Catholic Identity and Mission
Year 12 Retreat – 25-26 March
The Year 12 Overnight Retreat was held at Phillip Island Adventure Resort on 25-26 March. The program was developed specifically for this cohort, with a focus on the Pope Saint John Paul II quote: “Remember the past with gratitude, live the present with enthusiasm and look forward to the future with confidence.”
The students embraced the opportunity to connect with each other and their teachers in and around the beautiful facilities, with an abundance of excellent food and lots of laughs. Sharryn Marshall’s evening of Theatre Sports capitalised on House Spirit and loads of creativity!
The evening liturgy was a beautiful reflection on the Marist-Sion theme ‘First Light – Reveal the Spirit’, led by Deacon Mark Kelly, Brother Tony Clark and many of our Year 12 students.
I would like to thank the students, staff and families for supporting the Year 12 Retreat and for entering into it with a spirit of openness and connection. As always, we value student voice for our planning and will be asking the Year 12 students to complete a feedback activity to inform the success of this Retreat and how we can make improvements for future Retreats and Reflection Days.
Santa Teresa (Ltyentye Apurte) Immersion – 3-12 April
The Santa Teresa (Ltyentye Apurte) Immersion provided an opportunity for nine Year 10 students to experience life in an Aboriginal community, 86kms from Alice Springs.
Providing students with time to acclimate to the Central Desert region, we spent three nights in Alice Springs, enjoying the hospitality of fellow Marist school - Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (OLSH) Catholic College, Alice Springs. Marist-Sion students attended classes and presented to a whole school assembly on life in Warragul. Our students were incredible ambassadors for our College and spent an afternoon at their primary school campus assisting in classrooms and PE lessons.
Our time in Santa Teresa involved undertaking community service by way of gardening, assisting with the local school holiday program, preparing and delivering meals-on-wheels and supporting the artists at the Spirituality Centre. Students attended Mass at the local Catholic Parish and an afternoon Mass at the home of one of the local families. We climbed mountains to witness stunning sunsets and we ate kangaroo tail by campfire under a blanket of stars. All experiences were rich with culture, with learning and with connection.
Unless you have been involved in an immersion experience, it is hard to put into words exactly what happens while you are there. While having all of the hallmarks of a school camp, an immersion is like a Retreat on steroids, partly because of the length of time spent away, but also because it is truly a deep dive into a cultural experience which provides opportunities for growth and development of the spirit.
The nine young people we took away with us were very deeply impacted, in all sorts of ways during the immersion. They were an incredible group of people before we left and being witness to their personal, social and spiritual journey, they have returned with experiences that may transform their pathways; at the very least we witnessed a great deal of personal growth in each of them.
We have magnificent young people at Marist-Sion College and our immersion participants are testament to that fact.
The attending staff were also incredible ambassadors for our school. I would like to thank Mr. James Mazzolini for his meticulous planning and for fostering and maintaining valuable connections throughout the Marist community which enlivened our experiences. To Mrs. Helen Davine, whose humour and unflappable, can-do nature provided constant fun as well as a sense of family spirit for our group. I would also like to thank former staff member Mrs. Sally Ablett for accompanying our immersion group in her capacity as a volunteer in the Santa Teresa community; we all agreed that we felt very comfortable with Sally around for her skills as a paramedic as well as her warmth and willingness to contribute to all our ministries.
Some reflections on the most memorable and impactful parts of the immersion from our students:
“The most memorable part of the immersion for me was when we walked onto the oval, basketball courts or swimming pool, and all the children greeted us with biggest smiles on their faces. From the first moment in the community to the last, the children made us feel incredibly welcome and taught us so much.” Charlotte Banks
“Being welcomed by everyone in the community and them not questioning us and just accepting us and making us feel at home.” Archie Price
“Immersion was a once in a lifetime experience! Every task in Santa Teresa felt like I was really making impact on the community even if I was just cleaning up a garden. Overall, it was so much fun to just spend time with our group and meet new people!” Ruby Griffiths
“Taking a moment to really think about what you’re witnessing and how impactful it is to anyone who sees this part of living in Australia.” Dane Hammond
Mrs Jacinta Johnston
Deputy Principal: Catholic Identity and Mission