Grade 9s Get Set for the New School Year

September 16, 2022

Academics

GNS

On the first day, Grade 9s could be seen in clumps, talking quietly about their summers and new hairdos. Throughout the day, the new students each stuck to their helpful Grade 9 buddies who led the way to classes and provided company at lunch.

Both new and returning students were nervous and anxious, not knowing what to expect. The amount of homework, meeting deadlines and being able to navigate their way to the correct classroom were all topics of conversation. However, at the end of the day, many students realized that everything went by pretty quickly and was better than expected.

Janey Bryan ’26, a new student to GNS, said, “I was definitely nervous but once I met some of the students and teachers, I felt very welcomed.”

The second day was planned as an Adventure Orientation. It started out slow, with Grade 9s trickling in at a little past 8:10. For some, the late start was because they didn’t know where to meet while for others, it was simply too early to be awake and moving. After a quick game of bingo, the Grade 9s filed onto the school buses and headed off to the historical sight of Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard Lighthouse.

Reese Suntok ’26, a returning student, said, “On the first day, I was nervous but excited to meet new people and find new friends. Adventure day was a great way to connect with the community inside of school and I’m really looking forward to meeting some new people and teachers.”

Adventure day included friendly team games, challenges and scavenger hunts that were specially designed by teachers so that success came from good collaboration and communication between team members.

Many students did confess that over the holiday they relaxed for the majority of the summer and forgot to read their summer books. However, Kate Marriette ’26 managed to read four of the summer reading books!

“I practically did nothing the whole summer except for some cooking and sports summer camps,” said Carina Carvello ’26. “So it was hard to get back into the school schedule.”

Despite the worries of mountains of homework and deadlines in our first year of Senior School, our first Adventure Orientation Day was a great opportunity to meet-and-greet new and returning GNS students. Our class is looking forward to a great year and can’t wait to see what it will bring!