On Wednesday, Aug. 27th, students set aside their academics for a day and dedicated their time to class building. Students embraced the opportunity to strengthen friendships and build a sense of community.
To make this day possible, the grade-level deans undertook extensive planning and preparation. Dean of Students Mr. Kevin Jacobsen explained the process.
“Each grade-level dean does all of the groundwork to check if each facility is available to host a large number of people plus a provided lunch during the grade’s time there and make sure the information is provided to the students and their families,” Jacobsen said.
Freshman: A Day of Fun At the Zoo
9th grade Dean Mrs. Melissa Rizzitano and the first-year students spent the day at Lion Country Safari, beginning with a 40-minute bus tour through the park where they saw monkeys, lions, ostriches, gazelles, crocodiles, and many more. After the tour, everyone enjoyed a pizza lunch before walking over to the water park area. Students had the chance to explore a variety of activities, from slides and boat rides to the petting zoo. Some even paid six dollars to feed lettuce to the giraffes. The day was filled with adventures and a memorable experience for the freshmen’s first Class Building day.
Freshman Caroline Connor didn’t know what to expect, but eventually had fun.
“I was confused about what Class Building was. I thought it would be some boring activity that we do with our grade but it actually turned out to be fun and we did a variety of activities as a grade,” Connor exclaimed.
Sophomores: Sky Zone Trampoline Park
Mrs. Suzanne McCambridge organized for the sophomores to spend their class-building day at West Palm Beach’s Sky Zone Trampoline Park. After arriving at the school by 9 A.M., students traveled to the trampoline park, where they had the opportunity to play basketball, dodgeball, and, of course, jump on trampolines. After a morning of fun on several different elements, students enjoyed a pizza lunch provided by Sky Zone and then returned to campus at around 2 P.M.
Sophomore Blake Smith enjoyed the idea of visiting Sky Zone and had a great time with his friends.
“I feel like this was the best class-building experience out of any grade level. Who doesn’t love a trampoline park? It was so fun. My friends and I were playing dodgeball for so long, and we didn’t stop jumping around on the trampolines for so long. Although we were tired, we were sad to have to leave,” Smith noted.
Juniors: Fun Depot
Ms. Colleen Donnelly and the junior class headed to Fun Depot in Lake Worth for their class-building day experience. Students had three hours to enjoy all of Fun Depot’s amenities, which included unlimited arcade games, laser tag, go-carts, and bowling.
Junior Matthew Null felt that the shared experience helped bring the class closer together.
“I feel like before, as a grade, we were just a group of boys and a group of girls. Not everyone believed that we would actually connect and develop a sense of chemistry at Fun Depot, but we did. Everyone got along, and it was a lot of fun,” Null explained.
Seniors: Marlins Baseball Game
Senior Class Dean Dr. John Peruggia accompanied members of the Class of 2026 to see the Miami Marlins face off against the Atlanta Braves. The group of seniors arrived at the stadium 45 minutes before the first pitch, allowing the students time to grab food and walk around before the action began. They enjoyed an afternoon of baseball, cheering on the Marlins as much as they could (not too much to cheer about), and spending time together as a class. After the 8th inning, when the Braves were up 12-1, the group boarded the buses and returned to campus at 6:30 PM, concluding a fun last class building day.
Senior RJ Munder discussed the importance of team building in a class.
“Especially for the senior class, class building is vital. I believe it is beneficial to reconnect with people you haven’t spoken to since your first year, especially in your senior year. It was great to attend the baseball game. I’m glad that we did that, and I feel like we feel more connected as a class,” Munder stated.
The Class-Building day was an overall success as it effectively brought students together and set a positive tone for the year ahead.
