On Thursday, September 15th, just over one week after the beginning of the new school year, the entire freshman class departed on a one night trip to YMCA Camp Tockwogh on the Chesapeake Bay.

While there, they participated in bonding activities, including archery, a ropes course, a trip to the beach, and a bonfire. They ate their meals in advisories and shared cabins with randomly assigned peers. Avery Miller, who came to Potomac in 7th grade, told the Current that she appreciated the chance to get to know her classmates better. She enjoyed playing card games with her cabinmates at night.

Caroline Craine found the high ropes area to be a great way to bond with her classmates, because so many students were there. Avery and freshman Charlie Holtman especially enjoyed the trip to the beach. Avery commented excitedly, “the best part of the trip, by far, was the beach trip. It was so fun, I wish I could just go back to the beach again. It was just such a fun experience to hang out with everyone.”

Avery noted some thorns amidst the roses. “The worst part was probably the actual conditions of the cabins, ‘cause when I walked in, I kind of felt like I was going to cry.” She adds, “there was a cricket in the wall in the middle of the night, and the bugs came through the cracks of the doors.” Caroline adds that her first impression of the cabins is that “they were dirty”, and there were “lots of bugs”. However, Avery noted that the bathrooms “kind of reminded me of bathrooms at a bus stop. They were just like community bathrooms.”