Freshman retreat took place on December 5, and it was a big success. It was a great bonding experience between the new sisters at Padua. We went through a series of activities that helped us realize that we have a lot in common with most of our classmates.
The activities varied from playing a games to talking about giving back to our world, family, community, and school. When we first arrived we played the game Categories. We moved into groups based on our favorite category, such as our “favorite disney princess.” Then, we got into small groups and passed around a box with different questions that we each answered. The next activity consisted of each group getting a poster board and writing down 4 things we had in common, and later the groups presented it to the whole class.
All of the freshman watched a movie called “If only I had a Green Nose” and then saw a video of an x-factor singer who was bullied and turned to singing. After that each group got another poster board and some ribbon and made a into a present with 4 squares and in each square we wrote what we can give to church, school, family, and the world.
After lunch we got back in our groups and had a box with questions that each person answered. Christina Allen said “ I ate pizza and sat in a group of friends and talked.” Then each group made a prayer or intention for our closing prayer service. Finally each group performed their prayer or intention in our prayer service. Abigail McGowan said “ I didn’t know anyone in my group…but it was cool to hang out with my class.” The retreat was an interesting experience that brought us closer to our freshman class.