The first week of the new school year has come and gone; students, faculty, and staff alike are all falling back into the regular routine a new year brings with it. It can be a whirlwind of a time for everyone. We all go through a large change of pace, whether that be new classes, new teachers, new friends, new environments or even a new language.

In order to help ease the stress of the first week of school, this past Friday, Canyonville Academy held a “Fun Day” on campus. Instead of a typical school day, this “ice breaker” started directly after breakfast, with activities lasting throughout the entire day. The students got to participate in a large number of games and challenges, with the opportunities to win prizes.

Two of the biggest attractions during the Fun Day were a large inflatable water slide, and an inflatable boxing ring. At first, most were scared to go down the slide. Eventually, a brave student showed the rest that it was fun, not scary, and it became a huge hit.

Along side the inflatables, the students were encouraged to participate in a group scavenger hunt. Everyone was divided into teams. These teams all had a list of specific activities they had to do across the entire campus. A few of these activities were an “Egg Relay Race”, a “Free Throw Competition”, a “Disc Golf Throw”, among other events, and smaller hunts like “Take a photo with Mr. Garrett”.

At the end of the day, the winner of the scavenger hunt was Team 8, consisting of Amaury, Cosi, Leo, Lia, Alejandra and Isabel. For completing the most challenges on their scavenger hunt list, they each got an assortment of cards granting them a special privilege. One example is being able to cut to the front of the lunch line, or wearing sweat pants to school for a day.

Thank you to all of the faculty and staff who organized and helped make this Fun Day a very special event for the students. It may not seem like it, but days like this help students and adults alike to adjust to the start of a new school year. And as the second week of school starts, we hope that all of our students remember the Fun Day as a special time to meet new friends, experience new things, and relieve some of the initial stress.