The Architecture of Belonging: Why We Start Every School Year with Class Retreats
When choosing the right school for your daughter, you aren't just looking for top-tier academics—you are looking for a community where she will be known, loved, and supported. You want to know that she will find her voice, build resilient friendships, and feel a deep sense of belonging from day one.
At Girls Preparatory School, our annual, grade-specific overnight retreats are highly anticipated milestones designed with a singular, strategic purpose: to secure the sisterhood.
Why It Matters
A girl who feels secure in her social environment is a girl who is ready to take academic risks, raise her hand in class, and step into leadership roles.
By investing time in class retreats at the very start of every single year, we ensure that no girl walks our hallways alone. Long after the campfires fade, the shared jokes, mutual trust, and deep-rooted bonds of the sisterhood remain—supporting her all the way to graduation and beyond.
The Middle School Foundations: Confidence and Connection
From the first days of middle school to Eighth Grade Celebration, here’s how this tradition intentionally shapes your daughter’s journey.
Sixth Grade: Welcoming the Newest Sisters
The Focus: Easing the transition and navigating campus
The Experience: Joining a new school can feel overwhelming, so our youngest students start their retreat right on campus. Through advisory-led scavenger hunts and interactive schedule-mapping games, they learn to navigate their new environment with confidence.
Seventh Grade: Teamwork and Tradition
The Focus: Deepening peer relationships and advisory bonding
The Experience: At Camp Vesper Point, girls step out of their comfort zones through beach volleyball, waterfront activities, and team-building games. By inventing their own unique advisory cheers and secret handshakes, they build a micro-community of support that lasts the entire school year.
Eighth Grade: Unplugging to Connect
The Focus: Digital detox and authentic presence
The Experience: Heading to the cabins at Camp Alpine, the eighth graders trade screens for paddleboarding, hiking, and fireside skits. By intentionally disconnecting from social media, the class starts their final year of middle school deeply grounded in real-world connections.
The Upper School Journey: Leadership, Trust, and Resilience
As girls enter the upper school, our class retreats evolve to match their personal growth, by blending high-adventure teamwork with the mentorship opportunities.
Ninth Grade: Navigating the High School Transition
"Freshman year is a critical transition year. The class retreats are a time for girls to try new things, meet new friends, and begin to make their mark as upper-schoolers."— Lauren Lawrence Swanson ’09, Dean of the Freshman Class
The Experience: To ease this major milestone, freshmen head to destinations like Dollywood and the DreamMore Resort. Blending the thrills of a theme park with team-building scavenger hunts, talent shows, and a joint hike with the sophomore class, this retreat ensures no girl faces the transition to high school alone.
Tenth Grade: Strengthening the Core
The Focus: Resilience and long-term friendship
The Experience: The tenth-grade retreat takes the girls to the mountains of Gatlinburg. Navigating canopy walks 60 feet above the ground at Anakeesta pushes them to conquer fears together, while evening downtime at the lodge opens the floor for impromptu dance battles and late-night catch-ups.
Eleventh Grade: Trust and Collaboration
The Focus: Teamwork under pressure
The Experience: Junior year is notoriously rigorous, which is why their class retreat focuses on adventure and mutual reliance. Whitewater rafting down the Ocoee River is an adrenaline rush and a lesson in teamwork. Navigating the rapids requires trust and collective effort, proving to the girls what they can accomplish when they work together.
Twelfth Grade: Legacy and Mentorship
The Focus: Leadership and reflection
The Experience: For our seniors, the retreat balances high-ropes adrenaline with meaningful reflection. Whether roasting s’mores at sunset or crafting welcome cards for their "Rats" (the incoming sixth-graders they will mentor all year), this retreat gives our oldest students the space to step into their roles as campus leaders.
See the Sisterhood in Action
The best way to understand the warmth and strength of our community is to experience it firsthand. We invite you to visit our campus, meet our students, and see how your daughter can thrive here.