Our eighth graders have returned to campus after taking part in a three-day retreat in the Poconos, an event that included the second annual Cardboard Boat Roogatta. Dexter Zapf, a student in the Class of 2022, wrote about the experience. Here is an excerpt from his report.

During this trip we engaged in many trust- and community-building activities. We were challenged on a high-ropes course, took part in improv games, shared meals together and enjoyed a blazing campfire. These collaborative activities helped to create a stronger sense of community in our grade, which also prepares us for our upcoming role as leaders of the Middle School.

Within two hours of arriving at the camp on September 13, we took part in an intense physical course that included a rope wall, a rock wall and a “big swing.” From the moment I began climbing the rope wall, I realized how difficult it was and how much physical strength was needed. However, I never felt like giving up. Members of our class pushed one another to do our best, and, in fact, I often heard, “You can do it!” and “Almost there!” throughout the course.

For me, one of the highlights of the retreat was building and racing of human-sized cardboard boats in a natural lake. In this event, teams of three to four students had two hours to build boats out of pieces of cardboard and duct tape. Once the construction was complete, two students undertook the nearly impossible challenge of boarding the boat without sinking, tipping or hitting the bottom. If we somehow managed to get on the boat without any of these difficulties, we then tried to paddle 60 or so feet.

 

Clay Lewis, an AFS eighth grader, shared this about the Roogatta: “When it was time to put our boats in the water, we all helped each other… and we didn’t put each other down when a boat sank.” To me, this activity is a perfect example of healthy community-building competition, where students can express their creativity and compete for sport and fun.

On the final night of the retreat, we built a campfire and made s’mores. Hershey’s chocolate, graham crackers and marshmallows melted in our mouths. Students hunted for sticks, talked by the fire or sang “Hamilton” songs, accompanied by Math Teacher Justin Solonynka on ukulele.

Cydney Brown, a classmate who is new to AFS this year, said, “With Justin on the ukulele we all started singing “Count on Me” by Bruno Mars. At that exact moment I knew we were going to thrive in this eighth-grade year, and not just survive. I knew we would embrace each other’s differences.”