7 October 2024
Miss Mirin Niekirk, Chaplaincy Assistant
Year 8 Sacred Heart Reps Amarisa, Ava, Danae, Elizabeth, Florence, Imaan, Olympia and Simran joined students from five other schools in the Sacred Heart network at the annual Heart Fest gathering at the Emmaus Youth Village, near Newcastle, in the last week of September.
To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of our Sacred Heart Goals - Personal Growth, Community, Social Awareness, Intellect and Faith - students spent time looking at how each Goal can and should be applied to our personal lives, our communities, and the wider world.
In groups with students from our sister schools, the girls took part in team games which encouraged them to learn about others and find connections, prayer activities that explored how to care for the world and the people in it, and an ‘escape room’ challenge focused on the goal of intellect. Students also worshipped together and learnt the Lord’s Prayer in sign language.
Our final evening closed with a ‘virtual’ campfire (projected indoors on a screen), as it was very soggy, where students reflected on their time at Heart Fest, what they gained from the experience and how they will teach others what they learnt.
On our last day, we were given a tour of Fenham Sacred Heart School, Newcastle where we saw many similarities, as well as differences, to Woldingham and the other sister schools. Students then gathered with pupils from Fenham’s primary and senior schools to celebrate all they had learnt and experienced at Heart Fest.
Our Sacred Heart Reps are very excited to share their experiences with the rest of the school and help our community live out the Sacred Heart Goals.