Advancing by retreats

The last two weekends have seen various groups of students heading off hither and yon for retreats. On the last weekend in February, 18 High School students and 6 staff members headed down the hill to Himalayan Torchbearers in order to study the beginning of the book of Mark. Using the inductive method of studying scripture in which the text is printed out on regular sheets of paper with lots of space for writing, underlining and drawing connections, they hammered out what the introduction and first several stories in Mark mean and how that applies to their lives. It was both tiring and exhilarating as they mastered this way of studying scripture, in some cases coming to a deep understanding of this first section of Mark.

On the following weekend, the 5th and 6th graders were at Torchbearers for the annual required Religious Education retreat where they studied the book of Esther. The proceedings were livened up by the presence of two authentic superheros - if you can call Nerdy Nora a superhero. At the same time the 3rd and 4th graders hiked to Hanifl Center. There they focused on the Easter Story using the popular Story Keepers video combined with activities and a take home bag filled with items representing each section of the story.

These retreats are in keeping with the Christian foundation of Woodstock and are designed to help all students come to an informed understanding of the Christian faith. Woodstock's Religious Life Policy recognizes that we are a diverse community yet still fundamentally Christian. Beginning in High School, students are exposed to other world religions and philosophies through required and optional RE classes.