Coming back to school is always a mixture of emotions. It is always exciting to start a new school year and this year even more so with the opening of our brand new building, but it is always difficult to say goodbye to the freedom and fun that the summer always brings.
A Carver, now John Knox Secondary tradition, that helps ease this transition and also provides students the opportunity to step out of their comfort zone and try something new are “Encounter Days”. These two days are set aside every year to help build whole school community as well as strengthen individual class connections.
This year, John Knox Secondary spent one day at Fort Langley engaging in a First Nations drumming class, art lessons, a scavenger hunt based on historical facts, and group games led by Pinnacle Pursuits. The Thursday sent individual classes into six directions with the Grade 7’s Dragonboating, Grade 8’s Wakeboarding, Grade 9’s White Water Rafting, Grade 10’s Kayaking, Grade 11’s Stand Up Paddle-boarding, and the Grade 12’s Sailing. These activities, while challenging and fun, also provide teachers the opportunity to observe and get to know their students through inter- action but also seeing how they respond to the activities of the day. These days are always valuable, not only to transition from summer vacation into school mode, but to provide us with the opportunity to get insight into our students prior to entering the classroom.
Steve Friesen, Teacher
