Thursday Diary & Slideshow: The Beginning of the End

Thursday marked the penultimate day of classes and, with it, the sad realization that the 2012 High School Summer Program is quickly coming to an end. Eager to make the most of their remaining time on campus, the students took on their classes — Euclid and Boethius — with gusto, just as they did their recreation and social time.

After classes ended at 2:30 p.m., a small group went on a trail run led by tutor Brian Dragoo and admissions director Jon Daly. After the run, they joined the rest of the students at the ponds on the lower campus to watch greased-watermelon battles, in which teams of women, and then men, attempted to bring a greased watermelon across the pond and to the opposing team’s goal. This exhausting and hilarious activity was followed by a hearty dinner, then a final study period in the library and classrooms, where the students practiced their Euclidean propositions with the help of the prefects.

The group then gathered in front of the Chapel for a Rosary procession to the grotto, led by Chaplain Rev. Sebastian Walshe, O.Praem. (’94). Upon arriving at the Lourdes Grotto, which had been set with candles beforehand, students finished the Rosary and prayed in silence before returning to St. Joseph Commons. There a good number joined in an impromptu dance while others played in the game room or visited in the Coffee Shop.

To conclude the evening, the gentlemen serenaded the ladies and presented them with chocolates. The ladies returned the kindness with freshly baked cookies. The students then returned to their respective residential courtyards where they enjoyed fresh grilled hot dogs. Fr. Sebastian led an impromptu fireside chat in Sts. Peter and Paul Hall, discussing the origins of the priesthood and answering other questions raised by the students.