Good morning!! Sad news…today is our last full day in Newtown. 🙁 But, happy news…tomorrow we head off to Dublin!!!! Today was another class day, and also the day when the kids gave their presentations on Irish-Americans. Among everyone, Nic presented on Robert Downy Jr., Isaac presented on Obama, and Cassidy presented on Saorise Ronan. We had a pretty chill morning, followed by dinner, as per usual, at 1. Today it was turkey, stuffing, peas and carrots, salad, and cheesecake. Yum!
We then had something that everyone was dearly looking forward to…Mark’s hurling workshop!!!! The only slight problem was that the rain was absolutely lashing down, so we had it inside. But that was alright, because Mark’s workshop is a fantastic classic. In just an hour, everyone learned all the basic moves and skills needed for a fun game of hurling—soloing and dribbling, hitting and passing…these kids are ready for the real deal now!
After hurling, there was a little bit of time left before dinner, so a few kids braved the storm to head into Waterford, while others took a bit of much needed relaxation time. Strider, Clare, Cassidy, Ana, and Lydia attended our Saint Brigid’s Cross workshop! They are truly prodigies at making Brigid’s Crosses—I think they’re hooked. It was a perfect way to spend the afternoon, and they even made Brigid’s Crosses for the lovely Newtown lunch ladies, which was very sweet. Everyone loved them!
After our Tea of pasta, garlic bread, salad, some delicious crispy potatoes, and a brownie, everyone had some free time before we had a very special guest visit—Peter Flanagan’s Hurleys! These guys make the most gorgeous hurleys in all of Ireland—and they set up right in the Newtown courtyard. Some students wanted to buy them, and they even got to pick out the color of the handle wrap. Most people went with their County team they support—Clare got a blue and yellow wrap to support (obviously) County Clare, and Cassidy got a blue and white wrap to support Waterford. A few others got more random colors—Taegen favored a hot pink one!
We then finished off our evening with an hour of dance and drama. The kids have finished their videos, and soon the judging will commence. It will be very difficult, as these guys are very creative, and the videos are just bound to be funny! Then, our wonderful Clare showed us more to our Céilí routine. Strider couldn’t stop bouncing up and down in excitement.
Finally, everyone spent the rest of their evening just chilling out, taking some well needed rest for the next day to come.
Goodnight to our final night in Waterford!
