Grade 8s Celebrate End of Year with a Goose Chase

July 9, 2020

Academics

GNS

Our Grade 8s celebrated the end of the 2019/2020 school year with a “Goose Chase” scavenger hunt on June 18. Students and their families took part in the driving competition throughout the city to complete missions and take photos/videos as evidence of their activities. Each activity earned points with bonus points awarded for extra special finds. The hunt concluded with a parade at the Pemberton Woods campus.

“It was wonderful,” said Ms. Pagett, Middle School Vice Principal. “From the photos and videos, students and their families looked to have embraced the challenges in creative, funny and energetic ways. Students were encouraged to decorate their cars and some families even wore costumes tied to the theme they chose.”

Examples included showing support for essential workers, dancing in streets newly closed to vehicle traffic, locating local landmarks, building symbols of GNS culture, bringing attention to local businesses they felt needed support, and more.

“Many tasks were linked to experiences students have had throughout their time in the Middle School like field trips and Gallery of Fame, or things they would soon encounter in Grade 9 like locating a tropical plant for Mr. Palm or visiting a local bookstore where they could get books for the Grade 9 reading list,” explained Ms. Pagett.

There was a large number of participants, so two games were run simultaneously. There were three cars on each team, with a total of 12 teams. Some cars contained one Grade 8 student and their family, other cars contained several students and one parent driver. Students registered beforehand to determine if they were participating as a “Solo Goose” with their family, or if they were a “Flock” within a car.

The winners of “Best Decorated Car” were Ronan McElroy and his family for their pirate theme, as well as Daniel Gilbert and his family for their British theme.

After counting points and bonus points, the two winning teams were Team 3 (Nicholas, Ronin and Charles) and Team 9 (Kate, Sophie P, Amelie, Ellie, Isla and Sienna).

Despite the COVD-19 pandemic, Ms. Pagett wanted the students to have a fun and wonderful experience to close out their time in the Middle School.

“I wanted a change that felt like ‘something better’ rather than ‘the best we could do under the circumstances,’” said Ms. Pagett. “I paid a lot of attention to other things being shared on social media…I knew I wanted them to be active and do something since they’ve been isolated for so long and things were beginning to open up.”

After some digging online, Ms. Pagett discovered someone had created an app for a Goose Chase. After contacting people at Goose Chase and explaining the situation, they helped to provide a complimentary upgrade so families could use the app to its full potential.

At the end of the Goose Chase, a “Right Turn Parade” gave students a chance to see teachers at three stations at the Pemberton Woods campus. With physical distancing in mind, students were able to safely greet teachers and receive a gift at each of the three entrances. Students were given a cupcake, a Gryphon Pride t-shirt and a bookmark. PHOTO GALLERY