Truganini Retreat

On the 26th all of the Year 11’s in Truganini cluster set out for 2 days of fun, friendship and faith building. In the morning of the first day at Lady Northcote we had a liturgy to welcome us to the camp which was followed by a presentation by the Cluster Captains helping the members of the cluster to gain a better understanding of who Truganini was and what she stood for, this was followed by a quiz that everyone participated. After this we prepared for a day full of fun. In different groups we completed activities building friendships, trust and teamwork. Some of the activities were high-ropes, raft building, leap of faith, the giant swing, mountain biking and archery. The activities were thoroughly enjoyed. We then prepared for a night of faith building. We were split into our homebases and participated in a campfire, understanding each others’ perspective, crafting with God and a haunted night-walk. On the second day we woke up bright and early and prepared for an enlightening last day. In the morning we were split into groups and had to create a song to perform in front of the cluster from all that we had learnt while we were at retreat. The performances were hilarious and very entertaining. After our fun morning we heard from Michelle Newland who had a severe asthma attack at the age of 19 and suffered a traumatic brain injury. Her family was told she had no hope of recovery and was destined to live in a nursing home for the rest of her life. Her family did not accept this and continued to fight for her. Today she is walking, talking, has done a lot of media work spreading her story and raising awareness for others like her. She has come an incredibly long way with the strong support of her family and her deep faith in God. After hearing Michelle’s amazing story of recovery we finished our retreat with a mass led by Fr Gerard Keith which only further strengthened our faith. Not only did all the students have fun at retreat but we learnt many valuable lessons and strengthened our faith.