For many, the junior retreat was a much-needed break from the stress and challenges of the school year.
For months leading up to January 24, 2025, Junior Representatives Taylor Koo ’26, Lila Range ’26 and Tea Theodosopoulos ’26, in coordination with The Center, meticulously planned the retreat, hoping to escape the day-to-day grind of Lick-Wilmerding High School.
“Sometimes it’s hard to really just spend time, quality time with yourself or with people around you…leaving the place we’re at every day and going somewhere new can allow us to see ourselves and other people in a new way,” Ravi Lau ’92, director of the Public Purpose Program (PPP) at LWHS, said.
This year’s retreat was held at Hidden Villa, an educational institution located in the sprawling Los Altos Hills in Santa Clara County.
“I love that it is not that far, but you feel like you’re far away. It’s this whole valley that they have that we can basically go and explore and play…that space just affords us lots of flexibility,” Lau said.
“Our goal was to build community amongst our class and break down the walls and cliques that we have. We wanted to have people form new connections and create lasting bonds,” Koo said.
With these goals in mind, the group carefully organized and implemented activities designed to nurture connections.
The day started with a grade-wide dance competition, challenging students to create dynamic choreography to the tunes of popular songs including “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen and “We Are Young” by fun. For many students, this was the highlight of their day.
“I really enjoyed the dance competition. I feel like it was really fun because everyone was willing to do it and put effort in,” Maxine Holmes ’26 said.
“The dance was the most fun part. But the thing I got out of it was community. It was just nice hanging out and talking to people I don’t talk to as often,” James Hsin ’26 said.
Students were then separated into different activity groups with a few being spikeball, painting, tarot cards, and frisbee.
“I attended the farm tour and it was so amazing. Really, it was glorious,” Noa Solomon-Carmel ’26 said.
The day finally concluded with a 1-on-1 partner walk, specifically designed to pair students with those outside of their inner circle.
“Everyone had to take a step into the unknown and lean into discomfort for that. But if they did, we knew it would have fostered community outside of friend groups,” Theodosopoulos said.
“I ended up having so much fun. And I think the junior reps did such a good job… Even though we’ve known each other for a decent amount of time, I still feel like I got way closer to some people,” Avery Yang ’26 said.
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