On Monday 24th of September, TY and 5th year students partaking in the Gaisce programme embarked on their “adventure journey”. Gaisce is a self-development programme, which 300,000 people have participated in to date. Transition Year students are striving to attain the Bronze Award, which requires students to engage in work in the fields of community involvement, personal skill and physical recreation, with students also being required to go on an adventure journey.
The Bronze award applicants arrived at the school at 8:45 am and boarded the bus to Newgrange Lodge in Donore Co.Meath. They arrived at Newgrange Lodge around 9:50 and prepared to set off on their hike. The hike began tumultuously seeing students trekking through marshy boglands alongside the scenic views of the River Boyne. The entertaining chaos of the bog was followed by the serenity of open fields.
After stopping for lunch outside Oldbridge House in Drogheda, the students set off again this time, trading the countryside for the busy roads of Drogheda. All in all the walk took roughly six hours to complete, and the students arrived in Newgrange lodge around 3:30pm.
The students were greeted with cosy accommodation and a much needed hot meal courtesy of the Lodge. The students participated in team building activities, and the rest of the evening was spent relaxing and bonding.
The following morning, the students headed off on a comparatively tame 5K walk to the nearby Newgrange Monument. The students arrived back at the lodge and boarded the bus to Donabate, but not without making a final stop in McDonald’s Balbriggan for a well deserved treat.
We would like to extend a warm thanks to all of the staff at Newgrange Lodge for their warm welcome and kind hospitality. To Mr. Nagle, Ms. McArdle, Mr. Holton, Ms.Bayly, and Mr. Cummins we owe a debt of gratitude for supervising and organising the trip. We would also like to take this opportunity to remind all Gaisce Students that hard work starts now and we wish them well with their endeavours.
By Jenny Thompson, Clodagh O’Dea and Emma Higgins
Photos by Conor Culleton, Dillon Byrne and Alex Caverly