In case you didn’t know or haven’t seen middle schoolers walking to and from the Assembly Hall every once in a while, Rosary holds retreats for Catholic school’s junior high classes. This past Tuesday, Rosary hosted their last junior high retreat of the year for St. Jeanne and St. Pius V Catholic Schools. These retreats are full of fun and reflective experiences for middle school students in hopes that they are able to develop a deeper relationship with God.
To help us understand a little more about why Rosary holds these retreats, Ms. Pallares, one of Rosary’s Campus Ministry coordinators, explained, “Rosary Academy hosts retreats for prospective junior high students. The one-day retreat, held during school hours, is led by Campus Ministry youth from both Rosary and Servite. The day begins with Mass in our chapel, follow by talks, activities and small group discussions. This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to facilitate, share their faith and offer a glimpse into life on campus.” Keep reading to hear about exactly what goes on when middle schoolers pay the Academy a visit for their retreat.
Like any Rosary retreat, the junior high retreats have themes that are seen throughout the whole day like in the talks and decorations. We try to keep the theme relevant to something the students would know. Tuesday’s theme was inspired by “Inside-Out,” and it was called “From the Inside Out” because it focused on the students’ personal identities in Christ.
The day started off with Mass in the Chapel which was accompanied with music sung by a couple of Royals. Afterwards, we headed to the Karcher Center for some classic icebreakers like “I Love My Neighbor.” Then, we walked across the way to the Assembly Hall to hear a talk from Rosary junior Gianna Sorensen.
She shared about the retreat from her perspective: “I really enjoyed leading the retreat because we got to help the seventh graders be in tune with their faith especially approaching such a big transition into high school. I talked about the colors of our soul, like our emotions, how it is okay to experience all ranges from joy to anger and to not shy away from God and His love when we get sad and vulnerable.” Her talk was followed by some small group questions led by the Rosary and Servite group leaders and a coloring activity.
The rest of the day was filled with more games, some food and amazing talks from Rosary and Servite seniors Lizzy Larson and Connor Pelonis. The students also got the chance to make a beautiful painting where they wrote some “I am” statements that highlighted who they are.
The day concluded with more games and a little Q&A with the student leaders about what it’s like at Rosary Academy. The students were very energetic throughout the whole day, so I think they really enjoyed it.
