At BSM, students in grades 7-12 go on all-grade retreats a minimum of once a year. Retreats began at BSM in order to encourage students to grow closer to Christ, engage in prayer, and grow closer with their classmates. At these retreats, students play team bonding activities, listen to guest speakers, and are led by peer ministers with the help of BSM faculty and staff.
While 7th-8th and 10th-12th graders go on retreats as a whole class, 9th graders are split up into two groups determined by which day they have theology class. “[At my freshman retreat] I just liked how there weren’t too many people there, it wasn’t overwhelming,” sophomore Emerson Rock said.
Separating the 9th grade class into two can make the environment less crowded, and can help students engage in easy small group discussion. On the other hand, not knowing peers on your designated retreat day can make the experience not as enjoyable. “When you don’t know people, it gets really awkward, and you don’t enjoy the retreat as much,” sophomore Mae Breunig said.
Some activities played during the retreat are meant to bring the group closer together. Students play games including cat and mouse, rock paper scissors, bingo, and more. “It was fun being able to meet new people and do some [activities] with them,” Rock said.
Playing class activities where everyone can participate helps unite the community as one. It allows students to talk to new people who maybe they have not talked to before, and can help students form new friendships.
Retreats were not only made to better class relationships, but also made for students to create a better spiritual relationship with God. Students participate in chapel prayer. “I did like going in the chapel but sometimes it did get a little long and a little much,” Breunig recalled.
While some students enjoy this mix, others think that the retreat days seem a little repetitive going back and forth between activities. Students think that this could be fixed by making the retreat a half day, as opposed to an entire school day. With a half day retreat, students would stay engaged, and less would be repeated. Overall, students enjoy the retreats that occur once a year and have very few complaints about the day. Retreats are a good way to enable students to take a break from the learning environment at school and engage in activities that benefit them in a positive way.