The Campion Academy Girl’s Club took a break from campus, spending the weekend in the cabins at Glacier View Ranch and learning more about different ways to study God’s Word. The Girl’s Head Dean, April Riseley, and Assistant Dean Cherie Haffner, planned the weekend full of activities and worship services in the Long House.
Carol Turk, the speaker for the retreat, explained a variety of ways that she studied the Bible. She talked about the different ways everyone thinks and how not all bible study techniques will be beneficial for everyone. Ariel Patterson, a senior, shared, “Something I learned about from the speaker is that your relationship with God is personal, and that you can express it in your own way. Everyone has a different way of glorifying Him.” Turk expressed that when she was younger she also didn’t enjoy just simply sitting and reading the Bible. She enjoyed studying the Bible in depth with art and sharing that with others. Turk taught the students some techniques to study the Bible through art, including making decorative booklets to write down important messages. Olivia Arizola, junior, recalled, “I loved learning how to make little books. It was so unique and fun to try and do.” The girls bonded with each other discussing spiritual topics and creating art. They ended the weekend having a fun board game night while enjoying hot chocolate and chips. The girls were able to not only reconnect with each other, but also with God's nature. There were lots of outdoor activities available to do, like paddle boarding, hiking, and star gazing. Beatriz Moraes expressed, “ I liked seeing the beautiful sunrise on the hike. We were able to have time to sing and worship God.” Vashty Segovia Santos, Student News Team
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Last weekend, the boys left campus to have an experience camping out together for a retreat at Glacier View Ranch (GVR). The Residence Hall deans, Michael Gann and Jordan Dubini planned activities and worship times for the boys to bond with each other.
Upon arrival to GVR, they set up their tents and hammocks at the Pathfinder Village, a Men’s Club tradition for the past four years. The Rocky Mountain Conference Youth Director, Brandon Westgate was the speaker for the event, giving them advice on how to be a “man of value”. The boy’s experienced some challenging weather conditions with a lot of wind at night, causing tarps to fly everywhere and tents to collapse. Gustavo Silveira, a new junior international student shared, “I think it was a unique experience; on the first night, it the wind blew very hard and our roof of the tent was taken with the wind and half of it fell on top of me, but as I was very cold and tired, I just went back to sleep. But, we had some worship and songs around the fire and a lot of good food. I especially loved the marshmallows which are better than I’ve had in Brazil. So these things made my weekend very special; I loved it.” As an additional sponsor on the trip, Jordan Dubini’s brother, Jared (known to students as “Two-bini”) came and cooked for the students and shared all of his culinary gifts and good recipes. Nathan Baez, a freshman student commented, “ My favorite part of dorm retreat was the food, “Two-bini” is so good at cooking and I loved it, especially the pancakes and the breakfast burritos.” Despite the difficulties and cold weather, the students were happy and thankful for the opportunity to get off campus and enjoy the mountains. A senior student, Shawn Ferguson commented, “The retreat was fun, despite the weather being more extreme this year. I think the best parts of this weekend were making the best out of the weather and overall just being able to enjoy God’s nature and the peace and quiet in the mountains.” Pedro Vieira, Student News Team For the first time since 2019, the residence halls will be opening their doors for prospective students to spend the night for the Fall Academy Days, happening October 28-29.
Campion Academy is preparing to host seventh through eleventh-grade students coming from Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, and several other states to experience life at Campion for this free event. Not only do prospective students get to sleep in a dorm room and eat cafeteria food, but they also have the chance to interact with current students and staff to get a real feel for campus life. Tiffany Mogaka, senior and SA officer, is looking forward to hosting her younger sister for Academy Days this year: “I’m excited to introduce my sister to Campion and to show the other students around to let them see what it is like to live away from home. I know it will be a fun experience for everyone.” This year’s Academy Days theme is “Hunger to Know” and features a life-size inflatable Hungry-Hippo Chow-down game, an ice cream sundae bar, mixers, and interactive games. Haley Beckermeyer, now a senior at Campion, reflected on her experience at Academy Days: “I made friends at Academy Days when I was in eighth grade that helped me feel comfortable when I arrived as a freshman. Many of the people I met then are still my friends now.” In addition to the fun activities, students will have a chance to compete for scholarships in academic subjects, music, and athletics. New this year, Academy Days is being held in the Fall. Jessica Rios, Campion Academy’s recruiter, explains, “We found that by the springtime many parents and students have already made up their minds about their school choices for the upcoming year. By hosting Academy Days in the Fall, we hope to give families a better opportunity to learn about Campion early-on in the decision-making process.” While tours and visits to Campion can be scheduled individually year-round, Rios emphasizes that this weekend is not to be missed: “While we have many events to attend throughout the year, this is the only event that is specifically geared for prospective students. It is intentionally designed to give students a really good understanding of what it is like to be a student here. I highly encourage any student considering their high school options for next year to attend Academy Days for the full experience.” Jill Harlow, Communication Director This past weekend, Campion Academy’s Girls’ Club held a dorm retreat at Glacier View Ranch. Guest speaker Erica Jones gave seminars on practical life lessons, but most importantly spoke on how to be content with yourself.
