Sports Day

10th May 2013
We had our annual Sports Day last Friday (3rd May). Although the weather left a lot to be desired it didn’t dampen spirits on the day and all students and staff had a great time. As usual Ms Eustace and Ms Collins had organised a variety of excellent activities including puc fada, various races (spud and spoon, 3 legged, 100m, relays etc), obstacle course, a bouncy castle race and sumo wrestling suits to name but a few.
Well done and thanks to all those who gave it their all on the day. Photos here.

Lá Gaeilge

10th May 2013

On Monday 22nd April 2013, Scoil Mhuire participated in a fundraiser for Headstrong, a national Mental Health Organisation for young people. This was no ordinary fundraiser, this event had a twist-everyone involved had to speak Irish for 12 hours.The fundraiser was a national initiative as part of Bliain na Gaeilge. Participants were sponsored to speak Gaeilge for one school day, with money funding vital youth Mental Health projects across Ireland. Headstrong works with communities and statutory services to empower young people to develop the skills, self-confidence and resilience to cope with mental health challenges. Their vision is to give every young person in Ireland somewhere to turn to and someone to talk to. In Scoil Mhuire Transition Years distributed t-shirts with the slogan “Stop! Labhair Gaeilge liom inniu!” on them. Ms. Ní Chléirigh organised a Lón Lá Gaeilge, where students could eat lunch together and practise their Irish.

Transition Year students prepared and presented a slideshow about Headstrong and the issues they deal with. The presentation was shown in the Central Area during lunchtime. Other activities organised include a céilí between the three secondary schools in Ennistymon.

 Students will be having the craic ag labhairt Gaeilge while raising funds for a worthy cause.

Competition Winners

12th April 2013
Congratulations to the winners of the two competitions run as part of Positive Health Awareness Week. Millie Harrison and Róisín Foynes (both 2nd year) won the poster competition while Alison Clair (thrid year) won the Facebook Like competition.

Positive Health Awareness Week

12th April 2013
Today sees the end of Positive Health Awareness Week in Scoil Mhuire and it was a huge success. The Transition Year students, Ms Higgins and Mrs Uí Dhomhnalláin had started the planning and promoting the week before the Easter holidays. During the course of the week there were a number of awareness events including a non uniform day (where students were also given a free wristband with a positive life message), talks about Cyber Bullying and a Facebook promotion competition. There were very entertaining drama presentations on Tuesday for the whole school. The first and second years watched “The Malice of Miss Brady” which was an enlightening drama about Bullying. “Message from a Bottle” was presented for the third and TY students dealing with the issue of alcohol abuse in teenages and at the end of the day the 5th and 6th year students watched “The Value of Life”, a drama promoting Mental Health. On Wednesday the 5th years were treated to a workshop about Relaxation and Awareness by Monica Cody and it was a very positive experience for them. Overall the week was a huge success and all funds raised are going to the charities AWARE and William Winder Rainbow Foundation. Well done to all involved in coordinating such a great event for Scoil Mhuire.

Photos here.

Irish Junior Maths Competition

12th April 2013
Congratulations to 1st years Olivia Mellett and Marie Flanagan who made it to the Final of the Irish Junior Maths Competition. The final will be held on Friday 26th April. Good luck girls!!

Biodiversity Poster Competition

12st April 2013
Ms Ryan organised a Biodiversity Poster competition before the Easter holidays. There were two categories in the competition and there were some great posters entered. Congratulations to the winners Áine Lynch and Ramona Greene (both in 1st year).

Photos here.

