The students engaged in an Opening Liturgy and invoked the Holy Spirit to inspire them throughout the day. Then in small groups, we focused on the balance of 'generosity' and 'greed' through an abundance of wealth and collaboration activity. This helped the girls to understand how they and others see the world and the positive result of sharing. Back in the large group, statements were read out and the girls determined their answer on a value continuum. It was interesting to see the girls be their own person and stand on their own two feet and not always stick with the crowd with statements such as "I cannot do anything to fix the world's problems on my own", "Technology can solve any problem" and "Life is unfair". We debriefed the themes of justice and injustice and shared experiences.

The focus then moved to issues of global injustice with the Micah Challenge and responded to the climate change issue that our neighbours in Kiribati currently experience and viewed a clip on how we can become more aware of global inequalities. The song of the bird by Anthony de Mello was read to the girls which posed the question "Who is responsible" for what we see and hear in the world. This response from God in the poem "I certainly did something, I made you" is a profound reminder that we all can make a difference and do something instead of nothing.

In the final session, the girls were back in small groups and they created a mini iMovie trailer on social justice issues using the "See Judge Act" model. I look forward to seeing their creative thoughts flowing with their final products.

To conclude the day, we focused as a large group on Matthew's Gospel and responding to the Beatitudes. The girls created a handprint and footprint design reflecting on their own call to serve others. The handprints were to identify how one can use their hands to bring God's blessings to others by using their gifts and talents to offer the world, and the Footprint was to show what footprint they want to leave on earth by their contributions and how they want to be remembered. We ended with the St Francis peace prayer to draw the Reflection Day to a close.

It was a beautiful day with great energy from the students and I am proud of their thought-provoking reflections and input. I would like to thank Mr Gattone for facilitating this space and the homeroom teachers to taking time out of their classes to be with the Year 8 students.

Maria Boulatsakos - Year 8 Coordinator