The Quest Retreat is held at the beginning of each year ? on the Labour Day weekend. It runs over the Saturday and Sunday of that weekend. It is non- residential retreat.

The Quest Retreat is an activity which builds community among the Year 8 class and exposes incoming students to the lived culture of faith in God within the Trinity College community and the Edmund Rice vision.

At this critical moment when our new Year 8s stand on the threshold of five years of secondary education, the Quest Retreat provides an opportunity for them ponder and to imagine just what God's dream for them might be!

The Quest Retreat also fosters genuine pastoral care through a ?buddy? system in which the Year 11 Peer Ministers ?adopt' three little brothers and give them an older?brother' to look up to.

The Quest Retreat is required for all Year 8s ? the Class of 2008 - and is implemented by Year 11 students who serve as Peer Ministers (small group leaders). The Peer Ministers are each responsible for three ?little brothers? and they lead all of the small group activities as well as welcome the little brothers into their own homes.

These peer ministers are trained and led by twelve Year 12 leaders known as theCadre . They are supported by Year 10 students who work on the Roadies (Backup Crew). A team of four (4) or five (5) staff also work the entire weekend of the retreat. The parents of the Peer Ministers are heavily involved.

The Quest Retreat consists of nine distinct phases:

a) Phase One: Getting To Know You - at the College.

b) Phase Two: Opening Rally - in the gym.

c) Phase Three: Christian Service ? canned-food collection in the suburbs.

d) Phase Four: Welcome to my Home ? at the home of the Peer Ministers.Girl-Relationship Talks.

e) Phase Five: Home-Time Activities ? at the home of the Peer Ministers.

f) Phase Six: Witness Talks : in the Foley gym.

g) Phase Seven: Prayers & Aspirations: Quest Prayer Book ? small groups working together in classrooms.

h) Phase Eight: MASS ? in Trinity Chapel.

i) Phase Nine: Closing Assembly ? in the Foley Gym.

There is intense and careful training of all leaders leading up to the Retreat for both the Cadre and in turn for the Peer Ministers .



Our Quest Prayer:

Dreams

Jesus,
Sometimes deep within our hearts we have dream
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good dreams, exciting dreams, dreams that can make a difference, dreams that can change the world!

However, many times we choose not to listen to these dreams, for we think that making them come true would be impossible, or that people would laugh at us, or.....it means that we might have to change, and then we'd be different! So...we put away our dreams, we hide them away, and we refuse to listen to the wishes that are nearest and dearest to our hearts.

Our challenge today, Lord, is to listen to our dreams
-
to dust them off and take a good look at them.

These dreams might just be God's dreams - dreams that
can build up God's kingdom of love!
Dreams that can make a difference!
Amen