Weekly School Notes

May 22^nd 2019

Killary Trip 2019 

Forty-five TY students were accompanied by Mr Kelly, Mr Walsh, Ms O’Shea and Ms McGuinness to Killary Adventure Centre in Leenane, Co Galway on a three day excursion at the end of March. Everybody thoroughly enjoyed the experience and participated enthusiastically in all the activities on offer.

The weather in the West of Ireland was beautiful for the duration of the trip. Activities on offer included the infamous Turf Challenge, Gorge Walking, High Ropes and Kayaking. The students were also entertained with night-time activities such as a quiz, various bonding games and singing around a camp-fire! Phones were not allowed for general use on the trip. After the students overcame initial withdrawal symptoms, all agreed that this was wonderful, as it allowed everyone to bond, talk and socialise together freely.

A great time was had by all. Thanks to all the excellent staff at Killary for their assistance and to the teachers who accompanied the group and fully participated in all activities there. Special thanks to Mr. Kelly the TY Coordinator. 

Chess

Members of St Kilian’s Chess Club travelled to Stepaside Educate Together Secondary School on Wednesday 3^rd April, to play the return leg of their competition. The Kilian’s team comprised Ben Rowsome and Richard Sun from 6^th Year, Kyle Viernes and Cian O’Dowd from 5^th Year, Shawn Mullan from 2^nd Year and Rowan Earls from 1^st Year. We were warmly welcomed by the Stepaside team and their coach, Mr Devlin. Games got underway quickly and many were very closely contested. St Kilian’s ultimately emerged victorious, with a margin of just one game. Many thanks to Stepaside and to Mr Devlin for their wonderful hospitality, and to our own Ms. Kavanagh for organising.

Trip to Würzburg, Germany 2019

At 4.00am, on Friday the 26th April, twenty-one St. Kilian's students and two of their teachers set out for the annual student exchange with Matthias Grünewald Gymnasium, Würzburg, Germany.

On arrival in Würzburg each of the students were met by their exchange partners and skipped off to spend the weekend with them and their families.

Monday morning was a bit of a shock to the system with classes starting at 07.55am, but everyone made it through the day, with most managing to participate to some extent in class. From that moment on, it was an action-packed and fun-filled week, with trips to a trampoline park where all the inner acrobats came out to play and a trip to the historic walled city of Rottenburg. There was a trip to Frankfurt for some sightseeing, topped with a view from the dizzying heights of a 300m tower. At the end of the week there was a reception in the town hall with the mayor who emphasised the importance of the twinning between Bray and Würzburg.

The week drew to a close with a farewell ceremony on the Saturday night. The St. Kilian’s students did the school proud putting on a great show of talent from music, to dancing and theatre. All in all it was a fantastic week where new friendships were formed and saying goodbye was hard with not a dry eye on the bus waving goodbye on the Sunday morning.

Many thanks to Ms. Watson and Mr. Duggan for accompanying the group, and to Ms. Garvey for organising these wonderful exchange trips every year.

 

March 13^th 2019

Seachtain na Gaeilge

Tá Seachtain na Gaeilge ar siúl in ár scoil an tseachtain seo . Dé Luain, students from Scoil Chualann and St Fergals joined our 1^st year students in a ‘Céilí mór’ in the school canteen, which was then followed by a ‘Seó Tallaine’ which involved students and teachers performing Irish songs, music and dance. Our First years also took part in a ‘Toraíocht Taisce’ during the week, which involved finding clues ‘i nGaeilge’ to win a prize. Dé Céadaoin, the whole school will take part in the day ‘lá unBéarlable’ where students and staff will use their ‘cúpla focal’ to promote ‘ár dteanga’ around the school.  Déardaoin, all 2^nd Years will participate in a Tráth na gCéist in the canteen which will be aided by 4^th year students.  All year groups took part in ‘Comórtas Póstaer’ which really brightened up the school walls. Comgháirdeas to all the winners in the various competitions and to all the participants who made the week such a success.  Míle Buíochas to Roinn na Gaeilge,  Ms O’Shea, Ms Fitzpatrick and An tUasal Mac Cormaic for such an enjoyable week.

Mental Health Awareness Week

We, at St. Kilian’s Community School, recognise the importance of promoting positive mental health and tackling stigma attached to mental illness. This year, as part of efforts to celebrate inclusivity and diversity, the school’s Yellow Flag Committee has successfully planned and implemented our very first Mental Health Awareness Week. St. Kilian’s has built a valuable week-long initiative, ‘Mind Your Mind Week’, into the school calendar. The focus of the week was promoting positive mental health and well-being.

Throughout the week, we introduced a number of activities and experiences to address the issue of mental health and to build strength and resilience amongst our students. We began the week with a Cycle Against Suicide ‘School Spin’. Our students clocked up an amazing 409 km during a 7 hour period: we cycled from Bray to the Beara Peninsula, County Cork! The week continued with spinning, body pump and strength classes at Shoreline Leisure Centre, ‘Social Media and Mental Health’ sessions with Zeeko and ‘Positive Mental Health’ workshops with BeWell Bray. The students also focussed on nutrition and mental health throughout the week with the Transition Year smoothies going down a treat. Students also participated in yoga and meditation classes, mindful colouring and weaving, random acts of kindness and a ‘Drop Everything and Read’ initiative.

We concluded a fantastic week with St. Kilian’s ‘Weighted Walk’. All students and teachers of the school were invited to write their stress and worries on a rock. 150 students, accompanied by parents and teachers, carried the 450 worry rocks 13,690 steps to Bray Harbour, where they cast all the worries away.

We are extremely grateful to everyone who gave their time to make this week such a success and we hope that our efforts have made a lasting impact on our school community.

 Particular thanks go to Ms O’Regan, who led the initiative.

March 6^th 2019

St. Kilian's Community School Goes Orange to Support Positive Mental Health

 St. Kilian's Community School is participating in Cycle Against Suicide’s #SchoolsGoOrange campaign to support positive mental health.

According to UNICEF’s latest report card on child wellbeing, “Ireland has the fourth highest teen suicide rate in the EU.” The report card warns that one in 10,000 Irish youth aged 15-19 will die by suicide. For the majority of adults living with mental health problems or mental illness, the first onset of their symptoms began when they -were teenagers, and evidence shows that early intervention is critical if treatment is to have the most positive outcomes for the future life chances of those affected.

Despite the clear benefits of treatment for mental health problems in young people, only a minority of those affected (less than 20%) go on to receive professional help.

According to Ms Jordan O'Regan, St. Kilian's link teacher for Cycle Against Suicide: ‘St. Kilian's C.S. is delighted to support #SchoolGoOrange and Cycle Against Suicide school programme, as it creates a caring, respectful and safe learning environment that supports mental health in schools, building hope and resilience and fostering a sense of belonging amongst the young people in our school. It is so important for all schools to take a proactive approach in this area as research highlights that one in three young people in Ireland will experience some form of mental health issue in any given year.’ Cycle Against Suicide is an awareness charity (CHY 20687) that makes a valuable contribution to the public education of mental health by changing the narrative surrounding suicide. When an individual is vulnerable enough to consider taking their own life, silence is read as indifference. With over 800 people dying by suicide in Ireland each year and research indicating that thousands more contemplate it, we all have a role to play to collectively address the challenges that suicide presents. In a bid to save more lives, Cycle Against Suicide sets out to change culture and create a society that openly talks about suicide, thus enabling people to speak up and reach out for help.

Thank you to Ms. O’Regan for promoting this very important initiative.

To find information about where you can get help for mental health issues, visit

www.cycleagainstsuicide.com/ask-for-help-2/.

St. Kilian’s Multicultural Day 2019

St. Kilian’s celebrated another hugely successful Multicultural Day on Friday, 25^th January. The appealing aromas of sweet and savoury cuisine wafted through the school corridors as two of our classrooms transformed into an international food fair for the morning. Families, representing more than twenty different nationalities, contributed culinary delights to the event, giving students, staff and visitors the chance to eat their way around the world.

Students also got the opportunity to experience fun, interactive and engaging workshops on African and Japanese culture, thanks to our very own Ms Arogundade and the ever-popular Japanese dance troupe, respectively. Alongside these workshops, students also took part in a demonstration of the Brazilian martial art of Capoeira. Finally, Fourth Year students also attended a talk by the Bray Travellers Community Development Group, which they found very informative and thought-provoking.

The day was a huge success, highlighting our school’s inclusive ethos and the importance we place on partnership with families and the community. A big ‘Thank you’ to Ms. Fox and all who assisted in making this now much anticipated and most enjoyable annual celebration of diversity in our school.

 

Junior Boys Gaelic

St Kilian's CS                        5 -5

St. David's, Greystones     4 - 6

 

St Kilian's produced a tremendous second half come back to win their opening game of the season by 2 points. Playing into a stiff breeze in the first half, they found themselves down 1-0 to 4-3, a difference of 12 points! Their goal was scored by Josh McGlone, a lovely lob after winning a St. David's kick out.

 

The second half started with Chad O’Toole scoring a goal in the first attack. Jake Doyle caught the ball from the throw in, passed to Ryan Fitzpatrick who picked out Chad perfectly, allowing him to bury the ball in the back of the net. St Kilian’s hit a purple patch at this point and scored 3 goals 4 points in a row. Ryan Fitzpatrick scoring 1-1 and Josh McGlone with 2- 3. St. David’s then scored two points to give them a 1 point lead, but Tyler Devlin scored another wonderful goal, which was followed up by a point from Josh McGlone, giving St. Kilian’s a 3 point lead. St. David’s piled on the pressure in the dying moments, but with some great goal keeping from David Waldron and heroic defending from Ciaran Treacy, Tadgh Allen, Mason Kelly, Ethan Kelly, Adam Doyle and Callan O Reilly, they only managed to add another point.

St. Kilian’s go through to the next round to face Baltinglass, best of luck to all involved. Thanks (as always!) to Mr O’Donohoe for his sterling work with the lads, and good luck to the team against Baltinglass.

January 27^th 2019

Bray Drugs Awareness Poster Competition

On the 7th of November four of Ms. Murray’s very talented Second Year Art students received prizes in the 2018 Bray Drugs Awareness Poster Competition.

Nadine O’Toole, Shane Buta and Alison Fitzpatrick were all  highly commended,  while  Everita  Stepite won the overall Art prize for the under 14 category.

All the winning students were awarded certificates of achievement and prizes for their beautiful designs at the prize giving ceremony and all enjoyed lunch in the Esplanade Hotel. Thank you to Ms. Murray for facilitating, and congratulations to all of the Art students who entered this very worthwhile competition.

1st Year Leinster B Cup

St Kilian's CS                                    4

Gaelcholáiste Cheatharlach        2

In their first competitive football match for St Kilian's, the First Year Boys were victorious against their Carlow opponents. The journey to Carlow seemed to have no ill effect on the players as they got off to the quickest possible start scoring within 40 seconds of the kick off. A great cross from Cian Crabb to Daragh Ward, who set up Michael Doran McGrath and he slotted the ball home! The Carlow team equalised in the 20^th minute but, within minutes, St Kilian's had retaken the lead again. This goal was scored by Cian Byrne by blocking an attempted clearance from the Gaelcholáiste Cheatharlach's keeper, and deflecting the ball into the net! 

The second half started exactly the same way as the first but this time it only took 28 seconds to score the next goal! Michael Doran McGrath played the ball to Jack McEvoy on the right wing and he delivered a brilliant cross to Cian Crabb who tapped the ball into the goal. This was quickly followed by Dylan Dowling who scored St. Kilian's 4th goal, a superb strike from outside the box into the bottom left corner.  Playing in defence for St Kilian's were, Jack and Oisín Allen, Dylan Maloney, Zach Ryan and Emir Demirkol, who all put in a really good shift. In nets, Ross McAteer pulled off a number of good saves at important times during the game. Seán O’Connell, Nathan Kennedy and Jake Peare also played their part in this victory. Heartiest congratulations and well done to all including their coach Mr. Donohoe. Next up is Dublin Oak Academy on Wednesday 16th.

 

1st Year Football

St Kilian’s CS                         3

Dublin Oak Academy        5

The 1st Year Boys of St Kilian’s were defeated in their opening game of the Wicklow/Wexford League but they can hold their heads up proudly! Playing the current champions, they found themselves 3 - 0 down after 20 minutes and easily could have dropped their heads but they did the opposite!

Cian Byrne scored the side’s first goal just before half-time, an excellent finish to an equally excellent move. Dylan Maloney started the move in defence with a one-two with Cian Crabb and then playing a wonderful ball to Cian Byrne, who shot from outside the box to hit the net. This really settled the players down and lifted their spirits going into the break.

The second half started in a similar way with Michael Doran McGrath scoring St Kilian’s second. The central defence partnership of Emir Demirko and Zach Ryan broke up an attack from Dublin Oak and this time Michael was played in on goal and he scored. Michael then got the equaliser mid-way through this half and this was fully deserved, a carbon copy of his first. The First Years boys pushed hard to score next but the fairytale finish was not to be and Dublin Oak scored the next, sadly this took the wind out of the sails of St Kilian’s. In the dying moments Dublin Oak scored their fifth goal, which probably flattered them. It was an extremely close encounter and the boys can be very proud of their efforts. Their coach, Mr. Donohoe, is extremely proud of them.

Next up is Temple Carrig and a win is needed to progress to the next stage. If the boys go out with the same heart and determination, they are in with a real shout. Best of Luck to this big hearted and very promising young team, and to their ever supportive and enthusiastic coach Mr. Donohoe. 

January 15^th 2019                              

Chess in St. Kilian’s

Always popular in our school, and an annual feature of our Sports Day every June, St. Kilian’s Chess aficionados can also be found regularly in our library after school battling it out in silent and intense concentration. The addition of a giant chess set to one of our newly redesigned Japanese-style interior courtyard gardens has also helped emphasise the importance of the chess club in our school.

According to Ms. Kavanagh, December was a very busy month for our Chess Teams. On Wednesday, December 5^th, we were delighted to welcome the Stepaside Educate Together team and their teacher, Mr Devlin, to our Library for a friendly tournament. Players were ranked as either beginner, intermediate or advanced, and ten separate games began quickly. Despite wins for Kilian’s from Ben, Kyle and Rachan, and a number of stalemates, Stepaside emerged victorious, winning the tournament by a margin of two games. Both teams greatly enjoyed themselves, and we look forward to travelling to Stepaside in the New Year for a return visit.

Just one day later, four representatives of our team participated in the 5th annual JCSP Library Project Team Chess Tournament in St. Kevin's College, Crumlin. The "Horse Chessnuts" were captained by 6th year, Ben, and comprised Shawn (2nd year) and Rowan and Nikola of 1st year. Over twenty teams from the Dublin and Wicklow area competed, so the boys were delighted to come third. In addition, Ben won the Captain's prize. The team would like to thank our librarian, Chris Stokes, for organising this very successful day, and a big thank you also to Ms. Kavanagh for being our chess organiser.

6LCA Trip to “New Kilbride Court” Housing Scheme Bray

Also in December, as part of their module “Graphics & Construction” the 6LCA class with their teacher, Mr. Connolly, visited the MDY site in Bray to see first-hand the excavation, floors and walls undertaken by the Kildare contractors, on behalf of Wicklow County Council.

Mr. Connolly arranged this visit with the help of Breege Kilkenny, Housing Department & Diarmuid Devereux, Project Manager on-site, and extends thanks to them for all their assistance.

The class had studied some site drawings before they visited the site, in order to become familiar with the site layout before the visit, and to learn more about the construction. On the morning of the visit, they all dressed up in their hard hats, boots and high-viz jackets, and were given a most interesting and enlightening walking tour and explanation of the 42 units which are to be built.

Mr. Connolly and the class are very happy to see MDY contractors back in business again, and that work has started on the site. The students and Mr. Connolly had a memorable day and learnt a lot from their visit. They hope to visit the site again in the near future in order to see how things progress. All in St. Kilian’s are very happy to see that the much needed housing for people in our community is now progressing.

Emmanuel

On Thursday 8^th November, 8 students from St. Kilian’s sent video auditions for Emmanuel 2019. This is a concert of liturgical music, organised by the Dublin Diocese, which takes place in the Helix each year. The students who auditioned were Second Years Erica Wall, Paige Warner and Alison Fitzpatrick, 4^th Years Zach Fisher and Hannah Kelly and 5^th Years Tamara Vuletic, Hannah Daygo and Taylor Flood. Three of the students were chosen to perform solos at the Emmanuel Concert on Thursday 28^th February, namely Zach, Hannah and Taylor. While the school has been involved in the choral side of the Emmanuel project for many years, this is the first time that our students have auditioned for soloist roles. Well done to all who auditioned; it is a great achievement for those who have been successful. Those who weren’t successful this year can try again next year. Thanks also to the Music teachers, Ms. Quinn and Ms. O’Sullivan, who helped prepare the students for their auditions, and to Niamh Brady and Courtney Horan (4^th Year students) who helped to coordinate the auditions.

Student Wellness Initiative

On Friday, December 7^th, Gardaí Edel Drury, Darren Kelly and Adam Nolan presented a series of lively, informative and very interesting workshops to Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Year students in St. Kilian’s.

Pupils learned the places and people to contact if they developed concerns about themselves or their friends. Students left with many useful and innovative tips on how to mind their mental health. Thank you to Ms. Daly for organising.

 

December 12^th 2018

6 LCA Trip to “New Kilbride Court” Housing Scheme Bray

As part of their module “Graphics & Construction”, the 6LCA class, with their teacher Mr Connolly, visited the MDY site in Bray to see first-hand the excavation, floors and walls undertaken by the Kildare contractors, on behalf of Wicklow County Council.

Mr. Connolly arranged this visit with the help of Brid Kilkenny, Housing Department and Diarmuid Devereux, on-site Project Manager, and thanks them for all their assistance.

The class had studied some site drawings before they visited the site, in order to become familiar with the plans before the visit, and to learn more about the construction. That morning, they all dressed up in their hard hats, boots and high-viz jackets, and were given a most interesting and enlightening walking tour and explanation of the 42 units which are to be built.

Mr Connolly and the class are very happy to see MDY contractors back in business again, and that work has re-started on the site. The students and Mr Connolly had a memorable day and learnt a lot from their visit. They hope to visit the site again in the near future in order to see how things progress. All in St. Kilian’s are very happy to see this progress towards meeting the housing needs of the local community.

Emmanuel

On Thursday 8^th November, eight students from St Kilian’s sent video auditions for Emmanuel 2019. This is a concert of liturgical music, organised by the Dublin Diocese, which takes place in the Helix each year. The students who auditioned were as follows: in 2^nd Year: Erica Wall, Paige Warner and Alison Fitzpatrick; in 4^th Year: Zach Fisher and Hannah Kelly and in 5^th Year: Tamara Vuletic, Hannah Daygo and Taylor Flood. Three of the students were chosen to perform solos at the Emmanuel Concert on Thursday 28^th February: Zach Fisher, Hannah Daygo and Taylor Flood. This is the first time that the school has sent in auditions for Emmanuel, so we are delighted that we have had three successful candidates. Well done to all who auditioned. Those who weren’t successful this year can try again next year. Thanks also to the Music teachers, Ms Quinn and Ms O’Sullivan, who helped prepare the students for their auditions, and to Niamh Brady and Courtney Horan (4^th Year students), who helped co-ordinate the auditions.

Student Wellness Initiative

On Friday, December 7^th, Gardaí Edel Drury, Darren Kelly and Adam Nolan presented a series of lively, informative and very interesting workshops to Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Year students at St Kilians.

Pupils learned the places and people to contact if they developed concerns about themselves or their friends. Students left with many useful and innovative tips on how to mind their mental health. Thank you to Ms Daly for organising this worthwhile initiative.

December 2^nd 2018

TRANSITION YEAR

The TY students have had a very busy opening term. They have just returned from a week’s Work Experience from November 5th to 9th. Students benefit enormously from work experience and the reports from the employers in the area and the TY students themselves about the experience was extremely positive. Well done to all our students and thanks to all the local businesses who took in and trained our students during the work experience.

In addition, the TYs have experienced many fun activities in the first term. In September, the whole year group went to the National Ploughing Championship in Tullamore. In October, a large group of 50 students went to a high-wiring adventure Centre called Zipit. This centre is based in Tibradden Wood near the Dublin mountains. A fun-filled day was had by all the students and the accompanying teachers, Ms O’Shea and Mr Walsh. A smaller group went to Croke Park and did the Stadium and Skyline tour. Ms Ni Mhurchú accompanied this group and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

A forthcoming trip is scheduled to go ice-skating in Dundrum in December. This will get the students into the Christmas spirit early and a good day will be had by all! 

 

THEATRE TRIPS 

The Fifth and Sixth Year groups went separately to the theatre over the past week. The Fifth Years went to see Hamlet in the Civic Theatre Tallaght whereas the Sixth Years travelled to the Smock Alley Theatre to see Macbeth. 

Both productions were of an extremely high standard. Each group was very positive about what they saw and learned. The experience of live theatre is a hugely valuable experience for students as it brings the text to life for them. Furthermore, the Q & A sessions at each production helped the students as they listened to the actors’ interpreting how they played their characters and students were able to raise issues that they had become aware of from watching the plays live on stage.

St Kilian’s students made excellent contributions and prompted some very thought-provoking discussions. The Higher Level 6^th Year English classes, together with their teachers Mr Kelly and Ms Kavanagh, were delighted with the production, particularly the performance of Lady Macbeth.

Thanks to Ms Kavanagh, Mr Kelly and Ms Taaffe for facilitating the theatre trips. 

 

U-15 BOYS FOOTBALL

North Wicklow Educate Together 2

St Kilian's CS 9

St Kilian's U-15 Boys started their season off with an emphatic win over North Wicklow Educate Together, in Wolfe Tone Park. The boys got off to a blistering start by scoring 3 goals within the first 12 minutes, two of which were scored by Ryan Fitzpatrick with Mason Kelly scoring the third. The remainder of the St Kilian's goals were scored by the Second Years on the team. Nathan Horan and Kieran Griffith scoring two each, with Jake Ebbs and Emanuel Florea, both scoring one apiece.

