Despite the challenges of quarantine and at-home learning, Sage Hill School was able to organize and carry out a Zoom sophomore retreat on Wednesday, September 16 for the Class of 2023. Although “Zoom-bonding” came with a whole new set of challenges, the continuous schedule of the day kept it flowing and moving forward. 

The day started with all the students in their individual advisories with their “buddy advisories” on Zoom calls. In these calls, the sophomores were called upon to find an item that represented something about them. Many students chose to show off their sports trophies, art, and even pets. After not having connected with their buddy advisories since freshman retreat, many students needed to be reintroduced to each other, and this exercise utilized a fun way to connect with one another. 

Later on in the day, the sophomores were given the run-down on the upcoming competitions. From there the class of 2023 was put into randomized breakout rooms and forced to compete. 

Sophomore Ryan Katkin said the competition was enjoyable because it challenged him to use a different part of his brain he sometimes doesn’t use for school.

The competition involved  a series of random tasks and challenges including riddles, celebrity lookalikes, athletic challenges and many more. 

After this competition was over, winners Ethan Ball, Jessica Wang, Emily Alvarez, Gianna Van Den Bosch and Anastasia Evseeva received prizes for their efforts, and the sophomore class got a lunch break before quickly transitioning to another Zoom. 

This Zoom, however, was a webinar about tech safety and awareness. Speaker Richard Guerry shared stories and facts about the dangers of being online at such a young age, and the ways to turn technology into an ally rather than an enemy.

“Even though retreat was not how I imagined [it] would be, it was a really good way for me to talk to people that I wouldn’t usually,” sophomore Roya Yaghmai said.

This time spent over Zoom, whether voluntary or not, created a connection between students that had not connected with one another for a long time. 

When asked his thoughts on the sophomore retreat, 10th grade advisor Arlie Parker said that he was “proud of the way 10th graders all showed up for other people and made it a priority to be there for the rest of their class.” 

There is no denying that the world is bizarre right now, but the sophomore retreat was able to create a day where the 10th grade students could get to know each other more.