Year 5 - Session 1 - Week 4

🚙Retreat Week 🏕️

“When the night, has come
And the land is dark
And the moon, is the only, light we'll see

No I won't, be afraid
No I won't, be afraid
Just as long, as you stand, stand by me.”

-Ben E. King

Our caravan headed out early Tuesday morning for Uskichitto Retreat Center for a one-night teambuilding retreat. The heroes were challenged throughout the 36 hours in so many different ways. The beautiful relationships that were strengthened during this time made for a stronger culture and positive mindset all because they “Stood By Each other” by listening and ecnouraging their studiomates.

Back at the studio, heroes completed their Tech Tools Challenge and Lip Dub Filming. Heroes practiced how they would speak and act in moments of “guilty by association” scenarios. Two walk around the suns were celebrated - Finlee’s summer birthday and Paul’s birthday.

Highlights

  • Grayson Ward - Rock Wall Climb - watching people go up and be brave

  • Declan - Bullet ants, Fire ants, hornets, and other bugs at Retreat

  • Leading Paul’s Walk Around the Sun

  • Jack - Archery and getting very close to the bullseye

  • Avery - Getting a bullseye in archery

  • Paul - Cabin showers being pretty clean

  • Lydia - food at retreat being pretty good

  • Trinity - Nachos and elbow game

  • Sawyer - Boys night and throwing up flares

Successes

  • Pierce - hitting Grayson with pinecone (grenade) in game we were playing

  • Jack - tripping on thorns and faceplanting on them (laughed alot) and getting to go to bed early and finished the Be Internet Awesome game

  • Sawyer - Chasing Jack and Walt through the woods and blowing up with pinecones (grenades - game) and going to the end where the creek was

  • Bray - Making it to the top of the rock wall and finishing Lip Dub

  • Avery - Not passing out on the retreat as I didn’t feel good and going to hike at 5am and not getting attacked by coyotes and winning in Gaga Ball

  • Lydia - finding an empty turtle shell and clean it

  • Grayson Woods - Breaking the rules in the cabin (laughing)

  • Trinity - Finished Tech Tools Challenge

Quest

  • Challenges: Finished Lip Dub

Communication

  • Challenges:  Continued brainstorming creative writing story

Athletics

  • none

Highlights & Favorite Challenges

  • Lip Dub

  • Technology Tools Challenge

  • Bliss Portrait

  • Rock Wall

  • Teambuilding Games

  • Archery

  • Gaga ball

  • Hiking

  • Elbows Dining Hall Challenge

  • Retreat Reflection

Major Lessons Learned

  • Don’t go exploring in the woods where there are not trails. - Jack

  • Don’t jump off of bunk beds. - Pierce

  • New games are really fun. - Paul

  • One bad apple can ruin it for everyone. - Paul

  • If you don’t want to do something, but you’re going to have to, you better just do your best work. Strive for excellence. - Grayson Ward

  • Bugs hate you. - Avery

  • You don’t want Declan to tell scary stories because he doesn’t make them scary. - Jack

  • Sometimes you have to let go of things that hold you back, let you down and put you in bad situations. - Finlee

  • When you need to have a conflict resolution, have one. - Bray

Erin-Beth Carter