“Our Reflection Day gave us time to reflect deeply on what we want, who we are, and what we do.”

The theme for this year’s Year 10 Reflection Day was “On the Way”. The purpose of the day is to provide students with the space to reflect on their experiences, to dream for the future and to integrate these into wholeness in the present.

Reflection days are important for us as a school community as they provide students with opportunities to spend time in contemplation while rekindling and deepening their relationship with God.

Additionally, it delivers an occasion to more clearly hear God’s call and to seek God’s healing grace.  By spending time in spiritual reflection, students temporarily leave behind distractions and the busyness of life so they can relax, think, contemplate and allow transformation to occur.Here are some reflections from the girls.

Our Reflection Day gave us time to reflect deeply on what we want, who we are, and what we do. It is important to reflect because as students we are very busy with our studies and co-curricular activities with not much time set aside to really look at ourselves and discover the people God created us to be. By spending a day in reflection, we were able to question what we do and why we do it, and then decide how to become better people in the future. Cosima Biagioni Year 10 Corbett.

Year 10 Reflection Day was an opportunity for us to reflect on our lives and the baggage we carry day to day. The baggage we hold includes stress, pressure from school, pressure at home and trying to fit in. Through this Reflection Day we were able to forget the struggles around us and reflect on our inner selves and who we want to be as a person. We also had the opportunity to receive the sacrament of reconciliation which allowed us to reconcile ourselves to God and to remove some of the guilt we were holding onto. We could put down our baggage and set off with a positive mindset feeling free and re-energised. Eireann Robertson Year 10 FrayneOur Reflection Day gave us time to slow down and reflect on the negative emotions we subconsciously carry around with us on a daily basis. It was also a time for us to leave it behind, as well as repent for our wrongdoings. It was important for us to reflect because we realised so much, we didn’t know about ourselves and by the end of the day, understood many new things about who we are. We all had a great day! Asha Kempton Year 10 O’Reilly

Reflection day was a time for us, to come together as a whole year group and reflect on our year so far, the highs and lows of the year. It gave us a chance to embrace ourselves and our thoughts in a range of activities. We were given the opportunity to interact with people who may be new to our year or peers we may not know well, along with the chance to get to know teachers in a more relaxed environment. It is a time to connect with God and ask him for forgiveness through reconciliation. I think it is good that Santa Maria College holds these retreat days for the Year groups, as it gives us a break from our usual studies and day to day tasks and provides us with an informal setting where we are connected to each other and God. Milla Dundas, Year 10 Frayne