St. Joseph’s Secondary School, Castlebar, Co. Mayo ... · set up a TY Blog to help digitise the school and reduce the use of paper. St. Joseph’s two School Digital Champion teams

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St. Joseph’s Secondary School, Castlebar, Co. Mayo

Newsletter, Edition 2, 2018/2019

One Hundred Years of Education ………….

The school year 2018/19 began with celebrations to mark the school’s centenary year. St. Joseph's marked its 100

years of education with a variety of events including an open day at the school with exhibitions, old photographs and historic memorabilia on display, music recitals from the school's choirs, a special Mass at the Church of the Holy Rosary, a Gala Centenary Dinner, the return of Festival Folk to the TF Royal Theatre and the planting of the first of ten native trees on the grounds of St. Joseph’s. It is hoped that staff and past pupils

who attended St. Joseph's down the years got the opportunity to renew ties with their former

school and reunite with their classmates over the course of the centenary celebrations. Members of the

centenary committee completed the planting of trees at

of the school year to close the marking of the momentous the end

occasion in our school’s history.

Good luck to exam classes

We wish our Junior Cert & Leaving Cert Classes 2019, the best of luck with your exams and all the best to the Leaving Certs in your future careers.

Celebration of Student Participation and Achievement Our annual Achievements Ceremony took place on Wednesday 15th May in An Sportlann. Invited guests included Fr. Michael Murphy (Organiser of Lourdes Group), Mr & Mrs Hynes – presenters of the “Aisling Hynes Memorial cup”, Sr. Maire Naughton (Sisters of Mercy Congregation) and Ms Trish Gallagher (Tuam Diocesan Youth Director). Masters of Ceremonies were our 5th year students who carried out an excellent job. Ciara Kelleher, Rachel Henaghan, Jane Mellett, Andrea Clarke, Deirdre Joyce, Fuschia Fadian, Grainne O’Reilly, Ciara Hannon, Cliodhna Hennessey and Sharon Redmond were all wonderful presenters. Chloe Kerins and Amy McLoughlin did a fantastic job with the presentation of the slideshow. A myriad of awards were presented including Student Council, Mentors, Gospel Choir, Music, Art, Digital literacy leadership, School Digital Champions, Best Junior Certificate results, Pope John Paul 11 Awards, attendance, a range of awards for various sports, Leaving certificate Student of the Year and the Spirit of CEIST Award to name but a few. The Junior & Senior Sports Stars of the Year awards were presented to Emma Gallagher and Saoirse Mac Cabe respectively. The Spirit of CEIST award was presented to Niamh Breslin; the Leaving Certificate Student of the Year 2018/19 Award was presented to Megan Deely. We were entertained throughout the ceremony with a variety of musical treats from our choirs, our school Gospel Choir, the school Orchestra, traditional music groups and various soloists. Thanks to An Sportlann for providing the venue and to all the staff and students from St. Joseph’s who helped out on the day.

Inside this

issue: Centenary

celebrations

Exam Success

Achievements

ceremony

Art Updates

Music & Choirs

Sports News

Dates to Note:

Calendar 2019/20 Reopening dates:

22nd

August – Staff 23

rd August – 1

st

Years 26

th August – 6

th &

5th

Yrs. 27

th August – 2

nd,

3rd

Yrs & TYs Midterm – 4

th Nov.

– 8th

Nov. School Closed – 6

th

Dec.

Xmas Hols - 20th Dec. – 6

th Jan.

Midterm – 17th

– 21

st Feb.

School Closed – 16

th Mar.

Easter Hols – 6th

Apr. - 17

th Apr.

Summer Hols – 29th

May

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Graduations

The Transition Year and Leaving Certificate Graduation ceremonies were celebrated on 21st and 22nd May

respectively. A special word of thanks to Fr. John McCormack, school chaplain for celebrating those liturgies

with us.

