Senior Retreat

A departure from Barstow’s previous senior retreat format, an overnight expedition to Wildwood, MO, Dr. Kill, and Mr. Hill decided to focus on our hometown this year with a tour of Kansas City. This included a tour of city hall, in which students were educated on a recent KC sales tax initiative: increasing sales tax by ⅜ of a cent to provide funding for pre-K expansion. Councilman Quinton Lucas explained that supporters of this initiative believed this slight increase could generate hundreds of millions of dollars toward improving the quality of education for kids from an early age. However, detractors of this initiative feared this funding could end up in private schools that don’t need financial support. A mock-debate took place between twelve members of the senior class, with honorable mayor Luke Lopatofsky guiding the discussion.

After taking in the sights from the city hall observation deck, the seniors traveled to Union Station where they embarked on a Gangster Tour of Kansas City with a jolly, 1900s gangster for a tour guide. The tour bus explored the city from the Power and Lights district to the Plaza and the adjacent neighborhoods. We made stops along the way at mob homes and hangouts, turf wars, and the locations of infamous crimes like the Union Station massacre. Although the history itself was appealing and interesting, the tour’s humor was a bit corny, to say the least. Following the tour was lunch at Eden Alley Vegetarià, an easy-to-miss vegetarian restaurant in the heart of the plaza. An almost literal hole in the wall, one must take a staircase down to the actual restaurant. The interior design was kept simple and old-fashioned, with round tables and foldable chairs. Despite some mixed reviews, the majority of the senior class found themselves delightfully surprised and satisfied. To keep our taste-buds awake, The Roasterie Cafe Factory provided the freshest coffee in the city and a tour of the intricate, around-the-clock process that takes place behind the scenes. Select types of coffee beans are imported from around the world, from Hawaii to South America and abroad. The highlight of the tour, however, had to have been the beard-nets.

The final leg of the senior retreat, most of the class can agree, was the most enjoyable part. Four hours were spent in Power Play playing laser tag, bumper cars, go-cart racing, and arcade games of all sorts. All these activities, nostalgic for many, provided opportunities to make memories and bond with classmates. Unlimited-credit Power Play cards only multiplied the fun. All in all, the senior class applauds Dr. Kill and Mr. Hill for organizing such an enjoyable day filled with laughs, memes, history, great food, and good times.