As the school year begins, the hallways are filled once again with students and teachers looking forward to starting another year. The annual grade retreats are one
of many activities that occur in the first couple of weeks of school: at the beginning of September, students will gather by grade and spend a morning together doing fun activities prepared by their dean. Jen Vance, the freshman dean, is excited to meet the new 9th graders and get to know them during this year’s retreat, which will take place on campus to allow students to become more familiar with the new space. Vance explained that she wants to incorporate “problem-solving and collaboration” and find ways to bridge the concepts that they learned in Blake 101 to this day. When discussing leadership aspects of the retreat, Vance said that it allows students to “step away from our typical academic life to be together as a community.” She believes that the main focus of the 9th-grade year is to build a community and “[have] a chance to create norms and ideas about who this class wants to be.”

The sophomore retreat, taking place on Monday, Sept. 9, is a moment for students to separate themselves into advisories, with a common goal of exploring downtown.
Sophomores go to downtown Minneapolis through public
transport and walk around neighborhoods. CJ Eckhardt, the sophomore dean commented on the importance of
the retreat: “allowing the sophomores to have a chance to take action on where they want to go… and builds Blake community and culture.” According to Eckhardt, sophomores will be separated into three to five advisory groups, allowing them to spread and learn about different neighborhoods such as Kenwood Park and Nicollet Island. Sophomores will be focusing on the depth and insight into the Minneapolis communities and their different aspects. During the retreat, CJ Eckhardt attempts to understand students, “both as a group but also as individuals.” Eckhardt also mentioned that she
“love[s] seeing the students outside of day-to-day school
life” because it allows her to “discover who this class is.”
It’s important for students to learn about public transportation and the different environments that surround The Blake School. Jay Ali ‘26 discussed the sophomore retreat, saying “It was definitely better exploring all the different landmarks and neighborhoods than just driving by like every other day.” Ali also noted that the grade retreat was an inclusive environment.

The junior grade retreat holds something special, as it will be the first time in many years that students will be canoeing. Mike Canfield is an advocate for learning to canoe, and he is extremely excited for students who have never canoed to have this experience. Canfield further commented on this saying, “I think every Blake student should know how to canoe and should have canoed.” As Minnesota is the land of 10,000 lakes, there are many
chances to canoe and Canfield does not want that opportunity to go to waste. The plan is simple: half of the grade will travel to Bde Maka Ska in the morning while the other will spend some time on campus, then vice versa. Students will be able to interact with their advisors and fellow classmates throughout the day leading to more bonding. Doing various activities together provides benefits, and Canfield said “Doing something together that’s different builds community.” Leadership will play a big part in the success of the event since there are many students who have never canoed before. This retreat will provide many leadership opportunities for students in
the grade. Canfield noted that “this anticipates how people position themselves as leaders in the class and in the school now.” Helping students when not feeling comfortable is what a leader does, and this grade retreat helps students do so. Canfield is also excited for the teamwork that will take place during this retreat, and he said “It’s a chance for everyone to pull together and be a class and what it means to be 2026… and have an identity.”

While Vance and Eckhardt have a new class of students this year, Maggie Bowman, the senior grade dean, will enjoy her class’ final year with students she has “already
built connections with” for the past two years. She explained that the senior retreat will consist of structured activities as a whole grade and bonding activities in advisory groups. As their high school journey will come to a close at the end of this school year, Bowman noted that she hopes the seniors can enjoy the retreat and appreciate
being surrounded by their friends and classmates. She also expresses the hope that the students can dedicate some time to having fun during senior year by “enjoying time with friends, engaging in Homecoming, and participating in other extracurricular activities.” A critical aspect of senior year is leadership. In connection with this, Bowman commented that the seniors “set the tone and culture of the school, so the retreat will help them be
more cognizant of the fact that they are the leaders and the culture-setters of the Upper School.” In her closing thoughts about both the retreat and senior year, Bowman remarked, “the seniors can let the year happen to them, or they can understand that they can have ownership and be proactive about this year.” This year, the seniors have a chance to leave a positive impression on the school, their friends, and the whole school community.