This year, the theme of the retreat was loosely based on “storytelling” as this type of sharing requires everyone to present a little bit of him/herself to others. Throughout the trip, students were asked to collect their experiences in a journal so that they could have one life story to tell the group on the last day. There were plenty of experiences to choose from at the camp such as jumping into a 50 degree lake, playing porch tag, capture the flag, and pair squared tag, acting in a melodrama, rock climbing, horseback riding, kayaking, archery, singing on the bus, playing Sasquatch, roasting s’mores, …you get the picture. Students could also choose a story from their lives outside of PNA. Everyone was able to find the “perfect story” to tell!
This year’s batch of Middle Schoolers have already shown themselves to be incredibly dependable, caring, inclusive, brave, and willing! As a result, teachers and fellow students have deepened their trust in each other which ultimately leads to the personal growth we all want to see in our young adolescents. We are now ready for the academic school year to begin in earnest!