Retreat Week

From Monday 30 January to Friday 3 February 2017 we held our annual Retreat Week.  Years 7 - 11 each had a day off-timetable giving them the opportunity to participate in a programme of thought-provoking activities.  Holly (13MAC) (pictured third from left with students from Year 9) is this year's Assistant to the Chaplain and as part of her role she took a very active part in Retreat Week. Here are some of her impressions from the experience.

• Each day started off with Miss Farmer and Mrs Jones (Retreat leaders) sharing some of their achievements. This led to the girls thinking about what it is they have achieved and the talents they possess. 
• Group activities during the course of the day gave girls the opportunity to learn more about one another. For example, ‘talent spotting’ by playing ‘people bingo’ entailed getting the girls to run around and discover talents of their peers which they may not have previously known. 
• Miss Farmer, looked at our “life lines”, where it is we come from and what factors influence who we are. Activities such as building a big wall from bricks were used to symbolise our qualities and foundations. We looked at the strength of foundations illustrated by building card towers with sand or marbles at the base. These activities helped us to reflect on our own foundations and the strength of them. 
• Mrs Jones, looked at how unique every person is and emphasised how people all have different achievements and talents. Listening to poetry and song, the girls were able to reflect on their different talents and to understand that it can sometimes be difficult to reach out and fulfil them. 
• During the afternoons, there was time for silent meditation and reflection. The girls were given a wall to decorate with their own personal talents and achievements. They wrote these down and placed them in special boxes which they had decorated themselves. These were reflected upon and were taken home as a reminder of the day.

Thank you to Miss Sheila Farmer and Mrs Helen Jones and to all the girls for their enthusiastic participation in Retreat Week, with particular thanks to Holly for her support and help.