Student Achievement Awards Ceremony



Digital Literacy

St. Joseph’s were delighted to take part in the School Digital Champion Programme for the first time this year. The School Digital Champion Programme is a new initiative which has been developed by the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment, in collaboration with the Department of Education and Skills and was launched as part of the National Digital Strategy to promote digital adoption and encourage the use of technology by students. St. Joseph’s were proud to be represented by two teams.

St. Joseph’s teams were as follows: Team one - Ellen McNally, Rachel Murray and Sharon Redmond set up a coding club for first year students to increase interest levels in coding among girls and help students become aware of the opportunities that coding will open up for them. Team two - Julianna Aitken, Anna Cunningham, Caoilinn Gaughan and Julie Gleeson developed St.

Joseph’s first ever Transition Year (TY) E- Newsletters and produced an E-Newsletter for each term and also set up a TY Blog to help digitise the school and reduce the use of paper.

St. Joseph’s two School Digital Champion teams pictured at the final event in the 2018-19 Digital Champions Programme at The Foundry Innovation Centre at Google Headquarters with teacher

Ms Calvey, showcasing their completed projects and being presented with their certificates by

Minister Sean Canny,TD, Minister of State with responsibility for Digital Development.



October Midterm 2018 Christmas 2018 Newsletter Easter 2019 Newsletter The girls attended a training day in November at Thomond Park Conference Centre, Limerick. The training featured a talk on communications, presentation and marketing skills and a choice of workshops on Video Editing, App Development and Web Design. The two teams worked ahead with their projects from then on with a number of deadlines to be met. The fantastic final event, the National showcase of projects was held in the dazzling environs of The Foundry Innovation centre at Google Headquarters on Thursday 2nd May. In all, 57 projects from 39 schools representing 18 counties across Ireland were displayed, focusing on how digital technology could be used to make a difference to students’ schools, homes, local community, and local businesses in the areas of waste management, climate action, energy efficiency, and digital inclusion. Mayo was represented by three schools with St. Joseph's submitting two projects. The daylong event featured a host of impressive speeches and presentations including Minister Seán Canney, Minister of State, RTÉ's own Carl Mullan took to the stage to speak about his role across RTÉ's Digital Platforms and to introduce teams to chat about their projects, Shane Nolan, Director at Google Ireland, a YouTube Team talk, a presentation by Shrini Kalwad of Google on Internet safety, a talk on upcycling by Quentin Doran O'Reilly from Samsung as well as various talks about the future and how technology fits into it. Seán Canney, TD, and Minister of State with responsibility for Digital Development, commented: “Not only did the programme encourage students to develop their creativity, critical-thinking, and communications skills, but equally importantly it provided students with a platform to drive digital adoption outside the walls of the classroom by connecting with local enterprises and the wider community.” As well as this, a number of exciting activities were put on, including a Samsung interactive space, a chance to test out the Google Tilt Brush - an interactive VR painting tool and a video challenge for students to film content for Google's website. A fantastic day was had by all.

Front covers of TY E- Newsletters - available to read on

school website www.stjosephscastlebar.com


https://www.stjosephscastlebar.com/uploads/4/5/5/3/45534133/newsletter3.pdf

https://www.stjosephscastlebar.com/uploads/4/5/5/3/45534133/e-newsletter_6.pdf

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Scoileanna Ildánacha/Creative Schools This year our school was received funding to participate in the Creative Arts Programme. This programme focuses on bringing creative arts into the student body. The talk for staff on 'The Creative School's' strategy was given by Jojo Hynes, our Creative Schools Associate, on Wednesday 9th January. Following this, a number of workshops were organised for students in the school. Below are captions of students taking part in the workshops.

Below are photos of some of our students enjoying their day at The Galway Community Circus, funded by The Creative Schools Programme in collaboration with the Arts Council of Ireland. Galway community circus is the flagship for youth and social circus education in Ireland, advancing education and promoting social inclusion for young people through circus arts. It is committed to creating an innovative, artistic and imaginative learning experience where all young people can realise their potential.



