The morning of Sep. 16 dawned bright and clear, as buses, filled with 138 freshmen, rolled up the windy mountain path toward Big Bear.  This was the start of the three-day freshmen retreat; the annual excursion to the secluded Cedar Lake Camp, the purpose of which is to unite the whole freshmen class, and get them to bond through challenging yet fun and gratifying activities.

During the three days, the freshmen participated in a scavenger hunt, SAME diversity exercises, team building games, a high ropes course, a night hike and advisory skits.

“I’d say my favorite part of retreat was the high ropes course because though me and a lot of the other members of our advisory and brother advisory are afraid of heights, we all came together to support one another,” Karishma Raghuram said.  

Undoubtedly, the most anticipated part of the retreat was the open-mic talent show. Set in the outdoor amphitheater, under a blanket of stars, students had the opportunity to showcase their talents; everything from singing to magic tricks and dancing.

“During the talent show I discovered that many people in the freshman class are extremely talented singers and musicians,” Joshua Cheadle said.  

When it was finally time to head back down the mountain, there was a definite sense of unity and no doubt that everyone was closer and more comfortable with one another; if not best friends then at least on a first name basis.

“I hope that this friendship with my advisory will continue to grow over the next four years and we will become like a small family at school,” Ariana Dominick said.  

Three short days amazingly succeeded in bringing the new freshmen closer to one another, truly transforming them into the class of 2019.