School is back in session, and as such, the annual Freshman-Sophomore retreat that has both delighted and plagued years’ worth of Barstow students has returned. As always, the retreat’s goal is to lessen the tensions that are attached to beginning a new school year.
The retreat was on Friday, August 18th, and it took off shortly after classes ended with a scavenger hunt. Senior volunteers led randomly selected teams to complete items on the task list, which spanned from photos in various locations of the campus to written questions on Barstow’s vast history. The event’s purpose was to acquaint the new students with both the many sites on school grounds and the memories that have kept Barstow’s walls standing upright.
The next item organized for the students was a rather crude form of ‘speed friending.’ Students were gathered in the senior circle with sophomores on the inner circle and freshmen on the outer circle. The freshmen circle would rotate at set intervals so the new students could confer with the sophomores. No doubt the pursuit hurt the souls of introverts such as the writers of this article, but all students were regardless encouraged to converse with the people they found standing in front of them. Many people exchanged advice for the upcoming school year, while some simply introduced themselves and bonded over their mutual interests. All in all, it was a wholesome activity.
Andrea Lee ‘26 expressed her excitement in being a returning student at the retreat. “The vibe definitely felt familiar. However, I think I was too nervous as a freshman for the retreat,” Lee said. Lee, who has been at Barstow for two and a half years, said her perspective of the retreat changed as a sophomore, as she was eager to open the year with the event and communicate with the incoming freshmen.
Another aim of the retreat was to welcome freshmen that are new to Barstow, so we at B-Line took it upon ourselves to interview a new freshman that arrived in our hallways from a different middle school.
“My favorite part [of the retreat] was meeting the sophomores and hearing their advice about freshman year,” Lyric Byers ‘27 said. “At my old school, it was very loud and there were lots of issues going on, like drama and fighting…[At Barstow], everyone was greeting me and being very nice and welcoming.”
For the sake of the people’s stomachs, the school amiably provided popsicles and pizza that was relished by the students as they spent their remaining time at the retreat on the patio. That Friday, the last day of reasonable weather before the dreaded heat wave, was perfect for the retreat and enabled full enjoyment of the pleasant weather from faculty and students alike.
Hence, the retreat has once again accomplished its mission of easing new students into the Barstow community, setting a satisfying tone for a school year filled with freshly forged connections.
