The Men’s Leadership affinity recently hosted a two-day retreat in Nevada City and spent time hiking, playing games and talking. 

Students were able to bond with each other, and share an experience that young men often don’t receive, being open about who they are with people they are close with. During the first day of the retreat, students spent time around a campfire asking each other questions.

“The juniors asked the seniors a lot of questions about senior year, the college process, navigating senior year and pressure from outside, from parents and whatnot,” said English teacher and chaperone Giles Scott.

The fire circle was viewed as a highlight by many on the retreat, where students had the opportunity to learn from seniors and bond over their struggles and successes throughout their time at Branson. 

“I feel like I learned a lot from the seniors, and it was a really nice bonding moment because everyone was very vulnerable in sharing some of the things they struggled with, but it was also very fun to come together and share our success as a whole and celebrate each other. And also have a good time in the woods,” Will Swift ’27 said. 

The next day, they spent their time doing a solo, spending time alone in the woods. The solo also involves not using any kind of electronic devices, which students supported. For the entirety of the trip, students did not have access to their phones or computers.

“A number of kids said how much the solo meant to them,” Scott said. “We always take their phones at the very beginning, so they don’t have their phones for the entire weekend.”

They spent the rest of the day playing games and went to the local skatepark. The chaperones wanted to make sure that the retreat was a mix of bonding moments and games that allowed the students to have fun as well. At the end of the trip, they spent time talking to each other once again about their challenges and successes throughout the year.

“We did a fire circle on Saturday night for a longer period, where we talked about what’s been challenging, what’s worked well this year and then it opens up to questions, and the boys tend to get vulnerable then ‘cause we’ve had all these bonding activities,” said Scott.

Both the students and chaperones involved said that they were grateful for this rare opportunity to be vulnerable amongst their peers and be open with one another.

“It’s an experience that most high school kids don’t get to experience with some of their closest buddies, and also just with a group of great kids,” Swift said.

“A number of the boys, over half of them, talked about how they don’t get these opportunities to hang out in this particular way, and to be open about who they are, and what they’re going through, and how much they appreciate that,” Scott said.