Reflection Days & Retreats
The themes of Reflection days are based on our College Mission Statement and are underpinned by scripture. These days enable Year 7-9 students to strengthen bonds within their class and year level, to slow their pace, and reflect upon the past and consider future directions. Fundamentally, they challenge our students to consider the ways in which they are called to respond and to act on a personal, social and global level.
Year 10 students are lead on two single day Retreats, challenging our leaders of tomorrow by introducing them to the practice of Servant Leadership. Students gain their first experience of a ‘residential’ Retreat in Year 11. Students sample a number of retreat styles over two days/one night, allowing them to make a more informed choice for their Year 12 Retreat. In many ways, students’ lives at St Patrick’s College culminate in the Year 12 Retreat, which is an opportunity to spend three days/two nights together as a form, in their final year. It is an opportunity to reflect on their time at the College, as well as consider their lives beyond Year 12. Friendships are cemented and their spirituality deepened. Students also select the style of retreat they wish to undertake, choosing from such styles as: Personal Journey, Journeying with Others, Trust and Team Building, Stewardship, Social Justice and Arts.
Ascent
Ascent is a three year service and formation program based on each of our founding charisms, for Year 10, 11 and 12 students. Year 10 students are introduced to the idea of service, servant leadership and following in the footsteps of founding Christian Brother, Edmund Rice. In Year 11 students build on these service and outreach skills and the work of St Mary MacKillop and Julian Tenison Woods, founders of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart. Ascent culminates in Year 12, when students are truly encouraged to step outside their comfort zone and walk alongside those on the margins of our society, just as Nano Nagle, founder of the Presentation Sisters did. Students who have participated in the program for at least Years 11 and 12, receive accreditation for TASC course Community Service Learning.