Gaisce Walk

Gaisce is a personal development programme overseen by the President of Ireland. On a beautiful sunny day in May 37 students, along with their teachers Ms. O ‘Toole and Ms. Flannelly, set out on a 25km walk in order to complete their Gaisce challenge. These students had already done 26 weeks of physical activity, learning a new skill and community involvement. They completed the walk with no (not much!) complaining and really enjoyed the scenery of the Greenway. The pancakes afterwards made it all worthwhile! A very big well done to those students who received their bronze Gaisce Award on the day.

Dushlán 2019 Many of our students took on the ‘Dushlán 2019’ challenge organised by Conradh na Gaeilge. The challenge was to complete 30 tasks of varying difficulty in 50 hours (ar fad as Gaeilge dár ndóigh!) We were delighted to hear that three of our TY students, Anna Cunningham, Michelle Moran and Sarah Hanley won the Nationwide Competition! They beat stiff competition from University and Secondary School students from all over the country. Among the tasks they had to complete were to sing Lá Breithe Sona Duit to a stranger / create and record a rap about themselves and purchase an item in a local shop / café. Is léir go bhfuil neart Gaeilge i gCaisleán an Bharraigh! The girls each received a lovely certificate from Conradh na Gaeilge and a €500 One4All voucher. Maith sibh a chailíní!!

The All Ireland Linguistics Olympiad (A.I.L.O) Congratulations to Amy McLoughlin, Laura Egan & Aoife Donohoe who got through to the finals of AILO



Soroptimist Female Empowerment Conference

Last October an organising committee of TY students came together to begin preparations for a Female Empowerment Conference, in conjunction with Soroptimist Ireland, Castlebar and TY students from Davitt College. Lorna McElevey, Julie Gleeson, Michelle Moran and Sadbh Caulfield planned, organised, funded and hosted a very successful day on Friday 5th April in GMIT. They organised a bake sale

in the days beforehand to help fund the day. Among the guest speakers on the day were inspiring, successful women from the world of business, politics, medicine, sport, theatre and adventure. The students especially enjoyed hearing from their teacher Ms. Kilkenny about her dedication and success in her basketball career. They also learned a little Zumba during what was a very insightful, inspiring day.

Mayo News- Neill O’Neill Creativity Award Congratulations to Caoilinn Gaughan who was awarded the Mayo News - Neill O’Neill Creativity Award. Well done Caoilinn!

CEIST Student Leadership Conference On the 20th March 2019, four Transition Year students - Ellen McNally, Grace Geraghty, Lorna McElevy and Caitlin Walsh attended the CEIST Student Leadership Conference in St. Patrick's College Drumcondra, Dublin.

Students from all CEIST schools came together to celebrate being part of the CEIST community. Professor Daire Keogh, Professor of History and Deputy President Dublin City University spoke to the students about Leadership and congratulated them on the work they were doing as leaders in their own schools. Each school was presented with a gift of two stoles, two ciboria and a copy of the Papal Encyclical “The Joy of Love” kindly given by the World Meeting of Families in thanks for CEIST’s involvement in the Papal mass.

The Student Council The student council met regularly throughout the year and got involved in a number of activities. Their first task this school year was to help with the preparations for the school centenary celebrations. They then organised a “Christmas Jumper day” fundraiser and a locker decorating competition which took place the week before the Christmas holidays. Proceeds from this fundraiser were donated to Rock Rose House and the council invited a representative from Rock Rose House to the school to present her with a cheque. She gave a talk on the services available in Rock Rose House. Members of the council met with the staff in the school canteen to discuss issues regarding food and canteen services. The council helped with preparation for the School Enrolment Evening, they organised a committee to welcome parents and students and to give tours of the school. The draft policy on school trips was presented to the council and this was discussed and feedback was given.



