On September 19, PDS juniors and seniors  had the opportunity to partake in a Day of Joy by traveling  to IPlay America, an amusement park in Freehold, featuring indoor rides, food, and an arcade. This year, the theme of the Upper School is joy. Students embodied this by hanging out with their friends, go-karting, and even playing laser tag.

Alternatively, some senior peer group leaders led a Peer Group Launch Day for freshman ; others went  on college visits.  Only a small group of seniors   took advantage of the IPlay America Trip, but, those who went had an absolute blast. Senior Ankith Namireddy mentioned being hesitant to go on the trip, as he was “pretty stressed about college applications coming up,” but in the end, he had fun hanging out with his friends. In fact, he had a special  moment when he won a stuffed teddy-bear from a claw machine with the help of his friends cheering him on Senior Zarah Cardona agreed with Namireddy, adding, “I did indeed have fun at IPlay America! I hung out with juniors and went go-karting.” Clearly, there was an abundance of fun activities to keep the seniors occupied.  

The juniors had an almost full class attendance. They concurred with the senior verdict:  it was  an extremely joyful event. Junior Bailey Mitra went into the day expecting to be bored, but he ended up thoroughly enjoying the event. He wrote, “Honestly, [IPlay America] was more fun than I had expected.” 

The IPlay America trip was more than just a short break from everyday routine, it was a day to let loose and come together as a community. It was a reminder of our lower school days of joyful, carefree laughter. IPlay America was a fan-favorite amongst Princeton Day’s upperclassmen, and we can’t wait to see it happen again.