Annabelle Torres

SGLs from team U.S.A. welcome the new batch of freshmen to CavCamp in hopes of recruiting excited members.

After months of preparation, Coral Gables Senior High School’s International Baccalaureate program successfully hosted its annual CavCamp from June 8 to 12 for incoming IB freshmen. Organized by the International Baccalaureate Honor Society and IB Executive Council, new Cavaliers were welcomed through a variety of activities designed to help them create new memories and connect with their fellow classmates.

Over the five days of camp, incoming freshmen were guided by current IB students, serving as Student Group Leaders and Teacher Helpers. Each SGL was assigned a country and tasked with creating team morale, including a poster and a prepared chant that would help each country show pride and eventually help them earn points overall.  These teams, including Italy, Latin America, Spain, France, England, China, Australia and the United States, encouraged students to participate in friendly competition. As a team, they completed activities such as creating a time capsule, building rockets, performing a skit, designing an artifact and filming a commemorative video.

The weeks leading up to the event, volunteers spent hours preparing. SGLs created posters to represent their countries throughout the week while teacher helpers decorated the doors of classrooms in the third floor of the 9000 building, where the majority of CavCamp would take place.

Monday:

When the first day began, SGLs and teacher helpers prepared spirit gear and cheered on incoming freshman who were looking for a group. By 9 a.m., campers joined a team and were greeted by their group’s SGLs, who taught them their country’s chants, an important part of CavCamp culture. As the auditorium filled up, IBHS co-presidents Sophie Space and Darek Rodriguez welcomed campers, before dismissing groups to their homeroom.

Each homeroom, led by Gables teachers, provided time for students to bond with their group, while beginning the tradition of CavCamp activities. Groups then rotated through classrooms, including a time capsule with Ms. Vazquezbello, skit preparation with Ms. Barrow, rocket construction with Mr. Ball-Llovera and a brief history lesson with Ms. Gonzalez.

At 11 a.m., groups returned to the auditorium for group photos that would later be placed in their time capsules. Afterwards, the Class of 2030 participated in a school tour led by SGLs, giving freshmen guidance on navigating the campus and locating classes for the upcoming school year.

“Although the first day was a bit rough because the campers were still getting adjusted and comfortable with their groups, I think it was successful. Each group was focused and began working on their assignments and although they were not as talkative as the days following, they were working together,” junior Thaliana Palmer said.

To end their first day, IBHS board members quickly split the auditorium into two sides, as they introduced the “party” chant tradition, a challenge where students compete to be as loud as possible on either side. After a few closing remarks by Ms. Abrahantes, students left the auditorium with immense excitement for the following days.

Tuesday:

By the second day, students were more comfortable with their groups and settled into the competitive atmosphere as they resumed chants throughout the hallways.

“On the second day of camp, we really got to see our members become more familiar with their group and communicate with each other. We made a group chat with our freshmen in order to communicate with them but they took that as an opportunity to get to know each other and honestly, I loved that because it helped them become friends and work together to finish things like the artifact,” junior Siena Vandegraaf said.

Continuing their CavCamp activities, students filmed comedic videos with Mr. Caldera, decorating time capsules with Mr. Constant and participating in a Jeopardy-style competition in Ms. Vazquez’s class, where Italy and China tied with perfect scores, benefiting their overall points.

In addition to activities, campers took turns tie-dying their CavCamp shirts in the pavilion, under the guidance of Ms. Aridas and IBHS board members.

Before wrapping up, the day concluded with a campus-wide scavenger hunt, where students used clues from the previous day to locate different areas of the school. After solving various riddles and completing challenges, Latin America finished in first place, with England shortly behind in second place. After singing the “party” song once more, students were dismissed.

Wednesday

By day three, students entered the auditorium with enthusiasm and an intensifying competitive spirit. With Thursday’s rocket launch approaching, groups focused heavily on finalizing their rocket designs, along with their time capsules and artifacts, that were due at the end of the week.

