As petrified freshmen, nervous teachers and a very excited Mr. Strodel board the buses to New Hampshire this week, let’s take a moment to think about the role the Bivouac program plays in our school community.

 To start, what better way to create friendships than sending a group of anxious teens to the middle of the woods for 10 days?

 … thought no one.

 But despite its perplexing exterior, Bivouac manages to work miracles in counterintuitive ways.

 First off, Bivouac lets students ease their way into making friendships. For example, we sit next to just one person on the bus ride to the camping grounds, our tents house two people and our squads are composed of about 10 students. These small groups establish close friendships prior to larger socials where students meet the rest of their classmates. Having a consistent group of people to whom you can return allows for a sense of safety and community among the student body. And isn’t that better than being thrown into a bustling lunchroom on the first day of school?

 And Bivouac doesn’t just create student-to-student connections, either. Teachers are right there with the students as they endure rainy, fridgid 7 a.m. walks to and from the lake. Furthermore, seven decades’ worth of alumni have completed the program. Thousands of Knights have endured those New Hampshire woods. One School, One Woods. And that is certainly a rarity in any other high school community.

 Second, in some weird, twisted way, the messy moments in which we sweat our way up the rock wall and maybe leave the chicken a little bit raw are when students can turn to one another and just laugh at the sheer absurdity of it all — and even complain in unison. Nothing bonds people as quickly or closely as challenging times.

 So, although the latrine-digging lifestyle Bivouac offers has never been deemed glamorous, the program’s value stays with the student body for the rest of their lives — just like a well-built A-frame. Whether you can make it through the ropes course or even attempt to match Mr. Fidler’s astounding collectedness as he ascends Mount Monadnock, you will have become a part of a massive community. Bivouac, at its core, is the foundation of our school.