7:45 It’s May 6th. Seniors are out of the school enjoying their day off. Others sit in classrooms, sitting through another day off school. Impact leaders are waiting for the chance to go meet their kids in the gym. It’s the impact retreat, a very important day for the incoming 8th graders. And Principal Mark Mischke is surveying the halls making sure the 8th graders feel welcome.
Mischke explains the day as “ very important, we have a lot of people who work to make this perfect. But Ms. Olsen does a lot of the work, I am thankful for the work she puts into the day.
I really think the day went well this year, our speaker I felt, really spoke to the kids. He did an amazing job sharing his incredible story, but also was able to wrap it all back around and gave advice I think all the kids took to heart.
Every year my fear is that the kids will walk away feeling like the day was wasted, but I don’t think that was the case this year. I got a lot of feedback from the 8th graders, and all of them really seemed to enjoy the day.”
9:45 Bustling 8th grade girls fill the hallways of the high school, their faces and comments would make you think that they were “ too cool for school”. But their eyes were full of wonder as they surveyed the building and the people in it. The students are herded into the west gym, and it’s there that their impact leaders await them.
Maddy Thompson, and eighth grader surveys the scene, taking it all in. Maddy can’t wait to get out of the middle school, and today high school seems a little less further off.
“ The impact retreat was a wonderful experience,” says Maddy. “ The day was full of little surprises that I wasn’t aware were at the high school. This day honestly just made me even more excited for high school!
My favorite part was definitely the speakers, both our breakout and main speaker gave me advice that I know I will carry with me throughout high school. The speakers did their job very well, they made a huge impact on me.
Everything about the day was amazing, to answer your question, yes the impact retreat went above and beyond my expectations and I now feel ready for high school. 100% ready.”
