St. DOMINIC SAVIO HIGH SCHOOL, ANDHERI : RETREAT FOR STD X

ST. DOMINIC SAVIO HIGH SCHOOL, ANDHERI: RETREAT FOR STANDARD TEN

August 16, 2012: Ninety five Standard Ten students from St. Dominic Savio High School, Andheri participated in a day's Retreat that was organized by the Don Bosco Youth Services DBYS, Matunga in the school auditorium. The theme for the day was: 'LIVING A FULFILLED LIFE'. 'Only you can cheat yourself'", said Fr. Glenn while inviting the students to make their life more meaningful and significant. The retreat was an open door, an invitation to look at how the past had been lived and to make new life changing decisions for the future.

 The students took the time to reflect on their respective journey of life while comparing it to the River Me. Going through fourteen stages of the River, the students were asked at each stage to take an honest look at oneself and the be grateful to God for blessings encountered along the way. For the moments of pain, misdirection and lack of purpose in life, the students were invited to make a silent prayer of forgiveness. The life of Jackie Subaribo was truly inspirational and a living model for many a 'defocused and misdirected' student to reset their personal life on the right path.

In the second part of the session, the students were invited to reflect on Life and the gift of Time. "Unless you have the courage to reset your clock or reset your life, change will never happen", the preacher said. The students were asked to find their 'student attitude style' of life: Lighthouse Students, Wheel Barrow Students or Magic Bouncing Students. 'Light House Students' are those who are built of a firm foundation and who make a difference by shining their light and save lives along the way. 'Wheel Barrow Students' are those who cannot move along in life unless 'pushed' by an external force. they have no drive or passion within them. 'Magic Bouncing Ball Students' look attractive on the outside and hollow on the inside. They are unpredictable and directionless and really have no magic at all. 

The final part of the session was centered on 'Living One's Life Guided by a Value Compass'. Most of the students took the session seriously and participated actively and attentively. However, they were also, sad to say, a handful who were totally distracted, defocused and took no time to be part of the opportunity to reset their life or time. A golden opportunity slipped by! 

 The following words were entered in the AVEC log book of appreciation:
"It was an awesome time. I liked the songs too. Cheers" - Christopher Rebello X-A

"Very Inspirational! Amazing interactions too. Keep it up" Shervin Pereira X-A

 "The retreat was a real 'treat' for us which made us a 'light house' from being mere 'Magic bouncing balls" Shantanv Naik X-A

"From this retreat, I learnt that our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure"  Siddhesh Ghosalkar X-A

"From today's session we understood how to value life and time. This retreat was truly enjoyable and meaningful to me" - Clarence D'Souza X-B

"It encouraged me to work in team spirit and to give sometime for our parents, values etc." Gaurav Pawar X-B

 "The retreat of today gave an important message of value for my life. The presentations was excellent. We enjoyed the time getting more values from Fr. Glenn" - Brian D'Souza X-B

"It was a motivational session, it did inspire me on the important topics discussed by Fr. Glenn. I hope for a better tomorrow with a change. Am thankful for having attended this session" Abishek Kini X-B