WEB EXCLUSIVE Monday’s Retreat Day allowed freshmen, sophomores and juniors to reflect and engage in activities remotely. Freshman and sophomores engaged in an asynchronous meditation and walk, and juniors participated in individual and group reflections. 

Underclassmen participated in an “Awe Walk,” in their neighborhood, and were instructed to submit an “artifact” they found on their walk to their faculty adviser. 

“I thought it was very helpful and wonderful because it gave me a day to really relax and reflect and to not stress,” sophomore Sophia Davis said. “I took a picture of a really beautiful row of flowers in Golden Gate Park and walked around my neighborhood in the Sunset District.”

Wellness Counselor Roberto Parris and Theology & Spirituality teacher Bryan Lorentz were in charge of coordinating Retreat Day for the three grades.

“Our desire for the retreat was for students to get away from their screen and to get out into nature,” Parris said. “I’m hoping that students allowed themselves to rest in their thinking, bodies, and spirits and enjoyed the day. In our overall health, success is sometimes doing nothing in order to recharge.”

The junior retreat included both individual and group reflections and a guided meditation by Community Life Chair Paul Pryor Lorentz. 

“I learned a lot about myself and how to calm my ever abundant stress, it was a great opportunity and one that should be continued in the future,” junior Natalie Stans said. “I would suggest adding an icebreaker at the beginning of the meeting for future retreats to make things more interesting and comfortable. All in all it was a very successful retreat for the junior class.”

Parris emailed students a “Landing Page” for the retreats’ itinerary. 

“There were a couple of things we thought we could have done, but since students have been consumed with so much screen time we felt that a couple hours away from it would be more beneficial than another speaker,” Parris said. 

Parris hopes to have another retreat day in the future, and plans on calling it a “Self-Care day.”

“It was a nice transition into the next set of classes, and it was very helpful to just have a day for your mental health,” Davis said. “I thought about school, listened to some music on Spotify, and let my mind wander. I hope that we’ll have another day like this next year because I definitely gained a lot from it.”