Year 9 Retreat
On Monday 30 June, Year 9 enjoyed a wonderful retreat day with Dave Jorna from Project Hatch, which provided them with the opportunity to step out of the ever-present busyness of day-to-day life, park their usual school-day work and focus on fostering their emotional and psychological well-being.
Students enjoyed an array of games, music, and activities designed to encourage them to step out of their comfort zone and get to know other students within their cohort, outside of their regular friendship group. Dave Jorna, the presenter, kept the students engaged with an array of insightful and well-researched strategies and techniques to bring out the good that God created within themselves and one another.
From charades through to breathing strategies, musical sing-a-longs to affirmative statements, Dave guided and encouraged our students to consider who they are and who they aspire to be through the concepts of role models that exemplify positive “Be, Act, Do” characteristics and how to recognise red flags around judgemental behaviours; he gave them practical skills on how to reduce stress and anxiety through simple breathing techniques and finished off the day by leading students through an affirmation process whereby they were able to share acknowledgements not only of the beautiful characteristics held by their peers, but also to be able to articulate how these personal characteristics make a difference in their lives and the lives of others.
In addition to the wonderful program that was run, students were treated to the delights of the lunchtime sausage sizzle and a delicious afternoon recess of cake and fruit, prepared and served by Tom Howard, Jacob Somers and Scott Smith.
A huge thank you to the Year 9 Wellbeing Team for providing such a fabulous day and the RE teachers who supervised throughout.
Over the past 20 years, I’ve worked with tens of thousands of boys and young men in schools across Australia. I’ve had powerful, honest conversations with students who are trying to figure out who they are, how to be a good man, and where they fit in a world that often gives them mixed messages. This survey is part of a bigger project I’m working on — including a book about raising good men (title yet to come) and school workshops — to explore how we can better support boys in becoming strong, kind, emotionally grounded men of character.
The survey is short, anonymous, and completely confidential. Your input will help shape the tools, resources, and conversations we offer families in the future.