5th Year Ski Trip 2023⛷

By Ruth Sheehan & Antonia Madigan

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We were so lucky as 5th Years to get the opportunity to travel to Andorra on a school Ski Trip. We thoroughly enjoyed every moment from the greatly anticipated departure, to the dreaded trip home. We were sorry to leave such a great time behind us but a time where memories were made that would last a lifetime! Ms Reidy, Mr O Brien, Ms Brosnan, Mr Scanlon, Mr Crowley and Mr O Mahoney put tremendous effort into making this Ski Tour one to remember! 

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We left Newcastle West in the early hours of the Bank Holiday Monday morning, 6th February. We were bursting with excitement and we made our way onto the plane without any hiccups (overweight bags). The first travel day went very smoothly with only one lost bag and a lot of tired faces! We were fitted for our ski gear and had an early night back at the hotel. 

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The next morning was where the fun began, kicking off with 11 students needing to be rescued from the hotel elevator but thankfully Ms. Reidy was on speed dial to come to their rescue! Once we got to the slopes it was a free for all! With each one of us laughing as we attempted to make it down the bunny slope, we were not very successful, but you could hear screeches of laughter and fear all rolled into one.  After lunch we were organised into groups and taught the basics of skiing by our instructors. We had just as much fun tripping and falling as we did learning how to ski properly. As each day progressed we improved and got more confident.  

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Six students had some idea how to ski before we left but 60 students returned home on Friday night with the skill of skiing learnt. That is an amazing achievement which we are very proud of and which just shows anything is possible once we put our minds to it. 

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Every night we had great fun with our teachers at the hotel playing board games, quizzes and charades. Some of the teachers got quite competitive! Friendships were strengthened and new acquaintances made and we  became closer as a group of students and saw a funnier side to our teachers, Mr Scanlon leaving us shocked with his amazing vocals🎶. Thankfully we all made it home in one piece, apart from a certain someone who we won’t name who was assisted by crutches after his little fall.

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We are so grateful to have had the opportunity to have gone on this trip and have such amazing memories with friends and teachers that we will cherish forever. Thank you Ms Reidy and Mr O’ Brien for making this happen. 

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Photos from the trip can be found at the following link:

https://www.smincw.ie/gallery/5th-year-skiing-trip-andorra

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The SMI Skiers of 2023 ⛷

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