Secondary School

Year Ten Retreat

On Tuesday (10.1-10.4) and Wednesday (10.5 – 10.8) the Year 10 cohort participated in the Emmaus Retreat. This year the retreat was mainly conducted by the staff from the Youth Mission Team. At this stage of their schooling journey some students may be confronted with challenges that relate to their self-image, mental health, relationships, social pressures and future life decisions. Part of the retreat focused on how our faith might help us deal with these challenges and reminded us all that we can experience peace, strength and hope when we discover God’s presence in our lives and the world around us.

Mark Smith Visit

By Reuben Panaia and James Curtis 

Today in period 1 many of the Year 9 English students had been given the opportunity to listen to an engaging and thought-provoking presentation from the author of the book The Road To Winter, Mark Smith. Mark Smith is the author of a trilogy of books named The Road To Winter, Wilder Country, and Land Of Fences.

During his presentation Mr Smith spoke to the boys about his life, and what inspired him to become an author. Interestingly, Mr Smith described how a bad accident left him incapacitated in a neck/upper body brace for 6 months. During this time his passion for reading was ignited. Reading other people’s books inspired him to make his own book that applied to him and other students in Australia around our age. 

Mr Smith explained the backstory behind the characters in his book and how they had stemmed off of people in his life. This captivating talk provided the boys with the opportunity to see that inspiration can come from even the most difficult situations as it is portrayed in the book. While speaking, Mr Smith also taught the boys what he experienced writing his book and the obstacles he overcame such as having to remove such a significant part of his book for the publishers.

With the boys listening intently, Mr Smith provided a deeper understanding of his characters and many things some of us may not have noticed while we were reading his book. He helped us better understand the relationships between many of the characters in his book and how they acted. This left the boys eager with questions. 

Altogether, Mark Smith’s tales of his life and writing journey were an excellent opportunity for us to listen to, learn from and connect with the story of The Road to Winter.