On Monday, October 19th, the Peer Team took the 9th grade on a hike up Mt. Greylock. Before the hikers set out, the Peer Team organized several team-building activities centered around compass-work. This year, according to senior Peer Team member Elizabeth Bernardy, “a focus for the 9th grade will be team-building” and the faculty and Peer team “will be doing [team-building] events throughout the year.” The hikers were divided into groups based upon the students’ Directed Studies, which was an unpopular system among some, while others, like Jesse Seid “thought the hike was fun.” English teachers Kellie Houle and Rebecca Tucker-Smith, History teacher Andrew Gibson, Spanish teacher Maria Fernandez, and Gym teachers Brandon Asplundh, Brian Gill, and Lynn Jordan also accompanied the hikers on their trek up the Hopper Trail in Williamstown. Additionally, some other high school students joined the hike with their Gym teachers. Despite the gruelingly cold temperatures, which only became worse as elevation increased, the hikers persevered and conquered the four and a half mile long trail to the summit of Massachusetts’ highest peak.