The St. Kilian's defence (made up of Cian Ebbs, Jamie Coey, Ronan Carney, Cedrick Daygo and David O Brien) all put in a very good performances and should be proud of their efforts. Daniel Waldron in goals pulled off some fabulous saves and directed his defence extremely confidently. Pablo Cueto made his debut for St Kilian's and we are delighted to have his Spanish talent on board!

Well done to all who took part and to their trainer, Mr. Donohoe.

East Glendalough 2

St Kilian's CS 1

This game was played on Wednesday, November 21^st at Greystones United astro pitch and St Kilian's were very unfortunate to come out on the wrong side of this result. Played in terrible conditions, the boys gave it their all, but it just was not their day in front of the goals.

St Kilian's started the game very slowly and this probably was a result of the driving rain and they found themselves 1-0 down after 10 minutes. But they managed to get control of possession and dominated the rest of the first half, creating a number of very good chances, the best of which found the back of the net courtesy of Kamil Mazur, from a great cross by Nathan Horan.

St Kilian's continued to press forward into the 2nd half but came up against a very strong defence and a very determined goal keeper, who just managed to prevent the boys from scoring. Mid-way through this half, East Glendalough hit St Kilian's on a counter attack and punished them for their missed chances. The lads didn't ‘down the heads’ but tried to find an equaliser right into the dying moments of the game but sadly this was not to be their fate!

Well done to the full panel who turned up in such terrible conditions and gave it their very best, and very well done too to their trainer Mr. Donohoe. Hard luck lads but well done on giving it your very best.

 

November 14^th 2018

SOUNDWAVES

Soundwaves, the school’s third music festival, took place from the 15^th to the 19^th of October.  By now, this is an established event on the school calendar and it allows us to create a space of fun and creativity to be enjoyed by the whole student body.   It was a fun week of great entertainment.  Most students in the school participated in the activities, which were on offer.  Lunch-Time to Shine concerts were held every day between the music room and the canteen.  Students get up on stage, sing, perform, dance in front of their peers who have their lunch and enjoy the talent.  We had a wonderful line-up of students playing guitars, bass guitars, piano, keyboards, and drums. We even had our very own DJ, Patrick Dandoczi, who almost brought the house down on the Friday.  People clapped, cheered, sang along and danced along with all the performers.  The atmosphere was electric. 

We had our joint talent showcase with the students from Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Classes of St Fergal’s National School.  Students sang or played individually and in groups, interspersed with performances from our own students.  All the participants received a certificate and a goodie-bag as a reward for their very talented efforts. 

Kieran Gallagher of Kada Ka Boom brought his samba drums along and over fifty Senior and Junior students took part in workshops on Samba drumming.  For students who never had this experience before, by the time the two-hour session was finished, all students could play the three or four types of samba drums:  the four different pitches and sizes of surdos, repiniques, agogos and tamborims.  The school resonated and vibrated with the lively percussive rhythms of these drums. 

We had a song-writing workshop conducted by one of our own past-pupils, Clara Byrne.  Fifteen students took part in this.  These students ranged in age from First Year up to Fifth Year.  Clara worked very creatively with them and they enjoyed finding their own voices and expressing that in their own original compositions.  Tia Kenna and Jordan Maher, by now our regular entertainers, past-pupils and current students of BIMM, gave us a lovely concert of beautiful music enjoyed by about 150 students. 

Thank you to all our exceptional student performers, and to our teachers who also performed and supported, and to those who came and shared their expertise, and who enjoyed all the activities.  Some people were wondering if it was on again next week!  That’s a good indicator.

YOUTH SVP

The St Vincent de Paul (SVdeP) is an organisation that assists people who are in need.  There are four St Vincent de Paul Conferences in Bray.  We have just begun a Youth Conference of the St Vincent de Paul in our school.  We have approximately 25 registered members from First Year up to Fifth Year.  These students meet after school on a Wednesday as it is seen as a voluntary group, which should be meeting outside of school hours.  As a Youth Conference, the brief is slightly different to the adult groups so they do not conduct house-to-house visitation. The Youth Conference identifies issues of social justice that they would like to pursue.  Ours has decided to focus on equality and kindness. It is student-led and we have a wonderful group of Fifth Year students who are heading up the conference.   They will be engaged in different activities to benefit the SVdeP over the year.  They have had three leadership training sessions with Clare Mander, the National Youth Officer for the SVdeP.  This provides them with leadership skills, group skills and organisational skills so that they can function more efficiently as a group to achieve their targets.  Stay tuned for more information regarding this group.  The teacher link for the Youth Conference is Ms Louise O’Sullivan who is already involved in the SVP St Patrick’s Kilquade Conference.

CREATIVE SCHOOLS

Our school is one of 150 schools nationwide to have received the Creative Schools Award.  We have been designated a Creative Associate, Brian Cregan, for our school with whom we will be working throughout the year.  It is an exciting initiative organised in conjunction with the Arts Council, the Department of Education and Skills, and the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.  We hope to work on a cross-curricular initiative involving languages, music, art, drama.  We have a committee of students and staff to work on this and keep it moving forward.   It will be a wonderful collaborative venture into the creative arts and which we look forward to unfolding as the year progresses.

TY ENTERPRISE CLASS

Our current YSI class are in the process of choosing their topic and beginning their campaign but there is a lot happening at the moment around last year’s YSI project on Accessibility.

Our 5LCA class took part in the Irish Wheelchair Association Angel day on the 8th  and 9th of November in Aldi.

There was also a workshop on disabilities that took place on Thursday 25th October. All Transition Years participated in this workshop and found it very beneficial.

Our mini-companies are in the very early stages with some fantastic ideas for products. Hopefully they will get up and running, ready to sell for the Christmas period.

REHAB CARE LINK

The school has established a link with Rehab Care and our first outing with them was on Thursday, November 8th when eleven of our 5th Year students took part in a basketball tournament fundraiser in the Community Centre. They played against basketballers from Rehab Care, The National Learning Network and The Gardaí. 

As part of this link we will also be sending our 4th Years out volunteering as part of their TY programme and some of our 5th Years will also give up their own time to do some volunteering as part of their Gaisce Award.

Good luck to Ms Brophy and to all of the students in their endeavours.

 

October 28^th 2018

French and German Breakfast

The St. Kilian’s MFL (Modern Foreign Languages) Department organised a wonderful French and German breakfast to celebrate September 26^th which is the European Day of languages. Students had the opportunity to taste both French and German food and had previously (in class) learnt how to order food in French and German. The menus on the tables were needless to say in French and German! The students enjoyed their croissants and Wurst (sausage) whilst listening to French and German music. They were also treated to a slideshow of iconic images of both France and Germany. This will be repeated again next year as all the different types of food went down very well with all of the TY classes. Délicieux! Lecter! Thank you to Ms. O’Hara, Ms. Arogundade, Ms. Garvey and Ms. Kells for this initiative which adds to the already strongly multicultural calendar and ethos of St. Kilian’s.

Trip to Lourdes

Our school was very lucky to be able to send five students from Sixth Year to Lourdes, with the Dublin Diocese once again this year. Mr. Fitzpatrick, the Sixth Year Head was happy to accompany the five students on their adventure, which lasted five days. The five wonderful students who went, were Aoife Murphy, Kerri Keane, Mayking Chong, Megan Murphy and Luke Windsor, and Aoife (our excellent Head Girl) kindly provided the following article:

 We had great fun and a wonderful experience throughout the week, although it was jam-packed. We were put on ward duty in the Accueille (hospital) which we were all delighted about, as it  is this duty which allows you to connect with the pilgrims the most. We got great satisfaction getting to know our pilgrims and helping them as much as possible. We even learned some basic sign language to help us communicate with the deaf pilgrims.

Our days consisted of early mornings, Mass and services and most of all getting to know all of the different pilgrims and other school groups. After morning Mass we would bring the pilgrims up to the town for tea and shopping, before meeting with them again after our supper. In our evening time we would attend prairy which was for the students in the diocese only. During this time we would reflect on our day and get to know each other. We would also often get to sing songs or recite poems of our choice. This was probably our favourite part of the day as we got to make new friends, which many of us now stay in touch with.

The highlight of our week was definitely the candle-lit procession through the Domain on the Sunday night, with the whole of the Dublin diocese. It was a very beautiful and peaceful experience and we all took something different from it. All of us had an indescribably amazing experience and would love to return. We are all so grateful to have had the opportunity to go to Lourdes and we hope to visit again next year.

October 14^th 2018

Young Social Innovators at St Kilian’s

Classes are now well into the swing of the new school year. The always enthusiastic Ms Brophy finished the previous school year with trips to the Young Social Innovators and Student Enterprise Awards with her students, and now both competitions are up and running again.

Her students are in the early stages of their projects, with ideas being finalised, but the journey itself is very exciting. There will be lots of hard work ahead for all, but hopefully some prizes too.

Ms. Brophy’s VPG classes are also very busy with tasks and work experience, and her new 5LCA class have already had a very interesting visit to the Loughlinstown Education and Training Centre last week. Students were given a tour of the campus and visited some networking classes. They were also given the opportunity to drop in on the electricians in the 1st Phase of their Apprenticeship training. Ms. Brophy has a strong feeling that some of the class will be heading back there again in the very near future to see what it has to offer them.

St Kilian’s CS Library

St Kilian’s library is always an exciting place to be – particularly under the expert and innovative guidance of our librarian, Chris Stokes.

Towards the end of last term, there were a number of very interesting events which we omitted to mention.

Second Year students and St Kilian’s Patron of Reading, Alan Nolan, launched their collaborative debut novel ‘The Haunted Ring’ in the library. Local author and illustrator Alan had been working with St Kilian’s students throughout the year in his role as Patron of Reading, promoting reading and literacy along with Chris. ‘The Haunted Ring’ was a book project performed with second year students and their teacher Ms. Fox, who smoothly compered the event, before introducing the authors who read from their work. A fantastic celebration of hard work and creativity ensued, along with the chance to eat cake in the library.

Local storyteller, Philip Byrne, visited the library for a morning of traditional stories from Ireland and the around the world.  Philip engaged with over a hundred students over the course of the morning, firing up their imagination and taking part in this ancient art form. Storytelling and oral literacy are now key parts of the Junior Cycle syllabus in English and the library is always keen to promote ways of enjoying words and language.

Past student and now full-time chef Trish Kehoe came in to work with our 1^st Year JCSP students for two mornings and cooked up a storm! Communication, literacy, numeracy and working with others were the key skills involved as Trish had them ‘eating out of her hand’ in terms of taking instruction and getting down to work. The food was delicious and, just as importantly, the kitchen was spotless at the end of the sessions!

September 30^th 2018

Art Department News

5^th and 6^th year Art students in St. Kilian’s have been amongst the first to visit the ground-breaking Roderic O’Conor exhibition in the National Gallery, where they were guided through O’Conor’s painterly relationships with the other artists of the Pont-Aven group, during a brief and very productive period in the development of the Modern Art movements in Brittany.

Good friends with Gauguin, and very influenced by the work of Van Gogh (whose work O’Conor had the opportunity to see shortly after the formers untimely death), O’Conor, while influenced by both, was ‘his own man’ and produced beautiful portraits of the local women in their distinctive costumes, luscious landscapes and strong still lives, in his characteristic Zebrist style using stripes of complimentary colours, which though shocking on close inspection, blend in an imperceptible fashion at a distance.

Now, O’Conor is recognised as one of the foremost Irish artists. Not as highly recognised in his day as he deserved to be, since his personal wealth made it unnecessary for him to sell his work, his cache of work was later ‘discovered’ by a very perceptive dealer in a sale (after his death), of O’Conor’s studio, and his personal collection of the work of his artist friends.

Highly innovative during this period in his life, O’Conor is often ahead of his more famous contemporaries with his delicious fauvist colouring and sophisticated use of – particularly red and green contrasting stripes in the distinctive faces of his models.

His gift of one of his portraits to Hugh Lane for his Municipal Gallery was the earliest appearance of one of his works in any National Collection, and leads us nicely to the next part of our visit. We had a most enthusiastic guide, in the gorgeous Charliament House – the eventual home of the Hugh Lane collection, and the former home of the equally fascinating Lord Charlemont; where our 5^th and 6^th year students were introduced to 2 of the most important of Lane’s gift to the nation – Renoir’s glorious ‘Les Parapluies’ and Morisot’s deeply Impressionist ‘Summer’s day’. These paintings will return to the National Gallery in London next year, and will be replaced by the other half of Lane’s gift to us, in the contested compromise arrangement that still exists between the National Gallery in London and the Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin, so our students were lucky to have seen them ‘in the flesh’ so to speak.

Seeing some of the ‘ground-breaking’ Impressionist paintings at first hand, having discussed their influence on the work of O’Conor that morning, was eye-opening for our students.

Of course the Dublin City Gallery, the Hugh Lane is also internationally famous for the Francis Bacon Studio, which was gifted to them after Bacon’s death, and which was transported to Ireland after a truly outstanding archaeological assessment of almost every speck of dust and every discarded piece of torn newspaper, and reinstated in Dublin, as closely to the original as possible. Seeing his studio, was a creative shock for our students, many of whom likened it to their bedrooms that morning!!! Bacon – one of the most important artists of the 20^th century, was born in Ireland and came from a landed Irish family, though he spent most of his life in London.

In the beautifully designed, darkened interior of the specially designed stain-glass room, students were shown the jewel-like ‘Eve of St. Agnes’ window, by the wonderful Harry Clarke, whose family home was in nearby Shankill village. Our students had also seen the larger but similar stain-glass room in the National Gallery that morning, and now had the opportunity to compare the two rooms, and to discuss their suitability for the display of some of the highlights of our internationally famous collection of glass from the early decades of the 20^th century.

Our 6^th Years also spent time in the beautifully restored Jack Yeats room in the National Gallery, where they could experience at close quarters the work of probably Ireland’s most famous painter, who was not only the brother of one of our foremost poets (W.B. Yeats), but also the son of a respected society portrait painter and the brother of 2 women who were instrumental figures in the Revivalist Movement .

Jack spent much time in the West of Ireland, where his deeply expressionistic landscapes, powerful confident brush strokes and layers of luscious impasto convey his vision of both the reality and the magic of Irish society. Standing in front of the works, our students were able to experience at close quarters, the sense of freedom and ‘aliveness’ in his outstanding portrayals of horses, and his deeply felt anguish concerning the futility of war, when confronted by his powerful ‘Grief’, and when encouraged to give this initially confusing painting time to reveal itself to them by simply standing and looking and ‘seeing’.

Our students could also compare the work of the son with the work of the father in the Hugh Lane gallery, and see first hand just how innovative Jack Yeats was.

It is now a tradition to take some of our students to see the equally innovative annual ‘Sculpture in Context’ exhibition in the Botanic Gardens, so with that in mind Ms. Hume and Ms. Murray brought 3 junior classes recently. We had a lovely day drawing and photographing the often ‘thought provoking’ works in the context of their location in the wonderful setting of the gardens and the beautiful Victorian glasshouses.

Later in October, the 5^th Years will visit Newgrange and Knowth. In light (excuse the pun!) of this summer’s major discoveries of further Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments all over the country (due to the unprecedented drought), it is particularly important to let our students know what a rich and wonderful prehistoric heritage we have here in Ireland.

This annual trip to Newgrange and Knowth for our Seniors is always an eye-opening highlight for them, as they experience the magic of the light creeping up the passage in Newgrange, and discuss the mystery of the largest collection of Neolithic Art in Europe, at Knowth.

Later in the year, the 5^th Years will visit the National Museum where they will see the wonderful Knowth Mace head and the outstanding collection of Bronze Age gold, the mysterious and magnificent ritual deposits of the Iron Age, and the truly world-famous brooches, chalices and relic shrines of our second golden age in the outstanding Treasury collection – the early Christian and Viking era artefacts.

On this trip the students will also visit the excellent Book of Kells exhibition in the beautiful Trinity library, where yet again they will be exposed to what was described in medieval times as “the work of Angels”.

 Much food for thought for our students, and hopefully the seeds of innovation have been planted in their fertile minds. Many of these senior students are already excellent artists and will hopefully benefit more and more from their recent exposure to the on-going innovation in the Arts in Ireland. A subplot of this recent visit for our students was the realisation of the growing importance (and acceptance) of women in the Arts.

All these ideas will be further developed and explored in class (and in the evenings during extra classes), throughout the year by St. Kilian’s Art teachers – Ms. Hume and Ms. Murray.

For a flavour of what goes on in the St. Kilian’s Art rooms, and throughout the school, please visit us on our upcoming Open Night on Thursday the 11^th Oct. Students will be making masks and printing in the Art Rooms, and there will be displays of Art work around the building. Work from Ms. Murray and Ms. Ring’s very successful annual Junk Kouture projects will also be displayed. An eye-opener for future fashion designers…

 

May 22^nd 2018

German Exchange 2018

St. Kilian’s CS offers a great opportunity to students who are learning German. They have the chance to experience German culture, try out German Food, and have fun taking part in activities and trips while improving their German language skills.

St. Kilian’s have been running a very successful School Exchange programme with a school in Würzburg for over 34 years. This year, a group of 22 students from Matthias-Grünewald-Gymnasium, Würzburg, travelled to Bray and were hosted by students from St. Kilian’s CS for 10 days.  They all had a fantastic time here in Bray, participating in many organised cultural and fun trips, and they also had the opportunity to attend school with their exchange partners.

The German students and their Irish partners were welcomed to Bray at a Civic Reception which was hosted in the Town Hall by David Forde and Eugene Finnegan.  This was followed by an array of activities during the week, which included a trips to Glendalough and Dublin, a walk up Bray Head, with the highlight of the week being the Trip to Causey Farm and Trim Castle in Co. Meath.  The exchange came to an end with a Farewell Concert and Party for all the participating families and their exchange students which took place in the school the evening before departure.

Next Easter 2019, a group of Students from St. Kilian’s will travel to Würzburg, Germany and will stay with their German partners for 10 days. They too will participate in many cultural trips and outings, as well as experiencing school in Germany.

A very big ‘thank you’ to Ms. Garvey who has been the organising mastermind behind this very successful and popular trip for years. It is truly a wonderful experience for our students, and many make friends for life in Germany. Well done to everyone who participated and supported the exchange this year, and we look forward to our trip to Germany next year!

4^th Year Trip to Killary

The highlight of everyone’s 4^th year was the two-night stay in Killary Adventure centre in County Galway in mid-April. We were scheduled to go at the beginning of March, but Storm Emma put an end to that!

Thankfully, Mr Kelly was able to reschedule the Killary Trip to mid-April and the weather wasn't too bad in the west of Ireland when we got there. We would have been devastated to have missed out on Killary, as everyone was looking forward to this trip ever since Mr. Kelly mentioned it all the way back in September.

Groups were created for different activities. The groups were a mix of girls and boys and we all had to help and encourage each other during the activities. There was a timetable assigned to each group to know what activities we were doing.  Examples of our activities were:

• The Turf Challenge (seen on Ireland’s fittest families)
• Archery - Combat & Target Archery
• Skyfall/Highropes
• Solving physical and mental challenges using teamwork. This was called the Killary Challenge.

Everyone loved trying new things and also mixing with their group members; everyone became a lot closer to the other people in their group. The teamwork involved in all the activities helped us to grow together and definitely bonded us more as a year group.

The trip to Killary brought everyone in the year group closer together and also helped give us more confidence, as we were all trying new things and also talking to many people in the year that we hadn’t really spoken to properly before.

We all behaved very well on the tour!!

Music News

As always, the Music Department, under the always innovative and hugely enthusiastic baton of Ms. O’Sullivan has been ‘wowing’ us all year with a feast of events:

(1) The Rusangano Family: Rappers

On Thursday, 12 April 2018, the Rusangano Family came to do a Rap workshop in our school.  The Rusangano Family are based in Limerick and they produce socially-engaged music that mixes a global variety of cultures and traditions.  Two members of the group, MuRli and GodKnows, delivered a very engaging, entertaining and energetic workshop to about twenty students.  Students learned about the Three Rs of Rap:  Rhythm, Rhyme and Reason. They learnt the history of rap internationally and nationally.  Students also received a live performance of three raps about social integration, Irish life, and some random musings! They got the opportunity to discover their own talent to feel the groove, and allow their own narrative to speak from their own souls in a very creative way.  It was a workshop which encouraged positive expression between the poet and musician within each of us. I am sure that we will hear more from the students in the future.  We are very grateful to Ann Catherine Nolan and Music Generation for providing us with this wonderful opportunity.  

(2) Jazz Workshops

Music Generation ran jazz workshops for participating students from different schools over six Saturdays.  Two of our students participated:  Rachan Mandyam, from Fifth Year, on keyboard and Weronika Roszczak, from Transition Year, on drums.  Here is what Rachan said about the experience: ‘I joined a weekly jazz workshop in the Mermaid Arts Centre with Music Generation.  I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the workshop and looked forward to our own showcase in the Harbour Bar over the May Bank Holiday weekend as part of the Bray Jazz Festival.  As for the performance itself, I loved it.  The atmosphere in the Harbour Bar was electric, with dark walls and colourful lights, and even though I was nervous and the performance probably wasn’t as awesome as it seemed, it sure felt amazing.’  We hope to have more engaging, exciting and wonderful musical experiences and collaborations in the years ahead. Thank you again to Music Generation for facilitating this.  

(3) Emmanuel

Some of the concerts for the annual Dublin diocesan liturgical event were deferred to May, due to adverse weather conditions.  We were one of 19 schools and over 600 students in total participating in the Helix on May 2^nd 2018.  Each school had been working over months on a common repertoire of 21 songs from contemporary liturgical music composers including Irish composers, Ian Callanan, Ephrem Feeley, Liam Lawton, Bernard Sexton, Ciaran Coll and Brendan Dowd.

