A memorable experience just wrapped up for the class of 2028 at The Village School: the annual Freshman Retreat. The Freshman Retreat extended from August 23rd to August 25th, and it was a time for all the incoming freshmen to get to know each other. The retreat begins at the start of every school year at Stoney Creek Ranch in New Ulm, Texas. The ranch is about an hour away from The Village School.
A significant part of the retreat was the chances each student had to bond with another. Plenty of free time was available, and most of it was spent partaking in physical activities such as soccer, basketball, and swimming. Although intimidating at first, the activities made it impossible not to engage in conversation with the other freshmen. For some students, they returned with a multitude of new friends, but that isn’t always the case. Senior, Ife Afolabi, who also attended the retreat, explained that when she went as a freshman, they didn’t do as many bonding activities, and things were more controlled. She said this time was much better.
Walking around the campgrounds, sitting on the swingsets, and playing the piano in the game room are just some alternatives if participating in athletic activities is not preferable. No matter what activities you focus on, meeting new people is bound t0 happen. “I liked that we were able to meet new people and I was able to talk to people from different friend groups and expand my social circle,” said freshman Adrienne Wang. “I also liked the activities that the school offered. Ziplining was one of my favorites.”
Another key part of the retreat was being able to self-develop through fear-conquering activities. One activity regarding self-development was looking through a list of about 100 traits, and narrowing it down from 20 to 10, to just four things that students valued. With fear-facing, the counselors held an activity where students wrote down their fears on a small slip of paper and threw them into a fire pit. It symbolized getting rid of any fears or worries before the school year started and boosted confidence. On that piece of paper, one of the fears I wrote was my fear of heights, which was not conquered by the flames, but by the high ropes course. Though I fell many times, everyone at Stoney Creek Ranch was very encouraging and supportive and helped me finish the course.
Another classic camp experience that the retreat provided was a fire pit with Smore making. “I liked the campfire activity because I got to make smores,” said freshman, Raphaelle Bellerose, who attended the freshman retreat. “I especially enjoyed kayaking in the lake, it helped me meet new people.” I do feel that there were too many people in the cabins and I wish we could have chosen our roommates.”
Many students did complain and had issues with the cabins and their organizations. “I didn’t like the schedule. I felt that the 5-minute shower rule was unreasonable and since there were a lot of girls in one cabin we had a hard time staying on time.” Said Wang.
A notable conflict that occurred was the cabin switches. Upon receiving the cabin list, students were placed in a certain cabin But later that day at the retreat, a nightly cabin check confirmed that some were actually in different cabins, and were rushed to pack up and switch places. Even though this caused some discourse and possible discomfort, looking at the bright side, students were able to meet new people through all the switching.
In conclusion, the Freshman Retreat was a wonderful experience. Students got to know their classmates a lot better and made some bonds that may last for a lifetime. Students were able to conquer fears and nearly destroyed their throats during our late-night karaoke. If this experience taught me anything, I’d say it inspired me to want to be a leader. I hope maybe one day in the future, I can be a senior leader, and be able to return to the ranch, reminisce on the magic that was made there, and be a part of someone’s introduction to the high school experience.
