Mr.Doyle and Mr. Kuiper are leaders and role models. They decided to expand their knowledge and leadership skills to the students of Wyoming High School.
Mr.Doyle had already created the Alpha Wolf 11 program which was created to bring positivity, inclusiveness, and leadership to the Wyoming community. To expand the program he got together with Mr.Kuiper and the students of Wyoming High School and the AW11 leadership retreat was the outcome.
“Our Alpha Wolf program is going into our ninth year and in those 9 years, we have expanded the Alpha Wolf program into different areas and one of the different areas we’ve expanded our Alpha Wolf into is Our Overnight leadership retreat,” said Mr.Doyle.
While anyone can be an Alpha Wolf, the Alpha Wolf Retreat is an overnight retreat that only a select amount of students throughout Wyoming High School are able to partake in. The retreat may sound fun or joyful but that is not the main or end goal. This is not just a getaway from school or home but more of a mission trip to create a better culture and community at Wyoming High School.
“Our hope is that we can inspire 100 of our students grades 9-12 to become great leaders but not just leaders, leaders that are learning how to show great character and input that into action,” said Mr.Doyle.
“Basically the retreat is about trying to better our school and figuring out what we need to do to improve our student body,” added Mr.Kuiper.
Character is one of the main vocal points of the AW11 program this year and what they plan on preaching at the AW11 overnight retreat.
“The part we want to hit at is what is character and how that ties into leadership because they’re all connected,” said Mr. Kuiper. “You can’t really instill character but you can give them the opportunity to change their character.”
Mr. Doyle is emphasizing the importance of character this year. “Leadership is character in action and that’s going to be our slogan for the year and we hope our students can be active and show that to the other students,” said Mr.Doyle.
The AW11 retreat is not just a mission trip to help change the culture of Wyoming High School but it is also a fun and joyful experience.
“We do all these fun activities in between our teachings to try and build this support amongst one another and meeting new students for example having a bonfire, roasting marshmellows, and telling stories,” stated Mr.Doyle.
The slots are limited so in order to go there are requirements you must reach.
“We would love to take all our kids to camp but that would be very expensive, so we’re pretty selective. In order to go to this camp you have to fill out an application form, but the application doesn’t mean you’re going to go so you’ll have to answer very detailed questions and get three teacher recommendations,” said Mr.Doyle
The overnight retreat is planned to take place on October 18 and 19, if you have any questions you can contact Mr.Doyle or Mr.Kuiper via email or in person.