Seniors look back on a successful Sophomore Retreat

The 2018 Sophomore Retreat took place Tuesday, Feb. 13 in the chapel. Sophomores listened to talks written by seniors, broke off into small groups to reflect, and competed in minute-to-win-it games.

Senior Margaret Blackburn, a member of the crew, who helped Ms. Hotop with various tasks throughout the day, shared her joy from a successful day.

“It was a really fun day for the sophomores and the leaders. It was even better that everything ran smoothly,” Blackburn said.

The talks given by seniors focused on different aspects of high school and social lives that the sophomores are likely to experience in the coming years. Nine seniors spent weeks writing and preparing to open up to all those on the retreat.

Senior Adeline Dreyer,  gave one of the “Getting out of your Bubble” talks.

“It went really well, a lot better than I expected.  I hope they liked it,” Dreyer said.        

After each talk, small groups headed to their rooms to discuss what they heard and answer discussion questions. This gave the sophomores that ability to open up to their classmates and the senior the chance to offer advice on situations they too had experienced.

Senior Megan Johar led a small group on the retreat and shared her experience.

“It was nice to be able to give advice to one girl in my group who was going through a similar problem that I had dealt with in the past,” Johar said.

The sophomores too had a good experience on the retreat. It was a time for their grade to grow closer together and for them to form new friendships in a fun environment.  There was a resounding yes to whether or not they enjoyed their day.

With the hard work from the seniors and the good attitudes from the sophomore class, the day finished with high spirits.

The retreat definitely would not have been possible without the dedication and planning from Campus Minister Anna Hotop.

Ms. Hotop praised the outcome of the the day.

“I thought that we had a wonderful day with the sophomore class. I could tell that they dove into the day with open hearts and open minds,” Ms. Hotop said. “I was also amazed by the sixty seniors that helped to create the day specifically for the Class of 2020. We are beyond blessed to have so many strong and courageous women walking the halls of SJA!”