Graduation Retreat

As graduation day neared, there were a couple more things the 8th graders needed to complete. One of them was their graduation retreat. This was an overnight activity, which was held at the Parish Hall.

On Wednesday, when classes were dismissed at 2pm, the 8th graders put away their books, gathered their stuff, and headed to the hall for a quick snack before the retreat commenced. A few parents were tasked to assist in providing the snacks, while another group took care of dinner. Since it was only an overnight event, each student was told to pack light, which consisted primarily of a change of clothes, toothbrush, toothpaste, and a sleeping bag. Everything else was optional, including a pillow.

The retreat was facilitated by the parish's youth ministry director, John, and was assisted by a few college students, who are members of the youth ministry and former St. Joseph students. In the evening, the class was divided in two sleeping quarters -- the boys stayed at the hall, along with 2 volunteer dads, while the girls moved to Ministry House 2, together with 2 chaperone moms.

On Thursday morning, another set of parents came in and provided breakfast, before they continued with the next set of activities. The parents were informed that the retreat would end at around 12:15pm. I took the day off, and got there just after 12 noon. It was past 12:15pm, and most of the parents were patiently waiting by the car line. It wasn't till almost 12:30pm before the first 8th grade came out of the hall.

The kids looked beaten up and exhausted. Aside from not having showered, they all looked like they just woke up, and hungry. They appeared more tired compared to when they arrived from their 5-day science camp trip at Camp Arroyo in 6th grade.

I was happy to see my son. He managed to give me a smile when he saw me. But I knew he was dead tired and super hungry. With 2 small pancakes, who wouldn't? Before we left, I asked him to turn in the charger of his iPad, which he forgot to bring the day before, and a check donation for Mission Walk.

As soon as we got home from a hearty lunch, my son was out for the rest of the afternoon.

Note: Author wants to acknowledge Ms. Jenny Nguyen for the photographs used in this post.