Students enjoy Retreat Day at Millbrook Middle School

MILLBROOK — On Friday, Feb. 12, a retreat was held for the students at Millbrook Middle School. 

“This used to be an annual event,” said Principal Phyllis Amori. “In recent years, we had trouble scheduling it due to state assessments, but we returned to it this year.”

Retreat Day is part of the Positive Behavior Interventions and Support (PBIS) program focused on student management and character education. Each student earns a hole punch on a book mark after doing something positive.  When the book marks are full, they may be turned in for prizes and drawings. After a certain number of book marks are turned in, the entire school is rewarded.  Retreat Day was one such reward; the theme was based on conservation and kindness.

The Two by Two Zoo was invited. The petting zoo’s educational outreach was established by Heather Iannucci’s family. This time around she brought with her a Vietnamese pot-bellied pig, a kangaroo, a tortoise, a lemur and a boa constrictor.  The students were very excited to learn about the animals, their care and their importance in the world, especially those who were endangered species.  

The retreat took place all day. In addition to the zoo presentation, students were encouraged to take part in several different activities, which included making piñatas, scrap booking, doing Zumba, cooking, card stamping, participating in the Heart Lab, playing Capture the Flag, enjoying book art and knitting.  

Amori said she received very positive comments on Retreat Day. She said students loved it and their parents applauded the event. Teachers also seemed to enjoy the day; they were supportive and immersed themselves in the various activities.  Amori, and very likely the whole school community, would like to see Retreat Day return as an annual event.

To learn more about past and upcoming school events in Millbrook, go to www.millrookcsd.org.