Year 12 News
Retreat at Warrambui
During Week 8, Year 12 attended their retreat to Warrambui, which was themed, ‘I can and I will’.
Wednesday morning, we arrived at school and unfortunately, couldn’t complete our spiritual walk. However, our teachers had organised some ice-breaker activities that set us up for a great road trip!
We arrived at Warrambui in the afternoon and got straight into the first retreat session . We were allocated into ‘spirit animal’ groups, which were our teams for the entirety of the retreat. In these groups, we really got to know each other and got to complete a range of fun activities! We had time to talk between ourselves, choreographed a group chant and competed against other groups in some hilarious singing battles! Into the night, we continued to build friendships in our year group by writing each other nice messages and trekking the famous blindfolded bush walk!
Waking up on the first full day of the retreat, we eagerly made our way to the dining hall, where we engaged with each other over breakfast. Following the meal, we spent our time in the conference room, partaking in the many activities prepared by our Burn Bright Leaders, Harry and Mel. Many of these activities were centred around team and confidence building, through which we continued in the ‘spirit animal’ groups, which resulted in the development of new friendships across our year group.
Most notably, one activity that undoubtedly had an impact across all the students in the year was the ‘step up’ activity; where the Burn Bright leaders read out an expression that may have been experienced by members of our cohort, if we found it relatable, we were to step forward, for example, “Have you ever felt judged?”. This activity left almost no eyes dry, giving everyone a deeper look into what each other has experienced. The activities run by Burn Bright were vital in developing deeper relationships with each other, it gave us all the chance to expand our friendships beyond the classroom.
As usual, our year group conducted the annual liturgy, run by Mr Abdala. Here, we were able to connect with God and reflect on the memories we made during our retreat. Several members of the year group participated in the liturgy through the placing of Marian symbols such as our House Candles, as well as several reading, along with Prayers of the Faithful each written by the members of our ‘spirit animal’ groups. However during the liturgy, each individual of year 12 was able to make their mark and pledge to the motto of “I Can and I will’ through the signing of a canvas. We were able to leave our legacy with the school as well as use it as a promise for ourselves in all future endeavours, a memory which will remain with us forever.
That night, us year 12’s as well as our teachers were able to dress up to the theme of ‘Decades’ for our social. It was an event full of dancing, singing and laughing as we all enjoyed our last night together before returning back to school. Seeing everyone dressed in various costumes was a definite highlight as we got to see just how creative everyone could be. After the social, we all made the short trek to a campfire where we sat together, roasted marshmallows, and sang songs courtesy to our music students playing their guitars. Overall, we all had a fun night where we were able to forget our stresses and enjoy each other's presence.
On the last day of our retreat, we woke up bright and early at around 6 o’clock to climb up a hill, which was representative of the HSC journey we are embarking on this year. After a tiring hike, it was all worth it to see a beautiful sunrise over the countryside, that put into perspective the end result of all the hard work we have been putting into Year 12 so far. As we returned to the conference centre, we watched a video that showed a montage of images from Year 7 to Year 12 put together by Mr Abdala, which really illustrated how far we have come as a cohort over the past 6 years.
All in all, our Year 12 retreat was a truly enriching, positive experience that fostered an environment for us students to bond and unite as one, allowing us to build upon relationships with each other and develop new ones along the way!
Griffith City Council Leadership Ceremony
Our Year 12 Leaders attended Griffith City Council Leadership ceremony on Friday 1 April.
MC was General Manager of council Brett Stonestreet and Mayor Doug Curran Presented awards.
Mr Lawler
Year 12 Pastoral Co-ordinator