Class trips take Greenhills students out of their comfort zones

Greenhills students headed out on their annual class trips this week with the goal of learning more about themselves — and each other. The trips are a Greenhills tradition designed to create unity among classmates, with each upper school class spending at least one night off-campus.

Freshmen spend two nights in northern Michigan near Torch Lake; sophomores spend time at The Pinery Provincial Park, near Grand Bend, Ontario;  juniors divide their time between service work with Motor City Blight Busters in Detroit and team-building activities at Camp Tamarack near Ortonville; and seniors conduct a leadership retreat in a camp-like setting in Lapeer County.

While at Camp Hayo-went-ha near Torch Lake, for example, freshmen work on teamwork and trust skills with such challenges as a high ropes course and archery lessons. At The Pinery, sophomores tighten their connections to each other through camping and hiking.  Juniors work hard cleaning up a neighborhood on Thursday with Motor City Blight Busters — this year, in the Old Redford neighborhood in northwest Detroit — before heading to Camp Tamarack in northern Oakland County, where they spend the night before getting back to work Friday with orienteering, canoeing, and learning archery, among other activities.

Seniors, meanwhile, head to Lions Bear Lake Camp north of Lapeer, where among other things they cultivate leadership and work on setting goals for the year.

Middle school students, meanwhile, gather Friday for class retreats and service projects.