University of Limerick Junior Certificate Business Awards

21st March 2013

Report by Eimhin King
For the first the Kemmy Business School at the University of Limerick, in association with the Business Studies Teachers Association Ireland (BSTAI), decided to award every student in the western and southern parts of Munster who achieved an A grade in Higher Level Business Studies in the Junior Certificate 2012. Every student was invited to an Awards Ceremony in the University Concert Hall on the 6th March to celebrate their achievement. This included four students from Scoil Mhuire; Aisling Talty, Lynn O’Dotherty, Niamh Hogan and Eimhin King. We arrived at5:45 along with our families and Ms.Higgins, and while our families were herded into the hall several organisers attempted to arrange the hundreds of students that were in attendance into an orderly line, first by school and then by alphabetical order. Needless to say the ceremony didn’t start until 7. The ceremony was very well organised and the hall was decorated beautifully. Several people from the Kemmy Business school and the BSTAI then spoke to us about our achievement and the importance of Business Studies in second and third level education. Each student was then called up on stage individually and presented with a certificate to recognise their achievement. Three hundred students later, along with an individual clapping session for each one, our attention was turned to our guest speaker of the evening who had been sitting quietly amongst the business  teachers but who’s large frame stuck out like a sore thumb. When Paul O’Connell stood to speak every father in the room perked up. He speech was inspiring and by far the highlight of the evening. He told us about his experiences and he touched everyone in the room. His main message was to be positive and have self belief which he told to us through a short story about two wolves fighting inside of us; one white- good and one black-bad, and the winner is the one we feed. When the ceremony was over we were given refreshments in the reception area outside the hall. We were then invited to have our photographs taken with our certificates on the stage of the hall. Overall it was a nice evening and the four of us were delighted to be a part of it.

Positive Health Awareness Week

14th March 2013

Report by Rachel Sulley

From Monday 8th to Friday 12th April students from Scoil Mhuire, Ennistymon, will be receiving a different kind of education as they are involved in their very first Positive Health Awareness Week.

This week aims to educate students and teachers alike about physical health, mental health and issues affecting teenagers including anxiety, depression, self-harm, suicide, eating disorders and bullying. Activities planned for the week include a non-uniform day, speakers from Clare Youth Services and informative posters to educate students about Mental Health.

Mental Health, physical health and teenage issues like bullying are covered in classes such as Religion, CSPE and SPHE, but this week is for promoting positivity amongst people to work together to deal with challenges and difficulties.

Wristbands with positive slogans such as “Live for Today” on them will be given to every student. The Transition Year students involved in the Mental Health Public Speaking Project will present their speeches on positivity, hope and acceptance to the school.

Beachballs with interesting facts relating to physical and mental health on them will be passed around students to inform and educate. The main intention of this campaign is to raise awareness about issues and encourage students to open up and talk about their physical and mental health.

The campaign is currently being organised and run by Transition Year students, who are making posters and organising the non-uniform day.

The objective of Scoil Mhuire’s Positive Health Awareness Week is to support students in communicating with each other to face any problems and overcome obstacles together.

Seachtain na Gaeilge – Table Quiz

14th March 2013

Report by Holly McCabe

For Seachtain Na Gaeilge Irish teachers Miss Ni Chléirigh, Ms O’Brien and the Transition Years are doing activities for all the year groups. On the 8th of March three  of the transition years; Niamh Davies, Leah Foley and Danielle Boland, decided to do a table quiz with the first years.  It was all as Gaeilge and went very well! The winning team was Áine Lynch, Oliva Mellet, Rebecca Leehy and Ashling Mc Mahon. They all  won Easter eggs.
 

YSI Speak Out

14th March 2013

Report by Khiva O’Dwyer

Transiton years went up to Galway to be involved in the Young Social Inivators competition on the 12th March. They had to do a ‘Speak Out’ which is a presentation of their projects to judges and competing schools. TYBs project was YOLO 18 (You’re Only Legal Over 18) a project based on underage drinking as they are aware that it is a problem in our area.  TYA’s project was based on eating disorders. Results of the Speak Out aren’t available yet. If any of the transition year groups get through they will be going to Dublin to compete with all the schools in Ireland. Congratulations to all students who took part as well as the teachers involved; Ms. Hooban and Ms Dooley (and also Mr. O’Farrell who travelled to Galway).

Junk Kouture

8th March 2013
Two Transition Year students from Scoil Mhuire Ennistymon will be celebrating their success
as they prepare for the next round of the Junk Kouture second-level fashion competition. Ellie McGlennon and Grainne McCormack designed a dress made entirely from recycled seatbelts they had picked up at a local scrapyard. The dress, named ‘belt up’, was inspired by late 19th century fashion with the narrow silhouette and fullness in the skirt to the rear. As one of the requirements laid out by the competition is including something electrical in the final fashion piece, Grainne and Ellie used their Art classes and spare time to create a neckpiece to go with the dress; a flower that is made out of copper wire extracted from car battery plugs.
The girls also created a stylish headpiece that is a continuation of the car theme; the headpiece resembles the hubcap of a car.

