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Junior School Prize Giving Ceremony 2011

Tuesday 22nd November

Special Edition

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Should you have any queries or contributions, please email:

bodonnell202@stcolumbs.com

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In a packed Assembly Hall last Tuesday night we gathered to celebrate the achievements of our pupils in the Junior School. Our MC for the evening was Miss. Patricia Hughes, Head of Junior School. It was clear from the comments of parents and pupils that both groups were proud of the achievements that were being recognised on the night.

Mrs. McGilloway, mother of Dalan in 9A (academic third), said that ―it was good for Dalan to have something to strive for‖. For Dalan ―definite targets make you work hard.‖ Ethan Doherty of 9D (commitment first), declared himself delighted with his prize. ―The competition is good and fun and winning this makes me want to try and win it again next year.‖ Mrs. McCallion, mother of Niall in 10D (academic first), stated that ―I am proud of my son. Prizes motivate Niall to achieve.‖

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The ceremony opened with the procession of the Prize giving party to the stage. The opening prayer came from our school chaplain, Mr. Mark McConnellogue. On the feast of St. Cecilia, he reminded all present of the sacrifices our pupils make through their commitment and discipline.

— Next came a recital by our Junior Wind Band of the 1982 classic ―Eye of the Tiger‖ led by their talented conductor Mrs. Margaret Burns. The audience were most appreciative of the pupils’ musical versatility and excellence.

— College Principal Mr. McGinty then addressed those present. He welcomed the pupils and their parents, who, he said, could take justifiable pride in the achievements of their sons. Mr McGinty stated that he took tremendous pride in being the principal of such a multi-talented school. He moved on to welcome Mr. Ian Doherty, newly-elected President of the College Union, and the night’s guest speaker.

Junior School Prize Giving Ceremony - November 2011

Mr. McGinty noted that Ian had the distinction of being both the son and the brother of a previous past President of the Past Pupils’ Union. Mr. McGinty went on to say that, although a happy occasion, this evening was of course tinged with sadness. Over the course of this past year the school had endured a number of bereavements. Mr. McGinty remembered three pupils who had passed away: Adam Barr, Sean McNair and Caolan Page, as well as recalling Mr. John McDaid and paying tribute to his thirty years of service to the College. Recently, Mr McGinty added, the school community had mourned the passing of Martin Dunne’s mother (Year 14) Kevin Harkin’s father Peter (Year 14) and Mrs. Patricia Gallagher, mother of Conall (Year 8) and Sean who was a pupil at St Columb’s from 2004 to 2011.

— Mr. McGinty then moved on to address the pupils directly. He reminded them that the most important thing to strive for in life was not success or wealth, but values such as truthfulness and honesty. Citing recent scandals involving press intrusion driven by profit, Mr. McGinty told the pupils that they were made of sterner stuff. Catholic education had inculcated standards and values in them. These values would guide their actions as future leaders. He added that the older generation could only hope that today’s young people would make a better job of living out these standards and values than their generation. Mr. McGinty finished by telling pupils that remembering what they valued was more important than the value they placed on things.

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There then followed a poignant moment as Mr. Owen Barr, father of Adam, presented the Adam Barr Memorial Prize to Mr. McGinty who received it on behalf of the school. This prize will go to the student who has made the biggest contribution to extra-curricular activities in

Music at Key Stage 3. The first recipient of this prize is Conor MacBride 11L. Prizes were then awarded to Years 8 and 9 pupils. The audience reacted with warm applause to each class set of prize winners.

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Our guest speaker, Mr. Ian Doherty, then addressed the audience. He told those present that this was his first official duty as president of the Past Pupils’ Union and that it was an enormous honour to be part of such a vibrant and enthusiastic school community. He paid tribute to Mr. McGinty for his lifelong devotion to education in the community. Next, Mr. Doherty moved on to the role of the Past Pupils’ Union, a body which exists to support the school in any way it can through its commitment to pupil needs.

Mr. Doherty then outlined for pupils what he saw as three critical characteristics of a successful person – ability, application and the right attitude. He reminded pupils that the world is a competitive place and that these three characteristics would place an individual in a position to make the most of their life. Mr. Doherty added that employers today have a huge choice, so pupils should make the most of their time at St. Columb’s. He also encouraged the pupils to get an idea of what the world of work involved as soon as they could. In an age of connectedness, it was more important than ever that St. Columb’s pupils displayed these three key characteristics. Year 10 pupils were then presented with their prizes. Following this, Mr. Doherty was presented with a gift and the ceremony ended with Conor McLain leading the entire hall in a rousing rendition of the school hymn ―Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God.‖

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Prize Winners Year 8

Overall Commitment Prizewinner Kieran Kehoe (8K)

Sustained Improvement Prizewinners

Overall Sportsman of the Year

Diarmuid McDermott (8A)

The Accelerated Reader Prize Matthew Dillon (8K)

Prize Winners Year 9

Overall Commitment Prizewinner Gavin McCafferty (9K)

Sustained Improvement Prizewinners

Overall Sportsman of the Year Conor Quigley (9D)

The Good Samaritan Award

Conor McNally (9K)

The Parents' Association Prize for Public Speaking Peter Madden (9G)

