On Friday, September 27th, 2024, ACE went to Hatters Park for our traditional back-to-school gathering. Students and staff members spent the day doing team-building and bonding activities and just having fun out together.
Upon arrival, students circled up for some whole school activities. The first one was a “Walk the Line” type of activity where students had to step out of the circle based on characteristics such as how many siblings we had, getting in order based on birthdays, and getting in order based on the first letter of our names. From a teacher’s perspective, Ashlee explained “I had a lot of fun with the activities, especially the Tower of Power, because I got to watch the veteran teachers strategy.”
After the circle, students got into guidance groups to compete in the Tower of Power competition. Anthony’s guidance groups ended up winning, but it was fun overall. Another teacher, Katja, explained, “I really liked it because it was short and sweet; it was good to get everybody involved, and it didn’t matter how small your group was; I liked to see how people would think and solve it.”
When the competition ended, guidance groups participated in different activities like the Human Knot, Tennis Ball Game, Ski Walk, Hula Hoop Pass, a Trust Fall, and the traditional pyramid picture. In my opinion, I think ACE should keep doing the Hatters Park trip every school year, but we should include what we did over the summer. My favorite part of the trip was playing kickball and catch with my friends. Anthony enjoyed the day as well and explained, “It’s a celebration of the new school year, and most students in Danbury don’t get to come to ACE.” “It sets the tone that ACE is built on community.” “I thought it was amazing; it allowed people to interact and form relationships with one another in a positive way, and the student body embraced it; there were very few negatives from that day.”
