On September 27th, North Park Secondary School’s grade 9 and 12 students participated in the freshly updated and much anticipated IBT retreat. The retreat, held on the school tennis court and field, fulfilled its purpose of creating bonds between mentors and mentees, and allowed the young ninth graders to acquaint themselves with fellow students.
The retreat had an energy-filled kickoff with IBT head, Ms.Fiocco, emphasizing the events of the day, as well as the importance of making connections during the retreat. Throughout the day, all students participated in bonding activities to ease the transition into high school which ranged from simply sitting in a circle and introducing themselves, to a very competitive Amazing Race.
“It’s really fun getting to know them and what they’re going through as well as their experiences when they got into high school,” said grade 12 mentor, Zeel Punjabi. “Hopefully, I can meet them throughout the year again and again and contribute to their experience for high school.”
One of the most active and enthusiastic events was the new Amazing Race, where grade 9 students had to compete with other teams in a series of events around the field and collect the most stickers. This event served as an icebreaker and gave students the ability to connect in a fun and supportive environment. Ending in a draw, the Amazing Race ignited competitive sparks and banter amongst both grade 9 and grade 12 students, who called for a tiebreaker.
“Today was really good,” a grade 9 student who wished to remain anonymous said. When asked about his favorite part of the day, he replied, “the Amazing Race was super fun, especially with my mentors hyping me up […] I definitely think I had the best mentors, and their friends were cool to talk to, too.”
By the end of the retreat, students, volunteers and teachers alike were sharing snacks and conversations, filling the field with a newfound bustle. Many grade 9 students left feeling more confident about the high school IBT experience, while the mentors enjoyed being a form of guidance and welcoming the grade 9 students to the IBT family.
The event concluded with closing remarks from Ms.Fiocco, who thanked and praised all students for taking part in a successful retreat. “It’s a great day, the weather’s beautiful, the kids are beautiful. Looks like many people are enjoying themselves which is important,” she remarked. “The retreat gets better and better each year and even our grade 12s have been showing amazing leadership skills.”
Another year of this tradition successfully provided a warm welcome for grade 9 students, and assured both teachers and students of more promising IBT mentor/mentee events to look forward to throughout the year!
THE NORTH STAR 