Due to the COVID-19 precautions in place at Molloy since September, many school events have been postponed or cancelled. The freshman class has had a unique journey at Molloy so far, as it has not been able to celebrate Freshman Camp, Freshman Field Day, or many other traditions that help build community and form friendships. Retreats at Esopus were also postponed at the start of the year. Retreats are an important tradition that help not only to instill community, but to encourage personal and spiritual growth. Thankfully, more activities have been possible as the year has progressed. Freshmen were recently invited to grow in faith and make new friends during a day retreat on March 13th. The retreat took place at Molloy and attempted to capture the spirit of a trip to Esopus.
“The freshmen were immersed in activities that focused on creating a sense of community in true Stanner fashion,” said Ms. DeNoto, one of the organizers of the retreat. “They were able to see why they were chosen by God, what some of their blessings were despite the Pandemic, and how although the pandemic left us all broken in some way, we were also given the grace of God in other ways. Through activities such as outdoor icebreakers, dodgeball, group sharing, meditation and free time, our freshmen were able to experience in person our Stanner Spirit as a connected Marist Family.”