On Friday, 3 May, Year 7 students went to Stella Maris for the day to participate in our Year 7 Retreat. Retreat is an opportunity for students to explore their faith and relationships through activities and reflection.
Year 7 Retreat was run by Father Luke Bulley CP and Tanis Normington from the Passionist Youth Retreat Team. The day was broken up into three sessions where students played some games that encouraged communication as well as thinking about their emotions and how they respond to others. It was great to see students and staff engage together in all activities and build positive relationships.
In the afternoon, we had a liturgy based on the story of the Prodigal Son. Once students had heard this, Father Luke explained the idea of three strands of string: Forgiveness, Thank You, and I See the Real You. On the table in the middle of the hall were three groups of string: Green for I’m Sorry, red for I See the Real You, and grey for Thank You. Students and staff were asked to think about someone in the room that they might need to say one of those things to. Then students and staff, in small groups of two or three, were invited to select a piece of string and silently go and tie that string around someone’s wrist. This process continued around the room three times. This was a beautiful experience as we witnessed students demonstrate kindness and compassion to one another. A true sign of what it means to be Marist.
I would like to thank Mr Peter Douglas for organising a truly wonderful day, as well as all the staff that attended on the day. We are not able to run these types of days without your support.
Below are two reflections completed by students on Year 7 Retreat:
Lilli Pisano, 7E
On Friday the 3rd of May, the grade 7s went on a retreat to Stella Maris Catholic Primary School. We had an amazing time with lots of laughter and smiles on everyone’s faces. We did a series of very fun activities that made us go out of our comfort zone, and to build our confidence up and have stronger connections with people we weren’t close with. My favourite part of the day was at the end when we had the liturgy and went round and gave people different colour string, and to express what you had to say to certain people you gave the string to. In general, the day was amazing and definitely a day to remember.
Will Elphinstone and Jagger Barnard, 7F
The Retreat was a fun and exciting experience where we got closer with friends and engaged in fun and socialising activities. We also got to reflect and learn about trust, love, and forgiveness. To get closer with friends, we engaged in activities such as Around the World and Jennie’s Game. We learnt about the rope of trust and how that can affect our relationships with our friends. We also learnt about forgiveness and how important forgiveness can be during long lasting friendships. Overall, the retreat experience was a fun and relaxing experience.
Mrs Helen Cox
Year 7 Coordinator
