Last Friday, August 2nd, ACP welcomed families back with its annual school-wide pool party. Held at Hamilton Aquatic Center from 6 to 9 p.m., the party was the perfect opportunity for students to celebrate the beginning of a new school year. Students spent the evening reuniting with old friends, splashing in the whirlpool, and eating plenty of food. Amid the excitement, I took a moment to interview a few of ACP’s teachers, parents, and students.

Mr. Bickes, ACP’s principal, commented that his favorite part of the evening was “watching everyone have fun.” Regarding the upcoming school year, he “looks forward to seeing what everyone accomplishes in the next few months in the ACP community”.

As well, parent volunteers played a key role in making the evening possible. One of ACP’s parent volunteers, Chris Rothert, stated that he was having a fun evening, but “it would make the evening even better if students held a synchronized swimming competition”.

Students also had a lot of positive words to say about the pool party. Specifically, student body president Ahlias Jones enjoyed “hanging out with friends, seeing all of the new students, and having fun at an ACP event”. When asked if he would attend the event next year, Ahlias explained that he will be graduating this year, then added, “I still have a little sister who goes to ACP, so I might stop by!”

Lucas McDougall, a member of the junior class, recapped his enjoyable experience: “I can’t really swim, so my favorite part of this evening was just being with my friends. The fried chicken was delicious… The strawberry kiwi Capri Suns were really good as well”.

Nolan Murphy, an ACP graduate from the class of 2019, stopped by the pool party to meet up with some old friends. Regarding his favorite part of the night, he explained “I mostly enjoyed getting to reconnect with people I hadn’t seen in a while. Also, those M&M cookies were something else. I can’t really explain why; they were just really great”.

Later on, when asked about her favorite property of water, junior class president Alex Lee remarked, “Hydrogen bonding! Whenever I think of hydrogen bonding, I only have positive thoughts…” Mr. May, one of ACP’s Honors Chemistry teachers, explained that his favorite property of water is the “specific heat value of water, which allows water to retain heat depending on the temperature.” Talia Owen and Bethany Elting agreed that the specific temperature of the pool was “a little hot”, but they were having fun anyway.

All in all, everyone in attendance agreed that their favorite part of the pool party was spending quality time with their friends and family!