Academy seniors laughed, prayed, and shared memories at the Senior Day of Recollection on September 9. The ladies headed off on buses to the picturesque Franciscan Center, where Sister Janet Sullivan, a representative of the center, warmly greeted them. Sister Mary Plumb, the AHN campus ministry officer, and her assistant, Mrs. Katie Holland, led the day’s activities. Mrs. Holland gave the students this question to focus on during the day: How would they make the most of their remaining time at the Academy?

After a short ice breaker,  Sarah Plummer A‘07 inspired the seniors with a spirited presentation.  Plummer, a graduate of the University of Miami, shared her experiences as a former AHN student. She encouraged the seniors to value the time they had left together and to have a positive attitude even if they did not attend their number one choice of colleges.

Student gathered in small groups to share their best and worst memories of the Academy. As her worst memory, Jackie Moreda shared the difficulty of adjusting to the swing of things as a transfer to the Academy. Marigloria Maldonado also related that one of her least favorite memories of AHN was, “all the work.” But, there were many positive recollections. Gaby Bou told her group that her favorite memory of Academy was, “junior minicourse, when a group of seniors went to Epcot and enjoyed the different rides.”

Towards the end of the day, each group worked on a collage reflective of the Academy experience. Pictures of handsome men, food, crowns, and inspirational quotes were seen on almost every poster as the groups shared their work. Perhaps the most amusing collage came from Kat Muyer’s group, whose work featured the word, “romance.” “We’ve all had a romance in our lives,” said Kat.

After lunch, Father Leonard Plazewski of Christ the King celebrated Mass.   In keeping with the Feast Day of St. Peter Clavier, he encouraged students to emulate the kindness that St. Peter Clavier shared to others. Perhaps the most emotional part of the day came next, when students received letters from last year’s seniors and then wrote letters to themselves to open and read at their final retreat in the spring.

By the end of the day, students had assembled their collages into one word. This word was the answer to Mrs. Holland’s original question: How would they make the most of their remaining time at the Academy?  The answer was Jesus.

Before boarding the bus for the trip back to Academy, seniors  committed themselves to make each moment count by being Jesus to one another.

Attending the retreat were President Art Raimo, Principal Mrs. Camille Jowanna, Guidance Counselors Mrs. Darcy Dwyer, Ms. Kerry Keegan, and Mrs. Debbie Lubrano, and Senior English teacher Mrs. Edie LeBas.