For our seniors, high school is almost over; before we begin to say our final goodbyes to everyone else, we had to say our goodbyes to each other. This was done at our last retreat of our high school career, with the help of Mrs. Vavala and our senior group leaders.

A week before our retreat, we got an email from Mrs. Vavala asking us to form our groups with two leaders. There were around 15 groups of excited seniors, waiting for their last retreat to begin. It was bittersweet to see the senior class gathered together one last time before graduation. We did many activities together to celebrate the bond that we have as sisters.

The first activity we did was a game. Each senior got a piece of paper to play “Bingo.” To win the game, we had to be the first one to find people in our class who could name the first 10 presidents of the United States, do a handstand for 5 seconds, recite a poem, sing the Barney song, etc. This did not really happen, but we were all impressed that Rachel DeMarco could recite the first 10 presidents of the United States. Great job Rachel.

Next, we filled out a booklet describing ourselves back in kindergarten, middle school, freshman year, and now. We also wrote and talked about what we were looking forward to or worried about for the future. We then made a poster of both of those lists and shared them as a class.

We then watched our Senior memory video. This tearjerking tribute to our class was put together by Marykate McGurk. Some girls were in tears and some were laughing, but it reminded us all of the sisterhood we share. We are all connected forever through Padua.

Later, we had lunch and bonded through a few more activities. Then a guest speaker, Amber Stonebraker who graduated last year, visited to talk to us. She answered all of questions, alleviating a few of our concerns about college. To end our day, we wrote two prayers: one thanking God for everything he has done for us and one asking God to help us in the future. We enjoyed a quick prayer service and listened to the song “Go Light Your World.” This is when everyone was in tears. We all feel a connection to this song one way or another, and it drew us even closer than we were before.

Good luck to all of the Seniors in years to come. May they always remember where they came from and who their sisters are. “So take your candle and go light your world.”