We began our day in the Church of Our Lady of Victories, Ballymun, with rehearsals and inspirational talks from Simon Marriot and Liam Burke.  Rehearsals followed in the Helix all afternoon and finished with a wonderful concert that night.  Well done to the students who took part and all those from the Dublin Diocesan Liturgical Music Group who make this logistical feat possible each year. 

(4) Lunchtime to Shine: Darkness Into Light

On Friday, May 11^th 2018, we had a Lunch-Time to Shine Special in conjunction with the Darkness into Light event taking place the following morning. Mr Brian Duggan, one of the teachers in our school, had organised that a group of approximately 46 students and teachers would take part in the walk on the Saturday.  In the same spirit, we decided to theme the previous day with the same caption ‘Darkness Into Light’.  Students and teachers participating in the walk donned their characteristic yellow t-shirts.  We had a prayer service on the Friday morning to remember those who had died by suicide or those whose lives are very difficult or dark.   In the music department, we decided to have a concert with the same theme.   Our students entertained a packed canteen to the music of  1800, Lost Boy, Scars To Your Beautiful, Bridge of Light, We Are Ignited sung by Zach Fisher, Pearse O’Keeffe, Paige Warner, Hannah Daygo, Thomas Horan, and one newly-written composition by a third year student, Leo Shortt.  Our concert began with a reading of the Pieta House manifesto. We wanted to get the message out there that no one is alone, that there is always someone there for you, and the need to keep an eye out for one another.  It was an amazing event and students were just brilliant.

Art Department News

It has been a particularly busy year in the Art Department of St. Kilian’s with the first year of the New Leaving Certificate Art projects, and the introduction of the New Junior Certificate Art syllabus for 1^st Years.

6^th Year Art students really enjoyed the experience of working in their project books for the first time, and produced lovely work. The new LC Art is a long overdue and very welcome improvement on the old Art exam, and makes the subject much more enjoyable and relevant for students.

5^th Year Art students enjoyed their visit to the fascinating World Heritage sites of Newgrange and Knowth on a very windy and cold May 1^st. Despite the cold, the students were fascinated by the experience, and were (as always!) excellent representatives of their school.

Extra Art History classes and practical Art classes have been a feature of the school in the evenings all year, and students from all year groups have availed of the opportunities being offered.

Thanks to the Art teachers Ms. Hume, Ms. Murray and also to Ms. Ring who was with us till Easter this year, for all their hard work, and very best wishes to all our LC and JC exam students – who have worked so hard all year.   

Maths Department News

On a Friday night in April, St. Kilian's competed in the annual Pi Quiz, a Maths Quiz for Higher Level Junior Certificate students, organised by the Irish Maths Teachers Association. 3rd Year students Tia McMahon, Lochlyn Walsh, Saoirse O'Neill and Leo Shortt made our school proud, answering complex questions against the clock! It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening competing with other schools in the Wicklow area.

On Friday 18th May, 4th year and 5th year students will go head-to-head in an end-of-year Maths Table Quiz. Best of luck to them all and to their teachers. 

2nd Years were busy creating Art through the study of shape with their teachers Miss Kelly and Miss Ryan. Using their geometry constructions and their knowledge of shape properties they created fabulous Optical Artwork and symmetrical patterns.  Well done class T! Other second year groups have been getting out in the sunshine, using their Trigonometry and homemade clinometers to calculate the heights of tall trees and buildings.

Chemistry News

Last week, the 5th year Chemistry class was visited by Cillian, Dorottoya and Niall, from Trinity College Dublin, who led a spectroscopy workshop. Students used IR and UV-vis spectrometers and analysed the readings to identify unknown substances. It was a fantastic insight into how scientists use Chemistry in universities and in their careers. Thank you to the PhD students who facilitated the workshop and answered questions about studying third level Science. Thank you to Ms. Lawlor for organising. 

Green Schools Committee

This was another productive year for our Green Schools Committee who were back up and running in September, continuing to raise awareness of environmental issues, in particular energy consumption. A Green Schools Noticeboard was created and information was, and is continually added to it by the committee, highlighting green issues and fostering awareness amongst the student body and staff. Students and Teachers are regularly reminded to read the regularly updated information.

In October, the 'Bin It' roadshow came to the school to present to the 1st and 2nd Years. This highly entertaining show tries to make students thinks about the effects of littering and the damage that it causes to an area.

 The 4th Year student went to the Rediscovery Centre in Ballymun for a workshop. The Rediscovery Centre is the National centre for the circular economy. It is a creative space for connecting people, ideas and resources.

The Committee, with the help of the 4th year Environmental Studies class, carried out a number of surveys in the school to make sure bins were been used correctly, and to see if teachers were turning off lights and computers at the end of the school day. All results were displayed on the Green Schools noticeboard. During the same period all computers in the school were labelled with 'Switch Off' reminders to assist ‘forgetful’ teachers!

After the Christmas break, a large group of students went to the Green Schools Expo in the RDS. This exhibition focused on Climate Action and what we can do in our schools, home and communities to combat climate change.

Throughout the year the committee and Mr. Donohoe continued composting the food waste from the staff room and from the breakfast club and evening studies tea room where they all like their tea!

The Environmental Studies students carried out an enormous amount of gardening during the year in the school court yard and in the community garden at the entrance of the school.

In April, the Transition Year students and 6LCA took part in the National Spring Clean. This is an annual event that the school participates in around the Ballywaltrim area, and they removed a huge amount of litter. They can be very proud of their efforts. A workshop from Global Action Plan in relation to tackling water use, waste and conservation was given to all Transition Year students. The idea behind this workshop was to equip students with the knowledge and skills to respond to the growing global need to reduce water consumption.

As part of their CSPE Action project, a number of classes in the school raised awareness about many environmental issues, in particular, 'Endangered Animals' (causes, affects and plans to combat the problem) and 'Climate Change'( The effects in Developing Countries). Students have really benefited from doing these projects.

What can we say! Mr. Donohoe is an absolute power house, ‘greening’ all of us into shape with his wonderful committee – ever watchful, and ever innovative! In addition to all the above activities, he also finds time to teach his classes. Well done Mr. Donohoe and his committees, we promise to be a lot ‘greener’ next year!

Young Social Innovators

Our TY YSI have done great work on their Accessibility project with the hope of another group taking it on next year to progress it further. They represented the school to a very high standard at the Speakout in the Royal Marine Hotel in March.

6LCA

Our 6LCAs have been very busy this term with various guest speakers. They had a workshop with Youth Connect Ireland where they learned all about their rights as employees. They also had a visit from the Credit Union to hear all about the services they offer. 

A couple of weeks ago they took part in a spring clean of the area, removing litter from the school grounds, the football pitches across the way, the playground and the general area around the school. Thanks to Mr. Donohoe for allowing the 6LCAs to jump on board with the TYs for this.

5LCA

Our 5LCA VPG class set up and ran their mini-enterprise this term. It was called "Sweet Tooth" and students made bags of sweets and sold them in school making a healthy profit while learning about being entrepreneurs at the same time.

 

March 12th 2018

St Kilian’s CS Library Update

Our Patron of Reading, Alan Nolan, has been busy in the library all year.  A patron of reading is an author who develops a relationship with a school, over time, to encourage reading for pleasure and engagement with literature.  Alan is a local author and illustrator and, since September, has run a number of workshops for students.  Currently, he is working with a Second year class, twice a week, to produce their own book for the Make a Book exhibition in March.  Working with a published author allows students to get a greater insight into the creative process and to put the polish of professionalism on their final drafts.

In February, the Library hosted the Highrock Productions interactive presentation on ‘The Brain’.  Using a series of brainteasers and games, students were shown how our decisions can be influenced, how decisions can be reflexive or considered, and how this is of importance in a world swimming in social media and fake news. Third Year and Transition Year students attended and left with an understanding of some of the strategies that operate in the world, and the importance of stopping to think, question and engage the brain before acting.

Junior and Senior Girls Gaelic Football

St Kilian’s Junior Gaelic team lost out to Coláiste Chraobh Abhann in the semi-final of the Girls’ Junior Football B Championship. It was a great achievement getting to the semi-final. Well done to Captain Jamie Curran Carr and the rest of her team for all their efforts throughout the year.

Junior Team: Saoirse O’Neill, Tia McMahon, Letitia Coster, Alanna Byrne, Alanna Murphy, Caitlyn Mangan, Jamie Curran Carr, Ava Treacy, Holly Keogh, Jamie Lee Hanlin, Niamh Brady, Eleanor Murtagh Gilroy, Sophie Curran Carr, Tori Leigh Cummins.

The Senior Girls were very unlucky to miss out on reaching the Senior Championship final this year. The girls had drawn in the semi-final of the Senior Championship against Coláiste Chraobh Abhann, but missed out in the replay. Well done to Captain Nicole Ryan and all the Senior Girls on their achievements throughout the year.

Senior team: Katie Fitzpatrick, Paris Flynn, Kayleigh Howick, Nicole Ryan,  Jamie Curran Carr, Tia McMahon, Nicole Keogh, Georgia Browne, Shannon Blessing, Sophie Curran Carr, Alanna Byrne, Amy Howick, Kirsty Kelly, Lauren Carroll, Chloe Gray

A huge ‘Thank You’ to Ms. O’Shea for her ongoing dedication to both girls’ teams in all weathers and in all circumstances, and our very best wishes to both teams for the future. Keep your big hearts up girls! 

Christmas Crafts Coffee Morning

 A big Thank You to all of the parents and friends of St. Kilian’s and St. Fergal’s who participated and supported our Christmas Crafts Coffee morning, which took place on Friday December 15th in Room 33 at St. Kilian’s. There was a fabulous display of ‘make and take’ craftwork, and the room was abuzz with Christmas Carols, mince pies, and busy craft tables… At times the room was chock-a-block with both parents and students enjoying the festivities!  This is a non-profit social event; however, any profit made is donated to a local charity. Our chosen charity this year was The Five Loaves who support homeless people in Bray. A cheque for €200 was presented in January 2018. The remaining money was used to cover the costs of the morning. Thanks to the generosity of all those who donated gifts for the raffle and everyone who bought tickets.

St. Kilian’s Multi Cultural Day

St. Kilian’s Community School hosted its fourth annual Multicultural Day on Friday, January 26^th 2018 and, as always, it was a hugely successful and enjoyable event. It was a tremendous celebration of the school’s inclusive ethos and our diverse school community. Students from more than thirty countries are currently attending St. Kilian’s.

The centrepiece of the day was a major food fair, with students and their families preparing national dishes and delicacies from both far-flung countries and ones nearer to home. Everyone in the school, parents and friends were invited to taste foods from a wide variety of different countries.

Each year we host workshops and hold presentations focusing on cultural aspects of various countries. This year there was a fantastic display of African culture, provided by a member of our teaching staff, Ms. Aderonke Arogundade, who is a native of Nigeria. The African workshop theme this year was Friendship, and included traditional clothing, jewellery-making,  African board games and drumming.  Other workshops included one on the Japanese Kimono, led by parent Ms. Yumiko Wilde and her Japanese cultural group.  We also had a Brazilian group from the Dublin School of Capoeire, who put on an energetic display of acrobatic Capoeire dance.

Distinguished guests who joined us on the day included Sylvia Katte Gavigan, honorary consul for Uganda, Jude Hughes who is a tailor in Abbey Street and who does an immense amount of humanitarian work for Zambia, Uganda and Rwanda, and Assumpta Foynes.

The day was brought to an exciting close with an international-themed concert in the Canteen at lunchtime facilitated by our music teacher Ms. Louise O’Sullivan and TY students.

The school was colourfully decorated with international flags, bunting, and display boards representing all the different countries. A number of international parents volunteered on the day, preparing food stalls with foods from different countries, and also some displays of traditional items or clothing from their countries. There was face painting throughout the day facilitated by our Art teacher Ms. Rowena Ring and a team of TY students. Many students and parents arrived on the day wearing colourful traditional dress which added to the multicultural atmosphere in the school. Thanks to the many teachers and the Parents who were involved in and participated in the organisation and running of the day. The day was a fantastic celebration of the diversity that exists both within the school community and, in broader terms, in Irish society in 2018. Well done everyone – particularly Ms. Garvey and her team who do an amazing job every year organising this wonderful event!

February 2^nd 2018

Junk Kouture

On Thursday, January 25^th, the corridors of St. Kilian’s became home to high fashion as Ms. Ring's 4th Year Art Class were photographed modelling their Junk Kouture costumes, which they had spent the last few months, hard at work, designing and making. The very imaginative and seriously wearable outfits (all created from rubbish!) have now been submitted to Junk Kouture's Nationwide recycled fashion competition. The students displayed huge amounts of dedication and creativity so now it’s ‘fingers crossed’ time, in hopes that they will be selected to go forward ton the National Finals, as in previous years at St. Kilian’s.

For the photo shoot, the students who modelled the costumes were beautifully ‘made up’ (to co-ordinate with their Junk Kouture creations), by former students of St. Kilian's, Jade Mc Ateer and Rebecca Moore, who very kindly returned to the school to support the class by using their expert skills doing their make-up for the event. This was a huge help and was greatly appreciated by all.

Jade and Rebecca are now studying Fashion, Theatre, Media and Make-Up at BIFE and more of their wonderful make-up work can be found on their social media accounts (instagram: @makeupbyjade and @makeup_rmoore).

Some of the wonderful photographs of the costumes were shown in the January 31^st edition of the Bray People so, if you missed them, take another look! Well done to all of the students involved, to Jade and Rebecca, and to Ms. Ring who is following in the excellent footsteps of Ms. Murray by facilitating this most rewarding and exciting workshop for our students.

 

Under-15 Boys’ Football

 

St. Kilian's CS 2-1 St David's, Greystones

 

St. Kilian's U-15 Boys’ team finally got the win they  so richly deserved in their last game against St David's of Greystones. Played in the most horrendous conditions, both teams gave it their all in an extremely competitive match.

St Kilian's started the game on the front foot and produced a number of attacks in the opening 5 minutes. With a new partnership upfront in Adam Byrne and Joseph Kelly, the St David's defence struggled with their speed and strength. Both lads played an important role in setting up the opening goal for Josh McGlone, who became our leading scorer for the U-15s.

 

The second goal for St Kilian's came mid-way through the first half, from a corner. Ryan Fitzpatrick delivered a pinpoint cross into the box which broke to Adam Byrne and he volleyed home, just like a professional!

St Kilian's continued to press until the end of the half with Ryan Stafford and Mason Kelly leading the charge with a number of efforts but, unfortunately, they could not find the back of the net.

In the second half, St. Kilian's had to produce a very different style of football. The defence of Tadgh Allen, Mark Byrne, Jake Doyle and Daniel Browne were under considerably more pressure but they were more than equal to it. Any shots that were goal bound, Alan Coster, playing in goals for the first time this year, dealt very confidently with.

St David’s did get a great opportunity to get back into the match when they were awarded a penalty but their attempt was sent wide.  They did get a late consolation goal; Alan Coster saved a free kick but the rebound was tapped in by the St David's attacker.

St. Kilian's ‘saw out’ the remainder of the game fairly comfortably and Owen Tobin and Conor Fullerton were ready for every counter attack that was created. This was the last league game for the U-15's and it was great to go out with a victory. Well done to all who took part and to Mr. Donohoe for all his hard work with the team.

January 4^th 2018

Díospóireacht

Should Donald Trump’s Twitter Account be terminated?  … Discuss.

….or, Debate! 

….or, debate … as Gaeilge!

That’s the motion which a formidable team of Irish-speaking debaters from St. Kilian’s CS took on recently, in the second round of the Leinster  Schools debating competition, ‘Díospóireacht an Phiarsaigh’. St Kilian’s were instructed to argue in favour of the motion, and competed in the four-team event, along with Loreto Foxrock, Loreto Bray, and Muckross Park.

St. Kilian’s Niamh Ní Mhuirí, Bróna Ní Mhurchú, and Anna Mac Allister laid out their excellent arguments clearly, and cogently, and received high praise from the judges. In addition, they gave pointed rebuttals to the opposition’s arguments, to win extra points. The entire event was conducted ‘tríd meán na Gaeilge’, which, of course, is deserving of even greater credit!

Indeed, this same praise should be conferred on all four teams! Collectively, their delivery was excellent. The quality of language used was outstanding! Moreover, the intellectual vigour of the arguments, on both sides, was superb!

In the close contest, the atmosphere was arresting, and entertaining. Everybody in attendance had a really, really enjoyable, and stimulating evening.

However, the judges did have to make a decision. St Kilian’s and Loreto Foxrock did not make it through, unfortunately, on this occasion. However, as already mentioned, the same two teams were particularly praised for their performance. The St. Kilian’s team are completely resolved to honing their skills even sharper, in order to re-enter the fray, and compete even more impressively next year!

After a great experience, all at St. Kilian’s wish the two successful teams the very best of luck in the rounds ahead. Especially our friends in Loreto Bray.

A big ‘Go raibh maith agat’ to An tUasal Mac Cormaic for his sterling work with the debating team ‘as Gaeilge’, and well done to the team for their hard work and excellent delivery. 

 

TY Business: Student Enterprise Awards

Transition Year Business classes are extremely busy with their mini-companies at the moment. We have a number of groups in the design stages and some are ready to sell. Oh Sew Craft, a company making all handmade products (including Christmas decorations), are already up and running and sold their wares at Kilruddery Christmas Market on December 10th and 17th Bray and at the school Craft Fair on December 15^th.

The groups will hopefully represent St. Kilians in the Student Enterprise Awards in March.

TY Business: Bank Of Ireland

Transition Year students will be taking part in the school bank in the New Year. Representatives for the bank will be in school next week to interview students and choose the School Bank team

TY Business: Young Social Innovators

Our Young Social Innovators are currently working very hard on the project on accessibility. They want to make our school more universally accessible. They have conducted an audit of the school and plan to implement some changes in the New Year. Our YSI students were also very busy in Aldi in November, selling Angels for the Irish Wheelchair Association Angel days. They raised €1510.20 and are now involved in the Wheelchair Basketball tournament with the IWA. Some of the students also attended a talk in RehabCare by a very inspirational person named Tracey McCann. Thanks to Aoife in RehabCare for organising that and we are looking forward to volunteering there in the New Year.

 

Leaving Cert Applied

Leaving Cert Applied students have been extremely busy this term with tasks and assignments. In Social Education class, we have had a number of speakers in to talk to the students about the various contemporary issues that they are doing tasks on. We have had a speaker from AA and someone from BodyWhys, with many more to come in the New Year. In Vocational Preparation and Guidance class, students have completed their first Work Experience placement work experience. 5LCA students have recently completed mock interviews with representatives from Bank of Ireland, who kindly gave their time to assist the school in this.

As always, all are busy in Ms. Brophy’s very innovative and socially aware classes. Thanks to her for the updates on all their recent activities and the very best of luck to all of them with their projects in 2018.

 

November 2nd 2017

News from Multi-Cultural St. Kilian’s

My name is Monika Uí Annaidh and this autumn I began teaching in St. Kilian’s Community School. I am originally from Poland, but moved here in 2005 where I completed my postgraduate studies. Shortly after that, I married my Irish husband and “the rest is history” as the Irish say! I have always felt very welcome in Ireland and am now proud to call it my home but I must say that I have been completely overwhelmed by the very warm reception I experienced in the school from colleagues, students and parents, many of whom have taken the time to greet and welcome me personally. I know that the famous Irish saying “Céad míle fáilte romhat” means a hundred thousand welcomes to you and I certainly feel that I have received exactly that at St. Kilian’s Community School, for which I am extremely grateful.  

One thing that I noticed very early on in my time in St Kilian’s was the strong sense of community spirit and togetherness. A huge amount of goodwill and support goes into making every student in the school feel welcome and respected. I think the idea of displaying the flags of all the different nationalities that are represented in St. Kilian’s is wonderful. It might seem like a relatively small gesture, but it certainly helps one feel welcome straight away. It also highlights the fact that our school is very diverse and multi-cultural, mirroring broader Irish society. Initiatives like the Parents’ Coffee Morning also help parents get to know each other and the staff, and encourage them to become involved in the school community.

I was also very excited to hear that the school organises an annual International Day where students and parents bring in traditional foods and some also wear traditional national costume. With students (and teachers) from over 30 different countries here in St. Kilian’s, events like the International Day give everyone in the school an opportunity to share the richness of their national traditions and culture with others, and help to build an awareness and appreciation of other cultures within the school. In my family, we celebrate the high points of both Polish and Irish traditions. St. Patrick’s Day and Halloween are two examples of festivities that we never celebrated back in Poland, but are now a major part of our family life. In my own house, Polish, English and Irish are spoken frequently, and we all make an effort to teach each other new phrases and sayings. Likewise, “Wigilia” (Polish Christmas Eve) and “Święconka Wielkanocna” (The blessing of the Easter baskets) are now an integral part of our Christmas and Easter family celebrations. “Wigilia” in particular is something that I would like to share with everybody in the school community so I plan to organise this later in the year in St. Kilian’s and hope as many people as possible can join us for this celebration.

We extend a very warm welcome to our new Polish Maths teacher and colleague Ms. Uí Annaidh, whose vision and enthusiasm have already been making their mark in our school, and we look forward to seeing the fruits of all the great ideas she plans to incorporate into our already wonderfully Multi-Cultural school.

 

Junior Girls Gaelic Football

St Kilian's CS            6-8
Coláiste Ráithín       6-6

St Kilian's CS Junior Gaelic football team recorded a hard earned win over Coláiste Ráithín on Monday, 23rd of October.  The first half was keenly contested with some early scores by Sophie Curran Carr. Coláiste Ráithín had many chances to score in the 1st half but with Goalkeeper Saoirse O'Neill and with great defending by captain Jamie Curran Carr and Tia McMahon this prevented a bigger gap in the first half. Coláiste Ráithín deservedly led by 4 points at half time. 

