The Wildcats participated in a Senior Day of Reflection on May 15, taking a break from classes and spending the school day reflecting on their last few days as NDB students.

The retreat was held from 8:30 a.m. to 2:55 p.m. at Saint Bart’s Parish in San Mateo, which is the same location that the Wildcats had their Freshman Retreat at in 2019.

The day was planned and organized by NDB Director of Mission and Ministry Amy Jobin and former NDB teacher Carolyn Hutchins, who prepared many reflective discussions and activities for the seniors to participate in to have a fun and enjoyable final retreat.

“The hope for the Senior Day of Reflection is to give our seniors a chance to come together one more time as a class before they graduate,” said Jobin. “[It is a time] to really reflect on what’s happened to them during their four years and to think about our mission and what from our mission that they’re going to take with them.”

The classmates first gathered in the church and listened to what activities and speakers were in store for them that day. Upon arrival, they completed a questionnaire-style worksheet that allowed for students to reflect on their faith backgrounds and the most important people in their lives. After completing the questions, the students had the opportunity to share some of their answers with their classmates, allowing for the day to begin with open and honest discussion.

The senior class was sorted into small groups for the next activity, each led by an NDB administrator. In their small groups, the students did some short icebreaker activities to become comfortable discussing and reflecting within their circle.

After the first small group activity, the seniors re-grouped in the main hall to listen to a speech given by their classmate, Lynne Pan. Pan discussed her own NDB journey and reflected on some of the memorable moments from her four years of high school that she will always remember. She discussed her change from boarding school to high school, and how she was able to find a community at NDB.

“It was a very fascinating experience, especially because I have never really done it before and I’m kind of a shy person,” said Pan. “So I felt like I was making myself step out of the comfort zone a little bit and it was fun.”

Before lunch, the seniors re-joined their small groups and discussed their favorite memories from each of their four years at NDB. Each group was then assigned either freshman, sophomore, junior or senior year and had to create a two minute skit based on a favorite class memory from that year. Students had fun recreating moments, like from distanced learning and freshman orientation, as they reflected on the past four years.

The class also heard from NDB alumna and daughter of Hutchins, Kylie Hutchins, who reflected on her time at NDB and the importance of living and being present in the moment.

After lunch, the seniors heard from their final speaker of the day, Mirna Yao, whose speech touched the hearts of the senior class. She discussed the process and the importance of saying goodbye, as the seniors will prepare to say their goodbyes soon and move on to their bright futures.

In their final small group activity of the day, the seniors each decorated a photo frame to hold their favorite memory of the year.