Year 7 Retreat Day October 2026: Caring for God’s Creation
Year 7 Retreat Day October 2026: Caring for God’s Creation
Our Year 7 students marked the end of their very first half term with a memorable school retreat, bringing a fantastic start to their secondary school journey to a close. The theme for this year's retreat was "Creation and Stewardship," inspired by Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’ and our call to be protectors of God’s magnificent world.
The day was designed to help students transition into our high school community by reflecting on their unique gifts, building stronger friendships, and understanding their shared responsibility to care for our common home.
Highlights of the Day
Our retreat was packed with a mix of team building, quiet prayer, and creative workshops:
- Our Common Home Workshops: In small groups, students discussed the real-world environmental challenges we face today. They brainstormed practical, daily actions our school community can take to reduce waste and respect nature.
- Creative Prayer: Theme “God’s gift of creation”, a variety of active prayers using natural resources with a focus on how we can use our skills God given gifts and talents to help care for our common home.
- Music and liturgy: Students fully immersed themselves in learning and practicing our school hymns engaged excellently with the music ministry sessions. They showed great enthusiasm while learning the lyrics and melodies of the new hymns. The team-building and energy were wonderful to witness, culminating in an absolutely brilliant group singing during Mass that showed incredible community spirit.
- Closing Liturgy: We gathered as a whole year group for a beautiful youth-led liturgy. Students read scripture, shared their own bidding prayers. The final Mass served as a beautiful culmination, bringing to life everything they explored about faith, our world, and their unique gifts.
- Celebration: Afterwards, students enjoyed a lively celebration with plenty of party food to celebrate their hard work over the last few weeks. We are incredibly proud of how well Year 7 have settled in!
What Our Students Said
"I loved the quiet prayer time. It made me realise that even small things I do, like recycling or being kind, can help take care of God's world."
— Year 7 Student
"Spending time reflecting outdoors helped me see the beauty of creation as a gift from God that we must cherish."
— Year 7 Student
"The retreat made me realise that looking after the earth isn’t just a job for adults; it is up to our generation to protect God's creation."
— Year 7 Student