St Kilian's regrouped at half time and started the second half in a determined fashion with midfielders Kacey Flanagan and Abbie Doyle winning the throw in, which led to a decisive goal from Ava Treacy, bringing St Kilian's right back into the game. This was followed by further scores from Holly Keogh  and Sophie Curran Carr putting them into a strong position. Coláiste Ráithín fought bravely and responded with more scoring attempts while Caitlin Mangan, Katie Ward and Leititia Coster working consistently to prevent the gap increasing. The match got very exciting in the last 8 minutes with only a point in it. Our girls showed real team work centre field and worked the ball down to Niamh Brady who set up our final score. Sophie Curran Carr led the team to victory with a crucial goal in the last 2 minutes.

Well done to Captain Jamie Curran Carr and all the girls for winning their first championship match of the term. Credit to the opposition who put in a great performance and battled bravely to the end, and a huge ‘Thank You’ to Ms. O’Shea for her dedication and perseverance training our girls over the years. A great start to the season, and best of luck to them for the remainder.

 

Wicklow/Wexford Junior Football League

St. Kilian's CS                3
Dublin Oak Academy  4

St. Kilian's fell just a little short against their Bray rival, Dublin Oak Academy in Kilcorney on Wednesday afternoon 25^th Oct. in their first match in the Wicklow/Wexford league. Played in near perfect conditions, on a lovely autumnal day, both teams started brighly but St. kilian's went 1 down after 5 minutes from a header. After this the boys confidence was a little shaken, but they settled back into the game, and as a result of brilliant pressure applied to the Dublin Oak defence by Mason Kelly; Ryan Stafford scored with a lovely low shot. However, Dublin Oak scored just before the first half drew to a close again knocking St. Kilian's spirits.

The second half started well for St Kilian's. The defence of Oisin Tracey, Mark Byrne, Alan Coster and Jake Doyle played as a great unit, led excellently by their captain in nets Adam Byrne. 15 minutes into the 2nd half, St. Kilian's drew level again with a superb lob from Josh McGlone played through by Jake Doyle. The boys concentration was definitely distracted by this wonderful goal, as Dublin Oak scored 2 goals within 3 minutes of the equaliser. But once again, St Kilian's found the heart to keep going and with some extra pace added upfront by Gergo Kabai, they put the Dublin Oak defenders under some pressure. This pressure paid off with 10 minutes left, when Josh McGlone scored his second of the match with a great strike from outside the box. Unfortunately, there was no equaliser this time for St Kilian's.
Up next for St. Kilian's is Temple Craig on November 14th in Ballywaltrim. Hopefully, with the same effort and a more concentration, St Kilian's will come out on the right side of the result! Thanks as always to Mr. O’Donohoe for all his hard work training the boys, and best of luck with their remaining matches.

 

U-19 Wicklow/Wexford Senior Football League

St. Kilian’s 5 – 2 East Glendalough School, Wicklow

St. Kilian’s kicked off their Senior League fixtures with a good 5-2 victory over East Glendalough School, Wicklow in beautiful autumnal conditions on Friday 27th of October in Ballywaltrim. It was a very competitive game and very close throughout, but a strong finish enhanced the scoreline.

Jamie Gunning opened the scoring for St. Kilian’s to put them into the lead but a lot of other early chances were not converted and East Glendalough equalised with a great finish.

Jordan De Sousa replaced the injured Jordan Conroy early on and went on to have a great game making some crucial saves as East Glendalough were dangerously creating chances in the second half.

Captain Karl Mulligan scored a cracking free kick putting Kilian’s back in the lead before half time.

Early in the second half Jason King was also struggling with injury, and was replaced by Sean Leggett who with CJ Buckley provided a lot of energy on the right wing, replacing the early goal scorer Jamie Gunning. 

These changes may have contributed to a drop in pace, and East Glendalough got on top and scored their second equaliser. Kilian’s did reorganise, and led from the back by Mark Curran, Jake O’Brien and Jack Ronan they finished the game very strongly.

A host of chances were created and eventually taken with Karl Mulligan scoring his second, and Andrew Knight getting two as reward for a huge amount of work and tireless running.

Andrew firstly converted the penalty after an amazing run by Karl Mulligan and scored a good second goal and probably deserved a hat trick.

Karl was also very unlucky with a fantastic long range effort that rattled the cross bar twice!

Injury forced Jordan Smith off and he was replaced by Arif Ogunseye, and the very hardworking Shane Devlin made way for Graham Kane. Shane and Dylan Bermingham had fantastic performances in the middle of the field.

It was a great result to start the year with and we look forward to strengthening the panel as a few more return from injury and suspension. 

Next game takes place after mid-term against St. David’s, Greystones.
Team: Jordan Conroy, Mark Curran, Jason King, Jake O’Brien, Jack Ronan, Shane Devlin, Jamie Gunning, Dylan Bermingham, Andrew Knight, Karl Mulligan, Jordan Smith.
Subs used: Jordan De Sousa, CJ Buckley, Sean Leggett, Arif Ogunseye, Graham Kane
Subs not used: Aaron Bradshaw, Sean Yang and Adam Byrne.
Unavailable: Ross Moloney, Gary Purcell and James Ryan

Thanks (as always) to Mr. Duggan for great work training and encouraging, and good luck to the boys in the future.

As you can see extra-curricular sports is alive and kicking in St. Kilian’s for girls and boys and we wish all the teams, and their devoted trainers the very best this season. They deserve it!

 

Supervised Study

Supervised study takes place after school on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday evenings. Study lasts for two hours, from 4pm-6pm, and is a great opportunity for students to get a head start on their homework and study. We recommend students settling into a routine and Supervised Study is a great way to do that. Don't worry if you haven't signed up yet; talk to Mr. Connolly or Ms. Lawlor if you would like to start. Many thanks to Mr. Connolly, Ms. Lawlor and to all the teachers who are involved. Stay posted for Study held over Midterms and Easter break.

 

6^th Year English trip to see King Lear

6^th year student and prefect Niamh Leadbetter wrote a wonderful review of her classes visit to the Shakespearian tragedy King Lear, in the Mill Theatre, on Wednesday the 18th of October. Niamh and her class would like to thank Ms Taaffe and Ms O'Regan for organising this very thought provoking visit.

 

October 12^th 2017

Service of Celebration

Our school community came together on Tuesday 19^th September at St. Fergal’s Church to celebrate the beginning of our new school year.  Fr. Larry Behan, P.P. presided.  The school choir led the singing, under the direction of Ms. Louise O'Sullivan and boasted many talented and impressive musicians and singers.

As usual a very warm welcome was extended to all. St. Kilian’s prides itself on being an inclusive school recognising the uniqueness of all who belong to the school community.

In keeping with this, our Head Boy, Arif Ogunseye  led a representative from each new First Year class up to the alter where they placed their class crest around the alter. These representatives included Aaron Griffith, Oisín Cole, Amelia Byrne and Nadine O’Toole.  After a formal blessing by Fr. Larry, our Head Girl, Niamh Murray officially welcomed them to our school on behalf of the student body.  She imparted a few wise words of wisdom to ponder on for their year ahead.

The homily was given by Ms. Roseanne Sinnott, Chaplain, reflecting on the importance of treating ourselves and others with respect recognising that we are all unique, precious, and good individuals

The readings were read by Graham Kane, deputy head boy and Lauryn O’Daly.  Prayers were read by Shane Buta, Ben Currums, Arif Ogunseye, Wiktoria Zgrzebnicka, Aadhan Murray and Kelly Waters (deputy head girl). The psalm was sung beautifully by Zach Fisher and accompanied by Ms. O'Sullivan.

Best wishes to all for a safe, enjoyable, and fruitful year ahead.

Many thanks to Ms. Sinnott the School Chaplain for her kind and caring nature towards all in St. Kilian’s community, and to Ms. O’Sullivan and her wonderful choir, and to Fr. Behan who is always staunchly supportive of St. Kilian’s.

 

Retreats for the students from St Kilian’s Community School

The retreat is an important feature of the academic year in St Kilian’s, one which students look forward to and enjoy. In the past we have travelled by bus to a retreat centre, with transition year students having an overnight experience.

 This year, we hired Conexus Retreat Team and the hall at the Taylor Centre, Sunbeam House, Vevay Road, Bray. Choosing this location meant that students could walk to the venue, appreciating a fine facility in the heart of the community. The management were open and communicative, making our use of their hall very enjoyable. The facility is excellent, providing modern audio-visual equipment and screens.

We chose to have a faith based retreat, rooted in the Christian tradition, and using the lessons and expertise from modern psychology in a fun and engaging way, to guide students in better understanding of communication, respect, love and relationships. The retreat facilitators from Conexus are trained in faith and psychology, comfortable with leading young people through paired work, group work, using video clips and TED talks.

Our retreats were for all students from 1^st, 4^th and 6^th Years, accounting for over almost 250 young people from Bray and the local areas. The feedback has been very positive with many students wondering if there was a possibility of them having a second retreat day this year. Faith and action are alive and well, with many strong green shoots in evidence in St Kilian’s Community School.

Many thanks to Ms. Murtagh for organising.

 

Higher Options 2017

All our 6th years and 6 LCA students attended the Higher Options conference in the RDS on Friday 15 September 2017.

This was a unique opportunity for students to meet representatives from colleges in Ireland, the UK and Europe. They also made contact with representatives from such areas as SOLAS, Apprenticeship Ireland and National Guidance Networks.

A most informative day was had by all.

Thank you to Ms. Fitzpatrick, our ever-industrious career Guidance Counsellor for organising.

 

Boys Football 2017-2018

The minor (U-15) Boys will kick off the football season in St. Kilian's this year with their opening game v Gaelcholáiste Cheatharlach, Carlow. Their League fixtures will be against Dublin Oak Academy, Temple Carrig School, Greystones and St. David's H.F.S.S, Greystones. Training has commenced and anyone born on/after 1/1/2003 interested in playing needs to talk to Mr Donohoe as soon as possible.  Registrations for all squads have to be completed shortly so get involved.

Mr. Forde's First Year team is for all first year students and they must be born on/after 1/1/2004.  Their group will also pit them against Temple Carrig. Greystones followed by Dublin Oak Academy and finally a game against St. David's, Greystones.

 

Mr Jenkins will be hoping to repeat the success of last year and retain the Junior (U-17) league. Any students born on/after 1/1/2001 are eligible and fixtures v St. David's and Temple Carrig both of Greystones await.

The Senior (U-19-born on/after 1/1/1999) with Mr Duggan will be hoping to go one step further than last year when they were defeated by Gaelcholáiste na Mara, Arklow in the delayed final. This year they face St. David's, Greystones and East Glendalough School, Wicklow Town with both games due to be played before mid term break.  All students are encouraged to get involved in these teams and to represent the school.

Mr. Duggan, Mr. Donohoe, Mr. Forde and Mr. Jenkins deserve huge praise and thanks for their years of enthusiastic encouragement, and their ongoing training of our lads in all weathers and against all-comers! Well done all of you, and good luck to St. Kilian’s this year. 

 

October 1^st 2017

Young Social Innovators

The Young Social Innovators finished last year with a Funky Shoe Day that meant they were able to donate over €100 to ‘Living Life Bray’, ‘Be Well Bray’ and ‘Jigsaw’. We would like to thank everyone for their help and co-operation throughout the year.

TY students also attended a presentation from the Revenue Commissioners. This was an excellent presentation teaching students about income tax and about what the information on their payslips actually means. This was very beneficial for TY students in their Summer jobs. We hope to run this again this year with our new Transition Year students.

Last year we also hosted a visit from ‘Youth Connect’ to both LCA and TY students. This workshop involved teaching students about their rights in the workplace. Students learned about break entitlements, rest periods and minimum wages etc. It was a very beneficial workshop, particularly for our 6LCA students, many of whom were already working in part time jobs, and who benefited greatly from knowing their rights. We also hope to roll this out again this year, to ensure all our students get the information they need. A big thank you to Ms. Brophy for all her work in this very important area.

5th Years Cleaning up Bray Beach!

A group of 35 5th year students from St Kilian's CS took part in the ‘Clean Coasts Big Beach Clean’ on Friday the 15th of September. This was an international event taking place on the 15th, 16th and 17th of September across the world to help remove marine litter from our oceans. In 2016, nearly 800,000 volunteers in over 90 countries removed 8,193 tonnes of marine litter from the world’s oceans.

The students worked extremely hard along Bray breach and the promenade and definitely did their school and the local community proud by collecting 4 large bin bags full of rubbish from the beach. This effort is all part of the very active Green Schools Committee in St Kilian's. Well done to all involved particularly, to Mr. Donohue the highly innovative and enthusiastic Green Schools co-ordinator in St. Kilian’s.

Art at St. Kilian’s

On Thur. 7^th Sept. Ms. Hume’s 5^th and 6^th Year Art students visited the wonderful, ‘sold out’ Vermeer exhibition in the newly renovated and just re-opened National Gallery in Dublin, where they had guided tours of both the exhibition, and parts of the beautifully restored galleries. They also saw the magnificent specially commissioned sculptural wood piece by Joseph Walsh in the airy new foyer. Mr. Connolly – their woodwork teacher, who accompanied this group with Ms. Hume was hugely impressed by this piece. Luckily the bookings had been made for the students as soon as the Vermeer exhibition had been advertised last May, since many other schools who tried to book in August/September were unable to get bookings, because the exhibition was completely sold out.

Many of these lucky students had also seen the fantastic Caravaggio exhibition in the National Gallery, and the stunning Freud exhibition in IMMA before the Summer holidays.

To have 4 paintings by Caravaggio, and 10 paintings by Vermeer in Dublin was a real coup for Ireland, and to be able to see these magnificent paintings in their own city is something that our students will grow to realise was a really special experience for them.

Every year our senior Art students are lucky enough to be provided with a full and busy schedule of visits to exhibitions, galleries, museums and buildings of architectural merit.

In October, the 6^th Years will visit Newgrange and Knowth to witness the world renowned heritage site first hand, and later that month the 5^th and 6^th Years will visit the beautiful 18^th century Palladian Mansions at Castletown and Russborough – much beloved by their teacher Ms. Hume. 5^th years will visit Newgrange and Knowth in May 2018.

4^th Years will visit the ‘Sculpture in Context’ exhibition in the Botanic Gardens, also in October. This visit has become an annual outing for St. Kilian’s and our students in past years have loved this day spent drawing and studying contemporary sculpture in the beautiful surroundings of the Botanic Gardens and the stunning Victorian glasshouses.

4^th Year students are already hard at work with Ms. Ring on their costumes for ‘Junk Kouture’.

 

 

 

May 21st 2017

Soundwaves Music Festival

The first Soundwaves Music Festival took place in St Kilian’s from May 8th to 12th 2017. One of the aims of the Music Syllabus is to promote ‘a culture of creative enjoyable engagement with Music’ and what better way to do this than through a week of music.

Student from Transition Year organised “Welcomes”, “Thank Yous”, Biographical notes about performers, Certificates, Goody-bags, Programmes, Comperes, and the technical and artistic aspects of the performances.

The school resounded to the music of O’Carolan, Beethoven, Gershwin, The Strokes, Handel, Bach and an array of popular artists.  

The week was packed full of activities, with events for the entire school community during the lunch break, when staff and students took to the stage in Lip Sync battles, Song contests and our special Lunch-Time to Shine Concerts.

Students from every year participated, and it was a fantastic display of talent.

The Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Classes from St Fergal’s joined the students of St Kilian’s in a wonderful joint talent showcase, and the experience was thoroughly enjoyed by both groups. St. Kilian’s is looking forward to next year’s Soundwaves Music Festival already!

 St. Kilian’s was very privileged indeed to have live performances and workshops from artists with very distinguished National and International musical profiles: Redmond O’Toole on the Brahms 8-string Guitar; Tim Doyle on Uilleann pipes; Ross Scanlon, Tenor; Anne-Marie O’Farrell, Harpist; and her son Steph on Electric Guitar. Laura Heffernan, Don Farrell, Sylvester Byrne and Frank Kelly joined staff and students performing a selection of traditional tunes. Second year student Emily Beattie, from Temple Carrig Secondary School in Greystones, exhibited some of the infinite possibilities of music arrangement and composition with our Transition Year students. In addition to all the various entertaining aspects of music, which we enjoyed this week, cross-curricular resources for each subject area were widely used by teachers. Teachers themselves also ran with their own ideas for their classes culminating in ‘Maths is da bomb’ - a lively engaging and very cool rap about all aspects of Maths, with plenty of audience participation. 

 A special thank you to all the students who participated: Saoirse McDonnell, Louise McCormack, Nathan Coster, Zach Fisher, Leo Shortt, Anthony O’Brien, Taylor Flood, Ben Rowsome (with his own beautiful and newly-composed song entitled Wherever this road takes me), Fionn Doyle, Jake O’Brien, Christian Wang, Luke Windsor, Sophie Ward, Jade O’Hagan, Amber Kenna, Kate Leadbetter, Nathan Flanagan, Sean O’Dowd, Emily Montague, Dillon Verdon, Ronello Nuqui, Thomas Horan, Tia Kenna, Megan O’Daly, Moesha Chong, John Kelly, Brandon Conway and the first year 1T and 1N classes.

This wonderful initiative is the latest brainwave of our super enthusiastic and highly innovative music teacher Ms. Louise O’Sullivan, who wishes to thank management, staff and students at St Kilian’s for their encouragement and support for her latest project, and without whom she says the week could never have happened! But without Ms O’Sullivan’s Trojan efforts and super ideas, none of this would have come about, so the school wish to thank her for all that she does to fill our days with the joy of music. 

At any time of the day or evening, St. Kilian’s rings with all sorts of wonderful musical interventions inspired by our ever inventive and energetic Music teacher, Ms O’Sullivan, who has been inspiring our students and their Mums to get involved in all aspects Music since she took over in St. Kilian’s from the very well-known  Choir Master, Composer and Musician, Mr Frank Kelly, who retired as our music teacher. Thanks to Ms O’Sullivan’s fantastically interesting and innovative ideas about music,  our students are loving the opportunities that she creates for them to perform, and are very involved in all the extra-curricular musical events that Louise plans for them in St. Kilian’s such as:

Wesley Inter-Schools Music Competition

The new band ‘Upon Experiment’ performed at the Over 15 Rock Band category at the Wesley competition on Saturday, 4 March.  The band is comprised of students from Transition and Fifth Year:  Nathan Flanagan, Hannah Larkin, Emily Montague, Ben Rowsome, Luke Windsor and Christian Wang.  The band formed as a consequence of work with Music Generation tutor Rama.  It was a big challenge for the students to perform after so little time together as a group.  Their performance of Green Day’s ’21 Guns’ was energetic, lively, and they looked very relaxed as they played.  The adjudicators were impressed by their performance and they received very positive and constructive comments.

Emmanuel

Nineteen students attended the annual music event organised by the Archdiocese of Dublin for schools in its jurisdiction.  Our students attended practices over lunchtimes and after school in preparation for the event.  There were over 500 students from 20 schools performing the same repertoire together with a full band and a packed house on Monday, 6 March.  Well done to the students involved.

Mums Aloud

Or maybe it’s ‘Mums Allowed..’ to let their hair down and enjoy a bit of fun and music-making.  These are the Mammies who are taking the opportunity to do some ukelele, drums or keyboard and are set to be the next great internet sensation!  They are a fantastic group of enthusiastic women who are enjoying music-making.

 

Visit by international Comic Book artist Aidan Courtney

On Wednesday 8^th March, comic book artist Aidan Courtney visited St Kilian’s Library to work with students as part of the Seachtain na Gaeilge celebrations. Aidan has had his work published internationally and is the founder of Comicí Gael, an Irish language comics publisher.

Brainstorming ‘as Gaeilge’ with 2^nd and 3^rd year Students, Aidan demonstrated simple illustration techniques to produce quality comic books with each group. Aidan was full of praise for the talent on show and encouraged anyone with an interest to not only draw, but also to submit work. Perhaps a career in illustration awaits some of our students?

Many thanks to our very innovative librarian Chris Stokes, and our Irish Department.

 

Young Social Innovators (YSI) Update

On 21st March, our Young Social Innovators took part in the National ‘Speak-out’, on their issue of Mental Health in the RDS, Dublin. Our students had to present their project on stage in front of hundreds of students and teachers as well as the judges. They were very professional and represented St. Kilian’s to the highest standard. Now they just have to wait for feedback, to see if they will be invited to the final.

We wish them and their teacher Ms. Brophy, the very very best of luck – they have worked so hard on their important and inspiring project! Their notice board in the school is always filled with interesting and useful tips for all.

 

Transition year trip to Killary Adventure Centre

At the end of March, sixty-nine St. Kilian's TY students enjoyed a fabulous three day trip to Killary Adventure Centre, Leenane Co. Galway. The students were accompanied by their Year Head, Mr Fitzpatrick, TY Coordinator, Mr Kelly, Ms Murray, Ms Ryan and Ms McGuinness.

The students took part in water and land based activities including the infamous "Turf Challenge", the centre piece of the RTE programme, "Ireland's Fittest Family", which was filmed in Killary late last year. Other activities that the students tried were the giant swing, the rope bridge, kayaking, gorge walking and the trapeze swing. They went on a long trek at night and had a table quiz and other games to keep them busy and entertained in the evenings.

The students thoroughly enjoyed the trip and their behaviour and good humour was exemplary. Everyone commented that it was the high point of the year so far, as it proved to be a great bonding and fun experience for everyone concerned. 

 

Thanks to the excellent staff at Killary Adventure Centre and to the teachers, who excelled by getting ‘down and dirty’ trying many of the difficult challenges themselves.

Well done to Mr. Kelly for organising such a wonderfully rewarding and enjoyable trip for our 4^th years. They really had a fantastic time!

Green Schools Committee Update

On Wednesday 26th of April, all 4th years and 6LCA were involved in a litter pick around the Ballywaltrim area. This was organised as part of a National Spring Clean day, designed to get the whole community aware of litter in their area, and contributing to the clean-up. Students collected rubbish and litter along School's Road, the playground and around the pitches. Many thanks to the students for being so enthusiastic throughout the morning, and to the Green Schools Committee for co-ordinating and organising the event. 

