Mystic River? I thought it was Mystic Pizza that had Sigma Kappa significance.

Shhhhh don't tell her. :p It'll be more fun if she watches Mystic River looking for hearts and doves!

Hahaha yeah that's what happens when I go off on a tangent while on percocets and valium. I even own a copy of the movie, I have no excuse!

If you are doing it at the house, call it a "Sisterhood Lockdown" and make cute t-shirts.

Is the purpose a beginning of the year retreat? How many hours are members going to be there?

Set up a schedule from roll call at check in to dismissal the following day. Have some wiggle room in the schedule, but list out what you need to accomplish during the retreat and allot the appropriate amount of time.

Make sure the members have a copy of the agenda.

I think that with a large group, time is more effectively used when you break into smaller teams that rotate throughout "stations" for the retreat (IE: reviewing standards code, reviewing academic program, craft stations, etc.) and then coming back together for games or singing songs.

The best retreats are ones where the leaders talk less and the members interact more. If you're reviewing the standards code, why not break the chapter into small groups to "act" out an inappropriate behavior, and have the chapter talk about what they did and what is correct. The standards chair moderates the skits and the discussion. Everyone is involved, and it is presented in a positive way, so people feel less like they are being preached at and more involved in the process.

Ice-breakers are a great way to get started. Also, a take-home craft is a good memento of the retreat.

I figured it was a typing error- but I don't want anyone to go watch Mystic River thinking it has any sorority symbolism in it!

Those are great ideas!!!

Theres 60 girls
we live on farms... (not as good as on a beach!!)
its a bonding retreat!

Just a thought
 

what about a nature hunt, of things the have around them that have some meaning that comes to them in there time of being on this retreat, and share it meaning at a gathering at the end of the day. This may bring some new views as well different opinions of the world and people around them. Good luck and Happy Trails
Pickel

It does. I mean, I'm from MA and my sorority likes to kill people. It's not even symbolism, it's totally fact!

Hmm, that would explain all of the screaming we heard coming from the Sigma Kappa house on the day of their initiation ceremony. :p

Big bonfire - Sit in a cirle around the fire and let the brothers/sisters call each other out onthe crap that has been building up for quite sometime. You would be amazed at how fast people can become closer just because they are willing to talk about what about a person or a persons actions piss them off. Be careful this has the potential to be a very good thing but it could also be very bad. If you are truly brothers/sisters you people should be fine.

There's a great book called "If" that has open-ended questions you can present to a group. We had this at our PX retreat many moons again.

If you can't do a bonfire, you can still sit in a circle and pass a stuffed animal or sorority symbol around. Each person can say something positive about their experience with the sorority.

If you're doing an event at a farm, you could theme it as "Ranch Retreat" or "Frontier Living." You could have some kind of merit badge system where you earn a reward for every part of the retreat you complete-- maybe this is something members can display in their rooms later as a reminder of retreat and the things they learned.

Side note: Keep the retreat positive and focused on good things. Guys seem to be a lot better at confronting issues and settling them more quickly... girls take a lot too personally. If you're in a sisterhood lockdown, any drama brought out into the open could really ruin the mood you are trying to set. Especially at the beginning of the school year, when you're bonding with new members and helping them reaffirm that they joined a wonderful chapter.

Inter-chapter drama should be dealt with though-- I think any chapter benefits from a semesterly "Town Hall" style meeting where the members can address any issues that have been bubbling under the surface and offering solutions to issues bothering the chapter. Exec moderates, but doesn't jump on the defensive-- just listening and taking notes.

The game Loaded Questions is also good if you want to learn new things about people.

http://www.loadedquestions.com/loadedquestions.html

Looks cool!

I should probably point out that these are girls not guys. That will turn bad extremely fast and when there's fire involved? It's a murder waiting to happen.