To debut the summer, rising freshmen attended Cav Camp, a weeklong camp designed to familiarize them with Coral Gables Senior High and meet their future classmates. Organized by International Baccalaureate Honor Society sponsor Ms. Noval, student volunteers and teachers prepared activities for the campers, including student-led tours to discover the campus, easing their transition into high school.

Welcomed by the IBHS board, incoming freshmen were separated into eight groups, each in a different country or region of the world, led by three Student Group Leaders. This year, the groups were England, the United States, Italy, Cameroon, Latin America, France, South Asia and East Asia. An IB teacher was also assigned to each group to help and guide them throughout the week.

Whilst getting to know each other, Cav Camp also has a competitive side, as most activities are scored, and a winner is crowned at the end of the week. Each group had to demonstrate spirit whenever outside a classroom and sing their chant unique to their respective country or region.

“I think CavCamp is an amazing opportunity for incoming freshmen because it allows them to experience Gables before the first day of class, relieving a lot of the stress and anxiety that accompanies entering a new school,” junior Emily Kardjian said.

Every morning, after a few announcements in the auditorium, campers were sent to their assigned teachers, who explained the daily agenda. During the day, the groups rotated to different teachers for various activities.

Artifacts were made with publication supervisors Ms. Gonzalez and Ms. Zuniga. The skits and comedy videos were directed with the help of IB Theatre teacher Ms. Barrow and IB History teacher Mr. de Armas. Language Arts teachers Mr. Rodriguez and Ms. Vazquezbello guided campers as they wrote letters to their future selves that they will be able to read again during the IB brunch their senior year.

With the science teachers Ms. Jimenez and Ms. Singleton, the incoming freshmen built rockets in preparation for the rocket launch later in the week. Groups were given a score based on the flight time of their rockets.

As Cav Camp is also about getting to know the school, the SGLs toured their groups around Gables, and a scavenger hunt was organized to test their knowledge of the campus. Campers were able to ask questions and get answers directly from the IB students themselves. A mini club fair was also set up in the auditorium for the incoming class to learn more about the many clubs, sports and publications at Gables.

Students also got the opportunity to tie-dye their Cav Camp shirts, which they received on the first day. They wore that shirt again on the last day when all groups performed their skits.

Gables Alumni from the IB Class of 2022 came to judge the groups. Five judges scored the artifact, comedy video and skit of each group. They crowned Latin America winner of Cav Camp 2022 for the second year in a row.

“I personally think Cav Camp is a great event that IBHS hosts, and this year I’d say it was really successful. From what I saw, I think the final day when everyone presented their skits and videos was the time that the auditorium was the most lively,” senior Isabella Morales said.

Cav Camp concluded with the Gables alma mater, recited by everyone who participated in the auditorium. Campers left knowing their way around campus and set for the start of their high school journey.