Junk Kouture is a national competition for second level students in Ireland and Northern Ireland which challenges teenagers to create high-end wearable fashion from everyday junk that would normally find its way into the bin. In the last two years, Junk Kouture has established itself as the premier fashion competition for teenagers throughout Ireland. Grainne and Ellie decided to make their recycled dress from seatbelts because of the current campaign pushing the importance of road safety and wearing a seatbelt. The girls also had to choose a piece of music to accompany their dress on the runway, they chose ‘Shut up and Drive’ by Rihanna.

The next stage of the competition involves the judges whittling the entrants down to just 80 outfits per region – north, south, east and west. These chosen outfits are the semi-finalists and subsequently the students must choreograph a performance to showcase their outfit on the catwalk in one of four regional theatres. They have 90 seconds to impress on the catwalk and if successful they will advance to the national stage of the competiton.

Grainne and Ellie’s fellow students and families wish them the best of luck in the next stage of the competition.

Public Speaking Success

1st March 2013

Report by Ciara O’Connell and Rachel Sulley

Students from Scoil Mhuire Ennistymon will be celebrating their success as they recently secured a place in the Mental Health Ireland National Public Speaking Semi-Finals.  This is a huge achievement for the team of four Transition Year students. Rachel Sulley, Deirbhile Malone, Naomi Harvey and substitute Ciara O’Connell competed in the regional finals on February 19th in The Woodlands Hotel, Adare.

The Mental Health Ireland Public Speaking project is now in its 32nd year. It aims to promote awareness among young people of the importance of positive mental health and of the causes and effects of mental illness, to introduce students to public speaking and to reduce negative attitudes and prejudices associated with mental illness.

The team from Scoil Mhuire competed against Coláiste Íde, Dingle, Co. Kerry and Hazelwood College, Dromcollogher, Co. Limerick. All nine students spoke for seven minutes on their chosen titles, which were all related to mental health. The others team’s titles were both ‘My boat is so small and the sea is so great. Ship ahoy!’. Scoil Mhuire’s team’s title was ‘Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.’

The team are very lucky to have English teacher Ms. Geraldine Barry as their tutor, who was a vital help and support along the way.

The girls each took one aspect of the title and focused their speeches around it. Deirbhile took ‘Learn from yesterday’ and spoke about childhood, the negative influences we have growing up and how they can affect our mental health. Naomi took ‘Live for today and spoke about suicide, how fragile life is and how quickly it can be taken away for us. Her speech told us how we must live for today to establish positive mental health. She gave us the example of the William Winder Rainbow Foundation, a charity that was set up recently in Clare to help local teenagers who are suffering with issues surrounding mental health. This really helped the girls give meaning to the speeches. The final speaker, Rachel, took ‘Hope for tomorrow’. She spoke about how having hope is key to positive mental health and that it is possible for everyone to find hope, even when they feel it’s not there.

The team also included the results of a survey that they carried out among 2nd and Transition Year students in Scoil Mhuire, which provided some interesting insight into the attitude they have towards mental health.

Exam Students finished Mock Exams

24th February 2013
The Junior and Leaving Certificate students finished their mock exams last Friday. All students worked hard for these exams but found the week and a half tough going! The mock practicals and mock orals will take place in the coming weeks and then the real practicals and orals will commence after the Easter holidays. Thanks must be extended to Ms Garvey for running the exams so well.

All Ireland Basketball Playoffs

6th February 2013

On Friday the 1st February our U-19 basketball team travelled to Carlow town for the All-Ireland playoffs. They left at 4.30pm on Friday evening with their coaches Stephen Leigh and Mary Glesson for their matches on Saturday. They played teams from Gaelcolaiste Carlow, Loreto Letterkenny and St. Pats Dungannon. Unfortunately, the team were not successful in the play- offs. The team was made up of Elaine Egan, Mairead Healy, Sarah Clair, Sinead Considine, Sharon Roche, Lynn O’Doherty, Sarah Leigh, Aisling O’Connell, Ciara O’Connell, Laoise Buchholtz and Cliodhna Egan. Well done girls ye did yer best!

Staff School Self Evaluation In-Service

6th February 2013
On Tuesday 5th February, Nora Nic Aodha delivered an in-service to all staff on School Self Evaluation (SSE).

