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Freshmen initiated into Jesuit spirit overnight

By Brendan Kolding

In September of 1989, the Jesuit High School Class of 1993 embarked upon the first ever Freshman Overnight Retreat. It is certain that they experienced similar thoughts of wonder and nervousness about the mysterious ordeal as did the members of the Class of 2002, who participated in the tenth annual retreat on Saturday, September 19,through Sunday the 20.

Most of the freshmen were quite doubtful as to whether or not they would enjoy the retreat; however, these doubts were soon smothered over the course of the weekend. "Good things come to those who wait!" noted freshman Nick Clark, who also stated that he had the opportunity to meet and get to know many of his fellow classmates, which is definitely amongst the most important purposes of the retreat.

The retreat began early Saturday morning with the freshmen and their parents gathering in the gymnasium for speeches from Fr. McGarry S.J. and the members of the campus ministry department: Mr. Paul LeBeouf, Mr. Paul Rose, and Brother Jim Sanders S.J. From there, the senior Big Brothers claimed their freshmen Little Brothers and took them off to various classrooms, where they participated in reflection and discussion about family with random parents.

After lunch, the Big Brothers took their Little Brothers out around the surrounding area to collect food for the poor. This was followed by along recess, during which members of the Class of 2002 socialized freely and had a fabulous time in the process. "We had a vicious football game."noted Chris Schoik. The group then dispersed, with groups of three to four Big Brothers taking their Little Brothers to one of their houses for dinner.

Before dinner, the Big Brothers led the freshman in discussion about the challenges of high school and relationships with girls, with the help of some Big Sisters from St. Francis. After dinner, a faculty member led the group in a reflection ceremony about their relationship with God. This was culminated by the freshmen receiving letters from their parents and writing letters back.

Upon returning to the gym the freshmen were served dessert and watched the movie "Happy Gilmour". Brother Jim then read part of Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn. in order to get the Class of 2002 to go to sleep.

The next morning, after a large breakfast and recess, the freshmen and their Big Brothers participated in a reflection about the events of the weekend, and were presented with their official class shirts. Then, the Class of 2002 attended a liturgy in the gym, and were released back to their parents, having felt, for the first time, a great sense of class unity. "I thought this whole retreat was great!" said Adrian Maurice, "It gave me more insight about others, self, and God. It was cool!"

Perhaps Brother Sanders summed up the entire retreat the best way,"Another night of no sleep and a great retreat!"


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