Great Hearts Students Find Connection Beyond the Classroom

For students at Great Hearts Glendale Prep, some of the most meaningful lessons of high school happen beyond the walls of the classroom. Each year, the Glendale Prep High School Retreat gives students an opportunity to step away from their regular school day, spend intentional time together, and strengthen the friendships and community that shape their experience at the academy.

This year, students traveled to Lost Canyon in Williams, Ariz. for three days filled with adventure, laughter, conversation, and plenty of opportunities to enjoy being together.

“High school retreat is a time for the students to come and bond and spend some time together,” shared Office Manager Jenny Haley who organizes the trip each year.

And there was no shortage of ways to do just that.

During free time, students could take on the zipline, swimming pool and slides, rock climbing wall, and giant swing. Others gathered in the game room for ping pong, pool, and basketball, while students also had the opportunity to try their hand at ink art with the school’s faculty.

The retreat also included karaoke, s’mores, meals together, and even a much anticipated game of hide and seek with teachers.

“I think it’s been really fun to be able to hang out with all of our friends,” Junior Brooklyn Malloy said. “On a school day, we can all hang out, but it’s really great to be able to spend all day and the nights with each other and be able to have meals together.”

For Sheliza Zobel, an exchange student from Germany, the retreat offered another window into American culture and the experience of being a teenager thousands of miles from home.

“I just like experiencing teenagers in another country,” Zobel shared. “It is another culture, and I think it’s very different from Germany.”

Of course, adventure was also high on the list. Junior KJ Divine was able to try the zipline for the first time and quickly declared it a favorite. “It was a lot of fun. It got super fast.”

But beneath the activities was something deeper.

The mission of Great Hearts Academies is to cultivate the minds and hearts of students through the pursuit of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. That formation doesn’t end when students leave the classroom. It continues in friendship, in service, in shared experiences, and in the daily practice of becoming a thoughtful and generous member of a community.

The High School Retreat gives students the space to practice those virtues in a different setting. They learn more about one another, deepen friendships across grades, spend time with their teachers outside the rhythms of the school day, and experience what it means to belong to a community ordered toward something greater than themselves.

That time together can make a difference long after students return to campus.

“The bonding and the time that they get away from school and just come together is such a fun time for them,” shared Haley. “They really bond, and I think once we get back, the atmosphere changes a little bit.”

Making the retreat possible also takes a community of adults willing to serve behind the scenes.

Parent volunteers help prepare meals, serve students, clean tables, run activities, and fill whatever role is needed throughout the retreat.

Cheryl Rewlings, a parent volunteer described that service as another way of showing students how deeply they are supported. “It lets them know that parents love them no matter where they are,” she said. “We want them to go about and do the fun things, and we’re willing to do the work behind the scenes to allow them to enjoy themselves.”

That spirit of service is itself part of the formation Great Hearts seeks to cultivate. Students see adults giving generously of their time, teachers investing in relationships beyond the classroom, and classmates choosing friendship, participation, and community.

There are zipline rides and karaoke songs, late night laughter and shared meals. But there is also something lasting being formed: minds opened to new experiences, hearts strengthened through friendship and service, and a school community drawn closer together.

The pursuit of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty happens in great books and Socratic conversations, but it also happens when students learn to know, serve, and care for one another.

For Glendale Prep students, retreat is a chance to leave campus for a few days and return more deeply connected to the community they call home.

Do you have a story or know of one that you would like to see featured at Great Hearts? Please contactjmoore@greatheartsamerica.org.

Submit a student application to a Great Hearts Academy by visiting: https://www.greatheartsamerica.org/enroll/.