St. Joseph’s Senior Choir

The Senior Choir along with Ms Lee had a busy start to the year. They began with

preparations for Festival Folk where they sang as part of the massed choir of 350 voices.

The choir also had the opportunity to perform on stage with Eleanor Shanley. They had

many rehearsals preparing for St. Joseph’s Centenary mass which featured their

performance of the Hallelujah Chorus. At Christmas they performed the Hallelujah Chorus

at the parish carol service as well as singing at St. Joseph’s school carol service and in

Mayo General Hospital. In March, members of our Senior Choir travelled to Rome where

they had a fantastic few days at the Roma Music Festival. They sang in many venues and

had the amazing opportunity to perform in The Pantheon, which was definitely one of the

highlights of the trip. They visited all the famous sights such as St Peter’s Square, the

Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain and enjoyed lots of singing along the way! The Senior Choir

finish the year with a performance in The Church of The Holy Trinity in Westport on Friday

night 24th May, as part of Mayo International Choral Festival.

St. Joseph’s Gospel Choir The Gospel Choir have had a very busy and exciting year. Their performances began on stage in the TF Royal Theatre as part of Festival Folk followed by the schools Centenary Celebrations. The choir were fortunate enough to have been selected for the final round of Ireland’s Got Talent auditions in The Helix, Dublin. They then were guest performers with the renowned song writer and performer Phil Coulter in Ballyheane Church where they also accompanied the singer Malachi Cush on the night. The highlight of their year was being joined by the Senior Choir for a once in a lifetime trip to the Roma Music Festival. The choir performed in The Pantheon among top international choirs and orchestras in Europe. They also got to visit the fabulous sights of Rome including St Peter’s Square, The Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain and The Coliseum. The Gospel Choir will give their final performance of the year in Holy Trinity Church Westport on Friday 24th May as part of the Mayo International Choral Festival.

St. Joseph's Gospel Choir performing alongside Phil Coulter at a fundraising concert

in Ballyheane Church

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sic

& C

ho

irs



Captions of St. Joseph’s Choirs Performing



Transition Year…… The TY’s started off their year with an overnight stay in Killary Adventure Centre which helped students to get to know each other and to bond. They then settled into their new timetable, trying out different subjects and modules and venturing into the world of work every Friday. The highlight of the first term had to be the TY musical – The Wiz. There were many more adventures and activities to follow, some of which left a lasting impression on TYs.

Italians Visit From the 25th – 29th March, a group of Italian students visited our school. They came along to class with TYs and got an insight into what school life is like in

Ireland. TYs learned about their culture and their school. The two cultures blended very and new friends were made. Disability Awareness Workshop All TYs participated in a one day long Disability Awareness workshop. The girls got a good

insight into the various types of disabilities and learned that not all disabilities are visible. The

girls were given a variety of activities all aimed at raising disability awareness within the year

group. One activity saw the students blindfolded and experience the challenges that are met

on a daily basis by the visually impaired. Students were given sheets with letters in sign

language on them, they played charades without talking, they got to experience wheelchairs,

they pushed both themselves and others around in them and experienced how difficult it really

is. Students quickly became aware of the daily barriers that

people with a disability can face.

The iWish Conference

On the 4th of February, 50 TY students travelled to Dublin to attend the iWish Conference. The conference highlighted the importance of women in STEM careers and showed how STEM careers are the future of the work force. This conference will help students choose their path in life after St. Joseph’s.

Axa Road Safety Show

The annual AXA Road Safety Roadshow took place on 7th February and was a thought-provoking experience. Students listened to a series of speakers, all of whom have had first-hand experience with motor accidents and the insufferable and unimaginable trauma that that occurs when there is a death or injury on our roads. After hearing the melancholic stories, students went outside to see a car being sawn open to allow a fake

victim to escape. This exposed students to the tragedy that takes place on our roads every single day. The TY Tour

The TY Tour was certainly one of the highlights of Transition Year. On the 12th of April, Transition Year students set off on their long awaited trip, Border Hopping across Belgium , Holland and Germany. A great time was had by all!

