Last Friday the senior class was bussed to Church of Saint Patrick in Edina for one final class retreat of their highschool career. Every grade goes on an annual off-campus retreat with the goal of uniting the grade and giving students an opportunity to take a break from their rigorous school schedule. This year the retreat was separated into time slots for small group discussions, various speakers, and full group activities.

Going into the retreat students wanted to use this day as a way to have fun with friends and unite the graduating class. The students took full advantage of the activities planned by Becca Meagher, a theology teacher. Senior Sam Peters wanted to take the day off school to help bond the grade. “I want to just come together as a class. You know, I feel like we haven’t always been the most united class, but today is the day,” Peters said.

The seniors have been consumed with the college application and admission processes throughout the past few months. Many students still need to decide their future path, so the school reached out to former Director of Technology at BSM, Bill Cheney to offer some words of inspiration. Cheney focused on following passions in his speech. He highlighted a few students that he thought exemplified what being a Red Knight meant and how they have embraced their passions throughout high school. The students were very grateful for Cheney’s speech. “It was beautiful. I’ve been emotional all day,” Peters said.

The seniors met in small groups to discuss what kind of legacy the senior class wants to leave in the last few months of their time at BSM. They also discussed the strengths and weaknesses of the grade and what we can do as students to improve.

One of the highlights of the retreat was reading the letters that the seniors wrote as freshmen. Students reflected on their high school experiences and how far they have come since freshman year. “This is the first year that the seniors have been getting their letters back on the retreat day… Typically, those letters were written on an overnight retreat, which was optional, so we never handed them back on the senior retreat because not everyone had a letter. But if you were here as a freshman and you went on the freshman day retreat, you should get your letter back,” Meagher said.

Overall the retreat was successful. Students had fun and were inspired about moving on beyond BSM to their future endeavors. Some students participated in a potluck during the lunch break, and Jack Shull and Jelani Waynewood performed a skit. The day was full of joy and inspiration.