On December 2nd the Junior Class excitedly packed into buses on their way to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa in Doylestown for their Junior Retreat. The day would be filled with bonding activities revolving around prayer, service and compassion.  

The day started with a beautiful and calming guided meditation from the Junior’s theology teacher, Sister Patti. The meditation set the mood of interconnectedness between the entire class where everyone felt calm and ready to take on the day.
Next the students broke off into their smaller groups to participate in fun bonding activities. Sister Patti and Mr. Fromhold led the class in an extremely competitive Christmas singing competition. The spirits were extremely high after that.  

The Junior Retreat also focused on acts of service collaborating with a few representatives from the Blue Star Mothers of America organization, a group of mothers supporting their children and other troops overseas. The junior class wrote heartfelt letters to troops and put together care packages to provide some extra cheer and encouragement during this holiday season.  

After lunch, the Junior class made Gwynedd beaded keychains each different colors to represent their small retreat groups. After many attempts and a lot of beads flying around, everyone got the hang of it and made a lifelong keepsake to remind them of their Junior Retreat.  

For the last activity of the day, the girls got assigned another classmate to write a “rainy day” letter to them. The girls were told to only open the letter when they are having a difficult day so they can be met with words of encouragement and kindness from one of their classmates. 

The day ended with a heartwarming slideshow of all the Junior classes memories at Gwynedd created by Penelope Gilmore ‘24. After the slideshow ended, Mr. Fromhold asked the girls if anyone would like to say anything to wrap up the day. Multiple students got up and spoke about the Junior classes’ resilience to starting school in a pandemic. Others spoke about how through the mercy spirit the Junior class has truly become a family, a sisterhood. Filled with love and mercy spirit, the Junior class closed the day with an energetic rendition of the beloved Alma Mater.  

The Junior retreat was such a special day that allowed each girl to bond and grow closer to their classmates through the spirit of compassion. Special thanks to Mr. Fromhold, Sister Patti, Mrs. Tobias, Mrs. Cheeseman and all the Junior students that worked tirelessly to create such a special day.