School self-evaluation enables schools:

• To take the initiative in improving the quality of education that they provide for their students.
• To affirm and build on what is working well.
• To identify areas in need of development and to decide on actions that should be taken to bring about improvements in those areas.
• To report to the school community about the strengths in the work of the school and its priorities for improvement and development.

Thanks to Nora for a very informative afternoon.
More on SSE available here.

Student Council Information

29th January 2013
The Student Council is made up of prefects and vice-prefects from each year group. The Student Council represents all students in the school and works to improve your school experience. Issues which you are concerned about should be brought to the attention of your class prefect or vice-prefect so that they can be discussed with the Student Council. The Student Council have compiled an excellent document with lots more information. All students are encouraged to read it here.

UCC Prep for Med 2013

29th January 2013
Report by Emerald Kenny TYA

On Friday 25th January, Eimhin King and I went with guidance councillor  Ms Ahern to Prep for Med-School, a specialised open day for Transition Year students where they are given an opportunity to experience what life as a medical student is like.The day involved visiting the FLAME Anatomy Laboratory in the Western Gate Building and then rotating through teaching stations which included clinical skills and CPR. After lunch, students and teachers were brought to Cork University Hospital where live robotic surgery is shown via video link and given lectures on medical ethical dilemmas, the realism of popular medical TV dramas and the forensic examination of a crime scene. We really enjoyed the experience and we would recommend to any upcoming TY students to apply for it next year.

Good Luck Young Scientists!

9th January 2013
Good luck to Ms Sheridan and the TY students who are taking part in the BT Young Scientist competition. The TY students, Lynn O’Doherty, Sarah Leigh, Aisling O’Connell, Sarah Eisenberg and Aishling Talty, have all put in a lot of work with Ms Sheridan to prepare for this competition. It has always been a great experience for past students who have taken part in the competition so we hope the same will be true for this years girls!

Happy New Year!

9th January 2013
We are now back into the second term in school and we would like to wish all students, staff and friends of Scoil Mhuire the best for 2013. We especially hope it will be a good year for our exam students.

World Aids Day Fundraiser

10th December 2012

Thank you to all students who supported our fundraising for ‘World Aids Day’ Dec 1st 2012.

Transition Year students held a ‘Guess the amount of sweets in the jar’ competition and raised a total of €76.50 for the APA (Aids Partnership with Africa Organisation) organisation who are committed to helping children globally whom are orphaned due to Aids.

Congratulations to Ms. Barry and Jessica O’Donoghue (3D) who guessed the correct number!

Thank you to all who supported!

Pope John Paul II Awards

10th December 2012
Congratulations to our nine 5th Year students who received their Pope John Paul II
Awards on Wednesday 28th November 2012: Aisling Flynn, Sarah Flynn, Eimear McNamara, Alanna Gleeson, Kate Healy, Kelly Hynes, Sinéad O’Brien and Siobháin Nestor.
The Pope John Paul II Award enables young people to take an active part in the life of their Church, in the life of their community and society and increases their awareness of the teaching and role of the Catholic Church in the world. It enables young people to engage at a deep level with Christ, whose body the Church is.
Aisling, Sarah, Eimear, Alanna, Kate, Kelly, Sinead and Siobhain all took part in twenty hours of parish work and twenty hours of community work in the past year so as to receive their Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards. They have had a busy year of fundraising, raising awareness and spending time with people in their own parishes.
Within our school community the students also produced a power point outlining the ‘Year of Faith 2012-2013’ which was launched by Pope Benedict XVI in October.
The powerpoint has been shown in our school to inform our community about the Year and Faith and to encourage everyone to take part.
Last Wednesday the students travelled to the chapel in NUIG, where by there received
their medal, a certificate and an honouree letter from President Michael D. Higgins.
Well done Girls!

Best of Luck Rachel

29th November 2012
Best of luck to Rachel O’Brien (3rd Year) who is competing in the Irish Open Short Course National Swimming Championships in Lisburn from Friday 30th November to Sunday 2nd December.

Charity Horse Trek

23rd November 2012
The Transition Year students are involved in promoting a three hour Charity Horse Trek through the beautiful scenery of the Burren to raise money for Crumlin Children’s Hospital Leukaemia Ward and the Irish Heart Foundation. The event will start and finish at Mountain Veiw Trekking Centre, Poulnagun, Lisdoonvarna on Sunday 16th December. Registration is from 10.00 – 10.45 and the start time is 11am. There will be small snacks available at the half way point. For more information, phone Bernard 086 8924477 or Peter 085 8452300.

