The Freshman Retreat is a day when the freshman class gets to learn all about the four pillars of SJN. They also get to know their classmates better, participating in various games and activities. The students  get to write a letter that they will open on a special day during their senior year. 

    I talked to some of the core team members about how they think the retreat went. One said that they thought the retreat went okay, but some of the freshmen seemed like they came because they had to come, not because they wanted to and this affected them because the freshman that wanted to be there learned a lot about the school and what Oratory means. I asked the team what they thought made the most impact on them, and they responded that when the students were writing the letters to their future selves there was a sense of calm. Some said that they wished they had more time given they could have written more. 

   I talked to Some of the teachers who supervised the retreat reflected on the day. One teacher said that the leaders brought energy you could notice by the laughter in the room. When asked them if they would change anything in terms of planning the retreat, they said they wouldn’t change a thing. 

  I also asked a freshman about what they thought about the day. One freshman shared her thoughts on the day. She said that her favorite part of it was when the leaders prayed over each freshman in the chapel, she told me that it was really special and meaningful. She loved everything about the day; the music, the games. The most important thing that she loved about the day was how sweet and happy all the leaders were. She shared that her leader mader her feel very special and welcome.