Yesenia Herrera | Staff Reporter

On Monday Sep. 8 at 7:30am the seniors and their respective chaperons boarded charter buses meant to transport them to Camp Koinonia of Watsonville for an overnight retreat where they would be isolated from their beloved cell phones for two days and one night. On this trip, each student was challenged emotionally and physically by participating in a series of trust exercises initiated by staff from Naturalists at Large, meant to strengthen and/or form bonds between the participants. “I wanted students to feel that, in some way, this was a new beginning for them,” said Beatriz Valdez, Senior Class Dean. “Whatever they had going on in the past is behind them … they’ve set the reset button.” According to several students, the various ropes courses and trust exercises helped stimulate the fun factor and strengthen their trust for one another, but what they treasure most is the famous “web” activity, during which time they had the opportunity to appreciate a classmate, make amends, or come to good terms with a foe. “The amount of emotion in that room was overwhelming,” an anonymous senior said, “I just hope we can carry on this sentiment of closeness for the remainder of the school year.”