Cross Country Results

21st November 2012
Congratulations to Scoil Mhuire Cross Country Teams who did so well on Friday 16th November at Lee’s Road.
Gold in Senior Team:
Emer Hillery, Claire Considine, Elaine Egan and Mairead Healy.
Gold in Junior Team:
Emma Canavan, Sinead Hogan, Chloe Foudy, Elaine Shannon, Orlaith Cotter, Siobhan Lane, Sinead Kelly, Kiah Baker and Jane Murphy.
Silver in Intermediate Team:
Amy Keating, Clare Hehir, Fiona Killeen, Aisling Parra Haren, Aine Rouine, Eva O’ Dea, Sinead Considine, Sarah Gilligan, and Ailish Hanrahan.

Equestrian Success

21st November 2012
Congratulations to Aoife Heagarty (5th Year), Ailise Corry (3rd Year), Kiah Baker (2nd Year and Skye Stagno-Navarra (3rd Year) who got First Place in the School Show Jumping competition that took place in the Clare Equestrian Centre, Coora, Ennis on Sunday 18th November. Huge thanks also to Ms Eustace who accompanied the girls on the day.
Good luck to the girls as they now progress to the finals on Sunday 2nd December.

A Shining Night

15th November 2012

What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, gifts of time and love, the warm feeling we had as children and all roads leading home. ‘Tis the season to reflect on the past and to contemplate the year to come. ‘Tis the season when lifting melodies floating in the air make us feel the real spirit of Christmas. ‘Tis the season to be jolly and for very many people, Christmas carols are an essential part of the Christmas experience. After the success of previous years ‘A Shining Night of Christmas Carols’ concert presented by Scoil Mhuire school choir and guests returns to St. Michael’s Church Ennistymon on Sunday December 2nd at 8pm.

The combined talents of these wonderful singers will celebrate the festive season in magnificent style this year as they usher in Christmas with performances of famous classics and seasonal music.In Ennistymon the tradition of the Scoil Mhuire Carol Recital is well developed and refined over the years and has become an important community event. With a traditional and time-honoured approach Ms. Patricia Dooley will direct the angelic voices of the renowned choir in choral pieces chosen for the magical acoustics of St. Michael’s Church. Well known faces will intersperse with the choir as well as many talented past pupils. Solo artists will include respected sopranos Grainne Curtin, Ailbhe Howard, Katie O’Donoghue and Aisling Davies while the incomparable smooth voice of Micheal Mulqueeny is set to delight the audience with his rendition of Adeste Fideles. Other songs of the festive season to be performed include One Child, Jamaican Noel, Carol of the Bells, In the Bleak Mid Winter, Adiemus, Silent Night, Away in a Manger, The Holy City and the magical setting will of course swell to the performance of the sublime O Holy Night which never fails to conjure up that Christmas spirit. Baritone Alan Dooley and tenors Michael O’Shea, Michael McCormack and Craig Flanagan will perform time-honoured Christmas songs making it a definitive Christmas event to remember.

Remembered music and remembered voices have the power to break the heart it is said, and this magical evening of music to celebrate the coming of Christmas can be forever remembered in CD form. The CD  features special performances from Marie Hegarty and Kate Daly, Teresa Garrihy and Maretta O’Hehir amongst others. Included on the tracklist are tried and tested favourites that have the power to evoke Christmases you’ve known. This CD would make a perfect Christmas gift and is a reminder of what Scoil Mhuire does best-putting on a show that ends up creatively outgunning every past one time after time. Christmas without music cannot be thought of. Carve out some time for reflection on Sunday December 2nd in Ennistymon and be inspired by cherished musical traditions and moved by voices lifted in song and the miraculous story of the Christmas season.

Tickets and information available from 065 7071224

Project Maths Intro for Parents

5th November 2012
Project Maths is now part of, or all, the Maths course for every student in Scoil Mhuire. Miss Cullen has agreed to do an Introduction for Parents talk to give some information about the new course to parents. She will cover information on the difference between Project Maths and the “old” course, the roll out of Project Maths for students, resources available to students and also the impact of the bonus points for Maths. This talk will take place on Wednesday November 14th from 5.10 – 6pm in rm 1. All parents are welcome!

