Last month, seventh grade students at Minnetonka Middle School East had the opportunity to attend the Courage Retreat, a yearly event organized through Youth Frontiers and facilitated with student volunteers from Minnetonka High School. During the retreat, students are encouraged to be courageous and responsible, and to do the right thing.

Throughout the day, students participated in a wide variety of activities to build their relationships with their peers. Some favorites activities from the day included volleyball, small group and large group conversations, jump rope challenges and sharing time. From the games and activities to the in-depth conversations held over the course of the 6-hour retreat, students were empowered to be themselves and to make a positive impact in their communities.

“We hope the retreat will help students reflect on their relationship with other classmates, and how they want to make the school a better place,” said Lindsay Stashek, one of the guidance counselors at MME who helped organize the retreat.

The three goals of the retreat were to identify personal fears (and understand that everyone has them); to commit to acting with courage to make the school a better place; and to deepen relationships with classmates to break down social barriers.

Connection to the school community is an important ingredient in student learning. The seventh grade Courage Retreat is one way for students and staff to work together to create a positive and caring school culture.