A throng of cheers rang out across the empty beach of Lake Lanier Islands.
A final team member crossed the high ropes course that sits next to the beach.
About 100 Hall County juniors tried out their teamwork skills Friday, helping one another cross the ropes while hanging more than 60 feet in the air. The juniors are entering their first week as International Baccalaureate students at Johnson, North Hall and West Hall high schools.
"We bring them here so they can learn to work together as a team, especially because they'll be taking classes together," said Anita Cox, IB coordinator for North Hall. "They'll have to be dependent on each other in class, and it helps for them to know the kids at other high schools so they know they're not a lone ranger in these classes."
IB is a two-year diploma program with challenging classes that incorporate more essays and interdisciplinary studies rather than the normal high school course. This week marks the second cohort of students to enter IB programs at three Hall County high schools. The first group of about 50 students tested in May to receive college credit and are now starting classes at colleges across the nation.
On Friday, the ropes course introduced new students to the "creativity, action, service" component they must complete outside of the classroom. The students split into groups, with 27 Johnson and 25 North Hall students tackling the high ropes course in the morning while 47 West Hall students tried creative problem solving games. The groups switched in the afternoon.
"IB is about taking risks and being a good communicator," Cox said. "We're enforcing what we believe IB students to exhibit."
Most of the teachers watched the students cross the ropes, calling out encouraging messages.
"I've been observing the kids and how they react as teams to solve problems," said Belinda Sauret, a Spanish teacher at West Hall. "It'll be a day they never forget, and we're trying to meld them into one big team."
Some teachers took to the ropes themselves.
"It's scary, but I think getting up there with the kids shows that you're willing to take the risk with them," said Jan Ewing, who teaches IB theater at North Hall. "You start to see the dynamics of the students and the leaders come out. You all realize that you have to rely on each other, and you better figure it out quickly."
After lunch, the West Hall students began suiting up for the ropes course. They listened intently, carefully attaching the harnesses. Their faces showed a mix of anticipation and nervous excitement.
"Earlier today, we were blindfolded and had to sort out missing shapes in a set," Taylor Snelling, a West Hall junior, explained as she clicked harness clips into place.
"It's fun to experience all of this together because most of us have been in several classes before, but it's good to bond with the people we didn't know well before."
The bonding is apparent. After tackling the ropes course, a group of North Hall students grabbed bottles of water and sat down before moving on to the brainteaser games.
They talked and joked, interrupting and completing one another's sentences.
"Ryan Matthews' calming voice kept me going," Shea Barger said with a smile, motioning toward one of his friends.
The others jumped in with their own inside jokes and nicknames.
"I'm going to see these people in classes all day," Madison Copeland said. "I might get sick of them."
At least the teachers are in on the jokes, too.
"You know what one of them wrote on Facebook? ‘Ms. Cox owns me for the next two years,'" Cox said with a smile.
"They call me ‘Mama Cox,' you know."