18th October 2012
The timetable for the October tests is now available. Good luck to all 5th & 6th Years!

Third Year Art Class exhibit in the National Museum of Ireland

17th October 2012

Congratulations to the Third year Art Class in Scoil Mhuire, Ennistymon who  exhibited their artwork ‘Stories in Clay’ in the National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks, Dublin on Sat 13th October. The exhibition showcased work by 29 of the 80 schools nationally who were awarded funding for their projects from the Creative Engagement NAPD committee in 2012.

The exhibition was officially opened by the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Jimmy Deehihan. This is the first time that Creative Engagement has held a national exhibition and it is a very prestigious event.

Minister Denehan had high praise for the students’ ceramic sculptures. The students explained the concept of their work to the minister. The five large clay vessels, with sculptural detailing illustrate the stories ‘The Salmon of Knowledge’, ‘The Children of Lir’, ‘An Glas Gaibhneach’, ‘Tír na nÓg’ and a Polish folk tale ‘The Dragon of Krakov’. Twenty six Scoil Mhuire students took part in the project which was funded jointly by the NAPD Creative Engagement and the Clare Arts Office and took place under the direction of their art teacher Mary Fahy.

It was a highly educational and thoroughly enjoyable project. The students wish to thank the NAPD, the Clare Arts Office, their principal, Seosaimhín Uí Dhomhnalláin,  art teacher Mary Fahy and all who helped in any way with the project. Special thanks to Bairbre Geraghty for the use of the kiln for firing the sculptures and to our caretaker John Hayes for his help in transporting them.

This is the third ambitious art project in Scoil Mhuire that has benefited from both Creative Engagement NAPD and Arts Council funding. In 2010 the students of Scoil Mhuire performed a shadow puppet theatre show in the Courthouse Gallery with renowned Puppeteer Daragh Bradshaw, and in 2011 they held  an alumni art exhibition and series of workshops, also in the Courthouse Gallery. Thanks also to the staff of the Courthouse who regularly support our students in bringing their work to the wider community.

The ‘Stories in Clay’ sculptures will be officially launched in the Courhouse Gallery on Friday 26th October at 6.30pm. All are welcome, teas and coffees will be served on the night. An animated slide projection of the project will accompany the show.

The students involved were as follows:

‘ TÍr na nÓg’ by Lauren McMahon, June O’Connor, Caoimhe Haran, Erin Flening, Nicole Mullane, Fiona Byrne-Boland and  Alice Creagh.

‘The Dragon of Krakov’ by Emma Waldron, Wiktoria Malicka, Rachel O’Brien and Fiona O’Brien.

‘The Salmon of Knowledge’ by Aideen Bonito, Aoife O’Gorman and Aoife Fitzgibbon.

‘An Glas Gaibhneach’ by Lily Donovan, Shannon Harriman, Katie Leigh, Chloe O’Looney, Rachel Meehan, Sarah O’Loughlin, Sarah -Mai O’Loughlin  and Aoife Rynne.

‘The Children of  Lir’ by Áine Mullane, Katie Considine, Katie O’Flaherty and Skye Stagno-Navarra.

 Pictured: Scoil Mhuire art students with Mary Henly NAPD Creative Engagement, Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht Jimmy Denehan and the Chairperson of the NAPD.

Farewell to Mrs. O’Loughlin

17th October 2012
Scoil Mhuire opened its doors to students last month as the new academic year began. As enthusiastic, keen faces joined the ranks, a unique and inspiring teacher was enjoying the first days of retirement. Mrs Anne O’Loughlin will be missed for her contribution to education and to the lives of so many past and present students. As a teacher of French for so many years and English in years gone by, Anne was highly regarded for her personal commitment and collegiality. She was a hardworking, gifted teacher who was resolute in all her undertakings. She did more than impart knowledge of the language, her love of her students was always apparent. As Year Head to Third Year for many years Anne gave her heart, mind and soul to nurture in students the things she saw as vital to their education, critical to their success and imperative for their future. She was a true mentor whose kind, caring demeanor and leadership were unparalled. Beyond the gift of language Anne has left students a spirit of integrity, work ethic and confidence. She took many hands, opened many minds, touched many hearts and shaped many futures. We wish her a long, healthy and happy retirement.

