Year 8 Reflection Day

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

This Retreat Program is part of a greater number of documents which have been generously supplied by a small number of schools prepared to share their resources and ideas with other schools for the benefit of students elsewhere.

This site is a growing space: If you find some of the ideas helpful, it would be wonderful if you could include your retreat/s in the Religious Education Leaders Collaborative Space.

Special thanks go to for submitting these initial retreats:

Dana Wedge (St John Fisher College, Bracken Ridge) Paul Towler (St Laurence’s College, South Brisbane) Sandra Allen (Clairvaux-McKillop College, Mt Gravatt) Jenny Cross (South Burnett Catholic College) Alison Stone (Mt Alvernia College, Kedron) Carmel O’Brien (Unity College, Caloundra) YEAR 8 REFLECTION DAY St John Fisher College Bracken Ridge

Theme: Friendship, Connections, Journey

Sessio Time Title Session Resources needed Who? n 1 9.00 Prayer and Welcome students. Ask for their input during the day. You get out of it what CD Player Introduction you put into it. Respect the ideas of others. What we say at this Reflection Day Reflective Music is not told to others. We hope you have fun etc Candles Play some reflective music. Create a prayer focus using cloth, candle, flowers Matches etc Pens Bible Introduce theme for today: Reaffirm our friendships Make new friendships/connections Our journey thus far.

Take a few moments to silent, center yourself, close eyes, be still. Student/teacher to read prayer. Reflection Day opening prayer. Lord God, help us all to use today To know you a little better; To work as Year Eights a little better To serve each other with more care and consideration; To make today a day of progress in our lives, and to become a little more like what you want us to be. Amen 2 9.15 Icebreakers/ These games are intended to get students moving, interacting and having fun. Balloons Games Staff can break the group into smaller groups and go outside and facilitate each Freddo Frogs Sessio Time Title Session Resources needed Who? n game. Games include: (different types) Pairs cards (from Fruit Salad Variation: students move about the room and when asked they Mind Matters) have to go to a place eg: elbow on yellow; little finger on denim; nose on black etc. Clumps: have students move about the room. Call out a number and students are to form groups of that number. Anyone not in a group of the number is out. To break the group up into smaller groups invite everyone to be ‘back in again’ and call out the number that is equal to the number of students divided by the number of teachers. When they get into these groups they go with teachers to smaller groups… Knots: Students form a close circle; put hands into the circle, join hands and then try to untangle the knot without letting go. Toilets, Trees and Traffic lights: Students form teams of 3. Each tem has to form the ‘shape’ of toilets, trees and traffic lights. Teacher calls out in random order one of the three. The last group to form the ‘shape’ is out! Monsters, Wizards and Fairies: The group forms two teams. Each team has to decide which of the three they will be. If they are monsters, they have to raise their hands above their heads and roar like a monster; if they choose wizards they have to step forward and jab their hands forward and make a ‘hissss’ noise; if they choose fairies they have to bend down and make a high pitched squeak like a fairy. The rules are: Monsters beat Wizards; Wizards beat Fairies; and Fairies beat Monsters Other games include: 1. Balloon between knees 2. ChocolateGame 3. Split the Banana 4. Zig Zag with Balloons 5. Chinese Whispers 6. Animal Noises 7. Pairs

Organise groups and explain next session before morning tea. Sessio Time Title Session Resources needed Who? n 10.15 Morning Tea 9.30 Activities.

Divide year eight into 4 groups. Mix up PC classes. Groups will be rotated through the following activities:

Eco Walk – At the end of this activity students will write a short prayer focusing on the Get to Know You – environment on the paper leaf provided. Take time during this activity for Sheets students to form different groups – ask get to know you questions.

Friendship Dolls – as per attached Data projector and LT Team/Ball Games – Coloured wool and Game concentrating on team effort and co-ordination scissors. Powerpoint presentation Bookmarks The purpose of this activity is for students to affirm their partner (from the activity on “Get To Know You” activity” on a bookmark. The bookmark will also be symbolically offered up during the liturgy. Teachers take the bookmarks at the end of the day, laminate them for the students and return them next week.

Give students a copy of the blank bookmark. They are to go off individually with their pencils and fill it in with affirmations. Sessio Time Title Session Resources needed Who? n

Round One Round Two Round Round Four Activity 9.30am 10.40am Three 1.00pm 11.30

Eco Walk Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Team/Ball Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Group 1 Games Dolls Group 3 Group 4 Group 1 Group 2 Bookmarks Group 4 Group 1 Group 2 Group 3

12.20 Lunch 1.50 Liturgy 1. Introduction Bookmark Dana Teacher to introduce the liturgy. Summarise the day. Remind students that Bible this is sacred time. There should be quiet and respect. Ask a student to light Candles 3-4 the candles. Introduce the reader. Play reflective music quietly in the Cloth background. Cross Liturgy Sheet 2. Scripture Reading: John 15:12-17 Student to read the gospel. A reading from John’s Gospel This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what her master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from God. It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask God in my name God may Sessio Time Title Session Resources needed Who? n give you. This I command you: love one another. Amen

3. Silent or shared prayer as the candles are passed around. Kerry to introduce this. Have 3 or 4 candles lit. Tell the students that the candles are to be passed around so that everyone holds a candle at some stage. As they hold the candle they can say a little prayer in silence or out loud.

4. Offering of Leaf Prayer and Bookmark Invite students to move to the ‘altar/sacred space’ to offer up their leaf prayer and bookmark - forming a prayer tree. A few students may wish to share their prayer. (A4 paper joined vertically can form the tree trunk)

5. Concluding prayer. Leader or student to say: ‘God, help us to be good, kind and caring people to our teachers, our parents and others. Help us to be caring to our friends and people in need. Thank you god for all the talents you have given us and help us to use them wisely. Thank you for just loving us. Amen. 2.15 Clean-up Everything to be taken off walls, papers off ground etc. 2.30 Depart