Field trips are a common occurrence in elementary school, each grade having around two per year, but in middle school and high school, field trips are scarce. The seventh-grade class recently participated in a field trip in town on January 13: a Courage Retreat at St. Ansgar’s church.
This retreat is similar to the Kindness Retreat that students participate in during their fifth-grade year. At the Courage Retreat, skills to be courageous, inside and outside of school, are taught through a variety of activities. Middle school teacher Jayme Miller is the organizer of this event. This is the fourth annual Courage Retreat for the seventh graders.
At the event, there is a combination of students, teachers, high schoolers, and Youth Frontier staff. Youth Frontier is the company that runs the retreats all across the country. Both eleventh and twelfth graders stepped into leadership roles for the retreat. “Youth Frontiers staff asks that we find volunteers who are 11th and 12th graders, so we usually reach out to Minnesota Honors Society students, leaders involved in various sports teams and activities, and any other students who are positive role models in our school,” middle school teacher Jayme Miller said.
The high school students play an important role in the day, because they get the discussions going and encourage the seventh graders to step outside of their comfort zones.
At the retreat, students take part in a number of activities to build courage — not heroic courage, but everyday courage, where they’re brave enough to stand up for others, be themselves, and have respect for others. Eighth grader Isla Harrison looks back at her experience of the courage retreat. “I remember doing a bunch of fun activities that are aimed towards the goal of gaining more courage,” she said.
Miller mentioned that the day consists of many discussions and activities, both in large and small groups. “One of my personal favorites is the giant jump rope challenge, where everyone in the room has to pass from one side of the giant jump rope to the other without getting hit by the rope; the entire room gets involved, kids cheer for each other, and it is such a fun bonding experience,” she said.
The activity builds up support, as students encourage others to make it across.
The whole point of the day is to encourage students to follow their hearts and not follow the crowd. They’re taught to express themselves and to change if they put other students down. Miller recalls noticing that the students usually leave the retreat feeling closer together and more willing to change for the better.
