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| They all arrived back safely to shore! That was the key message arising out of the recent voyage of discovery undertaken by students of Synge Street CBS recently. Over twenty third year students, having recently completed their Junior Certificate examinations, set sail from Dublin Port in late June. The were aboard the Jeanie Johnson, a replica Famine Ship. Parents, teachers, members of the Past Pupils Union, the Trust Fund and friends were there to witness the historic event. They were also seen off by the Minister of Education and Science, Ms. Mary Hanafin, who pointed out that, yet again, students from Synge Street were leading the way. Having been among the top prizes in recent years at the BT Science and Technology Exhibition in recent years our students were now the first school group to undertake sail training on board the Jeanie Johnson, she noted. She congratulated the teachers accompanying the group, Arthur Sealy and Brendan Keenan, Deputy Principal of Synge Street CBS. Due to bad weather in the Irish sea they were unable to set sail at the original appointed time. This did not in any way dampen the enthusiasm of the group and they spent an evening getting a most unusual view of Dublin Port. The first night on board was in the Port area. They then set sail for Belfast on Tuesday, June 26th 2007. An unusual feature of the experience for the students was the fact that they were on four hour 'watch'. Each team then were resonpsible for the safety of the ship during their watch. Every student also had the experience of taking the wheel of the Jeanie Johnson and following the rather large compass! This report is only a taster of the full experience. We look forward to bringing you the full details of the experience when they all return in September. In addition the full voyage is to be the subject of a documentary which is due for screening in a few months time! MM / BK / AS |