Sci-Fest Competition
On Tuesday, May 9^th, twenty students accompanied by their teachers, Ms Ryan and Ms Watson, attended the Sci-Fest competition in I.T. Tallaght. A broad range of projects had been entered, and everyone who took part was brilliant. There was a major success on the day - Ben Rowsome (4th Year) won Best Overall Space Project in the 'Discover Space Award' category, with his project titled 'Time Dilation at Terrestrial Speeds'.
As well as presenting their projects and answering questions, the students had a chance to attend 2 lectures on the day. One lecture was about Space and after the second lecture they attended, students had an opportunity to ask questions about careers in STEM.
We all enjoyed the day and can't wait to attend next year. Many thanks to Ms. Ryan and Ms. Watson.

2nd Year trip to the National Gallery of Ireland and the Science Gallery in Trinity College.

As part of their Numeracy project, Class 2V planned and went on a trip to Dublin. They did a fantastic job, choosing appropriate bus and train times which ensured they could have the maximum possible time in Dublin. While in Dublin, they took the opportunity to visit the National Gallery of Ireland to see a painting by Megan O’Daly, one of our 6th year students. They had lunch in Trinity College followed by a run around the cricket pitches. Then the last stop was the Science Gallery to see the “Humans Need Not Apply” exhibition. Thanks to their Maths teacher, Ms. Flynn.

National Gallery Award

Congratulations to 6^th Year student, Megan O’Daly, whose entry for the National Gallery of Ireland “Imagining the Ireland of 2016” was one of only 38 entries from all over Ireland, to be selected and exhibited at the National Gallery during April and May of 2017. We are all very proud of Megan – particularly her Art Teacher Ms. Hume. Very well done Megan on your wonderfully inclusive Poster on gender and marriage equality in the Ireland of today – which can still be seen in the gallery, if you hurry!!!

 

 

April 6^th 2017

St Kilian’s Community School Music News

At any time of the day or evening, St. Kilian’s rings with all sorts of wonderful musical pursuits inspired by our inventive and energetic Music teacher Ms Louise O’Sullivan. Ms O’Sullivan has been inspiring our students and their Mums to get involved in all aspects Music since she took over from our last great Music teacher – the very well-known  choir master, composer and musician, Mr Frank Kelly. Thanks to Ms O’Sullivan’s fantastically interesting and innovative ideas about music,  our students are loving the opportunities that she creates for them to perform, and are very involved in all the extra-curricular musical events that are planned for them. Well done all – particularly Ms O’Sullivan.

Wesley College Inter-Schools Music Competition

The school’s new band ‘Upon Experiment’ performed at the Over-15 Rock Band category at the Wesley competition on Saturday, March 4^th.  The band is comprised of students from Transition and Fifth Year:  Nathan Flanagan, Hannah Larkin, Emily Montague, Ben Rowsome, Luke Windsor and Christian Wang.  The band formed as a consequence of work with their Music Generation tutor, Rama.  It was a big challenge for the students to perform after so little time together as a group.  Their performance of Green Day’s ’21 Guns’ was energetic, lively, and they looked very relaxed as they played.  The adjudicators were impressed by their performance and they received very positive and constructive comments.

Emmanuel

19 students attended the annual music event for schools organised by the Archdiocese of Dublin.  Our students attended practices over lunchtimes and after school in preparation for the event.  There were over 500 students from 20 schools performing the same repertoire together with a full band and a packed house on Monday, March 6^th.  Well done to the students involved.

Mums Aloud

Or maybe it’s ‘Mums Allowed’ to let their hair down and enjoy a bit of fun and music-making.  These are the Mammies who are taking the opportunity to do some ukelele, drums or keyboard and are set to be the next great internet sensation!  They are a fantastic group of enthusiastic women who are enjoying music-making.

Music Week

St Kilian’s CS will have its first Music Week in the second week of May.  There will be a wide range of events, including performances from a range of well-known guests. Those who can’t sing a note can take part in a Lip-Sync battle with one another;  everyone can mime! For those who want to learn an instrument, we’re giving them the opportunity to have a taster session.  And we are having a song contest - already some very talented students are quietly composing songs under the radar. The full programme of events will be available closer to the time.  

Visit by international Comic Book artist, Aidan Courtney

On Wednesday March 8^th, comic book artist Aidan Courtney visited St Kilian’s Library to work with students as part of the Seachtain ne Gaeilge celebrations. Aidan has had his work published internationally and is the founder of Comicí Gael, an Irish language comics publisher.

Brainstorming ‘as Gaeilge’ with 2^nd and 3^rd Year students, Aidan demonstrated simple illustration techniques to produce quality comic books with each group. Aidan was full of praise for the talent on show and encouraged anyone with an interest to not only draw, but also to submit work. Perhaps a career in illustration awaits some of our students?

Many thanks to our librarian, Chris Stokes, and to Roinn na Gaeilge.

 
Young Social Innovators Update
On March 21^st, our young social innovators took part in the National ‘Speak-out’, in the RDS, Dublin. The team’s project focussed on youth mental health, with a title ‘Blue Doesn’t Suit You’. Our students had to present their project on stage in front of hundreds of students and teachers as well as the judges. They were very professional and represented St. Kilian’s to the highest standard. Now they just have to wait for feedback, to see if they will be invited to the final in May.

We wish them and their teacher Ms. Brophy, the very very best of luck – they have worked so hard on their important and inspiring project. Their notice board in the school is always filled with interesting and useful tips for everyone.

 

Transition Year trip to Killary Adventure Centre

At the end of March, seventy St. Kilian's TY students enjoyed a fabulous three-day trip to Killary Adventure Centre in Leenane, County Galway. The students were accompanied by their Year Head, Mr Fitzpatrick, TY Coordinator, Mr Kelly, Ms Murray, Ms Ryan and Ms McGuinness.

The students took part in water and land-based activities including the infamous "Turf Challenge", the centre piece of the RTE programme, "Ireland's Fittest Family", which was filmed in Killary late last year. Other activities that the students tried were the giant swing, the rope bridge, kayaking, gorge walking and the trapeze swing. They went on a long trek at night and had a table quiz and other games to keep them busy and entertained in the evenings.

The students thoroughly enjoyed the trip and their behaviour and good humour was exemplary. Everyone commented that it was the high point of the year so far, as it proved to be a great bonding and fun experience for everyone concerned. 

Thanks to the excellent staff at Killary Adventure Centre and to the teachers, who excelled by getting ‘down and dirty’ trying many of the difficult challenges themselves.

Well done Mr. Kelly for organising such a wonderfully rewarding and enjoyable trip for our 4^th Years. They really had a fantastic time!

 

February 17^th 2017

Green School Initiatives in St. Kilian’s

On Friday, February 17^th, two 4th year Geography classes and some selected Green School committee members attended a SEAI Workshop about renewable energy and gas effects. The students were accompanied by Ms. Ryan and Ms. Lawlor. The workshop was organised by Mr. Donohoe, to help St. Kilian’s work towards our next flag for Energy.

The workshop started by making students aware that the small things you do each day might consume a lot of energy - for example, making tea. Students had thought that all you needed was the energy required to boil the kettle, but had not considered the energy used in teabag production and transport of the tea. It made the students more aware of hidden energy uses.

Students were given an icebreaker task where they had half a sentence about energy but needed to find the other half to complete it. The students learned a lot of energy facts from these sentences.

In the third part of the workshop, students split into groups and were given different countries and then had to prepare a presentation about which renewable energy source would be best for that country. They had to discuss positives and negatives and could quiz other groups.

It was a very enjoyable morning and the students gained a lot of useful information about renewable energy.

A big thank you to Mr. Donohoe for all his hard work organizing the Green School activities, and to Ms. Lawlor and Ms. Ryan.

 

Busy Research in both our Maths and Science Departments

 

John Hooper Statistics Competition, Central Statistics Office:

Maths teacher, Ms. Aoife Kelly tells us that the Transition Years in St. Kilian's have been working hard on their entries for the John Hooper Statistics Competition, organised by the Central Statistics Office. They have been researching topics such as: Does music help you study? What kind of a school journal does today's technology era student need? Is there a link between anxiety levels and performing well in school tests? Do Junior Certificate students want their learning to be assessed differently?

Posters will be made to present the findings and submitted at the end of February. We wish them all the best in the final stages of their research. Thank you to Ms. Kelly for facilitating this enriching project.

 

Visit to I WISH 2017 Conference in the RDS:

I WISH is an initiative to inspire, encourage and motivate young female students to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

Eighteen girls from 4th and 5th Year visited the I WISH 2017 Conference in the RDS, Dublin, on February 14^th. Kerri Keane and Ciara Kelly report:

“Firstly, we listened to some successful stories of females who worked in different STEM fields and then we moved on to an exhibition hall with different exhibits from different colleges and STEM companies such as 3D printing, DELL, Symantec, BioPharm and AIB.

After perusing the stands and asking plenty of questions, we ended the day by watching a robotic suit, which had been designed to act out a comedy skit and interact with the audience. We all enjoyed the conference, and learnt something useful for the future.”

A big thank you to Ms Ryan and Ms Lawlor for accompanying the students, and to Ms Casey and Ms Fitzpatrick in the Career Guidance Department for organising the trip.

Exciting activities in St. Kilian’s Library

On January 31^st, Caith Amach É (http://highrockproductions.ie/caith-amach-e/) visited St Kilian’s Library for a lively performance for our 5^th and 6^th Year students. The two actors that make up Caith Amach E presented a comic sketch show based on the 20 picture sequences used in the Leaving Cert Irish Oral examination. The show was accessible to all, using elements of slapstick comedy, puppetry, music and audience participation. 

With 40% of the Leaving Cert now being available through the oral component of the exam, this was a great way of promoting the language and having students think creatively about what they can do to not only pick up points but have fun with the language at the same time. Students came away entertained and inspired.

On 9^th Feb. 2017 Make Create Innovate (http://www.makecreateinnovate.ie/) ran a ‘Design and build a musical instrument workshop’ with a group of second year students.

This 2½ hour workshop looked at the fundamentals of electricity and conduction and how this can be used to create sounds. Students were introduced to MaKey MaKey, a simple circuit board than can be used to connect to and control a P.C via pretty much any object that can conduct electricity: think of an electric key board with bananas for keys or a drum made  with aluminium foil.

As always, our innovative librarian, Chris Stokes, plays host to fascinating and innovative activities in St. Kilian’s multifunctional library. 

Sponsorship by Morrissey’s Concrete:

On January 27^th, Brendan Doyle of Morrissey’s Concrete and Patrick Larkin  presented a set of teaching DVDs to the Construction Studies Department in St. Kilian’s.

Construction Studies teachers Mr. Paul Connolly, Mr. Brendan Fitzpatrick and Mr. Enda Forde were on hand to receive this most useful gift, and wish to express their gratitude for this kind donation. 

Multicultural Day

St. Kilian’s Community School, Ballywaltrim, Bray hosted its third annual Multicultural Day on Friday 27^th January 2017 and, as always, it was a hugely successful and enjoyable event. The day was a celebration of the diversity that exists both within the school community and, in broader terms, in 2017 Irish society.

Multicultural Day is a whole-school event, with teachers, parents and students all planning and working together during the preceding months to ensure the day’s success. The Student Council and Parents’ Association both play significant roles, with the Home School and Community Liaison Coordinator, Ms Siobhán Garvey, orchestrating and coordinating everyone’s ideas and efforts.

The centrepiece of the day is a major food fair, with students and their families preparing national dishes and delicacies from both far-flung countries and ones nearer to home. Many students wear traditional dress and face-painting is provided by Transition Year students. The school is decorated with national flags and displays representing the thirty different nationalities of the school’s students.

Each year there are presentations and workshops focusing on cultural aspects of various countries. This year, a member of the teaching staff, Ms Aderonke Arogundade, a native of Nigeria, hosted hugely interesting and entertaining workshops about the marriage customs of the Yoruba people. Her student helpers, wearing traditional dress, gave demonstrations of African drumming and everyone took part in African games. Other workshops included one on the Japanese kimono, led by parent, Ms Yumiko Wilde, and a group of her Japanese friends. Students had an opportunity to learn about the different types of kimono and to wear the yukata, a casual summer kimono worn by young women.

There was an international-themed concert in the canteen at lunchtime, which brought proceedings to a close for this year. Multicultural Day has earned a special place in the St Kilian’s CS school calendar. It is an extraordinary day in how the celebration of the differences that exist between the thirty nationalities at our school serve only to bring us ever closer as a community.

 

‘Living for Sport’

On January 24th, nineteen students from St Kilian's Community School, Ballywaltrim, Bray attended the Sky Sports 'Living for Sport' Academy Day at Ireland's new National Sports Campus in Blanchardstown. The event was part of the schedule for the opening week of this magnificent facility. The students representing St Kilian's were chosen for their sporting prowess and achievements, not only at club and school level but, in many cases, on national and international stages.

 

On the day, students took part in a wide range of activities, where they were mentored and coached by a host of well-known sports stars. These included Aoife McDermott (Basketball), Jessie Barr (Athletics), Jenny Murphy (Rugby), Brian Gregan (Athletics) and Darren O'Neill (Boxing). GAA sports were represented by household names such as Christy Toye (Donegal), Noel McGrath (Tipperary), Darran O'Sullivan (Kerry) and Anna Geary (Cork). The Sky Sports Ambassador for the day was Ireland rugby legend, Gordon D'arcy, assisted by British sprinting great, Darren Campbell.

 

Activities included Athletics, Basketball, Rugby, Camogie, Taekwondo, Gaelic Football, Hurling and Boxing. The students, and accompanying teachers Ms Ryan and Mr Duggan, felt privileged not only to meet so many of Ireland's sporting greats, but to be able to use such a wonderful facility during its inaugural week. They had a fantastic time!

 

Senior Girls Football

Our Senior Girls’ football team, made up of students from 1^st to 6th Year, has ‘come on’ in leaps and bounds this year. We have played 3 matches and improved in each one.

In our first match we played St. Mary's College Arklow and were defeated. In our second match against Gaelcholáiste na Mara we came back with a fighting attitude and scored our first goal of the season when our amazing goalie Katie Fitzpatrick came out field for the last few minutes and scored a beautiful goal. Our third match we narrowly lost to Coláiste Chill Mhantáin but we had Ava Treacy make her scoring debut. With most of the team still here next year, including our dedicated captain Georgia Browne, we are looking forward to seeing how things will develop then.

Well done to everyone this year, and a big thank you to their coach Ms. Ryan.

 

February 6th 2017

Multi-Cultural Day

St. Kilian’s hosted a hugely successful multi-cultural day on Friday 27^th January 2017. The whole school community embraced the celebration of our diverse school community. We counted over 30 different nationalities currently attending St. Kilian’s. Everyone in the school had an opportunity to taste food from a wide variety of different countries. There was music in the canteen at lunchtime facilitated by Ms Louise O’Sullivan (Music Teacher) and TY students, face painting by TY students, a fantastic display of African games and culture by Ms Ronke Arogundade (French Teacher) in the library, Japanese cultural workshops in room 41, and a variety of different multicultural classroom activities by subject teachers. The school was colourfully decorated with international flags, bunting, and over 30 display boards representing all the different countries. A number of International parents volunteered on the day, preparing food stalls with foods from different countries, and also some displays of traditional items or clothing from their countries.  Many student and parents arrived on the day wearing colourful traditional dress, which added to the cultural atmosphere in the school. Many teachers and the Parents Association were involved in the organisation of the day. It really was a whole school success!!

Particular thanks must go to Ms. Garvey who puts months of work into the planning and organisation of this wonderfully successful now annual event in St. Kilians.

 

‘Living for Sport’

On the 24th of January 19 students from St Kilian's Community School attended Sky Sports 'Living for Sport' academy day at the National Sports Campus in Blanchardstown.

On that day, students took part in a number of different activities hosted by different sports stars. The special guests included Irish rugby legend Gordon D'arcy.

Activities that the students took part in included Athletics, Basketball, Boxing, Camogie, Gaelic Football, Hurling, Kick-boxing, Rugby and Taekwondo. At Basketball the students learnt new skills on the court, with an emphasis on communicating. They also heard stories from Aoife McDermott about how she had had to break down barriers to get to where she is today. At the G.A.A. skills session, students learnt about working as a team and got to practice their skills. The students also got to work with Dermot Gascoyne to improve their boxing skills. They enjoyed getting tips from a former pro-boxer.

The students thoroughly enjoyed their day from start to finish and even got to have a kick about with Donegal legend,Christie Toye, at lunchtime.

A big thank you to Ms. Ryan for organising this wonderful opportunity.

 

Senior Girls Football

Our Senior Girls' football team, made up of students from 1st-6th year, has ‘come on’ in leaps and bounds this year. We have played 3 matches and improved in each one.

In our first match we played St. Mary's College Arklow and were defeated. In our second match against Gaelcholaiste na Mara we came back with a fighting attitude and scored our first goal of the season when our amazing goalie Katie Fitzpatrick came out field for the last few minutes and scored a beautiful goal. Our third match we narrowly lost to Colaiste Chill Mhantain but we had Ava Treacy make her scoring debut. With most of the team still here next year, including our dedicated captain Georgia Browne, we are looking forward to seeing how things will develop then.

Well done to everyone this year, and a big thank you to their coach Ms. Ryan.

January 23^rd 2017

Trinity Access Programme

Congratulations to Mayling Chong and Mikolaj Piotrowski,  two of St. Kilian’s Community School  2016 Leaving Certificate students who have won places on the Trinity Access Programme. These are highly coveted places on the Science access programme which only admits 25 students per year. Students are chosen,  after a lengthy application process and an in-depth interview;  from schools all over the country. After completion of this course, Mayling and Mikolaj will be eligible to compete for one of the highly sought after degree courses in Trinity. Well done to both these students on beating many hundreds of other students to secure their places on this course. And of course congratulations to all the staff and management in St. Kilian’s for their continued hard work and support of our students, in particular thanks go to our very motivating and energetic career guidance team Ms. Fitzpatrick and Ms. Casey.

We wish Mayling and Mikolaj much success in the future

Poetry Slam

In early December, St Kilian's TY students took part in a poetry slam workshop, held in the school library. It was an experience the students will never forget, as it was a new and exciting way to learn about poetry. Students also learned that the most important thing about poetry is that it is a really effective way to express your deepest thoughts and emotions.

Stephen Murray, who ran the workshop, brainstormed ideas for new poetry with the students. To get things going, students came up with a list of things they felt strongly about.

Everyone really enjoyed the workshop, as Stephen was energetic, enthusiastic and really funny. The students would have liked more time to craft their original poems, as some felt that one class period was not long enough.

A big ‘thank you’ to Stephen for a really enjoyable experience, to Ms Kavanagh for organising such a worthwhile event, also to Ms. Fox and to Chris Stokes, our innovative librarian for hosting.

This piece was written students in class 4C 

Young Social Innovators (YSI)

The St. Kilian’s Young Social Innovators are doing trojan work on their mental health project, titled “Blue Doesn’t Suit You!”

On December 9^th, they hosted Lara from ‘Living Life’, Bray who gave them an insight into the amazing work that this organisation does.

On December 15^th, the team attended the Bray branch of Bank of Ireland and displayed their project to the community, while raising money and awareness for both ‘Be Well Bray’ and ‘Living Life’. They hope to repeat this in the new year.

On Friday, January 13^th, the TY Young Social Innovators had a very important meeting with Minister for Health Simon Harris. He took time out of his very busy schedule to come and talk to them about their project on promoting positive mental health in the school.

He was very helpful and has invited the team to the Department of Health to make their proposal to himself and to the Minister of State for Mental Health, Helen McEntee. The students are very much looking forward to this.

 Many thanks to all the people who supported them so far on their journey as Young Social Innovators, in particular to Ms. Brophy who is tireless in her pursuit of wonderful ‘healthful’ ideas for her students.

Dogs Trust

6LCA went on a trip to the Dogs Trust on Tuesday, January 17^th as part of their Social Education course. One student is doing his project on Animal Welfare and so they all decided to pay a visit to the Dogs Trust to learn about what exactly happens there.

The students had a wonderful time and learned a lot about the valuable work they do in places like Dogs Trust.

Thanks again to Ms. Brophy and to the Dogs Trust.

 

1^st Year Boys’ Football

St Kilian’s CS  4

St. Laurence College  5

 

The first game for the 1^st Year Boys’ soccer team proved to be an epic! Unfortunately, they were to lose this match by a single goal but walked off the pitch with their heads held high.

Both teams played a very attacking style of football and should be commended for their efforts. It only took 10 minutes for the first goal, which St Laurence’s scored and they followed that up shortly after with a second. Even going two goals down so early, St Kilian’s were playing fantastic football and had created a number of chances – these fell to different players including Conor Fullerton, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Gergo Kabai. At this point, St Kilian’s really started to put the pressure on and it eventually paid off for Josh Mc Glone, who scored our first goal just before half time. St. Kilian’s would have been happy to see this score line out to half time but St. Laurence’s got their third after Owen Tobin saved a long range effort, but the St Laurence's striker reacted quicker than the St Kilian’s defence to tap the ball home. It finished 3 -1 to St Laurence’s at the break.

The St. Kilian’s players knew they were going to have to give it their all in the second half if they were going to get back into this match and this they did! Within 2 minutes of the start, Paddy Moorehouse finished brilliantly after Gergo Kabai’s header was cleared off the line. This was then followed up by a wonderful individual run from mid-field by Ryan Fitzpatrick, who stroked the ball coolly into the bottom right, making it 3-3. At this point, St Kilian’s were on top and dominating but a misplaced pass in defence gave the St. Laurence’s striker the chance to take the lead, which he did. This hurt St. Kilian’s confidence and they conceded another goal shortly after. For the last 10 minutes St. Kilian’s again took over! Josh Mc Glone had a shot cleared off the line and Paddy Moorehouse shot centimetres wide. Ryan Fitzpatrick went on another amazing run and once again produced a stunning goal.  St. Laurence’s were holding on by the skin of their teeth. In the dying moments, St Kilian’s captain, Josh Mc Glone worked his way into the box and managed to hit the right post with a great left foot shoot. Sadly, this was the last effort for St. Kilian’s on goal.

