9th Grade Retreat

9th Grade Retreat: PERCEPTION

*Cooking together
*Setting up camps together
*Workshops run by rangers and leaders at the Cleveland National Forest
*Hiking
*Perception Project Work Time
*Campfires!
*Singing by the campfires

Location: El Prado Group Campsite, Cleveland National Forest

Teachers: Kurt Schwartz, Carol Cabrera, Jen Howard, Katelin Swan, Charley Jacob, Mike Amarillas, Alden Walters

Photos & Student Reflections

It was my first time going camping without my parents with a bunch of people I see on a daily basis. I would never imagine camping 3 days with the people I learn with! We’ve been looking forward to this since 6th grade. We talked about it every single year. We see all the other grades go and talk about how it was so much fun. We’ve been so ready for this! Everybody has been so excited for this field trip. ~Mariah F.

The best part of retreat was cooking the best camping meal of my life. It was lemon pepper chicken, corn, garlic bread, and cinnamon rolls! We were walking toward the rocks during the storm and we found one of the endangered butterflies--the Laguna Mountain Skippers.
~Gabe

I really like Lindsey's job of Parks & Recreation because I love being outdoors. I like learning about all the different endangered species like their butterflies. Hanging out with people in the rain was incredible.
~Abby C.

I learned that the government funds Parks & Recreation so that's why sometimes there are things like a broken fence, and things like the government shut down affect them getting funds. My favorite part of the trip was bonding with everyone and getting the freedom to go hang out with other people. I counted--I made 9 new friends! It was a really good bonding experience. There were so many inside jokes--I mean outside jokes, haha!
~Ashley T.

The whole Connections Fire was the most memorable moment. It was really nice to hear everyone's opinion and when people said different things, people kind of had that same feeling. It kind of gave me a better view of everything. It made me remember everything that happened. For me, the retreat was connecting with a bunch of new people. ~Jacob Sh.

I feel like the freedom you gave us was the best part of the retreat because last year. Freedom is like a privilege that we can earn that the teachers can trust us with. ~Kaelyn C.

The best part of retreat was getting to learn about new people and make new bonds. Something I learned was about all the animals and the endangered species!
~Hugo N.

My favorite part of the retreat was when we all hung out together by the campfire because we all got to connect and share our experiences. We’ve been looking forward to this for forever.
~Alina L.

I liked being able to just talk to my friends and consistently be with them instead of having to go home. I liked how it was relaxing. ~Alyssa B.

My favorite memory was cleaning out frogs from our tent. ~Alexis R.

My favorite part of retreat was the problem solving and relaxation because we had a spot and that was just really an open environment. ~Ari A.

I liked getting closer with people and hanging out with new friends. I learned responsibility is important. When we had to cook, we had to be responsible and make sure our group’s meal didn’t come out burnt. ~Luis C.

My favorite memory was getting to talk to Ms. Carol about my favorite show, and getting to meet new people. ~Aquetzalli L.

My favorite memory was trying to avoid stepping on the little baby frogs, and hanging around the campfire with everyone. ~Sinqi C.

My favorite part of retreat was the cooking, because we all had to help in and we all had to bring stuff and it wasn’t just one person making the food. ~Daniel S.

My favorite part of retreat was getting to know people and making new friends. ~Katie W.

Something I learned was that nature could be easily affected even by a piece of trash, and anything could happen to it. ~Caesar R.

My favorite memory was going to the rocks and climbing on them and jumping off. ~Shyanna B.

My favorite memory was on Thursday when David, Angel and Mariah and I went out to the rocks to hang out. I was surprised that my [art project] group chose the topic “beauty standards in America”--they were interested in that even though I didn’t expect them to be. ~Zubin R.

My favorite memory is when we went up on this rock and there was a really great view of the sunset and trees.
~Jacob Sc.

I learned about my friends--their problems and issues in life--and we talked about how we could resolve those. It brought emotional connections. ~Dillon J.

I learned how to work and communicate because me and my partner were making stuff and it wasn’t going very well at first. I was making the batter and she was flipping the pancakes when one of our other team members saw we were struggling and came to help us. ~Emily A.

My favorite moment was getting there, seeing the view, and being somewhere else other than school, but still being at school. School is usually confined, inside doing your work, but there we were outside in nature. ~Jason S.

My favorite part of the trip was collaborating with all the new kids and trying to get to know them. When we went to the rocks, we took pictures and played hide and seek. Playing hide and seek with a humongous group was fun because we had to hide someone in a big field, and it was a competitive game. The pictures we could save for memories to tell people what we did. (And capture moments~Jason S.) ~Danny B.