Each September, the senior class takes a two-night trip to relax, bond, and set goals for the year to come. This year was no exception. Only, when the buses departed from Spangler at 3:15 on Wednesday, September 11, the senior class wasn’t headed to Chincoteague, VA, as they have every year in recent memory. Instead, they were on their way to the Capital Retreat Center in nearby Waynesboro, PA. After years of concerns about safety, comfort, and racial equity, the administration had finally decided Chincoteague was no longer the right place for Potomac’s senior trip.
While some seniors may have wished for beaches and boardwalks, most embraced the fun activities and forested setting of the Capital Retreat Center. From arts and crafts to board games to the ropes course, the various activities the Center provided brought the class together in new ways. The afternoon at the lake was a clear favorite. Seniors enjoyed splashing in the water, paddle-boarding, and relaxing on their new bright orange “Class of 2025” beach towels. Noah Hess ‘25 appreciated the serene environment: “There was very little air pollution, so there were lots of stars in the sky,” he said. For others, like Sana Brin ’25, the ropes course stood out as a highlight: “I liked the ropes course—that was fun!”
Besides the recreational activities, seniors also spent time reflecting on their time at Potomac and thinking about their futures. They responded to prompts like “Write about where you’ll be in one month. What about one year? What about ten years?” One student shared anonymously, “I think our class had a great chance to … set the tone for the year.”
Yet, despite the fun activities and not-too-strenuous reflection, some students faced an uncomfortable situation.
Before departing, the senior class met with twelfth grade dean Mr. Robert von Glahn, who introduced the Center and provided details about the trip. He explained that the Center describes itself as a “Jewish Friendly Retreat,” which meant that the food would be kosher and that the names of the various buildings on their campus would reflect Jewish influence. He also shared that the Israeli flag would fly alongside the American flag at the Center and acknowledged the complex emotions the Israeli flag can inspire given current geopolitical conflicts.
Students had varied reactions to learning about the Capital Retreat Center.
Sana was excited when she learned the food would be kosher: “I got kind of excited because I was like ‘I can eat the meat!’ because it would be kosher and I can only eat halal food”.
Noah Hess ’25 noticed a discrepancy in how religious affiliations of retreat centers are discussed. “Tockwogh [the ninth-grade trip site] is religiously affiliated. If anything, it’s more religiously affiliated because it’s a part of the YMCA, but that’s not something we talk about because, as a majority Christian country, it’s not something we need to talk about,” Noah said. Reflecting on the explanation of the Center’s Jewish affiliation at the class meeting, Noah shared, “I think there was maybe a bit too much emphasis placed on it in the meeting, because it was kind of the first thing we talked about.”
Though the senior class had been told to expect an Israeli flag, upon arrival at the Center, they were greeted not by an Israeli flag but by a large banner that read, “The Capital Retreat Center Stands with Israel.” This banner was on one of the main buildings in the middle of the Center’s campus.
For some, this banner made their experience on the senior trip more complicated. Sana shared that when she saw the banner, “Then I wasn’t so excited about the trip anymore.” One anonymous student said, “My reaction [to the banner] is just that it’s a distraction from the trip.”
On the trip, there was very little discussion about the banner. Noah said, “The only discussions I had even tangentially related to Judaism were people asking a lot of questions about what it means to be kosher, which I thought were very fun to answer, and which I think was a good learning experience for a lot of people.”
After the trip, some students wondered how the Capital Retreat Center was chosen as the location for this year’s trip.
Mr. von Glahn described the many factors that were considered when narrowing down the options: “We need to look at size, we need to look at facilities overall, we need to look at availability, distance, price, all of these things. Then we look at pros and cons of each,” and that, “we want to work with people whose mission and values and approach to things is aligned with us.” Potential political involvement was also looked into before the Center was chosen. Mr. von Glahn remarked, “We went through their website and on social media looking for any political statements. Are they taking a political stance on this conflict? Because of the religious and cultural affiliation that they have there, with their summer camp, and with many of the folks who work there. We looked for that pretty closely, and we didn’t find anything beyond just support of the Jewish faith and Jewish culture and heritage.”
Still, the presence of the banner left some students uncomfortable. Sana said, ‘“I think I definitely would’ve been more comfortable and happy there if it wasn’t overshadowed by [the banner].”
Mr. von Glahn also acknowledged that student comfort and engagement are critical to a trip’s success. He said, “Getting the feedback that some were not comfortable given the political complexity of anything affiliated with Israel right now gives us something serious to think about. Because that doesn’t help us. Just as not being able to eat together in a dining hall doesn’t help us run the trip, right? If any students aren’t fully present because of the political climate, or any kind of concerns about their safety or affiliations of anyone that we’re working with, that also makes the trip harder to run and not successful. We’re very interested in all that and are thinking hard about it.”
Looking forward, Noah emphasized the importance of fostering open conversations about complex topics within our school community: “One thing that the JSA [Jewish Student Alliance] is going to try to do, and also working with the MSA [Muslim Student Alliance] and other student groups, is if the administration doesn’t want to be the one to lead these kind of conversations, we still feel like it’s important to have spaces where people can talk about it.”
While the trip may have ended, its impact—both as a bonding experience and a catalyst for dialogue—continues to resonate with the senior class.
