By Taylor ’25
Retreat is always one of the main highlights of the year for students at Harvard-Westlake. During my time at HW, I have loved spending this time with my peers each year, getting to know them, and exploring so many unique places in the process. Retreats at Harvard-Westlake happen once every year for each grade level at the Middle School: 7th, 8th and 9th grade. They usually happen near the beginning of the school year, around October. The 9th grade retreat was a 4-day canoeing trip down the Colorado River.
Before we went, we had multiple retreat class meetings where our deans provided us with all the information about the trip so that we would be prepared. A few weeks before we left, we were paired with a group for the trip. The group consisted of about 12 kids and a faculty chaperone, and we got to meet the people in our group before retreat. Because of COVID-19 this year, the school also made sure our trip was safe, and provided us with testing 72 hours in advance of the trip.
I remember being very excited, prepared, and also comfortable with the people I was going on the trip with. On the Monday morning we left, we got on a bus early in the morning. After the 6 hour bus ride on the first day, we were ready to get going. We met with our group and a naturalist, who would guide us along the Colorado River. I remember my group naturalist’s name was Shannon, and she was extremely nice and taught us so much throughout the trip. After we met everyone, we learned how to get in and out of our canoe and how to set up our tents at our first campsite. We spent the next few days on the river, canoeing and spending time on the sandbars hanging out with friends. When we got to our next campsite each day, we would set up our tents, and the next morning we would take them down and pack them into our canoes to take to the next campsite. I remember the countless conversations we had while our canoes were rafted up and we were floating on the river. On the last morning, we woke up early to lie in our canoes and watch the sunrise as we drifted down the river. It was such an incredible and fun experience.
Through this trip I got to connect with so many new people, and build so many new friendships with new 9th graders in our grade. Retreat at Harvard-Westlake is truly an amazing experience, and I would definitely recommend going.
