In September 2021, the Class of 2025 began its Upper School (US) journey with the traditional freshman year orientation program at Bivouac. Four years older and on the brink of graduation, around 100 members of the class participated in the “Back-to-Biv” program and returned to where their US experiences began.
According to Freshman Class Co-Dean and Bivouac Director David Strodel ’78, Back-to-Biv offers seniors a chance to reminisce.
“It’s an opportunity for them to go back to where they started high school for a few hours, have some fun together and maybe reflect a little bit about what’s come in between,” he said.
Back-to-Biv activities are largely driven by students.
“We try to organize the experiences of students so that they can grow, and they’ll be the ones telling us what it meant,” Mr. Strodel said. “We don’t intend for it to mean something. We just create the parameters and the experiences.”
Mr. Strodel said he hopes students who return to Bivouac are conscious of how they have grown over the years.
“You’ve run the race, you’re back where you started, but you’re a different person than you were, and what it means to be there is a lot different than what it meant when you got there in the beginning.”
The personal significance of Back-to-Biv varies among seniors, Mr. Strodel said.
“Probably the best things you do, the best things that were planned for you throughout high school, meant something different to everybody who went on to do them.”
Activities during Back-to-Biv include visiting old squads with squadmates, playing sports on the main field, going on a walk to the lake and making pizza. 47 students signed up for a hike on Mount Monadnock, which is being offered for the first time this year.
US Math Teacher Christine Oulton helped organize the hike, which took place the morning before Back-to-Biv.
“I am excited to add this hike. … We weren’t sure what interest there would be, but we’ve had so much interest,” she said.
Ms. Oulton agreed with Mr. Strodel that Back-to-Biv is a reflective opportunity, she said.
“The main thing is just nostalgia. It’s to take this time and remember how it all started. It’s a nice bookend to their experience.”
The day culminates in an open mic-style assembly on the same rock where the first freshman class meeting typically takes place.
“You can just tell when they’re on the rock, and five or six people want to get up and talk to the class and reminisce, you just get a sense that it’s a success,” Ms. Oulton said.
Will Benjamin ’25 looked forward to returning to Bivouac, he said.
“You go into the woods. Buh-bye. You’re there, it might suck, but you all learn from it and grow from it. Bivouac really does build a community in the grade.”
The Bivouac experience is a unique part of the US journey, Will said.
“Going somewhere like Six Flags, that would be fun, sure, but it’s just very generic. Bookending the high school journey with a specific BB&N thing makes it a full BB&N experience.”
