The retreat commenced with Ms Chew explaining the meaning of spirituality as the connectedness of our being with the Divine. Sr. Theresa then gave a session on the "Ecumenical Perspective" of spirituality. To reinforce that spirituality means being connected to the Divine and is non-specific to any religion, 2 teachers (a Muslim & a Christian) were invited to share the times when they experienced the presence of God in their lives. From here, the staff were given an insight into St. Magdalene's spiritual direction in education, hence the term "Canossian Spirituality" and its relevance in today's education system. Miss Chew shared with the staff how Canossian Spirituality is in alignment with the Ministry of Education's S21initiatives, and the school's strategic directions. 

"A picture speaks a thousand words". Miss Chew used the metaphor of the school as a Spiritual Garden to emphasise the important role the teaching and non-teaching staff play as steward gardeners. To help us become effective steward gardeners, a group activity was conducted in which we had to reflect on how each of us could contribute to our Spiritual Garden. Our mission is to help our seeds (the pupils) become beautiful flowers (wholesome people whose full potential is being discovered). Of course, this mission is fraught with challenges along the way. During such times, we can dip into our sea of abundance to re-energise us. 

The whole experience was a beautiful one. The fact that the retreat was a residential one helped in connecting us to one another and giving us the sense of belonging to the big Canossian family. All of us had time to recreate, to be filled up on 'laksa' and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Most importantly, we are now able to understand and appreciate our roles as 'steward gardeners' better and we have learnt too, that in God's garden, no two flowers are the same.