Now in its fifth year, Weber’s annual Senior Kickoff Retreat brings the senior class together at Lake Lanier to reconnect, strengthen relationships, and think about how they want to approach their final year at Weber and their role as leaders of the school community.
As 12th Grade Dean Rabbi Adam Mayer has challenged this year’s seniors: Be Interesting. Be Caring. Be Excellent. Throughout the retreat, students explored what those ideas mean for how they approach their senior year and their relationships with one another.
Seniors also read Weber’s mission and Portrait of a Graduate, reflecting on the qualities Weber seeks to develop in its graduates and where they see those qualities in themselves. They then focused on five values they are challenged to carry with them as Weber graduates: responsibility, perseverance, integrity, empathy, and the value of knowledge. Through conversations and small-group activities, students considered how they can put those values into practice during their final year.
One retreat activity, “Senior Selfie of the Soul,” paired classmates for conversations about the experiences that have shaped them. Students shared favorite high school memories, challenges they have overcome, lessons they have learned about friendship and leadership, and advice they would give their younger selves. Each student was also asked to identify something unique in their partner that they could learn from and to continue noticing those qualities in their classmates throughout senior year.
College Counseling also brought a different lens to the retreat with the Myers-Briggs personality assessment. Students examined how their individual preferences can influence the ways they communicate, collaborate, and make decisions.
The retreat closed with students offering blessings for the year ahead as the Class of 2027 prepared to return to campus and take their place as Weber’s senior leaders.