Aquinas Diocesan Grammar School

The pupils from Aquinas Diocesan Grammar School joined us at the retreat house. They were open in their discussion groups, remembered friends no longer with them and enjoyed relating their shared experiences in Aquinas.

Yr 14C Monday 10th September '12

Focus:
We choose stars to represent our hopes and dreams. The seaweed shows the obstacles we may face.The boat carries us on the journey down the river of life. The tree symbolises our family roots. The different colours in the sea represent the rough and calm patches and the moon controls the sea.

Music:
'You've got a friend in me' - We picked this song as we felt it was talking about God. To us He is always here. It also talks about each of us and because we have shared stuff with each other that we might not want other people to know, its good to be able to trust each other.
'Take a chance on me' - 'If you've got no place to go when you're feeling down', we can count on God.
Scripture:
Jesus calms the storm (Matt 4:35-40). We picked this because in hard times Jesus is there. Even if you're scared of the future, trust in God and his plan.
Prayers:

Dear God,

Please bless everyone in our year and

 help us through this difficult year of decisions and exams. 

Amen.

Dear God, 

Thank you for all our friends and family who guide us 

and shape who we are today. 

Pray that these people who we love are happy and 

fulfilled in their life and in years to come. 

Amen.

Dear God, 

We pray for people who have lost their jobs in recent years 

and for those who have no one to pray for them. 

Amen.

Dear God, 

We pray for people who do not have the things we have, 

such as the homeless community or 

people who live in poverty in third world countries. 

We pray God watches them. 

Amen. 

Reflection:
We drew this as it represented the circle of friends we've made in the last seven years.

Yr 14P Tuesday 11th September '12

Focus: 
We choose to lay out a path from 14P to show how our lives will take new twists and turns as we leave school and continue new journeys. The colours show our different personalities and we have a footprint for each of us.

Music:
Bob Marley-'One love', as it says in the song we got to have love for everyone no matter their race, religion or opinion.
'You've got friend in me', for the last seven years we've had a friend in each other.

Scripture:
Jesus called His first disciples (Luke 5:4-10) The apostles had fished all night without catching anything. Jesus told them to go out again. This shows us we should trust in God.
Martha and Mary (Luke 10:38-42) We choose this scripture to remind us not to get too busy with small things but to focus on the important things.
Prayers:

Reflection:

Yr 14R Thursday 14th September '12

Focus:

River represents each of our journeys. The rainbow is all of us coming together, each representing different colours of the spectrum but coming together to make one rainbow.

Music:
Bob Marley - One love. we picked this because today our class came a lot closer together and settled any differences we may have had in the past.
Coldplay - Paradise. We chose this song is about a girl who found life to be too much and she escaped by closing her eyes...like we did today in mediation. As we are at a very stressful point in our lives it is good to reflect on this.

Scripture:

Jesus blesses little children (Mark 10:14-16)- This is a story about looking at religion in a new way which has been the aim of the retreat.

The ancient boundaries - It reminds us that we should respect other peoples opinions and their personal boundaries, an idea that was reinforced today during the retreat.

Prayers:

Dear God

We thank you for the previous six years we have had at Aquinas. 

Please bless us in our last year together.

Lord hear us.

Dear God 

We pray that you will help us to make the right decisions for the coming years

and guide us through whatever paths we may choose to take after we leave Aquinas.

Lord hear us

Dear God

At this time of reflection, let us not forget our classmate and friend Conall Mc Gowan.

We ask you to help us with our own special intentions.

Lord hear us

Dear God

Thank you for your helping guidance in previous exams.

We pray for guidance throughout the coming year in study and hard work.

Lord hear us.

Dear God

Thank you for the teachers who have taught us so much, supported us and given us

Good memories of our school.

Thank you for the retreat staff here today, help them to continue their good work.

Lord hear us.

Reflection:

R E F L E C T find out what it means to me

R E F L E C T you've got to pray, you've got to pray

(Sung as you would sing the Respect song)

Yr 14S Friday 14th September '12

Focus:
We chose the colours of our school to represent where we are now and the rainbow colours to show the different paths we will be taking in the future.

Music:

'Reach for the stars'- It tells us to never give up, strive to be the best you can be and to fulfil your ambitions.reach for the stars, for you will find God there.

'What a wonderful world'- In the dark there is light, in the world there is beauty. Never give up hope and appreciate the world around you.

