St. Augustine’s Gr. 9s started off their year with a bang by travelling up north for a three-day, fun-filled excursion to Muskoka Woods. The trip ran from Monday September 16, to Wednesday September 18 and each of the three activity consumed, food ridden, and memory filled days of the trip just seemed to get better than the next. 

While the majority of the event was spent participating in the camp’s numerous activities, ranging from golf to zip lining to anti bullying initiatives, staying true to tradition, the annual Muskoka campfire was also on the itinerary, topping off the trip’s first day with both students and teachers pitching in, contributing their various musical abilities and lively spirits, all adding to the (great) quality of the trip. In fact, a band consisting of Mr. Braganca on the keyboard, Mr. Cadawas on the guitar and singing lead vocals as well as Mr. Nahr playing bass, along with a handful of other students predominantly singing led the campfire! With their phenomenal musical skills topped with their great energy, the campfire was a sure favourite for most students.

Fellow Gr. 9 student Michael Ibrahim even said “it was live, and surprisingly the food was good.” He also added “we had to wake up early and I wanted to die, but other than that it was sick, I rate it a 9/10.” Another student, Sienna D’alessandro had even more to say, with her exact words being “I think that if we didn’t experience the campfire then we wouldn’t have been able to bond with each other the way we did. The campfire started the trip on a positive note and made everyone come together. I really enjoyed the campfire and it really was a lot of fun.” 

Finally, to really top off the excursion after another long day of activities an unconventional game of monopoly was played with students like Sandra Blachier saying “I thought it was a very interesting experience and I got to try new things.” But what really determined the students’ overall consensus of love for the trip was the two hour long dance at the very end of it. One Gr. 9 student, Diana Ng, backed with the opinions of most of the other attendees said “It was absolutely amazing.” Another student Liam Thursfield said, “it was a good trip, and I met new people, I had a really good time.” Chloe Mendiola continued with “I thought that the Muskoka dance was a blast and it really brought every together and showed unity.” When looking at the results of this trip, the proof really is right in front of us; we can all agree that it truly was great.

Most, if not, all of its attendees had a great time as the huge variety of activities the camp had to offer satisfied students from all across the board! Finally if that’s not enough, more feedback from a large fraction of our Gr.9 population all seems to suggest that our annual trip to Muskoka was once again a complete and utter success.

By: Sylvia Treki