Leadership Class Bonds During Retreat

 By Andrew Kaney

This past Friday, students taking Leadership Development were excused from classes to have a “retreat” in Ziemer Dorm.

In recent years, the class had spent the night on Penang Hill for the retreat, but this year’s trip was cancelled due to the MOE. Despite the cancellation, Mr. Ronzheimer, the school’s Spiritual Life Director, took the opportunity to help the class bond and to teach them about companionship.

The retreat started with a morning devotional at the beach and a breakfast of waffles and bacon made by some of the students’ moms. After breakfast, Mr. Ronzheimer led the class through team building activities.

During one such activity, students got to know each other through “speed dating.” Members of the class were paired up and given time to get to know each other on a deeper level before rotating partners.

After “speed dating”, the class took part in a trust-fall. One-by-one, the students fell backwards off a high ledge as the other students caught them from below. The activity helped build trust within the class. The pinnacle of the activity was when Mr. Ronzheimer demonstrated his trust by doing the falling off the ledge without hesitation.

Along with team building activities, one of the most memorable parts of the day came when the students got the opportunity to from Daniel Choi. Daniel talked about how companionship had played a big role in his life. As Meredith Johnson said, “I loved when Daniel talked to us about companionship and about how we have the opportunity to help facilitate unity within our grade.”

The day in the dorm finished with free time for the students to talk and play games. After a few minutes, however, a “rap battle” broke out between Mycah Winsor and Zoe Seeveratnam. With John Kim and Yumin Kim providing the beat on the guitar and cajon, the class gathered around as Mycah and Zoe went back and forth rapping at each other. The “rap battle” provided a fun ending to a day of growth and bonding.