I used to attend a small school of 15 students and transitioned to Cayman International School to start eighth grade this year.
On the first day of school, some students will be confident and others will be super nervous. I was nervous, not only because this was this my first day at a new school, but also because it was also during a pandemic.
At the school, there were many new rules implemented to keep us safe, and the option to wear a mask. However, it was mandatory to sanitise our hands when entering and exiting a class. My parents wanted me to wear a mask, but they told me that it was my decision. As soon as I got close to the school after I was dropped off, I could see that no one was wearing a mask, so I decided to remove my mask to avoid being the odd kid on my first day at a new school.
I wasn't familiar with the CIS layout, so I wasn't sure where my classes were. I walked in random directions and eventually found my way to each class, even though I was a little late. It was great that all my teachers were kind and understanding and then took time to introduce us "noobs" to the new environment and classmates.
I made three friends on my first day, which was pretty good. They are all really cool and one of them was also new to the school, so we experienced everything together. The other two helped me find places that I couldn’t.
One thing that I loved about the classwork was that we did most of our work online. I prefer online work versus paper-and-pencil work.
The classes that I really enjoyed on the first day were social studies, science and physical education.
As I walked from class to class, I thought there would be more bullies since CIS is much larger than my previous school. Luckily there wasn’t, which was a relief.
At snack and lunch it was a little confusing, only because I didn’t know what to do and where to go, but my new friend told me that for snack time, you would just eat out front of your next class and that we ate lunch while sitting at folding tables near the Arts & Recreation Centre.
At the end of the day, I walked back to the front of the school and waited for my parents to pick me up. I told them how my first day went. From my experience, I learned that there is nothing to be afraid of if you're new to Cayman International School. If you're a noob, you will survive the first day and then feel proud of yourself.
This article originally appeared in the February 2021 print edition of Camana Bay Times.
About the author
Aiden Grant is a Grade 8 Student at Cayman International School.