Eighth Grade Regional – Retreat

Sometimes you can just feel the Holy Spirit in the room.  That certainly seemed to be the case in the SHS gym during our first ever 8th grader regional retreat!

Sacred Heart School had the privilege of hosting our first ever 8th-grade regional retreat on Thursday, November 21.   Eighth-grade students from Sacred Heart School, St. Mary’s in Glasgow, St. Joseph’s in Pilot Grove, St. Andrew’s in Tipton and St. Peter’s in Marshall were on hand to take part.  Public school PSR students from St. Vincent de Paul in Sedalia and surrounding parishes were invited as well.

The idea was for the students involved to spend the day deepening their faith, making memories and creating new friendships.

The retreat theme was ‘Applying the Sacred Sacraments to our daily lives?’  Father Joe Corel and Father Dave Veit, pastors at St. Vincent de Paul in Sedalia were joined by visiting priests from neighboring parishes to assist in leading the day.  The talks focused on the Sacraments of Initiation and were followed up by time for talk and discussion in small groups.  The small groups were led by Sacred Heart High School juniors and seniors.

Structured games, free play, and breaks were scattered throughout the day to make it an overall enjoyable experience.  Lunch was catered by Colton’s Steak House in Sedalia.  According to feedback from the students, this was a terrific part of the day!

The day concluded with mass.  Father Joe Corel was the main celebrant with Fr. Mark Smith (Marshall), Fr. Tony Rionaldo (Tipton) and Fr. Dave Veit (St. VdP) concelebrating,  The high school choir led music ministry and assisted with other parts of the mass.

According to Mrs. Timara Kennon, 8th-grade teacher and one of the event planners, “Whether it was talking or playing games, I really enjoyed watching the kids interact with each other.  It was great for both the 8th graders and high school students to get to participate in this retreat.  We are so grateful for our priests taking the lead and making the day a success!”

When asked what they thought the best parts of the day were the most common responses the students gave included:

  • “I liked meeting different people from other schools.”
  • “The lunch catered in by Colton’s was great.”
  • “I liked that mass was lively and the music was really good.”
  • “There were lots of breaks and the games and icebreakers were fun.”
  • The small group talks with the high school kids leading were great to participate in.”
  • “I liked learning more about the sacraments in a more relaxed way.”

Overall, and especially for a first attempt, the day seemed to be a huge success.   We look forward to working with the other schools to make this an annual event for our 8th graders!