by Mr. Marlon Bobier Vargas, Religion Teacher
Published in Umatuna Si Yu’os, the Catholic newspaper of the Archdiocese of Agana
October 30, 2011
With the aim of building a faith life in the spirit of the Gospel in the school community, Santa Barbara Catholic School (SBCS) conducted a series of spiritual retreats for the middle school classes this school year 2011-2012.
Last September 27 (Class of 8A) and 28 (Class of 8B), 2011, the eight grade students had their class retreat at the Santa Bernadita Chapel in Yigo. The focus of the retreat was on “Living the Life and Works of Venerable Catherine McAuley.” The retreat helped the graduating class to reflect on and appreciate their relationships with God, family, school and friends and challenged them to continue to live their lives rooted in mercy. Meanwhile, the sixth grade students had their class retreat on October 13 (Class of 6A) and 14 (Class of 6B) at the SBCS Multi-Purpose Room with the theme “While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world” – John 9:5. The emphasis of the retreat was on building stronger and deeper relationships by anchoring oneself to the light of Christ and sharing this light to classmates, friends, family and community. The seventh grade class spiritual retreat was held on October 18 (class of 7A) and 19 (class of 7B) also at the SBCS Multi-Purpose Room with the theme “God’s Dwelling Place.” In the retreat, the seventh grade students had a meaningful time reflecting on God as their dwelling place in their life. It invited them to become “God’s home” for their own family, friends and other people as well.
This series of spiritual exercises is held annually as part of the faith formation for the students of SBCS. The retreat gives the students an avenue for discovering a model of effective communication among themselves through series of activities like talks, group dynamics, action songs, writing and exchanging meaningful messages, sharing of thoughts, insights and reflections. Consequently, it develops awareness for true bonding among classmates and it strengthens the espirit de corps of the class. Most importantly, it creates a common experience for the class to ‘discover the face of Christ’.
The retreats were facilitated by Mr. Delson Balance (8th and 7th Grades) and Mr. Marlon Vargas (6th Grade) with the assistance of Miss Bernadette Alcantara and Mr. Ron Pangan. All are faculty members of SBCS.
