This year, 35 sophomores got the chance to go on a retreat. The retreat was chaperoned by Mr. McCormack, Mrs. Kleber, and Mrs. Kalis. The actual retreat was led by about 14 juniors and seniors who are part of Campus Ministry. These Campus Ministry students, or student leaders, thoughtfully planned out this retreat for the sophomores; it took them about a month and a half to prepare a day full of activities. This retreat lasted from 7:50 am to 5:30 pm.

To begin with, the sophomores attended Mass with Father Pham in the Chapel at St Thomas. After mass ended, they were given instructions on what to do and headed to the bus where they had to find their names on name tags. Each name tag contained two names and questions on the back. The students were randomly assigned a partner to talk to and get to know on the way to St. Sebastian Catholic Church. As they arrived at St. Sebastian, the students were led into a huge room.

As the sophomores ate their morning snacks, the student leaders set up the activities. The retreat started with a morning prayer. Then, a student leader addressed everyone and introduced a creative way to find their groups and team leaders. Each group consisted of two student leaders and three to four sophomore students. There were many inspirational speeches and icebreaker activities throughout the retreat. There was also a lot of time for individual reflection. Most of the activities involved reflecting on how God shows up in their lives, how they can see God from day to day, how the students have a lot of impact on people, and how students can show generosity and be good samaritans.

The icebreakers culminated in the reenactment of a parable towards the end of the retreat. Students had one hour to choose who was going to play what part, make props, add dialogue, and add the finishing touches to their play. Every group presented their play in front of all of the students and teachers at the retreat; not only did the sophomores act, but so did the student leaders. The student leaders had 30 seconds to improvise a summary of each parable after each group’s performance. The retreat concluded with a prayer and an anointing.

Arantxa Gil, a sophmore, said, “My favorite part about the retreat was being able to meet new people and being able to learn more about God.” Ana Flores added, “My favorite part of the retreat was all of the icebreakers we had to participate in. I really enjoyed being able to discuss and be able to hear other people’s perspective on God’s word. I also really enjoyed getting to know new people, and being put into groups with people I had never talked to.” 

This retreat was filled with reflection, laughter, fun, and the opportunity to learn more about God. The student body is grateful to Mr. McCormack, Mrs. Kleber, Mrs. Kalis, and the Campus Ministry students for preparing such a wonderful retreat for the sophomore students.