Zoe Reppas

This year I tried a lot of new things, and I was put into a lot of new situations. It was my first year at The York School, it was my first year of highschool, and my first year doing the ICE program. I learned a lot about myself, and got to experience so many amazing things with all of my friends.

One thing that we focused on a lot this year was the Canadian experience. I learned so much about what it means to be Canadian, and in my opinion, I think I got to experience it firsthand when we went winter camping in February. The three days when we were out cold camping were honestly some of the hardest days of my life. I was always freezing, and at night our sleeping situation wasn’t the best. The second night of camping, we all had to build quinzees (igloos), and sleep in them with our friends. It was cold and cramped, but that made me feel even better and more rewarded when it was over and we got to go home. I was very proud of myself for stepping out of my comfort zone and sleeping outside in the cold which is something I have never done before. I think going on that trip and doing so many things I have never done before taught me a lot and helped me evolve as a person. It made me more resilient, and more thankful for my home and the roof I have over my head every day.

During my ICE year, I also learned a lot about what it means to be a student in The York School community. I had so many wonderful opportunities this year to learn from experts and get their firsthand knowledge. When we went on our Ottawa trip, I was surrounded by Canadian culture and learned so much about it in those three days. On the first day we went to the war museum, and while we were there we got to listen to a former veteran tell us his life story, and it was very interesting and captivating because I had never heard a story like that firsthand. Later on in the year during our North unit, my whole grade got to sit in on a panel of very experienced people who had lots to share about their experiences and knowledge of the north of Canada. One of the people we got to listen to was a woman who lives in the north, and she shared all her personal experiences with us so that we could get a deeper understanding of life outside of Ontario. For my final project this year as an ICE student, I made a podcast that I hope you will listen to. Overall, this year I got so many learning opportunities as a york school student that I had never gotten before at any of my other schools.

Lastly, this year I learned a lot about myself as a person, and I have grown and evolved as well. I experienced going to camp during the first week of school with a bunch of people I had never met before, and that was scary for me. I was really nervous before I left, and I wasn’t sure if I would really have fun and enjoy myself. All of that changed during the first day when I realized how kind and welcoming my grade was. I got to know almost everyone while I was there, and I think that going to Wanakita camping practice day, and during our in-camp time during winter camping. One of the activities we did helped us learn and realize our faults and to accept them and better ourselves from it. There were banners all over the floor with character traits on them, and we were told to sit in front of a trait that we thought we should improve on, and then we had to get up in front of everyone and explain why we sat in front of our banner. This exercise helped me understand my downfalls, but also how to accept them and try to work improving those areas of weakness.

Grade nine was a rollercoaster, and even though there were some challenges and difficult parts, it was one of my best school years yet (minus the quarantine and coronavirus part).