Photography by Mr. DuRoss
On Wednesday, several hundred excited students piled into the Terry Center for a morning mass to start their first retreat as members of the Jesuit Community. Father Pepe started off the students exciting day with an amazing morning mass, reminding all of them the meaning of faith and brotherhood to start the day. From there, the freshmen were separated in many small groups to do some team building exercises, and answer questions about faith. “The small groups were different years past,” said Mr. Marr, one of the main leaders of the retreat. “They were a nice deviation from years past and allowed everybody get their thoughts and discussions out.”
Freshman broke the ice with their retreat leader when they got to their room with a few questions, about their best current attribute of the Jesuit Graduate Profile, and the attribute they need to improve most on. They then did an exercise to improve their communication skills. The students had to line themselves up in several different ways — such as height, shoe size, and birth month — without using their voice.
For the second group-challenge, the young men were asked to do a group push up — where everybody has to have their feet connect with somebody else’s body, and be off the floor, making for some very creative solutions. Some groups made giant squares with their bodies, with their feet set on other people’s back, being held up with only arm strength. Others used their surroundings to their advantage, attempting to fit 6 pairs of shoes on one chair.
The third group challenge tested their communication and trust, as the students built a maze with desks and were split up into pairs. One partner was then blindfolded, and their teammate was tasked to verbally lead them through the maze using only their voice. Making bonds through this retreat was at the forefront, and many students agreed. Samuel Kephart ’26 said that “it was nice to have more chances to socialize and feel relaxed and at ease while doing so.”
The students then had a break for lunch, after which they went either outside to play Ranger Ball/soccer or stayed in the gym to play basketball/dodgeball. After an hour of physical activities, the students went back to their classrooms to hear from a teacher about their journey and how it relates to faith, God, and the Jesuit Profile. Students learned a lot about their teachers, and questions about how each pupil and staff member ended up at Jesuit.
The focus on faith and God continued after the talk with the staff, as the freshman wrote letters to God that will be given back to them at Senior Graduation, to show how much they have grown, in faith and in other Jesuit Profile Traits. The freshmen then showed how they had learned about others, as they passed around cards to say appreciative things about the other people in their group, as they passed around a notecard to write down notes of gratitude for others.
To wrap up the day, the students all came back together in the Terry Center and where Mr. Wallace wrapped up the exciting day by addressing the freshmen and having them look at the bright future, they have ahead of them at Jesuit, and the students were then dismissed. George Weaver ’26 said “I thought the retreat was very relaxing, calm, and a nice break from classwork.” With the retreat behind them, the freshman class can move on to their amazing school year laid ahead of them.