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siti

on

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Junk Kouture Every year our TY students get the opportunity to take part in the Bank of Ireland, Junk Kouture competition. Inspiring young designers in second level schools use everyday junk materials to create striking works of wearable art to enter the Junk Kouture competition.

Timeless Trebles’

Just Hit It’

A Rain Of Terror’

St. Joseph’s Western Regional Finalists

Bank of Ireland Silver Ticket Recipient:

‘Slipperesque’ Western Regional Finalist



First Year Basketball

Freya Heaney and Anna Mae Clarke co-captained St. Joseph’s first year Basketball team for the past year. At the start of the year, Ms Kilkenny did a series of different drills to assess the talent and then fifteen players were picked. The team trained hard and after three difficult matches become Mayo champions. They qualified for the All Ireland Quarter finals where they lost by one point. The team were

disappointed but look forward with enthusiasm to next year.

2nd Year Basketball

The 2nd Year Basketball team started by winning two of their first three matches, they beat Claremorris and Ballinrobe but lost out to Charlestown, unfortunately by a lot. They then travelled to Glenamaddy where they beat their hosts in the semi-final. Following that, they narrowly beat Charlestown in the final to become the West Regional Champions. In the quarter final stage, they won the bid to host the blitz in An Sportlann. They needed to win at least two out of our three games but sadly only won one of the three and hence didn't succeed to the next round. The team were happy to come away with West Regional medals and a cup! The team were as follows: Jillian Clarke, Emer Cunningham, Saoirse Garvey, Aine Fox, Rachel Mongan, Sarah Cashin, Dearbhla Lynch, Jane Hussy, Kaitlyn Mc Nally, Megan Davitt, Laura Walsh, Catherine Joyce, Lucy Fitzgerald, Ella Robinson and Kayla Frayne, Anna Mae Clarke, Freya Heaney and Sinead Hanley. U16 Basketball The U16 Basketball team secured a place in the Regional s Glenamaddy S emi-final after

beating Ballinrobe Community School and Mount Saint Michael, Claremorris in the Mayo Region. The Regional semi-final took place in Glenamaddy and the team’s only match was against their hosts Glenamaddy. Glenamaddy took lead in the first and second quarter, St. Joseph’s began to catch up in the third quarter but Glennamaddy extended their lead to win the game. Despite the disappointing loss, the team still enjoyed their season!

The U16 Team are as follows: Aisling Monaghan, Amelia Niemczycka, Sarah Fallon, Roisin Murphy, Laura Ainsworth, Mairead Gallagher, Niamh

Rabbette, Sarah Ainsworth, Laoise Murphy, Cairrean Ferriter, Chloe Stevenson, Jillian Clarke and Eimear Cunningham.

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St. Joseph’s U19 basketball team achieved great success this year. After winning all three matches in their regional play-offs, they went on to win the All-Ireland semi final in the National Schools League. The girls travelled to the National Basketball Arena along with 200 supporters from the school for the All-Ireland Final against Carrickmacross. Unfortunately, and despite great efforts from the whole team, they were defeated with a final score of 30-25. We are so proud of the whole team and their super coach Ms. Kilkenny.

Gaelic Football

Our U14 Gaelic team played in the Connacht Quarter final against the Mercy College Sligo. Our girls put up a great fight, but unfortunately were narrowly beaten on the day, ending this years school season for our girls. We have high hopes for these girls as the U16 team in the coming years. Our Senior team played St. Nathy's Ballaghdereen in the Connacht Semi-Final. The girls showed an excellent display on football, and were leading in the first half of the game. St. Nathy's put up a great fight in the second half, resulting in a draw in the last few minutes of the game. The girls then proceeded into extra time, but it was not meant to be, as Nathy's came out on top and progressed onto the Connacht final, which they won by a point. A lot of our senior team will sit their Leaving Cert. in June and we wish them the very best of luck! The last Gaelic football outing for the year was a 1st year blitz hosted in An Sportlann. Five teams in total, including three St. Joseph’s teams and two from Mount St. Michaels, Claremorris. All teams put in a great shift in warm-weather in An Sportlann. Each team played each-other, and a great day was had by all. We are looking forward to these great footballers moving into our U14 team next year. West of Ireland Women’s Mini Marathon

