The quiet, serene atmosphere of Calvin Crest campground was interrupted by a loud shriek of “Fight! Fight!” during the night. These chants erupted not from the boys’ cabins but from the girls’.

Girls piled everywhere, hanging off old bunk beds, which lined the room. The middle of the cabin was cleared and covered with a carpet of old mattresses.

In one of the girls’ cabins, mattresses were thrown on the floor in preparation for a slumber party. But things changed when camp counselor, Megan Gable, suggested the wrestling matches. The idea was an immediate hit.

All eyes were focused on the spectacle of “Ramirez vs. Tarudji”: one of the infamous female wrestling matches of the evening. These initial competitors tangled while the remainder of girls watched the match.

“I had so much fun watching and then wrestling,” Katie Jacobson, ’05, said. “The best part of Calvin Crest was the wrestling match. We were making so much noise that all the other students from the other cabins came in to participate.”

Yet when the seniors arrived at Calvin Crest on Sept. 25 for a two-day retreat, the physical activities were initially limited to initiatives like the spider web, wall climb and rope swing?a far cry from late night wrestling.

“”Where else would someone get the opportunity to watch quiet and normally shy classmates compromise their otherwise mellow demeanor,”” Katie Ettner, ’05, said, with a smile.

The purposes of the activities were to increase group communication, reinforce team bonding and to become closer friends with those not regularly associated with on a daily basis at school. The initiatives and wrestling both seemed to do just that.

“I had a lot of fun at Calvin Crest,” Josh Wright, ’05, said. “One of my favorite activities were the initiatives; I think it brought a lot of us closer together.”

As the activities came to an end, students were given the choice of random games to play or time to just relax with their classmates.

“The best part at Calvin Crest was the free time,” Tyler Charest, ’05, said. “Playing guitar with my friends was really fun and bonding with others afterwards was great as well.”

On Saturday the students prepared skits during which they made fun of faculty or students, an annual highlight of the weekend.

“Making fun of English teacher Molly Sargent was so much fun,” Ashley Gable, ’05, said. “At first I was really nervous because I thought she would get really upset with me and maybe even lower my grade, but I did it anyways and I had a blast.”

Teachers enjoyed watching the students portray other students, as well as imitating students themselves.

“There was so much material to chose from among this senior class,” Sargent said. “It was difficult to choose which students to mock. All of the imitations were done in good fun though, so we hope no one was offended.”

To view photos of the senior retreat, visit www.fresnochristian.com and click on “”Photos.”” For more information on Calvin Crest, go to www.calvincrest.com or call (559) 683-4450.