Academy Students Prepare for His Coming
The Academy of Our Lady High School held its schoolwide Advent Retreat on December 7, 2011. Each grade level was assigned to a church away from the school for reflection, activity, and guest speaker sharing. Each retreat, special in its own way with its own theme and activities, centered on the preparation and acceptance of Christ this Advent season.
The Seniors reflected on the theme of “Got Christ”, which centered around Revelations 3:20. For the Seniors, Christ is knocking at their heart doors. According to Senior Jody Muna, this retreat allowed her to get closer to more people in her class.
“It was a time for us to come together and step up to help each other”, she also added that this was best Advent retreat for her compared to previous years. The Juniors and Sophomores centered their retreats preparing for Christmas, as they would prepare their homes for guests. Finally, the Freshmen, who experienced their first Academy retreat, truly experienced a “metanoia” while interacting with each other in a prayerful tone.
According to Sister Oliva Benavente, theology teacher at the school, the students help plan their retreat which gives them a sense of ownership. Freshman Aolani Permalino summed the retreat up best by saying, “It was good to spend time with classmates and get to know each other. It was a peaceful experience and a time to get closer to God.”
AOLG Students Take First and Second Place in Essay Contest
In the 2011 Energy Essay Contest entitled “Turning Actions into Energy Saving Results,” Academy of our Lady of Guam students took the top two awards in the high school division. Both juniors at the Academy, Dareon Rios and Ria Camacho won first and second place, respectively. In an effort to kick off Guam Energy Week, the awards ceremony was held at the Sheraton Resort Guam on October 27th.
Academy Students Responding in the Spirit of Mercy
Students of the Academy of Our Lady of Guam, headed by the Responding in the Spirit of Mercy (RSM) Club, collected donations for the families whose home burned to the ground last September 19th. The donations were presented to the families in the presence of Mayor Andrew Villagomez of Toto. These included essential material items such as clothes, blankets and some canned goods, but also religious articles to help sustain the families’ faith despite having gone through this misfortune. “We have always been taught to try to find ways where we can live out the spirit of mercy,” says Danielle Fejeran, a senior at the Academy, and president of the school’s RSM Club.