Our school was represented at the West of Ireland Women’s Mini Marathon on Sunday 5th May with 76 staff and

students taking part in the event. Our students won the It's for Girls element of the race - this is an award given to the school who has the greatest percentage of its female student population taking part on the day. The trophy was accepted on the day by Lucy Tuohy who was our first student to cross the line. Thanks to Ms. McGrath for organising the race entries and well done to all who took part.

Track and Field

4 students have had great success at the Track and Field championships this year. Aishling Flanagan- Long jump. Katie Gibbons- Steeplechase and 1500m, Laura Tunney- walk have all qualified to the All- Ireland stages which takes place on the June bank holiday weekend. Also Eimear Hughes placed 2nd in the 1500m at the Connacht stages.

St. Joseph’s U19 Basketball Team

All-Ireland Final contestants



Badminton Congratulations to our Badminton teams who played in the All Ireland School's Final in Gormanstown College, Co. Meath. Pictured are: Niamh Crowley, Shauna Bolger, Sarah Ainsworth, Sarah Fallon, Caireann Ferriter

Spikeball coaching 18 Transition Year students completed their Spikeball coaching course by organising and hosting a tournament for all our first year students. The TY girls coached the first year students over a 6 week time frame during their PE classes. Well done to our new Spikeball coaches!

Congratulations Maeve ….. Congratulations to our fifth year student, Maeve Gallagher on winning the Senior Race at the National Post-Primary Schools Triathlon Championships representing St. Joseph's in Clarinbridge, Co. Galway. Well done to Maeve on her many wonderful sporting achievements throughout the year.

Soccer Our First year Soccer team got to the finals of the Connaught school girls Cup and narrowly missed out on penalties against Sligo. The team attended training regularly and worked hard. The Under 15 soccer team reached the semi-finals of the Connaught School Girls Cup where they met with a very strong team from Tubbercurry who proved too strong for them. Thank you to the TY coaches who advised and encouraged the teams.

Equestrian success for Leona

Congratulations to Leona Judge on her continued success on the Equestrian scene. Leona won the Pony 1.20m at Aughrim Show during the summer with numerous placings in the Connaught Pony League shows such as Crossmolina and Claremorris. Leona was selected to be on the Irish Pony Team at Southview Equestrian Home Pony Show and won Silver. She finished with two 3rd's and a 7th in the Pony 1.30m Grand Prix classes at Southview Equestrian Centre. Leona also qualified for the 1.25m Rising Stars Final and came 7th in the final at Southview Equestrian Centre. She competed in Sentower Park Opglabbeek, Belgium with nearly all double clears with one pony in the 1.15m Small Tour and two ponies in the 1.30m Big Tour. She was selected to be on the Irish Pony Team in Jumping de Achterhoek Lichtenvoorde, Holland. She finished 8th in the 1.35m Pony Grand Prix Final with over 60 European competitors. Leona came 4th in the 148 1.20m Grand Prix in Cavan Equestrian Centre in December and 6th in the 1.20m Derby class. We wish her continued success in the future. Acknowledgement We would like to acknowledge and celebrate the many students in our school who have represented themselves and their clubs in various disciplines at local, national and international level over the past year. Well done to all!

We wish all our staff, students and their families a happy and safe summer.


Documents

St. Joseph’s Secondary School, Castlebar, Co. Mayo ... · set up a TY Blog to help digitise the school and reduce the use of paper. St. Joseph’s two School Digital Champion teams