Freshmen Find Fellowship at Camp Thunderbird

On Thursday, September 11th, the class of 2029 went on their first retreat of the year to Camp Thunderbird. Accompanied by Father Chinoso, Mr. Quintero, Mr. Lee, and others, students used this time to grow closer in their faith with God, as well as to slow down and notice how God shows Himself through His creation.

The freshman started out the morning by attending Mass in the chapel. They then traveled to Camp Thunderbird where they listened to a couple of lectures about what their purpose in life should be regarding God and faith before breaking up into small groups. In these small groups, students branched out and got to know others better.

Students also participated in activities that required them to discover the deeper meaning of ordinary things. Freshman John Consoli said, “We were shown images, and we had to try and look beyond what the picture was showing us in order to figure out what it meant.”

Mr. Quintero’s own mom made an appearance during the retreat and led in the singing of a couple songs of worship. Freshman Hudson Rowe said, “It was really fun and cool to see everyone come together and sing all the songs.” 

The freshman sing songs to God with Mr. Quintero’s mother (Credit: Charlotte Catholic High School)

The freshmen had mixed feelings about the retreat. John said, “I enjoyed meeting new people and listening to other students answer questions in ways that I never thought about looking at things.” On the other hand, Freshman Dillon Letizia said, “I did not like how much we talked, and I would have rather done more activities that didn’t involve us sitting around the entire time.” The students could not leave their small groups while they were at the retreat, which largely contributed to why some became bored quickly.

Ultimately, campus ministry organized this retreat in hopes to prepare freshmen for a faith-filled journey through high school, as well as to strengthen students’ relationship with God. Freshman Stella Thompson stated, “Although the retreat was not as fun as I was hoping, I did feel like it was important for us to go on the retreat, and it helped me become more faithful as a person.”

All the retreats are located at Camp Thunderbird, but the sophomores, juniors, and seniors will have their retreats in April, February, and November, respectively.