At the end of last term, our Year 11 students enjoyed three days of fun and reflection at camp sites in Serpentine, Ern Halliday in Hillary’s, Woodman Point and Bickley, as part of their Year 11 ‘Rheims’ Retreat.
Retreats are an integral part of the lifelong faith formation and aim to engage and empower our young people. Our Year 11s explored important topics such as ‘What has influenced me over my life?’ and ‘How will I impact my world?’
As part of this experience students also participated in a range of team building and reflection activities to reflect on their relationship with God and grow their connections amongst their peers and College Houses.
The House Olympics was hotly contested and the Quiz night brought out everyone’s competitive edge. The students learnt about themselves but also discovered some teachers can juggle and are amazing at cartwheels!
So many wonderful memories and new friendships were made across the three days. Thank you to Year 11 Leader of Wellbeing Mr. David Traynor and the staff who attended Year 11 ‘Rheims’ Retreat to support our students on this unique experience.
“My highlight for the Retreat was their ‘Sunset Trek’ on the beach and watch the sunset together with all students from Mutien and Benildus.” – Mr Chelliah
“I loved the retreat! It found it such a lovely way to end what was a hectic term for everyone. Seeing everyone let loose, relax and enjoy the last three days of Term 2 was very rewarding. Some highlights were that we grew closer to people who weren’t in our immediate social circle, participating in the team-building activities, the liturgy, and of course, all the food. I found the retreat to be a very well-structured three days, filled with lots of fun and reflection.” – Hannah K
“The Year 11 Rheims retreat has been one of the highlights of my year so far, I really enjoyed it. We had so many opportunities to step out of our comfort zones, have fun and talk to new people. I loved getting to go to the beach, playing volleyball and the Retreat Olympics. I talked to people I wouldn’t normally and loved getting to know my classmates a bit better. I’m grateful for all the opportunities we were given and the fun times that were shared.” – Bella V
“Year 11 Retreat was an overall positive and engaging experience. The general purpose of reflection shone through as we looked back on our home lives and how to appreciate those surrounding us. Making a playlist of songs significant to us throughout our life provided a short flashback to our important times. Not to mention the free time when the group would go for a sunset beach walk.” – Emily H
