13B Retreats to Camp Cavell
On Monday, July 6, 2009, six students and two staff departed for a retreat at Camp Cavell. While there, the students had the opportunity to practice archery, horseback riding, technical tree climbing, and kayaking, as well as just enjoying some time away from the city. Each of the students were asked to describe their experience:
Don Allen: “This was a good experience for me and my group. It showed us that we could all trust each other and made us bond closer together. I had a lot of fun and learned a few more things here at Camp Cavell. Teamwork is very important and decision making takes more than one person in a group activity. I learned that anything you put an effort into is possible if you really want it to be. Tree climbing seemed hard, but once we got started, I just wanted to keep going until I reached the top even though I was kind of scared at first.
Always put your fears behind you and just think that you can do anything.”
Ameissa Flint: “My journey to Camp Cavell was nice. I expanded my mind to be open to different things, such as tree climbing, kayaking, and horseback riding. Every lesson taught us something different - looking outside the box, for instance, and the things we think are impossible really are possible if we focus and put our mind on it.
My favorite part of the trip was kayaking. I was isolated and the lake was big and beautiful. On this trip, it gave me peace of mind.”
Tyrese Hunter: “From my three day retreat I learned a lot and had a lot of fun. Tree climbing was a good workout on my arms. Also, I had fun on the horses – that was my very first time riding a horse. I went swimming a little bit and we also went kayaking for the very first time and that was my favorite part of the retreat. Walking around in the woods at night with one flashlight, everybody stuck together. I really got to know everybody a little better.”
Ross McClendon: “Camp Cavell was a fun trip for me. I enjoyed all the things we did but one stood out the most and that was actually swimming in a real lake. The other thing I liked was the tree climbing. I enjoyed the tree climbing because I never was so high off the group only using a rope. The camp staff was really nice and talked to us about real life things that every person needs to know. They taught us, when working in a group, there’s no right or wrong as long as everyone agrees on the same thing.”
Eric Stanfield: “During my stay at Camp Cavell, my group and I experienced a completely different world from the urban setting we’re used to. We did everything from tree climbing to kayaking to nature walks, one with Hawkeye. We saw some animal skulls but during the actual walk we ate various plants straight from the Earth that were surprisingly great. One plant tasted like sour apple suckers; our faces exploded with excitement once we tasted them. The stay was everything I needed from the peaceful trees to the beautiful horizon; it created a natural euphoria.”
Constancio Yanas: “The day of our retreat I heard it was going to be great and I was so excited. I really liked the retreat because it actually got me away from the city and cleared my mind from everything. It was fun going in the wood in the dark with just a flashlight; yeah, it was scary, but I enjoyed getting out. At late night I went down to the beach and just seeing the water move and the full moon shining on the water felt really good. I’d like to thank the staff for making this fun for us and having a good time. This will be the best memory I will ever have and I will never forget it.”