Open Evening Information

11th October 2012
An Open Evening for prospective students and their parents will be held on Tuesday 23rd October. A programme of activities for the girls will take place from 4.30 – 7.00pm (approx) and a presentation for parents will commence at 5.45pm.
The Open Evening offers students/parents an opportunity to see our school and to familiarise themselves with our school community. Attending this event can be a helpful experience for pupils making the transition from primary to secondary schoool. We look forward to welcoming everyone on the night.

Guitar Lessons

1st October 2012

Guitar lessons have been offered in school for the last few years and we are lucky to be in the position to offer them again this year. Anyone interested should speak to Miss Dooley. The following are some of the details:
– Mr. Jim Armour is the teacher
– Apporximately €60 for the term
– Straight after school in school! (Day to be confirmed)

TY Volunteer in Mol An Óige

26th September 2012
The Mol an Oige After School is a Steiner inspired childcare service, open Monday to Friday from 2pm to 5.15pm. From 2 to 3pm we look after the junior and senior infants, aged 5 to 7 years old. During this hour you would work along side our two childcare workers, who encourage the children to play together with the emphasis being on ‘free play’ in which the children can wind down from their busy school day. At 2.30pm we all sit together to share some food (the children bring in a snack for After School). After snack time one of the childcare workers reads the children a story and at 2.50pm you would help to get the children ready who are going home on the bus/or being collected by their parents.

At 3pm children aged 8 to 13 join us. During this time the children can play either outdoors or indoors. We often carry out craft activities with the children, such as painting, pottery, sewing, baking etc as well as going for short walks if the weather is nice. Also, starting in October we will be running extra-curricular classes which are from 3.15pm to 4.15pm. These classes in the past have included; woodwork, pottery, yoga, musical choir, samba band.

If you are interested in volunteering with us please contact Melanie on 087 154 9660 or email:molanoigeafterschool@gmail.com

Exam Express Big Success

21st September 2012
The TY students have started a mini company, called Exam Express, this year ordering exam papers. It has proven very successful and the girls have shown great organisational skills at this early stage in TY. They have relieved a lot of pressure from teachers at this time of year with some teachers having to order 5 or 6 sets of papers for different classes. A very large of (of about 12 boxes) arrived in after the girls returned from their trip to Killarney and they got to work straight away, double checking quantities and those who had paid before distributing to all the students. Well done girls and if all enterprise ventures continue this way, we’re in for a good year!

Junior Cert Result Celebrations

12th September 2012
Congratulations to all our students who received their Junior Certificate results today. The results overall were excellent and we are very proud of our students. While celebrating is obviously part and parcel of results day, we hope that all students behave responsibly. Classes continue as normal on Thursday.

New HeadGirl Elected

7th September 2012
We are delighted to announce that the HeadGirl for 2012-2012 was elected this week and the successful candidate is Mairead Healy. A number of candidates were proposed by the Leaving Cert students and those interested in the position were interviewed by Mrs. Deirdre Ryan (year head) and Mr. Raymond Quinn. There is no doubt that Mairead will be a great HeadGirl a role model for all students in the school. Staff and students are looking forward to working with her during the year. Congratulations Mairead!
All Prefects and VicePrefects have also been elected and names will be posted here in the near future.

Visits from Past Pupils

7th September 2012
Now that the school year is back in full swing we have already visitors coming in to speak to different year groups!
This week the Leaving Cert Careers classes welcomed back Deirdre Egan, Katie Guthrie and Catherine Hayes to talk to them about college life. All three girls are studying in Limerick. Deirdre is studying Primary teaching in Education & Pyschology, Katie is studying languages and Catherine Finacial Maths.
The girls spoke to the Leaving Certs about what it is like to be fending for yourself in 3rd level and gave advice on the importance of a balance between social and study life. It was great to have the girls back for first hand up-to-date advice. We would like to wish these girls, and indeed all our past students, best of luck for the year ahead.

Supervised Study

24th August 2012
Information about the costs, dates and times for Supervised Study is now available. All students from 2nd year to Leaving Cert are encouraged to avail of Supervised Study if possible. Homework club will be available for 1st year students. Details to follow…

Information for Returning to School

21st August 2012

It is that time of year again when we need to think about the return to school! Firstly, congratulations to last year’s Leaving Certificate students on their success in the exams. We would also like to wish them every success with their next step in life, wherever that takes them!