For many seniors, the start of the school year brings a mix of excitement and pressure. Between AP classes, looming college applications, and a flood of assignments, students often find themselves carrying a heavy weight. But last weekend’s senior retreat at Camp Skyline offered a pause from the chaos—and a chance to grow closer as a class.
“Yeah, I would,” senior Charlie Jackson said when asked if he felt stressed before the retreat. “The classes I’m taking this year, there’s a fair amount of APs and there was a lot of assignments due and tests that same week, so yeah, I was a little bit stressed.”
For Jackson, the weekend away was an opportunity to step out of that pressure-filled cycle, even if only temporarily.
“Yeah, for the time being for sure,” he said. “You’re having fun with your friends and the rest of the class, you’re not focusing on the tests and everything.”
Not all students carried the same stress going into the retreat. Senior Isaac Adeola shared that the break was less about escaping academic pressure and more about disconnecting from routine. That shift in pace helped students reflect on what their senior year might look like.
“Oh yeah, my classmates and I had a great time and I think senior year will go great now,” Adeola said.
For many, the most lasting memories weren’t about free time or outdoor activities, but about connections that grew stronger. Senior Olivia Lunsford explained that stepping outside of the school setting created new opportunities to build friendships.
“I guess so, it brought me closer to classmates that I’m not typically close with,” Lunsford said. “When we were planning our skits with our smaller groups, I felt like we were all very close then.”
Jackson emphasized that the retreat encouraged conversations that don’t usually happen in daily life. Even teachers played a role in breaking down barriers, according to Jackson. He recalled hearing stories that made him feel connected to them in new ways.
“It would be like having the conversations we had about deep topics—your hardships or your highlights,” Jackson said. “That doesn’t really happen on a day-to-day basis, so that would be cool. I got to know people I didn’t know as well… even teachers shared their stories.”