Emery's Junior Class Shabbaton Experience

After the first week of school, the junior class at Emery/Weiner traveled to Livingston, Texas for a Shabbaton. The Shabbaton helps integrate new kids into the grade so that we can be more cohesive and inclusive as a group. We did many activities, such as pool time, competitive games, campfires, singing songs, and held Shabbat services as the retreat was on a weekend.

The theme of the weekend was “Crossing the Line,” signifying our transition from underclassmen to upperclassmen. This year, we have more responsibilities to uphold with the whole school looking up to us as an example. The trip reiterated our unity as a cohesive unit and ensured that we know the significance of our place in high school.

We are at a stressful point in our lives, but the retreat intended for us to forget about that momentarily and instead focus on the relationships we have with our teachers and our classmates. This theme of “Crossing the Line” also means to be unafraid to take risks and alter your boundaries since our responsibilities have changed.

As we grow older, we have more authority in the student body, and we start to figure out where we want to go in life. This class trip was significant because we established our place in high school, what it means to be a junior, how to grow and improve, and how to create better relationships with those close to us.