The Le Chéile Annual Conference was held in Athlone on 28 and 29 January and was attended by Ms O'Neill, Ms Brigid McManus and two of our 5th years, Aine Basem and Donna Dragos, who represented Manor House students in all of the student activities.  Here is the report written by the two students:

On 28 January, we got the opportunity to represent our school and to attend the Le Chéile conference2016 which was held in the Hudson Bay Hotel, Athlone. The theme for this year’s conference was ‘Ní Neart Go Cur Le Chéile’, which means ‘There is no strength without unity’. The Le Chéile Schools' Trust is an organisation that unifies the schools of thirteen religious congregations. The aim of the Trust is to work in unison on the legal, financial and inspirational role that has previously been carried out individually by the congregations.

 We arrived at the hotel at 5pm, we had to first sign in, giving our names and school. We then received our room keys where we left our bags. Later, we had dinner at 6pm until about 7pm. We had about half an hour to be in the conference room where we had our first presentation and workshop. Firstly, we were asked could young people change the world. The mixed reactions to this question were very exciting and interesting to see as a minority of people thought that young people cannot change the world. Hearing and sharing other opinions on the topic was very fascinating. We then examined different areas on how we as young people could contribute to our schools and in society, by moving forward and changing for the better. We were divided into groups of six and we had to draw out a mind map which displayed out all the different things we do in our school to enhance a positive atmosphere, activities and the different committees / groups present in our school were mentioned.

At 9pm we were given a quiz on a variety of topics and a few puzzles to solve. These activities were very enjoyable as we got to interact with both the teachers supervising and other students from different schools and backgrounds. 

The next morning, after breakfast we had an opening prayer to start the final day of the conference at 9.30am. We had to sing a few songs we had prepared from the previous day in front of different school  representatives including Ms.O’Neill  who had accompanied us. Later, we went to the conference room where we were asked to join a group of our interest. There were many groups such as music, drama, art, poetry, photography and dance. Donna and I had decided to join the music group. People who had brought musical instruments played them; our task was to write lyrics to a song describing all our experiences and portraying what we thought about Le Chéile and its main message. After lunch we continued to perfect our song.

Finally, after all our work, we had to perform and present what we had prepared in front of the different school principles and other school representatives. The conference ended with a speech from the Le Chéile chairperson. Overall, we found the experience very pleasant and enjoyable.

Áine Basem, 5th year, Student Council Representative.
Donna Dragos, 5th year, Student Council Representative.

Conference brochure