Academic Commitment

8A 1. James McGinley

2. Aaron Hagan

3. Dalan McGilloway

1. Colm McAnaney

2. Kevin Atos

8B 1. Jamie Cooke

2. Justin Crawley

3. Daniel Doran

1. Gareth Muldoon

2. Oran Barr

8C 1. Seamus Quinn

2. Jack Henry

3. John O’Hagan

1. Timothy Rankin

2. Aidan Deery

8D 1. Aodhan McGuigan

2. Jamie Mansfield

3. James Duffy

1. Ethan Doherty

Owen Kelly

(joint winners) 8E 1. Ethan McKeegan

2. Connaire Henderson

3. Mark Condren

1. Jude McFadden

Ryan McKeever

(joint winners) 8F 1. Tom Mooney

2. Eoghan Concannon

3. Jack McKeever

1. Aodhan Strawbridge

2. Dermot McCrossan

Miceal Sammon

(joint winners) 8G 1. Evan Duffy

2. Mark Kelly

3. Declan Lynott

1. Daniel Wright

2. James Clarke

8H 1. Daniel Deery

2. David O’Connor

3. Caolan Moore

1. Jack Mullan

2. Christopher Sallis

8K 1. Conal Fagan

2. David Thompson

3. Darren Holmes

1. Riagan Canning

2. Brendan Harrigan

Nathan Barr (8A) Matty Doherty (8A)

Alonso de Lamo Downey (8B)

Caolan McNickle (8C)

Tiernan Martin (8C)

Liam Cullen (8E)

Caolan McFadden (8H)

Mark O’Doherty (8H)

Eathain McDaid (8K)

Academic Commitment

9A 1. Eoin McElhinney

2. Jack McGeehan

3. Fintan McGuinness

1. Jason White

2. Jason Nagurski

9B 1. Anthony Gillespie

2. Emmett Hargan

3. Aodhan Foster

1. James McDaid

2. Ronan McIvor

9C 1. Andrew Ross

2. Joseph McGinley

3. Cormac Hamill

1. Aaron McKeever

2. Sean Lawrance

Alyd McLaughlin

(joint winners)

9D 1. Niall McCallion

2. Jack Quigley

3. Dylan Taylor

1. Aaron McSwiney-Long

2. Jack Melrose

9E 1. Michael Hegarty

2. Jamie Hutton

3. Diarmuid Molloy

1. Mateusz Kubala

2. Ciaran White

9F 1. Kieran McCauley

2. Calum Divin

Caolan Doran

(joint winners)

1. Ryan English

2. Gerald Doherty

Conor McCallion

(joint winners)

9G 1. Peter Madden

2. Mark Gorman

3. Bobby Cusack

1. Conal McLaughlin

2. Jamie McCay

9H 1. Caolan Flanagan

2. Darragh MacFarland

3. Aodhan Burke

1. Shane Boyle

2. Kelan Conway

David McIntyre

(joint winners)

9K 1. James O’Neill

2. Peter Gallagher

3. Jamie Gamble

1. Jack Lafferty

2. Shaun McLaughlin

Liam McWilliams (9A)

Sean Devlin (9B)

Joshua Hyndman (9B)

Dylan Duffy (9C)

Stephen Bell (9D)

Aidan Mallon (9E)

Leo McCauley (9F)

Anthony Black (9G)

Brian McCourt (9G)

Darren Rush (9H)

Prize Winners Year 10

Overall Commitment Prizewinner Conor Gormley (10H)

Sustained Improvement Prizewinners

Key Stage 3 Top Marks

English Garry Mallett (10E) Matthew Peoples (10E) Maths Garry Mallett (10E) Science Garry Mallett (10E)

Overall Sportsman of the Year

Mikhail Kennedy (10E) and Shane McGowan (10E)

The Spirit of St. Columb’s Award Thomas Chambers (10E)

The Adam Barr Memorial Prize

Conor MacBride (10A)

And finally…

Thanks to the caretakers, canteen staff and everyone who made the night such

a success!

Academic Commitment

10A 1. Conor MacBride

2. David Hughes

3. Ryan Dineen

1. Dermot McCarron

2. Timothy Cullen

10B 1. Oran Campbell

2. Anthony McGuigan

3. Ryan Butler

1. Ben Doherty

2. Cathal McKane

10C 1. Adam Duddy

2. Aaron O’Hagan

3. Ronan Meenan

1. Charlie Douglas

2. Daniel Cosgrove

10D 1. Niall O’Hara

2. James McNamee

3. Brendan McGilligan

1. Dean Moore

John O’Doherty

(joint winners)

10E 1. Garry Mallett

2. Matthew Peoples

3. Christopher Fagan

1. Conor Dunleavy

2. Ryan Gillespie

10F 1. Conor Hasson

2. Ethan Browne

3. Gareth McDaid

1. Martin Lynch

2. Sean McKenna

10G 1. Oisin Herron

2. Jordan Kincaid

3. Martin Brolly

1. Conor McLain

Aaron Melarkey

(joint winners) 10H 1. Ryan Kelly

2. Conal Duffy

3. Fintan Gormley

1. Dylan Donaghy

2. Ronan Burns

10K 1. Tiarnan McCartney

2. Ciaran Ball

3. Colum Ferry

1. Ronan Duddy

Sean Harkin

(joint winners)

Thomas Carlin (10A)

Lee Coyle (10A)

Sean Curran (10B)

Stiofan Doherty (10C)

Matthew Merrigan (10C)

Ryan McAllister (10F)

Ross McCosker (10G)

Liam McGurk (10H)

Aaron Craig (10K)

Emmett Gallagher (10K)

Visitors, guests, staff and students being entertained by the College Wind Band.

Mr McGinty (Principal), Mr Doherty (PPU President), Dr McLaughlin (Board of Governors), Mr O’Donnell

(College Publications Officer).

Mr McGinty congratulating prizewinners on their hard work and success.