Many of the elements of this type of life are unfamiliar to our students and they obviously learned so much during these three days in Sydney. The boys visited The Wayside Chapel, The Jewish Holocaust Museum, The Indigenous Centre of Excellence, Australian Catholic Mission, St Canice Catholic Church, Oasis (Salvation Army), St Mary’s Cathedral, and several outreach centres for the homeless and the surrounds of the famous Kings Cross area. They also observe and receive an explanation of the Needle Exchange and Matthew Talbot Hostel. They witness wealth and poverty on the streets of Darlinghurst. Representatives from Youth of The Streets and L’Arche inform the students of the great work that these organisations participate in. It is the hope of the St Edward’s community that the lessons learnt on these few days will remain in the boy’s hearts and minds and that our outreach to others continues for life.
Mr Beacroft
Director of Mission and Identity
Student Reflection: Charlie Shannon
Retreat was an interesting experience. We were called to understand the hardships people face, when people are at their lowest of lows. Retreat involved major ideas of understanding the power people have, with their power being uneven or untold, to help others who are marginalised. We were exposed to the hardships of WWII and the Jewish Holocaust, the drug, alcohol and homelessness issues faced by people our own age, and rather than be tourists in our city, we saw things through new eyes. Retreat was an interesting experience, one that I will remember for a long time.
Student Reflection: Oska Davis
Last week we departed from the local train station to begin the Year 11 Retreat. Our trip started by dropping our bags at our accommodation the YHA Hotel. I would say my favourite thing about the Retreat would be the Australian Museum as I realised that our country has so much more history then what I realised. My second favourite place we went to was the Jewish Museum and listening to a holocaust survivor about his story and how he managed to stay alive through a time when he was in a lot of danger. I would definitely go on this retreat again if I ever got the chance to.
