Last week, the 2024-2025 school year began for students at Robert Land Academy. This year, there were 20 new students who have become part of the RLA family.

In their first week, they learned about the academy, it’s history and how to be a member of the academy. The week was topped off by adventure training on Sunday, visiting the academy’s rock climbing wall/rappel tower.

For many of the students this was their first experience pursuing an adventure like this.

I’ve never really done anything like this before,” grade 11 student Maxwell Sauve said. “The closest to this I have ever done before is belaying.”

“It was a lot of fun, it was definitely new,” he said. “It was kind of scary at first though.”

He related the experience to many challenges throughout life.

“It always seems really scary at first, but, once you go through it, you realize it’s not that bad.”

Grade nine student Tyson Perez noted that the overall experience was fun.

“It was a lot of fun, “ he said.

“I was a bit nervous at first, but, once I was doing it, it was really fun.”

Grade 10 student Ireifeaoluwa Makinde said he had been rock-climbing in the future, but, it was the first time for him to ever go rappelling.

“It was a bit nerve-wracking,” he said. “But it was a great experience.”

“Sometimes, you just have to put aside your fear and try new things.”

Students of Robert Land Academy participate in several adventure activities that help promote the development of leadership skills, teamwork, and resiliency.