Westminster’s Seniors were bussed out to High Hill Christian Camp on Thursday, August 15th, for the annual Senior Retreat, and stayed overnight to participate in games, talks from teachers, and other activities.

The majority of the grade left school at 3:30 and were followed at 6:15 by the fall sport athletes. After arriving, the seniors were allowed free time to explore the camp and play Nine Square, Gaga Ball, and other games that were set up for them. Many of the students participated, and it allowed students to get to know others they werent as close with.

“Gaga Ball brought our class together because anyone could play and thats what made it fun,” said Danny Sacco, senior.

After eating, everyone gathered to listen to a talk on rigor from Mr. Burke and relationships from Mr. Sarra. These talks were chosen to help shape the theme for the Seniors last year of highschool and dive deeper into the schools theme for this year: Rigor, Relationship, Restoration.

After working with Seniors and being one a long time ago, I know that this year can either be really fun or really hard. Their mind is already in college while their bodies are here, and I want the Seniors to see this year as an opportunity to thrive and grow in relationships rather than something they just have to sit through, said Mr. Burke, Senior English Teacher.

The other school sanctioned events of the night involved splitting into groups to come up with a class chant, followed by a talent show. The class chant will be used during Spirit Week when the hosts announce the different grades; the seniors chant was created by Aiden Davitt and his group. It included Davitt shouting Westminster related phrases and the rest of the class yelling back at him.

The chant was very last minute, said Aiden Davitt, senior. We sort of came up with it in the pews right before we went up.
The talent show had many different acts, ranging from a comedy piece by Davis Worley, to a rapping rendition of the Gettysburg Address by Lea Despotis. The winner was Bennie Anderson and his friends singing Last Christmas in an imitation of a video of a much younger Bennie posted on an instagram account.

The teachers decided on a bedtime of 12:30, but the students had other ideas. Both the boys and girls cabins made the most of their time together by playing music and enjoying each others company late into the night.
My favorite part of the whole retreat was being able to bond with all the girls in the cabin; it was a lot of fun, said Emily Bratch, senior.

After an 8:00 am workout led by Kyleigh Peer and Sophia Mullen and breakfast, the seniors took part in activities that worked on teamwork and trust between their classmates. They also were allowed to speak their minds about policies at Westminster with Mr. Burke and other teachers, who considered and responded to the ideas brought up.

The retreat was a great time to bond with classmates and get to know others I didnt know through the activities we did together, said Mason Andrasko, senior.