The Year 12 class of 2023 were recently given the opportunity to partake in a three day overnight retreat experience. The retreat was a powerful spiritual journey, as well as an emotional experience for the Year 12 cohort. They experienced it all, from contagious smiles to sorrowful tears. It opened our eyes to the many connections and friendships that we have made over the years, and it reminded us that there are so many memories and opportunities to embrace in the upcoming year. The relationship with many of our peers and particularly our PC groups have grown and we thoroughly enjoyed engaging with our classmates in conversations that we never would have had before.
On arriving at The Collaroy Centre, Year 12 were introduced to the retreat experience by Mr Bradbury, Mrs Nissan, Mr Wilson and Miss Yousif, as well as members of staff who also accompanied Year 12 on retreat. The day started with a prayer service which allowed students to immerse themselves in their spiritual journey, whilst also getting comfortable with what retreat had in store for them. The prayer service was followed by PC group activities where students were split into two mini groups, partaking in opening activities to get them into the spirit of their retreat. In the evening, everyone participated in a special trivia competition, which was hosted by Mr Hair and the Year 12 leaders. The trivia consisted of 5 rounds with mini activities held in between, including ‘two truths one lie’ and ‘heads down thumbs up’, giving students the opportunity to get involved with one another and staff.
The second day started off with the whole grade split into two groups and continued with completing reflective activities focused on our message for retreat; "The future starts TODAY not TOMORROW”, run by Mrs Ghignone & Mr Chircop. The other session was run by the Youth Mission team. The pivotal event of the night was the celebration of Mass by Brother Pat, and a Year 12 Reconciliation activity which provided us with a truly transforming opportunity to make amends with one another and put aside any unresolved issues in order to strengthen and become closer together as a grade.
The final day focused on ‘Letting our light shine’ and it started with our grade sitting down in a circle to receive the affirmation envelopes of our other classmates. We prayed as a year group before distributing the affirmation envelopes to each other. The affirmations provided us with a sense of empowerment and newfound appreciation for the friends and memories we’ve made over the years. We then all gathered in our PC groups to make symbols of our ‘gifts and talents’ that each of us as individuals bring to GSCC and the 2023 year group. We used felt and other craft material to make our designs, and the final display was gorgeous with a large array of colours and shapes unique to each individual in our grade. We waited patiently for the buses, tired and excited, but a bit sad that the retreat had come to an end so soon.
Alanna N (Catholic Life leader), Mia Z (School Captain) & Hugh D (School Captain)
Year 12 Students: To access the Photo Viewer, click here. Please use the password that was given to you on Compass to access this page.
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