Cody Frank, 14, left, and Frankie Mgbolu, 15, hold on to team members during a team-building initiative in which all 13 had to balance on small planks while singing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat."

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Making the transition from middle school to high school can be challenging for incoming freshmen. "Ninth grade is tough enough for students, just getting to know other people and themselves," said Fred Roberts, dean of students at St. Gregory College Preparatory School.

For the past four years, Roberts has been trying to ease that transition for his students with an overnight retreat.

Last Thursday, 49 students, six senior peer leaders and six faculty members headed to Camp Lawton behind the Palisades Visitor Center on Mount Lemmon.

The new students were separated into teams, often with students outside their social circles. Each team ran through a series of seven exercises called "initiatives," which emphasize teamwork and leadership.

After each exercise, the students gathered in a circle to discuss what went right and what went wrong.

"If one person doesn't have integrity, then we all fail," Michael Cornell, 14, said during one of the debriefings.

Tristan Kusman was one of the six senior peer leaders in charge of the initiatives.

"It's fun to watch them build teamwork and work together to overcome obstacles," said Kusman, who is 17. "It's a lot of kids that don't usually talk to each other."

After a day full of activities, the students worked on group projects in the evening and ended the night around a campfire before heading to sleep before the next day's activities.

One of the objectives is for freshmen to walk away with some new friends as they venture into their first year of high school.

"We emphasize the cohesiveness of the group," Roberts said. "We hope to change the preconceived ideas they have about each other at school."