The Seniors had a blast at the Senior Retreat this year! We traveled to Fairhope, Alabama to the Beckwith Retreat Center and spent two nights there. The Retreat Center has 82 acres of land attached to a lake, with multiple piers; the facility also includes a sports area, challenge courses, and a pool. There are also multiple cabins and meeting rooms. 

When we arrived at Beckwith, we began our retreat with a College Counseling session due to approaching deadlines. We were then given our cabin assignments and brought our luggage to our rooms. We then had some free time to explore the environment, and many played sports or checked out the lake. This was interrupted by dinner, but then we were able to go back to our free time. 

The next day, following breakfast, we began the morning with team-building activities in our advisories. These included a ropes course, an obstacle course, and more. Many seniors’ favorite activity was climbing a freestanding wall. However, this wall was completely smooth, so the only way to climb over it is if your advisory lifted you over, while others grabbed your hand from the top. Another favorite was an activity with three planks lying flat on the ground, with your advisory standing evenly on them. You then had to complete multiple challenges, which included moving planks and moving along the same one. These activities brought many advisories closer together, as well as a grade.

The Class of 2025 was also allowed to go into the lake. We were able to choose between kayaks, canoes, or paddle boards and we had about three hours to spend in the lake. There were some issues with canoes flipping or kayaks having holes in them, but the lake was a highlight of the trip. 

Finally, we participated in some advisory contests. We competed for points or advisory lunches in multiple challenges. For example, each advisory created a poster that represented their advisory, where the Satriano/Carton Advisory won. We also made an advisory skit, whose winner was the VonHoven/Taravella Advisory.

Overall, the Greenie Seniors had a really great time on the Senior Retreat, which brought us all closer together as a grade.