Scripture:

Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37)  - We chose the Good Samaritan because it is one of the most famous bible stories. We set it in a modern day context because of the eternal message of the story. despite race, religion and politics, the unlikely candidate helps another human in trouble.

Prayers:

Dear Lord

We bow our heads for our school, the memories we have had, 

the exams we passed and failed, the sports where we have prospered and perished, 

the friends we made and lost. The knowledge we have gained.

Lord hear our prayer.

Dear Lord

We pray for our friend Conal McGowan who passed away last year. 

We pray for his family and friends, 

that they are happy in the knowledge that he is always with us.

Lord hear our prayer.

Dear Lord

We pray for our teachers and all the staff of Aquinas for helping us through the past seven years. 

Especially Mrs McKenna.

Lord hear our prayer.

Dear Lord

Please bless all the sick and needy. 

Bless all those who have passed away, as they are always in our prayers 

and may they rest in peace.

Lord hear our prayer.

Dear Lord

We pray for all of 14S in making UCAS choices, 

studying hard for exams and progressing into the future.

Lord hear our prayer.

Reflection

The idea of our reflection was to make a poster with different words that summarise today's retreat- respect, friendship, bonding. trust, reflection and honesty.

Our Lady of Mercy Girls Year 14

Our Lady of Mercy Girls,Year 14 arrived on a rain drenched, windswept October morning. Glanaulin was warm and welcoming and the girls settled quickly to games, discussion and meditation. 

Focus
We used these colours because they are bright and we want to wish everyone a bright future. The 13 is to symbolise our last year as a class (2013), before we all go on to university or whatever career path each girl chooses. We picked the flower because of the years in school we have blossomed as young adults.The candles represent that we have light in our lives.

Music

'True Colours'- the reason we have chosen this particular song is because we performed an interpretative dance to it as our introduction to Our Lady of Mercy in 2006.

'Footprints in the Sand'-we chose this song because our year head from 1st to 5th year gave each of  us this prayer when were leaving school.

Scripture

'Judging Others' Luke 6:37-38. Do not judge others and God will not judge you. Do not condemn others and God will not condemn you. Forgive others and God will forgive you. Give to others and God will give to you. The reason we chose this is because society is very judgemental and we need to think before we speak.

Prayers

Reflection
We felt the words on our poster summed up our thoughts on the day. 

...relaxation...God...beliefs...success...family...the future...love...friends...values...happiness

St Bride's PS

We had children from St Bride's Primary School in November, who displayed great creative talents from kite making to dancing and musicianship.

Focus
God's creation, because the sun, the clouds, the grass and the sky is all made by God and the kites are us which God blows around.

Music
'One Love' by Bob Marley sings about getting people together and everything will be alright.
We chose 'Make It Mine' by Jason Maraz because its happy and gets your mind off bad things.

Scripture
Matthew (5:14-16)This scripture means that you should use your talents and shine your light.
Prayers

Focus
We decided to do 'Creation' because we thought natural resources God created for us would be ideal to show in the Prayer Service.

Music
'Firework' This song says '..be yourself..' and everyone likes and knows it.
'Next to Me', this explains friendship, you're never alone.

Scripture
Matthew (5:14-16). Jesus tells us we are the light of the world that can't be hidden. We must be a light for others.
Prayers

Reflection

Focus
This hand represents that God's hand is our hand, which we will use with care and respect, to help others.

Music
'You've got a friend in me', we chose this song because it shows God will always be our friend no matter what we do. He will send a friend to us when we are lonely and in need.
'Next to me', God is always close by. When we need him most and he will comfort us when we are sad through our friends.

Scripture
Matthew (5:14-16) When you light a candle its like a child is born and putting a bowl over a lighted candle is like a child sitting around doing nothing. So you should get out and do something to help others, which is like leaving a candle on a candle stand so it can be of use to everyone else around you.

Prayers

Reflection

Focus
This is display of a dove. A dove is  a symbol of the Holy Spirit and also symbolises peace. The dove is holding a branch because I remember reading a bible story about when Noah was in the ark and he sent out a dove to find land. The dove returned a few days later holding a twig. This showed that the plants were growing again after the flood and that there was land ahead. The dove is flying across the night sky.

Music

Scripture
Matthew (5:14-18). This passage means Jesus is represented as the Light of the World. So when we are said to be the light of the world, it means that we should try and follow in Jesus' footstep. Jesus said we are the light of the world. If we allow the Holy Spirit to shine within us, we will be able to be what we want to be.

Prayers

Reflection
We chose this title because it speaks God's word and means don't put yourself down.