At Rosary, there are many ways that the classes are able to celebrate the sisterhood that they have found. One of these ways is Rosary Day, which the junior class will have the opportunity to celebrate in a few weeks. Another special way is through the class retreats. These required retreats help Royals to further establish their relationships with both God and their sisters, and they serve as opportunities for Royals to find themselves and think about what their future might look like after graduation.
Each class has a unique retreat that is tailored to their grade level and features activities that apply to their interests. The Class of 2027 went on their junior class retreat, “Step Up,” this Wednesday, Sept. 24 at St. Martin de Porres Catholic Church in Yorba Linda. During their first retreat as (almost) upperclasswomen, the juniors learned a lot about how they can demonstrate Jesus’ love to those around them and how they can maintain their relationship with God despite the beginning of a more difficult and rigorous academic year.
Following the juniors’ gathering in the St. Martin de Porres parish center, the group walked over to the church and celebrated daily Mass with some parishioners. After being nourished spiritually by Communion, they were nourished physically by delicious breakfast burritos, yogurt, and fruit. Throughout the day, the juniors listened to three different talks, all from Rosary alumnae.
The first of the three was given by Ms. Hermosillo ‘14, who shared personal anecdotes about how she has found what her faith means to her throughout the ups and downs of her life, and how her relationship with God has grown over the years. Later in the day, Mrs. Vasquez ‘17 discussed the changes that her spiritual life has gone through, from her freshman year of high school, all the way to her post-college life. Kylie Kennedy ’27 was inspired by the talks and is eager to grow in her relationship with God. “Mrs. Vasquez and Ms. Hermosillo’s talks allowed me to realize that having bumps in your faith is okay, and that you have to experience these bumps as God works through you in mysterious ways,” Kennedy states, “His plan is always greater than ours.” Her talk inspired the juniors, letting them know that even if they struggle with their faith, or, as they came to know it by the end of the day, “stub their toes,” God will always be waiting to welcome them back home, or to “relieve the pain.” The juniors had fun bonding with both their fellow juniors and their senior sisters through the icebreakers (which included classic Rosary retreat games, such as “Grocery Store” and the “Rock-Paper-Scissors Snake” game) and through the small-group discussions, which occurred after each talk and allowed the girls to reflect on and share about their own personal relationship with God and their spiritual life.
After the juniors enjoyed a delectable pasta and salad lunch, the focus of the retreat shifted to their role as upperclasswomen. The third talk featured recent Rosary alumnae Samantha Oskorus ‘25 and Jillian De Vega ‘25. These two Royals instructed their junior sisters on how to be role models, and especially how to be good big sisters. They suggested many ways that the juniors could bond with their little sisters and help to make their transition into Rosary far easier. De Vega imparted to them that being a big sister is an immense responsibility, and that their little sisters will forever look up to them as their first Rosary role model.
After this instruction, the juniors created an “adventure book,” where they can document all of the fun times that they share with their little sisters and, when their time comes to graduate, their little sisters can document the special experiences that they share with their own little sisters. Amanda Fernández ‘27 found the retreat very insightful and was inspired to connect with her little sister: “I feel that this retreat has inspired me to not only be a role model but truly a big sister to my little sister. I want to grow our relationship by being there for her or giving her advice since we both do theater. I would love to guide her through that process since I was once there my freshman year and also being a cheerleader for her,” Fernández says, “I’m really looking forward to getting to know my little sister and I hope to not only share the stage with her, but to grow our relationship outside of school, like watching her play volleyball and going to Starbucks.”
The group eventually made their way back to the church, where they experienced Adoration. This quintessential way of ending all Rosary retreats was especially significant for the girls because they were able to converse with God and grow in their connection with Him– just what Ms. Hermosillo and Mrs. Vasquez encouraged them to do. The juniors are now three retreats into their Rosary journey, and each retreat has taught them something different about what it is to be a child of God as well as a sister. Each of the different lessons learned all come together to demonstrate to the girls what it means to be a true Rosary Royal.
