As the Christmas holidays approach and with exams finally over, Bower students have been getting into the festive spirit. The sixth years headed off to Dublin on Thursday, 11 December for their traditional day out on the ice. This year they skated at the Dundrum Town Centre and so managed to fit in some shopping. They were accompanied by their year heads, Mr Sean Browne and Mr Eamonn Hardiman, and two other staff members, who were happy to report that there were no injuries. The TYs had their day on the ice on Monday, 15 December and entertained the sisters in Mont Vista with their carol singing on Tuesday.
The awards for the design a Christmas card as gaeilge competition were presented at 1st year assembly on Thursday morning, 18 December. The winning card was designed by Minihil Safraz while other prize winners were Michelle Melvin, Emma Lynch, Ella Dillon and Róisín Grennan. All finalists in the competition received a certificate.
On Friday, 19 December, the religion and music departments organised a carol service in the school, giving students the opportunity to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas. Mindful that this can be a very stressful time for some Irish families, the St Vincent de Paul Society in the school held table quizzes for all students to raise money for such a worthy cause.
Transition year students sold Christmas gifts for the LSU missions in the Third World. Last year Bower girls bought children’s meals, textbooks, malaria treatments, school uniforms and paid for one year’s education for many children. All of the money raised goes directly to Sister Annette in Tanzania and to Sister Maria in Haiti.
Two traditional and much anticipated events were pencilled in for the end of the week. The First Year Talent Show organised by TY students and the Alpha de Beta Christmas debate – the motion this year was ‘That This House Believes that Santa Claus is Not a Good Role Model’