Thus far, this day has been the students favorite. As usual, today started with a lovely breakfast at 8:30. Right after, we jumped right into a full day of continuous activities. The kids had an Irish History Class with our dearest, Michael Meaney, followed by Irish Culture with Taryn. Immediately after classes, we learned the skills of hurling and how to play from a professional himself, Mark Brennan. Mark is coach for an adult men’s Gaelic football league and a minor’s girl league-also known as camogie. Despite the difficulty, the kids took right to it! Ian said his favorite thing today was learning hurling.

Next up, a rather quick lunch in the cafeteria of Newtown and then on the bus by 1:30. Upon arrival, we rented bicycles from our friend, Garvan, ironically in the town of Dungarvan. From there, we biked nearly 8 miles along the Deise Greenway. Soaking up the beauty of Ireland and taking advantage of the sunshine, we rode along the coast, and through the trees. We even took a midway stop, and played on small beach. Some of the students even braved the chilly Atlantic water.

Once we finished the bike tour, Taryn treated us to a popular Irish treat-Twisters. Once home to Newtown, we had a nice dinner of pizza made by the lovely cafeteria ladies. A short bit of free time was allotted before the students re-joined for their drama groups and dance class. In the drama groups, the staff voted on the best team limerick from the night before and introduced the task to make a music video, using lyrics from traditional Irish songs.

Presenting some of the fabulous limericks that the students created on famous Irish people. For your reading pleasure, here they are in all their cheeky glory:

1. There once was a man names Sam
Who married a bird names Suzanne
But babs caught his eyes
He won the Nobel prize
But gave all the winnings to his fam.

2. There once was a man names Yeats
Not wed, but thirty years in the sheets
It was one big affair
And she moved afar
So quickly his life depletes

3. There was a man named James
Who suffered through some pains
He wrote many books
About Heroes and Crooks
His work was much acclaimed

As if they didn’t exercise their brain and bodies enough, the next activity was the Waterford scavenger hunt. The students split into three teams and wildly ran through town to complete their task lists. Given an hour and fifteen minutes, all three teams completed in the nick of time. Many more events to come-stay tuned!