Apologies for the delay in this report but our Special Sixth Year Photographer, Anna Downey, is as open-minded with shot selection as she is in conversation, and she returned from the wilds of Wicklow with many, many shot rolls of film. We have spent the last two weeks in the school darkroom and now, belatedly bring you, selectively, the story and some of those photos…

What… are the French involved in military action, again? Or do our shaggy-haired kids need another dose of nit treatment? No, silly, it’s time to get that tricky refrain of ‘Kumbaya’ down pat for the Sixth Years are going on retreat!

Actually, we got that quite wrong. The Sixth Years have retreated, and returned, and apparently there was hardly any cringe-inducing platitudes at all! Yes, we remember when retreats involved a lot of hushed voices, hastily drawn symbolic etchings and vague expressions of well-being.  Well how about zip-lines, fire-starting, fish-gutting and sing-alongs?  

Yes, we believe that the Sixth Year Retreat to Ovoca House in Avoca has been a change for the better.  Never before have we heard a 100% approval rating from the students involved and it was not just because the hosts kept them moving with fun-filled and challenging activities: the boys and girls did do proper, traditional retreat stiff too, such as team-building, goal-setting and reflection.  It was just that the whole overnight trip was so well-planned and well implemented, it satisfied both the needs and the wants of those involved.  A big thank-you to Form Teachers Ms. NiAonghusa and Mr. Coleman for taking part so enthusiastically. Before you go we have one last bit of media from Anna: a rather artfully shot bit of cinéma vérité, complete with a Truffaut-like ‘grass sequence’!