At 10:30 a.m., students representing clubs at Gables set up displays in the 9000 building cafeteria for a mini club fair. Representatives introduced their organizations and encouraged freshmen to get involved in extracurricular activities throughout the school year.

“CavCamp was so much fun and such an amazing experience, I especially liked being able to meet new people and teachers, as well as clubs that I never knew existed. It helped me feel less nervous about being on such a big campus and gave me comfort in the fact that so many other students were on the same boat as me,” freshman Brianna Casas-Llanes said.

Following the club fair, Ms. Abrahantes delivered closing remarks to all students, reminding them about the upcoming rocket launch. The day concluded with a final “party” song competition before dismissal.

Thursday

With CavCamp’s final day quickly approaching, day four reminded each group that their artifacts, skits and videos would be due the following day and be the deciding factor in the competition to win CavCamp. The most anticipated event, the rocket launch, saw students’ STEM skills put to the test in the 6000 courtyard.

As each group arrived in spirit attire to show pride for their countries, rockets were launched up in the air with the help of Mr. Constant and Mr. Caldera. Although several groups experienced technical difficulties and were unable to launch successfully, U.S.A., Latin America, England and France saw their rockets soar into the air. After a full round of launches, U.S.A. earned first place for the highest launch and longest airtime.

Since many rockets were unable to launch due to technical issues, IBHS board members organized a dance battle to allow additional opportunities to earn points. Each country selected a representative to perform, energizing the crowd with upbeat routines. Although the competition was close, China ultimately won and earned additional points that would later contribute to their overall victory.

“I was so happy to have one of our students win the dance battle since our rocket was unable to launch. Our group and I’m sure many others, worked really hard on that rocket so we were really upset when it wasn’t working during the rocket launch event. However, that made us work even harder for the rest of the day and gave us an opportunity to put maximum effort on every other activity,” junior Isabella Dominguez said.

Friday:

After a week of hard work and competition, campers arrived on the final day, ready to showcase everything they prepared throughout the week. Dressed in tie dye CavCamp shirts and face paint representing their countries, students spent the first portion of the day making final adjustments to their artifacts, time capsules and skits.

At 10 a.m., all groups made their way to the auditorium for one final round of chants before presenting their skits to a panel of Gables alumni serving as judges. Each country incorporated cultural references, humor and creative storytelling in their skits, drawing laughter and excitement from the audience.

“This was my first time volunteering at CavCamp and I really loved working with my group. I had such an amazing group of freshman and they worked so hard and were so spirited throughout the week. The skit was definitely my favorite part because as someone who loves theatre, it was amazing being able to script our own short play,” sophomore Catherine del Castillo said.

Following the skits, IBHS board members hosted a “finish the lyrics” challenge while judges deliberated, with representatives from each country competing to complete popular songs. After several close rounds, China once again secured the win.

The final activity of the week featured the presenting of the student-produced videos. Edited by volunteers and alumni, the videos ranged from a comedic Latin American soccer match, to an Italian music video set to ABBA, showcasing each group’s creativity and international themes.

“I had a great CavCamp experience, especially since I made some new friends and was apart of a great group of people. I liked the competitive nature of the week as well. The whole week had me excited for the years to come and I can’t wait to start my Gables journey,” freshman Angeline Bouza said.

As the final video finished, anticipation built for the announcement of the overall winner. After closing remarks from IBHS co-presidents, the judges finally revealed results one-by-one as countries were eliminated. In the final moment, the competition came down to China and U.S.A., with the United States ultimately being named the overall winner and Ms. Vazquez representing them on stage.

To conclude the long week of competition and spirit, students were treated to pizza and celebrated the winners, marking the end of another successful CavCamp and the beginning of a high school journey at Gables for the class of 2030.

“I was really shocked when my group, U.S.A., won because our team began as a really shy group, but throughout the week they gained confidence, which I think really shows the meaning of CavCamp. Being able to participate as an SGL was definitely my favorite part of the week,” sophomore Francisca Somigliana said.