City reflections from Year 10 retreat

Our Year 10 students recently spent their Retreat Day in the city, learning more about the city, its history and the people who live there.

The day included a visit to the Big Issue office, a social justice walk in the back streets of the city, some quiet reflection in St Francis church and a visit to Enterprize Park with Indigenous historian Dean Stewart.

Here are some reflections from the students.

Learnings from the day

“The name of the Yarra River isn’t actually ‘Yarra’ – it is Birrarung. There were many other miscommunications that happened when the British colonised Australia.” – Emilka Paplinski

“St Francis Church is a completely silent church, as it allows for churchgoers to fully immerse themselves and connect with God.” – Eleanor Douglas

“Not all people that are homeless live on the street. The definition of ‘homeless’ is someone without a stable and permanent home.” – Olivia Casey

“That the city of Melbourne was established in 1835: it was named after Lord Melbourne even though he never stepped foot in Australia.” – Edwina Pugeva

“Homelessness is far more common and affects so many people, but it is not always visible at first glance.” – Eleanor Douglas

What touched your heart?

“The Most Liveable City Walk touched my heart when we experienced how people that are homeless live each day. Our guide Lisa asked us to sit on the ground on Swanston Street and observe who looked at us, who walked past and who ignored us.” – Poppy McLaughlin

“When we were walking around the city with the guide, he told us a story about his interaction with a heroin user. He talked about the connection that he had and the way he was able to just have a conversation with the user. It really brought up the dehumanization of drug addicts, and the prejudice people so often show towards them.” – Eleanor Douglas

“On Year 10 retreat we learnt to view the city differently. At the Big Issue, we met a man named Kelly who had struggled with schizophrenia and became homeless due to his condition making it harder for him to keep a job. We learnt to look past negative stereotypes, with a walk through the city with Star our lovely tour guide. We then went to St Francis Church, one of the earliest churches made in Melbourne, and we had to stay silent as it is a silent church. While we were there, lit a candle for someone in need. For our fourth and final stop, we got to sit by the Yarra River and we were taught by Dean, an Indigenous Australian, about stories before the white people came and gave us a better outlook on how we should know more of our own history. This retreat was amazing and taught us many insightful lessons.” – Nelleika Inkster and Ellie Straford

“The Year 10 retreat was both insightful and exciting, and allowed all students to break out of their comfort zone and experience something new and different. I especially found it quite heartfelt to listen to many stories of those who are homeless, understanding how they coped and managed to create a life they were proud of. We were also privileged to visit St Francis church, where we were able to learn about the stories through the artwork on the stained glass windows around the church. These artworks were extremely graceful and inspiring for us to create our own stories. What touched my heart the most, was listening to the personal anecdotes shared. Many were sorrowful, however gravely put life in perspective. Overall, the experience was quite eye opening and inspiring for us to make the most out of our lives.” – Angelique Devienne

Invitation From Trinity Parish

Do you belong to Trinity Parish - St. Peter’s East Bentleigh, St Paul’s Bentleigh and St. Catherine’s Moorabbin? If so, Trinity parish invites all OLSH students to

consider being involved as:

• readers
• altar servers
• singers
• musicians and
• communion ministers.

This is a wonderful way to demonstrate active leadership and service in our local Trinity parish. If you would like to get involved, please contact the Pastoral Coordinator, Donrita Reefman: PacHolyTrinityParish@cam.org.au

Ms Megan Donohue
Deputy Principal Faith and Mission