Cornerstone seniors will take a break and head for the hills Sunday.

The senior class and several chaperones from the private, Christian school are going on their annual senior retreat to Gatlinburg, Tenn. for a time of bonding, bible study and mapping out senior class responsibility at Cornerstone for the upcoming year.

The senior class takes on a lot responsibility each year, and Headmaster Laurie Porter said, &8220;We expect our seniors to take a leadership role. They are told even before they become seniors that they are what everyone else is looking up to.&8221;

Senior Channing Blackmon agreed, saying, &8220;We set an example on how to lead for those who are one or two years younger than us, like the juniors, and also for the little kids. Our lockers are on an elementary hallway so they hear and see everything we do.&8221;

The retreat also offers the seniors time to decide the goals they will accomplish for the school &045; what they call a senior contract.

Jesse Silvers, another senior, explained, &8220;The senior contract is a promise to the rest of the school on how we are gonna lead and states things we&8217;d like to do during the year and the legacy we&8217;d like to leave behind.&8221;

Over the years, seniors have pledged their time and energy by working on the school grounds, volunteering in the library and taking and active role in chapel services. &8220;It&8217;s whatever their heart says,&8221; Porter said, though adding that their contract must be attainable.

Though seniors will spend some time discussing and deciding how seniors plan to impact the school, the school designed the retreat to primarily focus on students&8217; spirituality.

Headmaster Procter brought the concept of a senior retreat to the school and said the time apart for seniors sets the spiritual tone for the school year and &8220;gives them direction for the way God Wants them to go.&8221;

Coach Jay Adams, a teacher, chaperone and spiritual leader for the event said, &8220;The goal of the trip is to make sure if [students] haven&8217;t had a chance to make a decision for Christ that they will, and that they grow together and recognize that they are more than schoolmates, they are brothers and sisters in Christ.&8221;