The St Kilian’s defence made up by Daniel Browne, Tadgh Allen, Seamus Browne O Reilly and Ronan Carney can be very happy with their efforts. They chased everything down and tackled extremely well. The two wingers, Tariq Fitzpatrick and Conor Fullerton, worked tirelessly through the match and put in a great shift. Hopefully, the team will learn a lot from their first match and bring this positive attitude into their league campaign, which will start in the New Year. 

Very well down to all involved – it sounds like a very exciting match! And well done to Mr. Donohoe for mentoring the boys and for his exciting write-up!

 

Under-15 Boys’ Football

St Kilian’s CS   5

Gaelcholáiste na Mara   1

St Kilian's U-15’s produced a superb performance to beat Cholaiste na Mara, and reach the final of the Wicklow/Wexford League. Facing the same team that put them out of the Leinster Cup on penalties, St Kilian's had revenge on their minds and they got it!

After a very cautious opening 15 minutes, St. Kilians's hit first gear and in the space of six minutes scored three goals. Two of these were scored by Adam Byrne, the first a beautifully struck free kick from the edge of the box and the other coming from a corner, which he headed home very bravely. Kyle O Connor scored the second after great work by Ryan Stafford picking out Adam Byrne who crossed brilliantly for Kyle to head home. St Kilian's fourth goal was scored by Davy Berry. Another great cross and header produced an outstanding save from the keeper, but Davy Berry was there to follow up the rebound. Coláiste na Mara gave themselves a lifeline just before half time to score with a well-worked move.

St Kilian's went out at the start of the second half with the aim of scoring first, and they succeeded in doing this after only 3 minutes. Matthew Tyndall's long range effort was pushed on to the crossbar by the keeper but like any good striker, Adam Byrne reacted quickest and was there to score and get his first hat-trick for his school. From that point on, St. Kilian's controlled the match and showed great maturity in their performance. It allowed Mr. Donohoe to make a lot of substitutions and give other players some valuable game time. Mr. Donohoe was extremely happy with the defensive display from his team, starting with Tomás O’Connor in nets, who was always there when called upon. The back line of Jake McMahon, Dylan O’Hagan, Sergiu Lupes and Mark Byrne were very impressive. Hopefully, they can produce the same performance in the final. Well done to the team and the very best of luck in the final.

 

Another very exciting write-up from Mr. Donohoe, and very well done to the boys who put in such a fantastic performance.

6^th Year Chemistry Visit to DCU

Early in January, Ms Lawlor's 6th Year Chemistry class travelled to DCU to complete a number of Organic experiments in the undergraduate labs. This was a great opportunity for the students to work in a university environment and complete mandatory experiments for their upcoming exams. A great time was had by all, and I’m sure many were inspired to take their Chemistry studies to the next level.

Thank you to Ms. Lawlor for organising such an inspiring and worthwhile outing for her students.

Transition Year Update

On Thursday, January 19^th, St. Kilian’s TY students enjoyed a full activity day. A large group went to North Dublin to GoQuest, which is an indoor adventure centre. Teams of five were formed and students had to work together to solve many physical and mental challenges. Everyone enjoyed this activity, including the year head, Mr Fitzpatrick, who accompanied the students on the day.

Another large group went to Wicklow to visit Wicklow Gaol, followed by a session of ten-pin bowling. These activities were enjoyed by everyone and thanks to Ms Watson for accompanying this group.

Finally, twelve girls stayed in school to do a Beauty, Cleansing and Nails course facilitated by BIFE. The girls were shown many different beauty techniques and had their faces beautifully made up and their nails manicured. All the participants had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

The second period of TY Work Experience is to take place from February 6^th -10^th inclusive. Thanks to all the local businesses and shops for facilitating our students with work experience. This is much appreciated by St. Kilian's CS.

 Our Transition Year students are loving all the wonderful activities organised for them this year by Mr. Kelly the TY Co-ordinator, so a big thank-you to him also.

 

November 12^th 2016

Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA)

Great work is being carried out in St. Kilian’s, at present, by Ms. Brophy and our Leaving Certificate Applied student. 6LCA are currently undertaking their Social Education task and as part of this task, the class have been carrying out a number of different actions.

The first action was on Thursday 20th October, when eight of our 6LCA students spent the day bag packing in Tesco where they raised over €700 for AWARE.

On 28th October, our 6LCA students hosted the Cheerios Childline Breakfast for all LCA students. They raised €50 for Childline.

Another student in 6LCA is organising a collection for the WH Five Loaves. All non-perishable food items and toiletries will be greatly appreciated and suitable donations can be dropped in to the school to Ms. Brophy. These donations will be of great help to the homeless people here in Bray. 

Thank you to Ms. Brophy for her efforts, vision and enthusiasm.

 

1st Year Gaelic Football

St Kilian's               4 - 6

Blessington CC      6 - 8

St Kilian's 1st Year Boys faced a very strong Blessington team and unfortunately came up a little short. After the long journey across Wicklow, St Kilian's found it very hard to get going in the first half. Playing into a stiff breeze, the forwards struggled to get enough of the ball, in dangerous areas, to make it count, and found themselves 14 points behind at half time.

The 2nd half was a totally different scenario. St Kilian's played as a team, and they passed brilliantly throughout this half. By the end of the game, they had scored 4 goals and 6 points, a brilliant return!

The scorers were Jake Doyle who got 3 -2 from midfield, Josh McGlone with 3 points, Tomas O Connor 1 point and Connor Fullerton 1 goal.

A big thank you to Mr. Donohoe, who was a great inspiration to the team at half time, exhorting them to go out and play with pride and passion, which they did! Mr. Donohoe and all in St. Kilian’s are very proud of the team, and Mr. Donohoe wants them to know that they should also be very proud of their efforts.

Well done to all, and congratulations to Blessington from St. Kilian’s.

 

October 21^st 2016

Project Maths Roadshow

The Project Maths Roadshow arrived in St. Kilian’s on Tuesday 11^th October 2016 and the First Year students had great fun!

The students were involved in a series of math challenges, which tested their maths and problem-solving skills. All the challenges were ‘hands on’ and students got the opportunity to use lots of specialised equipment including clinometers, trundle wheels, pedometers, and lasers. The students all enjoyed working in groups and loved learning maths outside the normal classroom situation.

Thanks to Ms. Flynn for organising, and to all the Maths teachers in St. Kilian’s for facilitating this wonderful experience for our 1^st years.

 

1st Year Gaelic Football

St. Kilian’s CS                 7 -7

Woodbrook College        1 -0

St. Kilian’s 1st Year Boys got off to a fantastic start this season by beating their Bray rivals Woodbrook College (formerly St Brendan’s) in a very convincing fashion.

From the start of the match to the end, St Kilian’s were outstanding in all areas of the game. There were some excellent performances from the St Kilian’s forwards in particular Josh McGlone scoring 2-3, and Paddy Moorehouse (2-1). In defence, Tadgh Allen, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Joseph Kelly were first to the ball and tackled brilliantly throughout the game. At mid-field, Tomás O’Connor and Jake Doyle worked tirelessly from start to finish and both managed to get on the score sheet, Tomas scoring 1-1 and Jake getting a point.

The other scorers were Shay O Reilly 1-0, Ryan Fitzpatrick 1-0 and Ben Fitzgerald 0-1. In goals both Ciarán Mangan and Owen Tobin played very well, pulling off a number of great saves. Mr. Donohoe is extremely happy with the team’s first performance and is looking forward to many more good days out with these 1st Year students. Their next match will be against Blessington CC in the coming weeks. Well done to all who participated and keep up the good work.

A big thank-you to Mr. Donohoe for his ongoing commitment and endless enthusiasm when training our lads.

 

Newest Green Schools Initiative

St. Kilian’s Green Schools Committee, have just commenced their journey towards achieving the school’s second Green Flag, this year under the theme of Energy.

Over the coming weeks, the students will be carrying out an energy survey in the school and monitoring the school’s consumption of all types of energy.

The committee members are hoping that over the next two school years, they will make students, all members of staff and even the wider school community more aware and conscious about the wise use of energy and in this way help reduce the amounts of energy used in the school.

 The Committee are showing the same commitment and hard work that they put in last year towards increasing recycling in the school and improving the attitude towards litter.

Already, they have been working with our new First Years - showing them what waste should be deposited in the different bins located around the school.

Other initiatives, like the school ‘WORMERY’ will also continue. Decomposed material, which is highly fertile is added to the school flower beds regularly. This is a wonderfully simple idea, which is leading to less rubbish going to landfill dumps from our school and we are very proud of this!

Well done to the committee for their achievements to date and the best of luck with all your admirable future goals.

Mr. Donohoe is a ‘whirl wind’ of enthusiasm and inspiration in all the projects he initiates and tirelessly supervises, so a huge word of thanks to him for his bottomless good humor and wonderful ideas. 

 

Bray Drugs Awareness Art Competition

Well done to Nikola Cupial and Oisín Treacy Coster who were winners in the under-14 category of the Bray Drugs Awareness Art Competition, and thank you to their teacher Ms. Murray.

This year there were 500 entries from schools and groups in Bray, and the quality of entries was exceptional and judges had a very difficult task selecting from the entries. 

 The overall winner of the competition, and winners of best art work, best message and highly commended prizes will be announced at the official prize giving ceremony on the November 9^th, at 1.00pm in the Royal Hotel, Bray.  Thank you to Clay and Frieda of BDA for organising this most worthwhile project.

 ZIPIT

On Tuesday, 9^th October, 43 TY students visited ZIPIT in the Dublin Mountains. They spent the day expending copious amounts of energy, swinging through the tops of trees and across a series of suspended assault courses. A really wonderful day was had by all.

A big thank-you to Ms. Sarah Watson for organising and who has wonderful photographs of the day’s exciting activities.

 

Young Social Innovators

Transition Year Young Social Innovators are up and running already, and this year they have chosen "Mental Health" as their topic. They are focusing on promoting positive mental health in school and in the community.

Already, they have had visits from Imelda McHugh of St. Patrick’s Hospital and Dermot O'Brien from Be Well. Both talks were very beneficial and helpful for the students with their project.

They have developed their own wellness wall and it will display a different contributing factor to our mental health every few weeks. We are currently focusing on what mental health is and what YSI involves.

Focus areas will include exam stress, sleep, nutrition, exercise and many more topics throughout the year.

Please like and share our Facebook page, Blue Doesn't Suit You!

A big thank you to Ms. Tracy Brophy for this wonderful initiative, and to her group of Young Social Innovators.

 

October 9^th 2016

New Academic Year School Mass

On Tuesday 13th September, 2016, the entire school community from St. Kilian's came together in St. Fergal's Church, Ballywaltrim, to celebrate the opening of our school year with mass. Fr. Larry Behan, P.P. presided.

The school choir led the singing, under the direction of Ms. Louise O'Sullivan. The congregation was welcomed to the celebration of the mass by Tia Kenna, Head Girl. The homily was given by Ms. Roseanne Sinnott, Chaplain, explaining the importance of kindness in all of our lives.

St. Kilian's places great stock in the warmth of its welcome to all, especially our new students so our 1st years stood for a formal blessing

from Fr. Larry. Earlier in the service, they had presented their class shields, placing these around the school crest, which was carried in procession by Brady Yeoh, Head Boy.

The readings were read by Alan Acres, Deputy Head Boy; the psalm was sung by Anthony O'Brien and Taylor Flood, accompanied by Ms. O'Sullivan. Additional music was provided by Ms. Laura O'Shea and St. Kilian's traditional music group.

The students walked to church, taking up their assigned places.

Several members of the staff assisted in their role as Eucharistic Ministers, which enabled the distribution of communion to be reflective and solemn.

After the final blessing from Fr. Larry, Mr John Murphy, Principal, addressed the congregation.

It was a wonderful mass, made special by the contributions of all present and their sharing of their many talents. We have so much to be thankful for as we embark on another year of academic achievement and sporting excellence. We wish all of our students, their families and the staff and management at St. Kilian's every grace and blessing on this journey.

Trip to Lourdes

From the 7^th to the 12th September, five students and one Teacher from St. Kilian's went on pilgrimage to Lourdes as part of the Dublin Diocesan Pilgrimage. Their task was to mind 176 pilgrims from Arklow to Balbriggan. North Wicklow was well represented on this pilgrimage, with groups from Arklow, Holy Redeemer and Queen of Peace parishes, Bray.

The five students representing St Kilian's were chosen after a rigorous selection process, which took into account their performance in the school, a written application and a formal interview.

The calibre of candidates was extremely high and the available spaces could have been filled several times over several times over.

The Five students selected were Saoirse Kane, Yasmin Keogh, Niamh Devlin, Aislinn De Barra and Chloe Kehoe.

During the 5 day pilgrimage, the students attended to the needs and wishes of the other pilgrims, organising sing songs, shopping expeditions, participating in the Church Services and candle light processions to the grotto. They made friendships and had great fun together, and said their few prayers. Letters are still being received from Pilgrims who appreciated their assistance in Lourdes.

We would like to thanks most sincerely everyone who helped to fund and support this initiative, so that five of our students could have this amazing opportunity to grow and share their energy and good humour with pilgrims from Wicklow and the rest of the diocese.

Fund raising was difficult, because no one wants to ask for cash when times are lean. Cake sales, sports day shop, a brilliant charity bag pack at Tesco, Bray, were very well supported, with current students, staff, former students and the wider community chipping in to reach the target.

A big thank you to all, particularly to the 5 girls, and Mr. Connolly their year head, who accompanied them.

Art Department News

5^th and 6^th year Art students at St. Kilian’s already have a busy schedule of visits arranged to assist them with their Art history LC paper.

On Tues. 27^th Oct. in wonderful weather, the 6^th years visited the magnificent Neolithic sites of Newgrange and Knowth where 2 excellent guides engaged with them on the mysteries of both! The students were fascinated and though tired, had a wonderful visit, which both they and their teachers thoroughly enjoyed.

Then back to the school for a very successful 6^th year parent teacher meeting organised by Mr. Connolly their year head.

All go at St. Kilian’s!    

Both 5^th and 6^th year Art students will visit the annual ‘Sculpture in Context’ exhibition in the Botanic gardens in Oct. where they will spend a wonderful day drawing and researching amongst the art pieces and the plants both in, and outside the stunning glass houses.

Then, to top it all in Nov. they will visit the ground-breaking Lucian Freud Art exhibition in IMMA and will take a look at the studio of Francis Bacon in the Hugh Lane gallery. Both of these artists are considered the ‘giants’ of the 20^th century.

Thanks to their art teachers, Ms. Hume and Ms. Murray

Junk Kouture

On Thursday the 6th of October Ms. Murray's transition year group, and a group of seven 2^nd Years from St Kilian's participated in a workshop in the Re-Create Studios in Ballymount. The transition years where very inspired by the workshop on how to turn unwanted waste materials into reusable objects. These students will be competing in this year Junk Kouture competition.

Junk Kouture is a national competition in which students create wearable designs made completely from recycled waste materials. This will be the third year that St. Kilian’s will enter the competition - having reached the regional final for the last two years running.

Both groups had a great time making a wearable accessory, and being inspired by the wonderful materials available to schools or individuals who become members of re-create. Their Junk Kouture designs for this years competition are well under way and will hopefully be completed by the January deadline.

Thanks to Ms. Murray for introducing this fantastic opportunity to St. Kilian’s 4^th years.

Evening Study

The very successful evening study has also recommenced in St. Kilian’s and is again this year very well subscribed. Students avail of the supervised facility, lasting 2 hours and with a much-appreciated break for tea and biscuits in the middle.

A huge word of thanks to Mr. Connolly who has been the instigator of this wonderful and very popular addition to the services provided by the school to the local community. He is always on the premises (with a kind smile for everyone), to assist his band of supervising teachers, and to control the heavy demand for the biscuits that he always kindly provides.

Many extra-curricular classes are already up and running after school in St. Kilian’s. Many evenings, a visitor might be forgiven for thinking that they were visiting the school in the middle of the day – there is so much evening activity around the place!

Library Activities in St. Kilian’s

St Kilian’s Library is always a busy and stimulating place under the expert guidance of our enthusiastic librarian Chris Stokes.

St. Kilian’s Paired Reading Program runs again this year and is organised by Home School Liaison Ms. Garvey. Parents volunteer to come in once a week and read with our first year students in the library. This helps the first years settle in and develop the reading habit.

 Our Book club meets once a month in the library to eat cake and talk about the months read – this month it was ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’.  Mixed opinions on the book, as it was written as a play and not a novel. However, students from all year groups agreed that the carrot cake was exceptional!

Thanks to Ms. Garvey and Mr. Stokes

Visit to the Ploughing

On Thursday 22nd September, A group of Ms. Whelan’s 4th and 5th year Home economics students travelled to the National Ploughing Championships in Screggan, Tullamore, Co Offaly.

They were blessed with great weather and a great gang of students and their teachers explored and enjoyed all things farming. Their focus was on the Irish food industry and the farm to fork traceability of our food. They enjoyed cookery demonstrations from Nevin McGuire and tasted lots of different foods including homemade organic cheese. They also watched sheep being sheared. A wonderful experience for our city dwellers!! 

A great day was had by all, so a big thank you to Susan, Mr. Donohoe and Ms. Whelan for organising the trip.

Kilruddery Estate Visit 

On Wednesday 21st September, Ms. Whelan and her 6th year Hotel Catering & Tourism class went on a tourist trail to Kilruddery House and Gardens. They enjoyed the beautiful walk through Kilruddery Gardens where they saw all the fruit trees and the vegetable patch - even the fresh herbs being picked for the coffee house! A great attraction for everyone was the pig enclosure where they spent time watching the sow feeding her 7 piglets!

Ms. Whelan would like to thank the staff in Kilruddery for their kindness and patience in answering all the questions. It was a thoroughly enjoyable trip.

A big thank-you to Ms. Whelan.

GPO Visit

Ms. Darcy brought Classes 3B and 3Z to the GPO museum in Dublin on Tuesday 20th September.  They enjoyed the 1916 exhibition greatly and found it very informative for their Junior Certificate History. The guides included lots of personal details, helping to bring the Rising to life for all, and the documentary was also excellent.

A big thank-you to Ms. Darcy.

 

May 12^th 2016

Sci-Fest

On Tuesday May 10th, 13 students from 2nd Year and 4th Year, along with their Science teachers, attended Sci-Fest in IT Tallaght. Sci-Fest is a one-day Science fair where students present their projects to judges, and also attend lectures and seminars on interesting Science news and career opportunities in STEM. This year, the students’ projects ranged across Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Biology, with experiments completed about such varied subjects as chicken nuggets, baking cakes, healthy eating, home advantage, tornados, listening to music, and paper aeroplanes!

Well done to Melinda Szabo, Ciara Campbell, Weronika Roszczak, Jordan de Sousa, Graham Kane, Dagmara Tomaszewska, Sophie Thomas, Germán Blasco Arroyo, Zoe Kelly, Niamh Leadbetter, Kalum Walsh, Jamie Gunning and Niamh Murray for getting involved, and thanks to all those who helped and participated in the projects. Thanks to Ms Lawlor and Ms Ryan for all their hard work and encouragement to the students.

Green School Awareness Day

On Tuesday 12th May, a Green School Awareness Day was organised by Mr Donohoe and the Green School Committee, to celebrate the school being recently awarded the green flag for litter and waste management. Art projects on the themes of waste management and effective recycling were displayed and judged by the students in a vote. An audio-visual display was shown to all the students about the work of the committee and many fun activities and games were also held to engage the students. In addition, this year's entries from the Junk Kouture competition were on display.

 Mr Donohoe spoke about his pride at the school being awarded the green flag and praised the work of his predecessor, Mr Lawless, and successive Green School Committees in St. Kilian's over the years. Great credit is due to the energy and dedication of everyone involved in making St. Kilian's a tidy and clean environment of which we can be proud. A fun-filled and informative day was had by all.  

Debating

Best wishes to the Senior Debating team of Josh O' Connell, Adelin Cojan, Barbara Krupinska and Patrycja Struzynska who take on Pres. Bray in the final of the Bray Lions' Club Debating competition on Monday 16th May. St. Kilian's are to oppose the motion that: " Climate Change is damaging Ireland's eco-system". The team and their mentors have been working hard to come up with cogent arguments on this challenging topic, and we wish them every success in the final.

Sports Day

The school’s annual sports day is due to take place on Wednesday, 18th May. Mr Conway has been busy organising the many athletic and fun events for the students and an enjoyable day is guaranteed for everyone who participates in any way. The sports day will culminate in the annual soccer match between the Sixth Year students and teachers. The Sixth Years have been victorious for the past two years, and the smart money is on the current crop of students to make it a hat-trick of victories over their " more experienced" opponents! This year, there will also be a rounders match between the Sixth Year girls and the female staff. So, a lot of pride and bragging rights are at stake between the students and staff in St. Kilian's. May the best teams win! Best of luck to everyone involved.

Practical and Oral State Exams

Best of luck to the Leaving, Junior and LCA students who are currently busy doing practical and oral examinations. The students and their teachers have worked hard in preparation for the exams and the best of luck to everyone involved.

Environmental Cleanup

Well done to the Fifth and TY students who did a cleanup of Bray beach and the areas surrounding St. Kilian's on Wednesday 11th May. The cleanup was organised by Mr Donohoe and it was a great success. Well done to everyone involved.

 

 

May 5^th 2016

Green for Go!!

Heartiest congratulations to Mr Donohoe and the Green School Committee! The school was presented with a Green Flag for litter and waste management in a ceremony held in Croke Park on Wednesday, 4th May. Mr Donohue attended the presentation ceremony along with four students from the Green School Committee - Leon O'Donoghue, Weronika Roszczak, Melinda Szabo and Dylan O' Toole.

The hard work and dedication of the committee over the past number of years in the school has finally been duly rewarded and great credit is due to everyone involved. A Green School inspection took place in the school last week and, on the basis of the Environmental Officer’s favourable report, the school was awarded its Green Flag. The flag will fly proudly outside the school to recognise this great achievement, and the challenge remains to keep up the high standards into the future.

