On Wednesday, the junior class, myself included, went to St. Martin de Porres Catholic Church in Yorba Linda for their class retreat. The theme for the day was “Step Up” because we become upperclasswomen this year! The day started off with Mass in the beautiful church. We then ate breakfast that consisted of burritos, yogurt and fruit. No time was wasted—we jumped straight into dancing!
After dancing our hearts out to “Cotton-Eyed Joe” and “Cupid Shuffle,” we sat down to listen to Sports Information Director Ms. Hermosillo ’14 give her moving talk: “Step Up and Step Out in Faith.” She talked about her own journey and shared practical ways that we can “step up” in our faith. Emma Muse ’26 shared, “I really like Coach Jess’ talk because she was so honest and open with us which I think helped us take more away from what she had to share.” I couldn’t agree more with Emma. The first talk did not disappoint, and I was able to take away some great points from the talk.
After a few small group questions, we played an intense game of head, shoulders, ball. Then, the day continued with another talk from Ms. O’Campo ’02: “I’m a Big Sis Now.” She discussed the importance of being a good big sister at Rosary. Junior Parker Yee expressed how she felt about the talk: “I personally loved Ms. O’Campo’s talk. It really highlighted how I should be supportive and always present for my little sister when she needs me. I love how she said that every little sister was paired for a reason.” That’s so true! You might have more in common with your sister than you think, and I think we can all agree that having a friendly face on campus can really create the start of a great year.
This talk led into a creative craft. We made adventure jars with tissue paper, glue, gems and some fun activities and adventures that we can do with our friends or Rosary little sisters. Some popular activities included having a movie night, going to the beach, and going shopping. Of course, no retreat would be complete without the classic Rosary event lunch: pasta, salad and bread. This time was great to get closer to friends or even make new ones.
Our third speaker of the day was none other than English Department Chair Mrs. Langenwalter. In her talk “Stubbing My Toe,” she expressed how there will be hard, painful times in our life, but it is how we react that is important. Rae Lopez ’26 shared, “I thought Mrs. Langenwalter’s story of sticking to her faith was inspiring. It was nice to hear how she overcame her trials through her relationship with God.” I totally agree. Hardships are a part of life and having faith might not make it easy, but it might make it easier. We wrapped up that part of the retreat with some small group questions.
To finish off a great retreat, we went back into the church and had Adoration. To make it even better, we were led through praise and worship songs as we prayed. Junior Aurora Ortuno shared her thoughts on Adoration: “Adoration is honestly my favorite part of class retreats because I get to have one-on-one time with Jesus. Adoration gives me peace after praying my heart out!” I love Adoration, too! Overall, I think it was a great retreat full of time with Jesus, socialization with our friends and advice from our teachers. I hope everyone had an amazing time at the retreat!
