The annual Grade 8 orientation camp was the perfect start to the boys’ high school careers last week! Taking place at Fairewood, located just outside Grahamstown, the camp was designed with many challenging activities for the Grade 8’s to teach them communication and teamwork. The aim of the camp was for learners to build relationships with each other and their grade teacher and leaders. Learners were divided into teams and, over the course of the camp; they developed strong bonds with some of their peers.

Learners took part in a combination of carefully crafted activities, which included everything from swimming to zip lining; team activities to abseiling. They also participated in a variety of problem solving activities that required strategizing important skills for the school careers and their post-school lives. At the end of the day, the exhausted pupils were longing for bed, but also happy and smiling in the knowledge and sense of belonging to a family- the High school GC family!

“What it’s like to be a grade 8? From the fish tank to the ocean .We get some feedback from the big fish of the tank of how life is in the big ocean from the boys themselves! After eight years at Graeme College , we’re at the bottom of the feeding again. From the top to the bottom. But it’s not all bad it’s exciting if you think about. We are here to start
the last five years of our school journey. We are an awesome grade of boys and we have stuck together for our whole school career. The first thing which stood out after the December holidays is familiar faces and what lies ahead. Some of us have deeper voices and most of us have grown taller.

Even though we are tall, we still feel small because of where we are in this new chapter. We have not felt this way since we started Graeme College in Grade R! Graeme College has a wonderful way of making us feel at home. We are in the new section of the school with new teachers and classrooms still with the same familiar faces around us .Though we are scared ,there is a lot around us that makes us feel comfortable. My last moments in Graeme College will be bittersweet because I’ll have to leave this great place behind ~ Andrew Muir Going into a big school for the first time can be quite terrifying from the outside perspective . You get nervous worrying about if you’re going to make new friends or not, however at Graeme College, that’s something you shouldn’t worry about .The boys here
at Graeme welcomed me with warm arms. From sitting alone on a bench eating my lunch to playing hand tennis with a group of boys I don’t even know …crazy isn’t it ? The start of my eighth grade eight year was excellent! We started the year off our Grade eight camp .It was a perfect time for the boys to get to know each other and also
to experience things we’ve never done before such as hiking, abseiling, zip lining and many more great experiences.
My main highlight during the camp was when each boy had to braai their own meat.Trust me it didn’t take long to notice the boys who had never braaied meat before .At some point I couldn’t even tell the difference between the meat and the coal. I’ve taken and enjoyed every great opportunity that has been presented to me
over the years and I look forward to the rest of my high school career ~ Gcina Mts”