Freshmen at Kentlake—the class of 2017—were welcomed to high school and the Falcon family Sept. 18-19 its second annual retreat for ninth graders at Lake Retreat near Ravensdale.

The event, which half of the freshman class attended each day, was focused on introducing the new students to each other and to the culture of the school as well as a crash course on what it takes to graduate.

“We’re one,” said Kyle Anderton, a senior and student in the leadership class who helped run the retreat. “I feel like Kentlake has the opportunity to change the culture of the community.”

The retreat was organized and run by staff members as well as students in leadership and Link Crew, which is a group dedicated to helping freshmen get oriented to their new school.

Students gathered together in the morning for what they called “Woot, woot”, a mini pep assembly of sorts. They then heard from coaches at the school about taking advantage of the opportunities they’ll have during the next four years. Next came small groups where students got to know each other through sharing their stories and participating in team building activities.

In the afternoon the class came back together and heard about what it takes to graduate from high school and how having a high school diploma can benefit them throughout their lives. The retreat closed with another mini pep assembly and hearing a fellow Kentlake student share her story of overcoming adversity.

“I think it helps unify the school,” said leadership student Cole Gilomen of the retreat. “They get to come out of their shells and feel more comfortable with the upperclassmen.”

Greg Kaas, a leadership teacher and academic intervention specialist at Kentlake, said the vision for the event came from Principal Joe Potts. The idea is to unite the school, get students connected and help all students succeed at Kentlake.

“We try to work on community,” Kaas said. “We thought about what we can do to have kids really get on board, how can we get them connected to Kentlake?”

The retreat was held for the first time a year ago. Kaas said it’s a good starting point for freshmen and the plan is that they will also return in four years for their senior breakfast as they finish high school and prepare to graduate.

“My freshman year I came in and I didn’t know anybody,” said sophomore leadership student Adam Vesperman. “Going into the camp I didn’t know anybody but I ended up making all my friends for freshman year there.”

Freshman Hezekiah Goodwin said he got to talk to lots of students he never met before and made new friends at the retreat.

And it isn’t just the freshmen who benefit.

Anderton said having upperclassmen involved in the retreat helps break down the traditional divide between classes and he made new friends through being involved in the retreat.

“It made the class of 2017 know that we’re they’re for them,” Anderton said. “I wish I would have (had) that opportunity to go there. It’s a life changing moment for them.”

Anderton said that his favorite part of the retreat was when the students were told about graduation.

“I feel like if I was younger and got to hear the stories of upperclassmen, I’d believe it more,” Anderton said.

Freshman Chase Young said the part of the day dedicated to talking about graduation stood out the most to him.

“I didn’t realize how important freshman year was,” Young said.

Leadership student Kaylee King said her favorite part of the day was when students go to share about their stories.

“(Then) they know they have things in common with other people,” King said.

Ultimately, Kaas said, the retreat is just the first step in creating community at Kentlake and helping students get involved, something he said is a challenge for the school with a wide-ranging attendance boundary.

“We have great kids,” Kaas said. “There’s a lot of positive things going on, a lot of positive changes. I see a lot of kids that are excited. I just love to see kids that are excited about being at Kentlake. We talked about Falcon pride and I’m seeing more and more of that.”