Past Pupil’s Baking Workshop

Past pupil Jordan Mooney (L.C 2012), a graduate in Culinary Arts and a published feature writer in Food and Wine magazine, visited St. Kilian's on Wednesday, 4th May. Jordan did a demonstration and practical workshop on an innovative caramel cupcake recipe, some decorative icing and some creative chocolate designs. Classes 1V and 2Z attended the workshop, which was organised by Mrs Dodd. Everyone had a very enjoyable experience and we would like to thank Jordan for coming back to her alma mater to give us the benefit of her expertise. We wish her the best of luck in her career.

UCD Science Visit – 5^th Year Biology Classes

Recently, Mr Dunne's and Ms Watson's Fifth Year Biology classes went on an educational trip to UCD Veterinary School.  The group's first presentation was given by a past pupil of St. Kilian's, Dr. Daniel Crean (LC 1999). Dr. Crean works as an inflammation biologist in UCD and he facilitated the whole visit by organising various professors of science to talk to the students about their research and work in the college.

Professor Alan Baird spoke to the students about further education and how it differs from second level. He was an interesting speaker who addressed ethical issues such as genetic engineering and the use of animals in experiments.

Professor Catherine Godson, a researcher in diabetes, spoke to the students about her work. The students learned about the two types of diabetes and how the disease has recently become more common in younger individuals, due to stress and unhealthy lifestyles. She spoke about the increased dangers of strokes and heart disease, and how diabetes is treated by insulin.

The final speaker was Dr. Caitriona McEvoy, a nephrologist. Her presentation explained about lung disease and how lungs should appear black on an x-ray, signifying that there are full of oxygen and are healthy.

The St. Kilian's group were given a tour of the UCD campus and saw the 100-metre swimming pool in the state-of-the-art sports centre and some of the larger lecture theatres. Finally, the group was taken on a tour of the veterinary building and the students took part in an experiment involving urine testing, conducted by Dr. Crean.

The group thoroughly enjoyed the trip to UCD and found it to be an educational and inspiring experience. Hopefully, many of the group will return to UCD as third level students themselves in the near future!

Art Competition Success!

Megan O’Daly (5^th Year) has won the Leinster region of the Blackrock Education Centre’s 1916 poster contest. The title of the competition was as follows : “What will Ireland look like in 2016?” The competition was held to mark the centenary of the Easter Rising of 1916.

Megan’s work depicted two girls holding hands, while dressed in clothes of the early 20th century. In fact, one of the girls is wearing Countess Markievicz’s uniform on O’Connell Street in Dublin today. Around these two beautifully-painted girls is the phrase, “1916 Fought Together, 2016 Together Forever”. Megan's painting also included modern images from Dublin's cityscape such as The Spire, the statue of Jim Larkin and even a Dublin bus!

The work means a lot to Megan, as she feels that it represents the women in 1916 who got airbrushed out of history. Moreover, the painting depicts that the girls are together as a couple. She wanted to show that, since the recent legalisation on same-sex marriage in Ireland, we are now a proud, modern and progressive nation, largely thanks to the selfless struggle of men and women in 1916.

For winning such a prestigious competition, Megan's work will be displayed in the National Gallery. On being asked her feelings after her success, Megan simply replied, “I honestly feel so mind blown that my simple idea could go so far, let alone win, it’s such an honour.” 

Everyone in St. Kilian's echoes Megan's sentiments. Well done to her on her marvellous achievement.

 

5LCA Hotel and Catering Trip

On Thursday, 5th May, 5LCA enjoyed a beautiful three-course meal in the Martello Hotel on the Seafront in Bray as part of their Hotel and Catering module task. Ms Whelan and Ms Chow accompanied the class on the visit, which included a tour of the kitchen and a cookery demonstration. An enjoyable day was had by everyone.

March 28^th 2016

TY Litter Pick-Up

On Wednesday, 20th April, Class 4A carried out a tidy-up in the Ballywaltrim playground. The students got out to enjoy some beautiful sunshine and left the local playground in wonderful condition. Not only did the students tidy up the playground, but Schools Road was also left litter-free. Well done to all involved.

This will be followed up by a National Spring Cleaning Day on Thursday 28th April. Mr Lawless will organise the TY students to tidy up the local area. Best of luck.

Green Schools Inspection

St. Kilian's received its first Green Schools inspection on Tuesday, 26th April. The Green Schools Committee met with Mr Jim Callery, Environmental Officer with Wicklow County Council, to discuss the changes they have brought in to St Kilian's over the last 2 years with regard to litter and waste.

The Committee has recorded an approximately 25% reduction in waste going to landfill and a 30% increase in recycling. Their efforts have brought about changes in the daily habits of both students and staff and should be very proud of their work and achievements.

Special praise must be given to the sterling efforts of Mr Donohoe and his Green Schools Committee over the past two years. Let's hope that St. Kilian's reaped the benefits of their hard work and enthusiasm by raising a green flag in the very near future! A decision is due on this matter before the end of May. Fingers crossed everyone!

TY News

An activity day will take place for all TY students on Friday, 29th April. One group of students will be going to Baltinglass Adventure Centre and the rest of the students will be going to Dublin for a GPO tour, followed by the 1916 Freedom Tour around the city's historical landmarks.

On Thursday, 28th April, a short four-week course in dance for all the TY girls commenced. The aim of the class is to get everyone to participate in dance and enjoy the experience. Ruth from the Bray Sports' Promotion Unit is facilitating the course, and the TY girls are enjoying and participating enthusiastically in the hour-long weekly dance session.

On Thursday, 28th April, all the TY students and 5LCA took part in the annual "Spring Clean". All students were absented from class for two hours and made a thorough clean-up of the school surrounds as well as the Ballywaltrim recreational pitches and Schools Road area. The students did a marvellous job and must be commended for their efforts.

Visit of John Lonergan

On Monday, 25th April, the parents and 4th and 5th Year students from St. Kilian's were treated to very informative talks given by Mr John Lonergan, the former governor of Mountjoy Prison. Mr Lonergan spoke about his time as governor of the prison and his down-to-earth, anecdotal style of narration really engaged his listeners. He told them that over 20% of prisoners in the system had serious literacy problems, many more suffered from drug and alcohol issues but, above all, his humanity and compassion for both perpetrators and victims of crime was evident as he spoke at length about prison life.

Mr Lonergan lamented the fact that, after his tenure as governor of Mountjoy ended, the new governor ceased school visits to the prison. Mr Lonergan felt that school visit were a wonderful educational tool for young people about the perils of getting involved in crime and the harsh reality of prison life. Increased security demands within the prison led to the suspension of the school visits which he understood, but he regretted their suspension on such grounds.

He was a thoroughly engaging speaker who connected excellently with his audience. All at St Kilian's would like to thank him for sharing his vast experience with us.

Senior Debating

On Tuesday 10th May, St. Kilian's will debate against Presentation College Bray in the final of the Bray Lions' Club Debating Competition. The motion has not been received as yet, but we wish the team and their researchers the best of luck in the upcoming final.

 

April 21^st 2016

JUNIOR GIRLS' GAELIC FOOTBALL

Hard luck to the St Kilian's girls who were beaten by St David's Secondary School in the Wicklow B semi-final on Monday, 18th April. St Kilian's started brightly with Kerri Keane scoring some superb points and Charlie Doyle finding the back of the net early on. St David's lead by a goal after a very close first half. Unfortunately, St Kilian's failed to close the gap in the second half.

Credit most be given to Laura Byrne, Paris Flynn and Kayleigh Howick who, along with goalkeeper Katie Fitzpatrick, prevented some close scoring opportunities for St David's. This pushed the St David's girls to score some great points from midfield. St Kilian's fought to the end with great team work from Nicole Keogh, Jade O'Hagan and Tia McMahon. This resulted in Sophie Ward scoring a goal, which really lifted the girls' spirits.  Well done to the team for all their success throughout the year and in reaching the semi-final. Thanks to Ms O'Shea for all her hard work in training the team throughout the year.

Team: Katie Fitzpatrick, Paris Flynn, Laura Byrne, Jamie Curran, Mayking Chong, Kayleigh Howick, Holly Keogh, Kirsty Kelly, Charlie Doyle (1-1) Nicole Keogh, Jade O'Hagan, Tia McMahon, Sophie Curran, Kacie Gaule, Kerri Keane (0-4) Sophie Ward (1-0).

GAISCE WALK

From April 20th-22nd, 20 students from St. Kilian's participated in the annual Gaisce Walk. Eight students from Fifth Year were seeking their Silver Award and this necessitated a three-day walk with two overnight stays. Twelve Students from TY were aiming to achieve a Bronze Award and this meant a two-day walk with one overnight stay.

The route on Wednesday 20th took Mr Walsh and the eight Silver participants from Glenmalure to Lough Dan. On Thursday, the group were joined by the TY students, and they walked from Lough Dan to Knockree Hostel. On Friday, the walk concluded with all the students and their teachers walking from Knockree to Bray. Thankfully, the weather conditions were glorious on all three days of the walk, and this helped to keep everyone in high spirits throughout. At the conclusion of the long walk, everybody felt extremely tired and were aching from head to toe! Nevertheless, all those who took part felt a great sense of accomplishment at their achievements.

Thanks to the teachers who accompanied the students on the Gaisce Walk - Mr Walsh, Mr Lawless, Ms Lawlor and Ms Ryan. Well done to all the students concerned.

DUBLIN DIOCESAN LOURDES PILGRIMAGE

Well done to the five Fifth Year students who were recently selected to represent St. Kilian's on the Dublin Diocesan Lourdes Pilgrimage, which will take place in early September. The students are: Aislinn De Barra, Yasmin Keogh, Chloe Kehoe, Saoirse Kane and Niamh Devlin. Mr Connolly, their Year Head, will accompany the students to Lourdes.

The students are involved in a lot of fundraising activities for the trip. Best of luck to the students in their endeavours.

JUNIOR MATHS QUIZ

Best wishes to four students from Third Year: Ben Rowsome, Christian Wang, Alexandru Samson and Richard Sun who will represent St. Kilian's in the Wicklow Schools' Pi Maths Quiz on Friday, 22nd April. The students have been tutored by their teacher, Ms Lawlor and we hope that everyone is wearing their thinking caps on the night to solve all the challenging problems that they will certainly face! Best wishes to the team.

BRAY LIONS' CLUB DEBATING

St. Kilian's senior debating team of Josh O'Connell, Adelin Cojan, Barbara Krupinska and Patrycja Struzynska are eagerly awaiting the upcoming final of the Bray Lions' Club debating competition. After an excellent victory over Loreto Bray in the opening round, St. Kilian's progressed to the final as St. Brendan's were unfortunately able to field a team to face us in the semi-final. We are awaiting to see who our opponents will be in the final, which is to take place in early May. Best of luck to the team and to their mentors.

 

April 11^th 2016

POETRY WORKSHOP

On Monday 11th April, poet Colm Keegan visited St. Kilian's and gave poetry workshops to two classes - 1V and 2Z. Each class had a 90-minute workshop with Mr Keegan and students responded creatively and enthusiastically to what they learned.

The title of the workshop given was "The Vocabuladder". This workshop is particularly suitable for students who need extra scaffolded support in the area of vocabulary. Pictures are provided as prompts for the students to write a poem, and a bank of relevant vocabulary is also supplied. Each student in the class had to create a poem based on the visual and literary prompts that they were given, and the results were excellent, according to Mr Keegan.

Overall, this was an excellent learning experience for the students and they would like to thank Mr Stokes, the school librarian, for organising the visit of Mr Keegan.

ORAL & PRACTICAL EXAMS

The state oral and practical exams have commenced this week at St. Kilian's. The Leaving Certs are currently sitting their oral Irish exams while the Junior Certs are doing their Home Economics practicals. Over the next few weeks, orals and practicals will take place in a number of subjects for all the exam students. We would like to wish everyone the best of luck in these exams.

CSPE ACTION PROJECT

Mr Kelly's 2nd Year CSPE class will be going on a class trip to Sharpeshill Animal Sanctuary on Wednesday, April 27th. The class are currently writing up their action project on animal rights and a trip to the sanctuary is part of the "action" that students must complete to fully complete the project. In addition, the class have designed a lovely display shaped in the form of a giant Garfield the cat which will be put on display in the school in the near future. Class 2H have worked hard at the project and are looking forward enthusiastically to the trip to Sharpeshill next week. 

GRADUATION PREPARATIONS

Preparations are in full swing for the Leaving Cert graduation ceremony which is to take place on Thursday 26th May. The yearbook is gone to print and the RE teachers have done excellent work in designing and creating the class symbols with their respective classes. The colourful symbols are based on the four elements - earth, fire, air and water and the end results are sure to be both eye-catching and effective. Well done to Ms Murray for all her hard work in preparation for the ceremony, which is always a showcase night for the school towards the end of the final term.

EVENING MEETINGS FOR PARENTS

On Monday 18^th, April, there will be an evening meeting at 7pm for all the parents and guardians of the incoming TY and LCA students.

On Monday, 25th April, the parents and guardians of the incoming First Years are invited to attend a meeting in the school. This meeting also commences at 7pm. We expect a large turnout of parents and guardians on both evenings and we look forward to answering any queries about new courses or the new school environment at second level that may arise.

TY ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

Just before the Easter holidays, St Kilian's presented over 1500 school books to Michael Nugent, a Dublin-based solicitor who will be bringing these books to Zambia to help educate children in rural areas of this developing country.

Mr Connolly had the idea to gather old editions of school books and over the last few weeks. Mr Donohoe's 4th Year Environmental Studies class have been boxing them and getting them ready for collection.

We are delighted to be able to help facilitate this educational project and look forward to helping more in the future. Well done to all involved.

April 7th 2016

FIFTH YEAR HISTORICAL TRIP

On Tuesday 5th April, Ms. Murray's Fifth Year History class went to Dublin on a very enjoyable educational tour. The first port of call was the newly-opened GPO 1916 exhibition. This was very interactive, contained many visual displays and a short film presentation. The students found the sculpture in the courtyard dedicated to the 40 children who died in the Rising very moving. There was also a strong local connection with the focus on Elizabeth O' Farrell, a nurse from Bray, who was with Pádraig Pearse at the moment of surrender.

The class then walked up to Church Street and saw where the first child, Francis Forrester, was shot during the Rising. While there, the class visited St. Michan's Church and explored the crypts beneath the church. This was extremely interesting if a bit daunting as they saw bodies exposed in coffins which had become mummified over the years.

The next stop on the tour saw the group enter Collins' Barracks and on to Arbour Hill Cemetery. It was a great time to visit the cemetery to see the graves of the executed leaders of 1916, as the graves were adorned with state wreaths and flowers.

After a well-earned break for lunch, the class travelled up to Glasnevin Cemetery to take the Cemetery tour. The tour led the class to graves of significance of people associated with the struggle for freedom, as well as giving the history of the Cemetery itself. At 4 0' clock, the group were lucky to hear the reenactment of the speech given by Pearse in 1915 at the grave of O'Donovan Rossa. The class finished the tour by paying their respects and leaving flowers at the grave of Michael Collins.

An extremely tired class returned to Bray, having had a wonderful day out and having seen for themselves a lot of what they had previously learned about in class. Many thanks to the teachers, Ms. Murray and Ms. Ní Mhurchú, who organised this fascinating and busy excursion for the students.

GERMAN STUDENT EXCHANGE

A large group of students from Matthias Grünewald Gymnasium are currently visiting St. Kilian's as part of an exchange programme between the two schools. The German students are staying in Ireland from April 1st - 9th. Families from St. Kilian's are hosting the German students and everyone involved from both countries has been attending a number of functions and going on tours over the past week.

The students have had a detailed itinerary of events. They have visited Armagh Planetarium, Trinity College, Glendalough and Trim Castle on various days. Furthermore, the students were granted a civic reception in Bray Town Hall on Monday 4th April and on Friday 8th April. A Farewell Concert and party was held in the school to see our visitors off in an appropriate manner.

Special thanks must be given to the hosting students and their parents for their hospitality in making the stay special for the German visitors. Thanks to Ms. Garvey for her trojan work in organising the exchange and to Mr Leonard and Ms O' Sullivan for hosting the two visiting German teachers for the duration of the exchange.

MUSIC NOTES - WALTON'S MUSIC FOR SCHOOLS COMPETITION

Now in its fifth year, the Walton's Music for Schools Competition is a national competition and celebration of music in Irish schools. Students Kelan Hughes and Tia Kenna, and the Fifth Year Music class composed and performed their own song, "The Fight for Freedom's Cost" for this competition.

They chose to address the theme "Why Music?" By saying that music expresses something unique about our history and identity and so chose to commemorate Edward Daly, after whom Bray Dart Station is named. In the 1916 Rising, Daly and the 1st Battalion were assigned to hold the Four Courts and the surrounding areas between the Liffey and North Brunswick Street. The 1st Battalion was involved in some of the most intense fighting in the Rising. Nevertheless, Daly held out until Pearse's surrender order reached him on the Saturday of Easter week. Daly was tried and executed by firing squad on Thursday 4th May 1916.

Daly's story is told in the song composed by the Fifth Years. Well done to the class who achieved a Highly Commended award against stiff competition. The group that performed the song comprised the following students: Kelan Hughes (guitar), Tia Kenna (solo voice and bass guitar), Jamie McKendry (guitar), Donna Kelly (drums), and singers Caitlin Treacy, Moesha Chong, Megan O' Daly and Nicole Coster. Congratulations to all the students involved and to their teacher, Ms O' Sullivan. 

March 16^th 2016

Student Enterprise Awards 2016

Four TY students represented St. Kilian’s Community School at the Student Enterprise Awards County Final 2016 in the Wicklow County Campus, Clermont House, Rathnew on Tuesday 8^th March 2016. 

Niamh Murray, from Ms. Brophy’s class, was a sole trader with her business, Pumpkins Patch of Crafts. She made and sold some beautiful pieces including Dream Catchers, Jewellery and amazing knitted woollen products.  Kelly Waters, Emma Kelly and Sofia Hoefig Lyster represented Mr Duggan’s TY Business class with their company Holdy Bowldies. With the help of their Year Head and Home Economics Teacher, the very talented Mrs Dodd, they sewed beautiful fabric holders for bowls that can be placed in the microwave to prevent burning your hands removing the hot bowl.  The products were a very simple and effective solution to a very common problem. 

All the students in TY Business learned a huge amount about setting up and running a business and all the opportunities and challenges involved.  They don’t all get to a Product Launch stage, but it is still an invaluable opportunity.  They also get to make some money along the way.  We look forward to seeing our next generation of TY entrepreneurs over the coming years.  Get working on your ideas!  The students and teachers would like to offer a huge thank you to Serena Bryans, Catherine Howard and all the very helpful staff at the Local Enterprise Office Wicklow.  For more details on their work check out www.localenterprise.ie/wicklow

U-17 Leinster Champions League Quarter Final 

St. Kilian’s Community School faced a tough challenge in the quarter final of the Leinster Champions League as they had to make the two-hour journey to take on Scoil Mhuire, Strokestown in Strokestown, County Roscommon on Thursday 3^rd of March 2016. The challenge was made tougher with the loss of Karl Mulligan through illness and the unavailability of Michael Moorehouse, along with Ross Moloney carrying an injury.  All credit to Ross for playing the entire game and being a constant threat on limited supply.

Conditions were very difficult and Kilian’s struggled to adapt early on. The poor start was costly as a rebound from a good save from Jordan Conroy was sent to the net, and Kilian’s found themselves one behind after only five minutes.  Scoil Mhuire were the physically bigger side and dominated the first half with the poor surface making it very difficult to play football or even kick the ball! Poor defending led to Scoil Mhuire being 2-0 up at half time. 

St. Kilian’s took control of the second half and did everything but put the ball in the net. Captain Alan Acres had a few excellent shots and was unlucky not to get a couple of goals and his excellent delivery onto the head of Andrew Knight was another great chance. Jack Ronan moved to right back to curb the threat down the Scoil Mhuire left with Jake O’Brien having to revert to centre half.  With Alan Acres pushing forward in search of a goal, CJ Buckley came on to strengthen midfield where Dion McGovern again put in a great effort. James Ryan and Jordan de Sousa were threatening down the wings. Andrew Knight and Ross Moloney were very dangerous up front with very little ball. Jason King and Gordon McKeever defended well and pushed forward in search of a goal. Layth Alzubi and sub Shane Devlin all contributed, but all the efforts were in vain as a late counter attack resulted in Scoil Mhuire’s third and put the game out of reach.

It was very pleasing to hear the opposition manager comment on the discipline of St. Kilian’s and how sporting a game it was.  St. Kilian’s could have arrived and found a lot of excuses to use before the match even started but the second half performance was a fitting end to the year with a super performance as they adapted and used their footballing brains to dominate and create a lot of chances.  One more day beckons for this panel as after Easter the 3^rd Years will get the chance to put manners on the 5^th Years, with the remaining 4^th years split between the two teams. This team has had a fantastic year with many highlights and hopefully they will stick together and continue to bring success to the school in the future.

Team: Jordan Conroy, Jason King, Jack Ronan, Alan Acres (C), Gordon McKeever (VC), Andrew Knight, Jake O’Brien, Dion McGovern, James Ryan, Layth Alzubi, Ross Moloney.

Subs Used: Jordan de Sousa, C. J. Buckley, Shane Devlin.

Subs: Ryan Clancy, Mark Curran, Jamie Gunning, Oisín Doyle, Jordan Smith, Ryan Kealy, Ben Clarke, Graham Kane.

Proclamation Day 2016

St. Kilian's CS celebrated the national Proclamation Day on March 15th with a dignified and beautiful ceremony held in the school. An tUasal Mac Cormaic compered the event and TY students, Niamh Murray and Graham Kane, read the 1916 Proclamation eloquently and with feeling. Our Head Girl and Head Boy, Georgia-Lee Flynn and Theo Farrell, raised the tricolour on the flagpole on behalf of the students and staff of the school. An interactive display of visual imagery telling the story of the 1916 Rising was shown to the student body, who observed the ceremony with impeccable dignity and due respect. The ceremony ended with a traditional musical group comprising staff and students playing Amhran Na Bhfiann. The assembled gathering responded by singing our national anthem with passion and decorum appropriate to the commemorative occasion. All in all, it was a fitting ceremony to celebrate the sacrifice made on our behalf by the men and women of 1916.

