer with their peers. In Middle School, First Friday mainly consists of hive day activities where students are divided into four groups where they compete to win points for their hive team. Some of the Middle school favorites are bridge building with popsicle sticks, the egg drop, and playing with water balloons.
Unlike the Middle School, the Upper School is split up by grade level, offering students a variety of new activities and experiences each year throughout their time in the Upper School. The freshman spent their First Friday making cardboard boats and racing them in the Wellness Center pool. To get to know the campus, faculty, and their peers better, the freshman had to travel throughout campus to collect supplies from important locations in order to build their boats. Once they had all the materials needed, the students worked together in their advisory groups to build boats they would then race in later. Samuel Seuguira reflected on his First Friday experience and explained that “It encouraged team building and helped me get closer to my classmates.”
Sophomores traveled to Boundless Adventures in Purchase, NY for a fun day of rope and zipline activities with this being the first field trip in two years because of COVID restrictions. Strength and courage were tested during different activities.
Although the courses are difficult, most students enjoyed figuring out a way through.
“I was persevering through the challenges of the ropes course. When I was in a bad position I figured my way out,” said Philip Mahamedi. The course levels range from yellow, green, blue, and black, with yellow being the easiest, and black being the most challenging level. Students had the freedom to start with either yellow or green, and then advance to blue or black.
The juniors partook in a fun speech and public speaking exercise. This essentially consisted of writing fun, heartfelt, and engaging speeches to present to the rest of the grade. All students were divided into groups where they wrote about anything they wanted. From there, they presented their speeches to the group, and then one member would represent each group in front of the entire grade. The juniors spoke about a variety of topics ranging from pets, heritage, legal operations, and much more. Specifically, Sabrina Reyes was nominated to speak in front of the grade and shared her experience: “I was pretty nervous, but once I was actually speaking it was fine. I had read through it a bunch of times, and it was a good experience for public speaking.”
Not only was this an enriching experience for the students and faculty, but it also allowed them to get to know each other on a deeper level.
The seniors spent their First Friday morning at Head of School Michael Wirtz’s house for breakfast and learning about the college admissions process. “Senior First Friday was great,” said Senior Steven Yu, ”I loved learning about the college admission process.” Even though it was only for a couple of hours, the seniors got to play games and engage with their peers.