Emma Narvaez
This past Friday, Saint Maur held its first school social of the 2022-2023 school year, the long-awaited pool party! After three years of COVID regulations, the reputable tradition was finally able to continue. This was especially exciting news for our High School Student Council president Sarah (G11) and vice-president Jun (G12), as their goals revolve around strengthening traditions in Saint Maur.
“Going along with our theme of traditions, we were super excited when we heard that we could bring the pool party back!” said Sarah. “It’s been three years since the last one. We had such fun organising this, and the turn-out was great! We hope everyone who came had a great time! Stay tuned for the other traditions we’re going to bring back, adapt, or create!”
Trois (G11), our junior class president, was also excited for the return of the pool party, as she stated: “I was always envious of highschoolers for having pool parties when I was in middle school but now that I was able to attend one, I feel like I was finally able to accomplish my childhood goal of going to one.”
A bright, summer sky began the start of a fun night. The pool was the perfect temperature and everyone was finally able to let loose after a hectic first week back at school. Mellow conversations took place amongst groups with fun, pleasant music playing in the background, courtesy of the High School Social Council’s well-curated playlist. It was then announced that the diving board could be used and students and teachers immediately began to line up to flaunt their very “professional and impressive” diving skills. One by one, each person dove into the pool via pencil dive, falling, and even a handstand dive performed by new student, Julius (G10)!
“I was kinda nervous because I had never done something like that before,” Julius explained, “and I was scared I was going to hit my head somewhere. But everyone was very uplifting which made me feel more comfortable.”
The diving section of the night was definitely an amusing one, and one that was able to unify students in a lighthearted way. Diving allowed students and teachers to free themselves from the reserved nature at school without fearing the judgement of others. Being able to laugh at yourself and others playfully created a comfortable, carefree environment.
Mr. Bolaños, a new teacher here at Saint Maur commented,“So far, this social is beyond my expectations. And I’ve been able to dive like all the best of them. And that is quite a welcoming, safe feeling to have, to just share space along you guys. That’s a lot of fun.”
Once the diving amusement wore off, Clement (G11), another new student at Saint Maur, said:
“I’m having a pretty good time so far, but I wish there was some more competition planned for entertainment.”
Luckily for Clement, an exhilarating relay race shortly began. It was a competition between four students from each grade and four teachers. Students sat on the sides of the pool, cheering their teams on in anticipation for the final result. Saint Maur’s competitive spirit shined through during this race, as the swimmers showed determination in their faces. After a lively couple of minutes, Sarah announced the placing as the following: in last place came the juniors, then the teachers, freshmen, sophomores, and finally, in first place, the seniors.
However, during an interview with Mr. Patmore, a teacher at Saint Maur, who swam during the relay, an insinuation was made about unfair treatment of the teachers’ team.
“I think there might have been some skullduggery on the behalf of some of the students,” said Mr. Patmore. “Possibly some of the teachers even but I think it was all done in a good spirit and to just reflect the whole, everyone seemed to have a good time. I guess [we placed fourth]. I don’t know if the results have been verified so we might be disqualified on review, but we’ll see.”
Is this skullduggery in question real? Who knows? However, we do know that the pool party was overall a very successful first social to kick off an exciting new school year. By providing socialisation, entertainment, pizza, fulfilment of childhood goals, and some friendly competition, I can confidently say that this social was worthwhile. We can thank our amazing High School Student Council and Yokohama Country Athletic Club for making this event possible!
“Watch out for the next one that’s coming,” said Vice President Jun.
Emma Narvaez