A huge spiritual blessing was gained from this retreat. “I was heavily impacted by Erica Jones’ messages over the weekend,” says Sandra Arlt, senior. “She made her talks relatable and thought provoking. She included God within all of her messages and made sure we were getting what she was saying to us.” The retreat was not only sitting in meetings, but also bonding with and getting to know each other. “I had a lot of fun making new friends in my cabin. I’m already looking forward to next year’s retreat,” Gwen Cress, sophomore, said. The mountain views mesmerized the retreaters, with some girls waking up before dawn to watch the sunrise from the top of a rocky point. “The view was really pretty. I love the mountains,” commented junior Isabel Navarro. The girls also had the opportunity to go paddleboarding and kayaking, and had a karaoke night on Saturday. Students were thankful to be able to leave campus and experience a more normal retreat this year. The ladies returned to campus not only with new friendships, but a new sense of purpose in Christ. Jacqueline Kobagaya, Student News Team Photos: Love Pickle When I entered the doors of the residence hall for my very first move-in day, I couldn't help but feel anxious. The rules, the people I was around, the things I was about to do, and the schedule I would have would be different. Everything I knew was about to change, but I would make memories that would last a lifetime. All the doubts and worries I had would soon fade, as this would become my second home.
For incoming students, residence hall life can be an intimidating yet exciting new adventure. Luckily, while being here, students make friends and have the help of their deans to guide them through. Although dorm life is much different than living at home, they learn to adapt and have a great opportunity to grow stronger relationships with the people around them. Jahir Marcenaro, junior, stated, “The people here in the dorm are like family; they are fun, crazy, and awesome to hang around with. You always have something new happen each day that makes being at Campion feel less like a school, and more like a family trying to know God more.” At times, residence hall students struggle with the complete change in schedule and lifestyle and experience homesickness. Sami Hodges, senior, explained, “Even though I have been in the dorm since sophomore year, I still get homesick every now and then. Personally I am not someone who easily opens up about my struggles, but living in the dorm has helped me learn to trust others, and the girls have been a big encouragement during my hardest times at school.” For first-year students, while it can take time to adapt to the new environment, the friendships made in the residence hall are irreplaceable. “Dorm life for me is amazing!” Bentlee Barry, first-year dorm student, exclaimed, “I've never had as strong relationships with girls as I do here. Everyone in your hall is like your family, no matter what happens, we have each other's back. It was such a blessing coming here and I hope others are able to experience it.” Most importantly, being in the residence hall puts students in a Christ-centered environment that encourages them to draw closer to God. The nightly worship and the ability to pray with the deans and each other help students grow a strong relationship with God. Despite struggles, Hodges affirmed, “I’ve had to rely on God this year more than any other year, and I have come to realize that without Him, it is impossible to get through anything on my own.” Now, as a senior, I’m anticipating the day when I will leave the doors of the residence hall for the last time. Although I will go on to new adventures, I will carry with me all of the friendships and memories I have made here, and forever remember my second home. -Haley Enochs, Student News Team The Men’s Residence Hall students and deans enjoyed a device-free weekend bonding with each other on campus. The central theme of the weekend was leadership. Jayden Anggormas, senior, said, “Each and every one of us are leaders, and we must let God influence us to be the best leaders.” In a mens-specific service, Pastor Goetz gave a sermon explaining how we can be better leaders, and the students watched several videos on the topic for vespers. Before church on Sabbath, the guys enjoyed a competitive game of Bible trivia. “My favorite part of the dorm retreat was the Bible trivia that we had before Pastor Goetz’s sermon,” commented Kevin Perez, senior. “I enjoyed working with my team to try to find the answers for the questions, and although we tied, it was still fun.” On Saturday afternoon, the guys broke into several different groups for a photo scavenger hunt. They were given a sheet of paper with riddles on it that they had to solve. When they solved the riddle, it explained the type of picture the group had to take at various locations around campus. On Saturday night, the guys played a round of capture the flag in the dark. “I definitely loved playing capture the flag with all of the boys in the dorm,” explained Angel Villalobos, junior. “All the strategies and plans the boys would come up with surprised me and made me want to give it my all. It was a great time of togetherness!” Jayce Treat, (Text and Photos) Student News Team The Girl’s Residence Hall partnered up with the Campion Church Women’s Ministries to bring a special service, “Lemonade,” to the academy girls and ladies in the community. On Sabbath, the guest speaker, Pastor Jen Woody, focused on the theme “Sweet Sufferings” and talked about how God can turn disappointments into blessings. On Sabbath afternoon, in a session called “Anything Goes,” Pastor Jen answered anonymous questions that girls had on their hearts about God, life, and relationships. “I really enjoyed the fact that Pastor Jen was comfortable with our questions and didn’t filter anything,” Melody Mambo, sophomore, explained. “She made us feel safe and I’m glad that we got answers to some questions we wouldn’t normally ask.” The girls also enjoyed the “Hope Rocks” activity by painting inspirational and creatively designed rocks. The residence hall girls ended the retreat on Saturday night with pizza and karaoke. Amira Davis, senior, commented, “Karaoke was a good way to end the night along with dancing with the other girls. It was fun, and I got closer with people I don’t usually hang out with.” Tiffany Dien, Student News Team Photos: Sami Hodges |
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