by Elizabeth Netania Dogelio
The Youth Camp, which took place last January 29, 2021, was an event for the students of Grade 8 wherein the students got to know the other sections and performed team-building activities all in the effort of getting ready for Grade 9, the first year of Upper School. Let’s check out what they did!
The event started with a game of ‘Bring Me.’ The students have to bring an item, take a picture of it, and send it to the Viber group chat. The activity was a fun one to start the event with as it energized and pumped the students up for what’s about to come.
The second event was quite different. Both students from the A and B sections were grouped into different groups and were tasked with making a group name and a presentation of their groups. The presentations ranged from anime character-themed introduction to poem writing. It was a truly exciting and fun activity and one that helped all of the Grade 8 students get to know each other better.
Another thing that happened in that event was a self-management activity called ‘Survival: Frantic In The Atlantic.’ It’s an activity wherein the students have to rank the importance of given items in a sinking ship situation (both individual and as a group), and in the end, the teacher will show the coast guard ranking of the items, which are the answers. The students learned many things such as the usage of a shaving mirror during these types of situations (which still surprises me to this today… Wowza), and that efficient teamwork is important for an efficient outcome.
Third, the students have jumbled up into different groups again and were tasked with making a hand activity that learns social awareness. The students were tasked with choosing the person or people they associate a certain finger with. Thumb stands for the people they trust; the pointer finger is the person who guides them; the middle is someone you would like to get to know better; the ring is someone you can’t live without, and the pinkie is someone you love.
The fourth activity is the reading of Palanca Letters. The family and friends of the students sent them letters of encouragement and love to remind them how much they love them and to encourage them. It was quite an emotional rollercoaster because of how many feelings and kind and touching words were in the students’ letters. They cried, smiled, reminisced, and laughed through this activity. Truly, this activity was the most memorable and touching one out of all of them.
Lastly, the Upper School students joined us to give a lecture about Upper School. The ‘ates’ and ‘kuyas’ from the Student Council lectured us about what to expect in Upper School, what we should do, and to not be afraid of it. Their tips were helpful and they gave the students a big advantage in passing and surviving Grade 9.
This year’s Youth Camp was a good opportunity for our Grade 8 students to learn how to be independent and to survive the next school year. In the next year, they will be facing new challenges such as getting shuffled in high school, more school work, and many more. But, I believe that they will be able to overcome all of those because they are strong, prepared, and have the ability to face those adversities!