Leaders of the School and the Corn Maze

30 September 2016Cara A, Mackenzie ‘17

On the second Sunday of the 2016-2017 school year, the Grade 12s were called to Mr. Patel’s house for the annual Leadership 12 event. Every year, the graduating class comes together to partake in bonding exercises that enrich strong group-work skills. The entire Grade 12 class assembles on Mr. Patel’s lawn and splits up into smaller, collaborative groups for each activity. This year, the Grad Class also decided to switch things up a bit by extending the day with a trip to McNab’s Corn Maze in Ladysmith. Activities such as blanket volleyball and a three-legged race kicked off the first half of Leadership 12. Lifer Madison P, Mackenzie ‘17 described the bonding exercises as “the most fun I’ve had since the Grade 10 bonding trip to Camp Qwanoes.” The most unique activity was surprisingly the tamest one. Each person had to write their name on a sheet of paper which was passed from person to person with everyone having to write one word to describe each other as leaders. This gave the prefects the chance to think of each other’s traits, what makes a good leader of the school, and how they can apply it to their own character. After the activities finished, Mr. Patel gave an inspiring talk about how we should make the most out of our final year at Brentwood. This induced many emotions from even the toughest people, and then it was off to the corn maze. After a long bus ride full of playing ‘Heads Up!’, the grad class arrived at McNab’s Corn Maze. Greeted by rain and a pen full of baby pigs, the grade was split into two groups. One would go to the corn maze first, while the other would get to eat and hang out with the pigs. Inside the tall stalks of corn, five hole-punch stations had to be found in order to complete the maze. Holly CH, Mackenzie ‘17 & David M, Rogers ‘17 teamed up to be the first two to emerge from the corn maze with their completed sheets. After an hour, the groups switched and the sun found its way through the rainy clouds. A hayride tour of the property gave us the chance to explore the 7 acres of the property, which had a farm and a pumpkin patch beyond the maze. The Grad Class left McNab’s covered in hay and full of memories. Many trudged their way to Mr. Patel’s backyard Sunday morning with nothing more than the thoughts of lost homework/Netflix time on their mind. As the day came to a close, however, everyone was smiling and even the traffic that stalled us on the highway could not dampen the mood. Thanks to Nurse Jasmin, SPARC Captain Kyara A, Alex ’17, and Grad Council President Olivia B, Alex ‘17 all 147 Grade 12 students had the chance to bond and unite as a grade and as new leaders of the Brentwood community. It is looking to be a great and memorable final year at Brentwood for the Grad Class of 2017. Cara A, Mackenzie ‘17

Where Students Choose To Be