Two weeks after a life-changing five days of challenges and mateship, our Year 9 boys reflect on the lasting effects of Rite Journey week.
The week removes students from their usual classes to create a new and unique environment that facilitates a series of rites of passage that honour their transition from boys to young men.
Often considered the programme's pinnacle, the gentlemen spent three days on camp at Edmund Rice College in Bindoon, 18 hours of which makes up The Abyss.
During this life-changing event, boys are left alone in their tent and separated from their peers, creating a rare space for deep reflection on their life to date, the opportunities they have been afforded, and their aspirations for the future.
The Year 9 gentlemen then record those hopes in a letter they write to themselves, which is returned to them when they graduate from the College.
"It felt like everything was building up to that moment," said Linus Schad.
"It was a really good way for me to connect with my emotions and understand myself better."
It was a similar experience for Ettiene Fourie, who said he'd seen the effect of The Abyss on his brother a few years earlier.
"I feel as I stepped out of that tent I was stepping into a new stage of my life," he said.
"It's a whole new step of a new beginning."
While in the paddocks of Edmund Rice College, students were expected to be almost entirely self-sufficient, even through a 20km hike that pushes boys to their physical and mental limits.
Linus said the camp helped forge stronger bonds between students as they came to better understand not only themselves but their peers too.
"I realised how well people work together and all the leadership abilities people have deep down," he said.
"A lot of people really shone."
A special conclusion
The three day experience, which is free from screens, watches and even books, concluded on the final morning with a special ceremony led by each group's male adult leader.
Gathered in a circle in a sign of their shared strength, each boy was called forward individually.
In front of the group they each punched through a wooden board on which they had earlier written elements of themselves they want to leave in their childhood.
Standing proud and feeling empowered to continue the significant personal growth they have experienced over the year, their classmates each shared a positive affirmation about their mate.
The experience concluded with each student being presented a wooden token. On one side, their peers had written a word that captures what they admire about their friend. On the other is five words each boy chose to represent the kind of gentlemen they want to become.
The group then huddled together in shared prayer, an important reminder of the role faith plays in The Rite Journey experience.
"It goes by very quickly, but it's something I'll never forget," Ettiene said of the ceremony.
"It's the best way to put the Rite Journey into action, and I think that was super special."
Closer to home
On one of the other two days of Rite Journey Week, boys spent another day stepping outside of their comfort zone, competing in an Amazing Race-style activity before spending the afternoon sailing the Swan River.
"I really got to use what I learnt on the camp on the challenge day, so I got to put my leadership skills into action straight away," Linus said.
On the other day, former CBC Principal Mr Sandro Sandri transformed the banks of the Swan into the shores of the Sea of Galilee, leading boys on a Retreat like no other.
As boys walked along the foreshore, Mr Sandri and his group of Retreat leaders stopped and explained significant moments in Jesus' life, how he overcame them, and what each story has to teach us.
The Retreat concludeed with each group's adult leader washing the feet of each boy – mirroring how Jesus demonstrated servant leadership to his disciples.
"It was really important," Ettiene said.
"It's definitely not every day that someone you respect bows down to wash your feet."
Looking forward
While the full effects of Rite Journey Week and the year's programme often aren't seen until after the gentlemen's' final class, both Linus and Ettiene said the experience has already changed them.
"I'm much more grateful for all the opportunities and luxuries that I have, and I realise how fortunate I am to have all these friends and family around me," Linus said.
It was a similar experience for Ettiene.
"I feel like I've become more mature after the experience, and definitely I'm more grateful for things," he said.
"You thank your parents more for the little things, and you just give them a hug more often."
The Rite Journey will reach its formal conclusion tomorrow, when the gentlemen walk side-by-side to be returned to their parents, having been symbolically entrusted to their Rite Journey teacher at the Calling and Departure ceremony earlier this year.
No matter how this challenging year has left Year 9 boys feeling, the words of Blessed Edmund Rice remind us all that the work of educators will not always be seen immediately.
"Have courage! The good seed will grow."