Seachtain Na Gaeilge

From March 14th to March 16th, the Irish department in St. Kilian's organised a number of events to celebrate Seachtain Na Gaeilge. Events held in the school to celebrate Irish language and culture included a talent show, a Second Year table quiz as Gaeilge and the highlight held in the final class before the Easter break - a Céilí Mór involving the entire student body! All of the events were a great success due to the huge energy and dedication of the Irish department, comprising An tUasal Mac Cormaic, Ms O' Shea and Ms Fitzpatrick. Well done to the teachers for their hard work and thanks to the students for their enthusiastic participation in the various events.

Biology Trip

On Tuesday 15th March, the Fifth Year Biology students were treated to a class trip to the science laboratories in UCD. The trip was facilitated by Dr Daniel Crean of UCD, who is a past pupil of the school from the late 1990s. Dr Crean conducted experiments with the students and answered any questions posed about pursuing a career in science. It was an extremely enjoyable and worthwhile experience for all the students. Thanks to Mr Dunne and Ms Watson for organising the trip and accompanying the students to UCD. St. Kilian's would like to thank Dr Crean for facilitating the trip for our students.

2H CSPE Action Project

Well done to Mr Kelly's CSPE class in Second Year for their hard work in creating and designing a display board about animal welfare and neglect. The class's display board is in the shape of a giant Garfield the cat with an accompanying mouse for effect! Information learned whilst doing the project will be displayed on the board, as well as photographs from 2H's trip to Sharpeshill Animal Sanctuary. The class deserve great credit for their hard work and creativity, and Garfield and his mouse will soon be displayed in the school for all students to see and admire. 2H and Mr Kelly would like to thank Ms Murray and Mr Forde for helping with the design of Garfield and his friend!

March 3rd 2016

EMMANUEL 2016

Emmanuel is a project of the Dublin Diocesan Liturgical Resource Centre and promotes the use of Sacred Music in post primary schools. Seventeen students from First, Second, Fourth and Fifth year have been attending choir practices over lunch-times for the last few months in preparation for a big concert. There are 2,400 students from all over the country involved in concerts over four days. 

Our students attended rehearsals and performed in a concert with about 700 other secondary students on Monday, 29th February.  All of these students had been working in their own school, with their teachers, on twenty set pieces. Monday’s rehearsal commenced with a practice and some games in Our Lady of Victories church in Ballymun.  Students also had an opportunity to meet some of the people who were organising and assisting in the performance. 

A full dress rehearsal took place from 2.30-6pm in the Helix itself. One student exclaimed, ‘it was just like wow!’ to be there. She was overwhelmed to be performing in a venue for music performances which you normally see on television. The dress rehearsal was the first time all 700 students had been together as one massed choir. 

Students had a hot meal at 6pm and then it was back to the Helix for the concert at 7.30pm.  It was a wonderful event with big band, students singing and playing, moving and clapping to the rhythms in a really electric atmosphere in the Helix. Already, they are asking if they can go again next year, testament in itself to its success and enjoyment! 

Well done to Ms. O' Sullivan for all her hard work in preparing her students to perform at the concert.

UNDER-17 BOYS' SOCCER

Best wishes to Mr Duggan's under-17 team who travel to Strokestown, Co. Roscommon to play Scoil Mhuire in the All-Ireland quarter-final. A full report on the match will follow next week.

JUNIOR GIRLS' BASKETBALL

Well done to Mr Conway's Junior Girls' Basketball team who secured their second win in a row on Wednesday, March 2nd. After last week's defeat of Kilcoole, the St. Kilian's girls faced stiffer opposition in the form of Colaiste Cill Mhantain, Wicklow.

In a wonderfully tight encounter, St. Kilian's edged out Wicklow on a scoreline of 22-21. Mr Conway was delighted with everyone's sterling efforts, but paid special mention to the performances of Katie Fitzpatrick and Paris Flynn.

Best of luck to the team in the rest of the competition.

JUNK KOUTURE

Best wishes to the TY team entitled Suit Yourself who are in the Leinster Regional final of the Junk Kouture competition on Monday, March 7th. Ms Murray and the  team would like to thank everyone who voted for Suit Yourself on the Junk Kouture Facebook page. Best of luck to all concerned.

MINOR BOYS' BASKETBALL

Commiserations to Mr Forde's First Year Boys’ Basketball team who lost to Pres. Bray in the semi-final of the competition on Thursday, March 3^rd. The final score was 35-21 in favour of Pres.

Mr Forde wishes to pay tribute to all his players for their dedication throughout the year. Well done to everyone concerned.

February 27^th 2016

ST VALENTINE'S DAY HEARTS

Over €100 was recently raised for the Irish Heart Foundation from the sales of Valentine's hearts in the school. Thanks to Ms Watson and the Student Council for their efforts to promote love and romance in St. Kilian's!

FIRST YEAR GIRLS' BASKETBALL

On Thursday 25th February, the First Year Girls' basketball team had a great victory against Coláiste Chraobh Abhann, Kilcoole. This was their first match in the league. The final score was   40-22 in favour of St. Kilian's. The coach, Mr Conway, was very pleased with the grit and determination that the team showed against their physically stronger opponents and St. Kilian's fully deserved their success on the day. The whole squad have shown great dedication and enthusiasm in training, and hopefully this will pay similar dividends in the forthcoming matches in the league. Well done to all concerned.

Panel: Letitia Coster, Orla O' Toole, Kacey Flanagan, Hannah Kelly, Casey De Souza, Clare Kinsella, Jamie Curran, Aoife Ryan, Tia McMahon, Niamh Quigley Brady, Courtney Horan, Sophie Curran, Lauren Murphy Holly Keogh and Courtney O' Hagan.

LEINSTER SCHOOLS' ORIENTEERING RESULTS

St. Kilian's had another very successful year in the Leinster Schools' Orienteering league. Mr Lawless was very pleased with the high turnout of students for every training session and competitive event. The final results for 2016 are as follows:

Top First Year Boy:

Lochlyn Walshe

First Year Girls:

Jara Blasco - 2nd Place

Second Year Girls:

Melinda Szabo -1st Place

Weronika Roszczak - 8th Place

TY Boys:

Arif Ogunseye - 3rd place

Herman Blasco - 5th place

Senior Boys:

1st Place - Gary Shortt

5th Place - Matthew Brennan

Well done to all the prizewinners and to Mr Lawless for his dedication to promoting orienteering in the school over the years.

SENIOR ART TOUR

On Tuesday 23rd February, Mr Lawless' senior Art classes went on a tour to the National Art Museum and the National Gallery in Dublin. The group also went to the National History Museum and saw an interesting exhibition on the Irish involvement in the First World War. On a culture-filled day, the group finally embarked upon a walking tour around Merrion Square and examined the sculpture of Oscar Wilde there.

The trip was an essential part of preparation for the Leaving Cert course and it was most informative for everyone concerned.

 

February 11^th 2016

HAMLET TRIP

On Monday 8th February, 35 Fifth Year students and their teachers went to the Helix Theatre to see the Second Age Theatre Company's production of Hamlet. The production was of an extremely high standard, and the students were captivated by the intensity and energy of the actors' performances. Our seats were in the front rows by the stage and the students' interest was held from beginning to end. Seeing live theatre is an excellent learning experience, and the students' understanding of this complex play has definitely benefited from attending the show. Many thanks to Ms McAndrew and Mr Kelly for organising the trip and the delicious lunch before the theatre performance!

LOURDES FUNDRAISING

On Tuesday 9th February, a fundraising event was held in St. Kilian's for the Lourdes Diocesan Pilgrimage, which will happen in September. Five students from the school will go on the pilgrimage, and many fundraising events are being held by the R.E. Department to subsidise the high cost of the students' travel.

One such event was a pancake sale on Pancake Tuesday. The pancakes and associated toppings proved very popular with hungry students and staff and a lot of money was raised. A "hoodie day" is soon to take place to raise more funds for the pilgrimage.

Thanks to Ms Murray, Ms Kearns and Ms McAndrew and all the Fifth Year students involved in the baking and selling of the pancakes.

SYRIAN REFUGEE CRISIS TALK

On Friday 5th February, the MEP for Connaught-Ulster, Ms Marian Harkin, very kindly gave up her time to come to St. Kilian's to deliver a talk to all the Second Years about the ongoing refugee crisis in Syria. Ms Harkin gave an interesting and informative talk on the crisis. She informed us that she had visited Aleppo and other parts of Syria to see first-hand the abominable conditions that these refugees are fleeing from to get to the safety of Europe.

Thanks to Ms O' Sullivan for organising this event for the students.

JUNK KOUTURE

Junk Kouture is a national contest which encourages young designers in second level education to create striking couture designs and impressive works of wearable art from everyday junk that would normally find its way into the bin. Junk Kouture aims to inspire and ignite passion in these teenagers while at the same time subtly educating them about the importance of recycling and reusing waste. The competition is now in its sixth year.

A huge congratulations to all the teams from St. Kilian's Transition Year Art class and their teacher Ms Murray who entered the Junk Kouture recycling competition at the end of January. We had four teams this year and they made creative costumes from a variety of materials; such as old milk cartons, yoga mats, woven VHS tape, and material found around the art room.

We are delighted that one of the designs, Suit Yourself, has made it to this year's Regional Finals in the Helix in March. This outfit is designed with old pencils, markers and art exam labels. There will be an online vote and we would appreciate all the help we can get to make it further in the competition. Voting has not yet opened but will take place on the Junk Kouture website in the next two weeks, where the Suit Yourself team will have to canvas for votes. 

Commiserations go to the members of the other teams who did not make this year's regional final.

Well done to Ms Murray and all the participants in Junk Kouture for their hard work in recent months.

February 3^rd 2016

MINOR BOYS’ BASKETBALL

St. Kilian's Minor Boys Basketball team played Firhouse Community College on Monday, February 1^st. St Kilian’s won the game 26 points to 4. It was a strong performance from St. Kilian’s with Alex Horan, Adam Wesolowski and Daniel Keogh all scoring well. The whole panel of players played well with Norbert Burnos and Viali Florea also adding to the score sheet.

St Kilian's Community School Panel: Alex Horan, Jake McMahon, Daniel Keogh, Patrick Dandoczi, Dylan O’Hagan, Adam Wesolowski, Adam King, Cian Kelly, Norbert Burnos, Viali Florea and Craig Browne.

MOCK EXAMINATIONS

Best wishes to the Sixth and Third Year examination students who are currently sitting their mock examinations. The mocks are excellent preparation and a "wake-up call" for all exam students as they get to experience a trial run for the state examinations in June.

Good luck to our LCA students who are having their interviews in the Vocational Preparation and Guidance and Social Education modules this week. The LCA students will do their written mock examinations next week.

FIFTH YEAR THEATRE TRIP

On Monday, February 8th, 36 Fifth Year students will accompany their teachers to the Second Age production of Hamlet which is to be staged in the Helix Theatre, Dublin. All the students are looking forward to seeing the play live. It should be a valuable experience for everybody, as it will help the students get to grips with this challenging yet enjoyable play, which is part of their Leaving Cert course.

TY WORK EXPERIENCE

Thanks to all the local businesses and tradespeople who facilitated our TY students on their second work experience of the academic year. All TY students were off-site from February 1st-5th last. We hope that everyone benefited from the work experience, which is an integral part of the TY experience.

January 28^th 2016

DEBATING SUCCESS

Congratulations to the Senior Debating team, who were successful in the opening round of the Bray Lions' Club Debating Competition on Wednesday, 27th January. In the debate versus Loreto Bray, St. Kilian's proposed the motion that, "TV advertising aired at children should be prohibited ".

In a stirring debate of high standards by both teams, Josh O'Connell spoke eloquently and forcefully as the St. Kilian's team captain. He was ably assisted by fellow team members: Adelin Cojan, Patrycja Struzynska and Barbara Krupinska.

The St. Kilian's team was complimented by the judges for their use of academic research and sources, having a consistent theme flowing through all their speeches and for the ability to offer rebuttal to the opposition's arguments. The St. Kilian's team and their supporters were delighted to be awarded the judges' decision in such a tight debate and are eagerly looking forward to the next round of the competition.

Thanks to all the team for their dedication and effort. They should be proud of their efforts. Special mention must also be given to students who helped as researchers and caterers. These are: Yasmin Keogh, Saoirse Kane, Niamh Devlin and Chloe Kehoe. The success was down to a good team effort and this bodes well for future debates.

A final word of thanks to all of the teachers who helped prepare the team, and to the large audience that came to enjoy the debate.

 SENIOR BASKETBALL HEARTBREAK!

On Wednesday 20th January, St. Kilian’s Senior Boys’ Basketball team faced St. Columba's in the South Dublin League semi-final. This was the third clash between these teams since 2014. On both previous occasions, St. Columba's dominated the court and eased to victory as a result. Yet on this occasion, St. Kilian's took the game to their much-vaunted opponents and, agonizingly, only just lost a fabulous match. St. Kilian's  multi-cultural senior basketball squad is comprised of 12 players; Abdallah Balasmeh, Christian Wang, Adam Peacock, Matthew Brennan, Dmitri Chizhikov, Germán Blasco Arroyo, Jessie Lopez, Brady Yeoh, Ryan Kealy, Arif Ogunseye, Ronello Nuqui and Adelin Cojan.

St. Kilian’s starting five: Arif Ogunseye, Jessie Lopez, Brady Yeoh, Germán Blasco and Abdullah Balasmeh began the game strongly by taking the lead in the first quarter. However, the tide soon turned the way of the south Dublin team, mainly due to the menacing presence of one player. This ace marksman was capable of shooting three-pointers and attacking the basket at will. The team’s play revolved around him; by setting screens so he could shoot unobstructed. This tactic yielded numerous points for St. Columba's. In spite of a large deficit, St. Kilian's displayed great heart to fight back and make the game competitive. Brady Yeoh led the fight back, by managing to get some jump shots which yielded a total of four points. Germán Blasco's strong rebounds helped to steady the ship and slowly Kilian’s started to get into the game.

As the starting five players tired, Mr Brewer made changes to the St. Kilian's team. Ronello Nuqui bagged a few scores and Adelin Cojan, Matthew Brennan, Christian Wang and Adam Peacock were very competitive. Nevertheless, St Columba's exerted control in the third quarter and built up what seemed to be an unassailable lead, by adopting a full court press tactic and forcing easy turnovers from the under-pressure St. Kilian's defenders.

The 4th quarter began at a hectic pace as both teams played a full court press with St. Kilian’s reintroducing their starting five. Abdullah Balasmeh, an offensive-orientated player, managed to score some three pointers when they were most needed. Jessie Lopez showed tremendous drive and energy and helped St. Kilian's gain the ascendency in this quarter. Yet, in spite of their valiant efforts, the clock ran out for St. Kilian's and the game ended with the scoreline reading St. Columba's - 44, St. Kilian's - 38.

Despite their disappointment at losing narrowly, the team ought to feel proud of their efforts and battling qualities. St. Columba's are a quality and well coached opposition and St. Kilian’s made them work all the way.

Well done to all the players and thanks to Mr Brewer for his time and expertise in coaching the team this year.

JUNIOR GIRLS' CAMOGIE

Commiserations to Ms O'Shea and the Junior Girls' Camogie team who suffered a heavy defeat to St. Kevin's, Dunlavin in the semi-final of the Wicklow championship on Tuesday 26th January. The final score was 8-5 to 0-0 in favour of St. Kevin's.

In spite of the one-sided nature of the final scoreline, St. Kilian's girls battled hard against a team who possess a number of skilled county players.

Best for St. Kilian's were: Charlie Doyle, Laura Byrne, Teigan O' Hagan and Jade O' Hagan.

MULTI-CULTURAL DAY

Well done to all the staff, students and parents involved in our recent multi-cultural day on Friday 30th January.  Within our school, there are students from over 30 different nations and this annual day in our school celebrates our diversity and the many nationalities of our students.

The school was decked out in flags, bunting and posters describing each country our students originate from. All throughout the day, many events were organised. Activities included: food tasting, face painting, African drumming, crafts, French drama, language try-outs and calligraphy. Each class in the school had the opportunity to attend the various events and learn about other cultures.

Many staff and parents were involved and made the celebration of all our cultures a wonderful occasion in our school.

Special thanks are due to Ms. Garvey for organising the event, to Ms. Watson, Ms. Arogundade and all the parents, students and teachers who contributed to a memorable day.

FIFTH YEAR ART TOUR

On Thursday 28th January, Ms Hume's Fifth Year Art students visited the National Museum of Ireland and whilst there, they had a guided tour of the Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age and Early Christian sections.

After that, the group visited the National Gallery where they studied the various European masterpieces housed there.  Finally, the group went to Trinity College where they viewed the famous Book of Kells.

Students found the outing to be informative and engaging and would like to thank Ms Hume for organising it.

SENIOR GIRLS' SOCCER

A very young and inexperienced senior St Kilian’s football team travelled to Berryfield on Wednesday 27th January to play Coláiste Chraobh Abhann in their first match of the season. Unfortunately, the result didn’t go the way of St. Kilian's, as the Kilcoole team triumphed 4-0.

Yet the St. Kilian's girls have much to be proud of as everyone played their best and tried valiantly throughout the match. Some of the players who excelled included Katie Fitzpatrick, who received Player of the Match, after having made some amazing saves as goalkeeper, Laura Drew, Lorena Radu, Julia Radu, Laura Byrne and Donna Kelly.

Thanks to Ms Ryan for coaching the team and best wishes in the next match!

January 21^st 2016

U-17 WICKLOW-WEXFORD REGIONAL LEAGUE FINAL

St. Kilian’s Community School regained the Junior (U-17) Wicklow-Wexford League Trophy after a gap of four years and broke the dominance of the two Arklow schools Arklow CBS and Gaelcholáiste na Mara who had won two titles apiece during that period. It was a case of third time lucky as the memories of the previous two years' defeats in this final were banished. St. Kilian’s defeated Glenart College (formerly Arklow C.B.S.) in a thrilling 3-1 victory on Tuesday 19^th January in Arklow Town Football grounds.

A scintillating first half performance saw St. Kilian’s lead 1-0 at half time after a Messi-like run from half way by Ross Moloney saw him beat four players and the force of his low drive actually burst the net! It had been a very bright start for the away side and Karl Mulligan was causing a lot of problems down the right before joining Ross up front. Substitute Andrew Knight continued the great work down the right wing. The effort of the entire midfield was phenomenal and James Ryan, Jake O’Brien and Dion McGovern ran themselves to a standstill.  Jordan Conroy was immense in goals again and gave a remarkable performance, especially considering the previous week he had been doubtful with injury.  His double save in the second half was a highlight of the match.  Defence was again led by Alan Acres with Jack Ronan, Jason King and Gordon McKeever all excellent throughout.

The second half couldn’t have started better for St. Kilian’s with Ross Moloney scoring his second of the game in the first minute. Kilian’s were unlucky with several other chances and Jake O’Brien deserved a goal with his strike from distance that glanced off the crossbar.  Karl Mulligan scored his deserved goal to bring the lead to three. A period of sustained Glenart pressure saw them get one back, and an off-the-line clearance kept the lead at two until the end. One of the penalty heroes from the semi-final, Jordan De Sousa, made a contribution from the bench along with Shane Devlin, who was unlucky not to start after two very impressive performances so far this season. There is real competition for places to make the match day 18.

There were joyous scenes as Alan Acres lifted the shield and introduced the squad to collect their medals.  St. Kilian’s now qualify for the Leinster Champions' League where they enter at the quarter final stage along with the six other regional winners and three Metropolitan qualifiers.

Congratulations to all the squad and their manager, Mr Duggan.

Team: Jordan Conroy, Jason King, Jack Ronan, Alan Acres (C), Gordon McKeever (VC), Karl Mulligan, Jake O’Brien, Dion McGovern, James Ryan, Layth Aluzbi, Ross Moloney.

Subs Used: Andrew Knight, Jordan de Sousa, Shane Devlin.

Subs: Ben Clarke, CJ Buckley, Michael Moorehouse, Ryan Clancy, Jamie Gunning, Oisín Doyle, Mark Curran, Graham Kane, Jordan Smith, Ryan Kealy.

FIRST YEAR BOYS’ FOOTBALL

St. Kilian's CS 7

St. David's SS 0

The First Year boys have experienced their first taste of victory representing their school and carried it out in an emphatic way. They faced St David's in Greystones in the first round of the Leinster B Cup and proved to be much the stronger team.

St Kilian's started the match in blistering fashion and were two goals to the good after 12 minutes. Both these goals were set up by Sergiu Lupes and finished by Adam Wesolowski. The second goal in particular was memorable as it came due a beautiful strike from outside the box. St Kilian's controlled the match from this point on and the defensive line of Daniel Keogh, Dylan O Hagan, Alan Coster and Mark Byrne dealt with any breakaway by St David's very comprehensively. On the only occasion St. David's managed to get through on goal, Jake McMahon (captain) pulled off a great save. The third goal came from Davy Berry, who finished coolly after been played through by Sergiu again. This brought the first half to a close and St Kilian's were going into the half time team talk with an extremely happy manager!

The 2nd half started in much the same fashion, with St Kilian's on top. The mid-field partnership of Matthew Tyndall and Eoin Joyce were at the centre of all St Kilian's moves. Matthew Tyndall found himself on the score sheet with two goals in quick succession. His first goal was a special solo effort, after he dribbled the ball through a number of players before slotting the ball into the bottom right corner. At this point, Adam Wesolowski  scored his third goal of the match - once again he showed great composure in front of the goals as he picked his spot and stroked the ball home. Despite being ahead by six goals and with plenty of the 2nd half remaining, St Kilian's continued to work hard and pressed the St David's players at every opportunity. This is how the seventh and final goal came about as the ball was won back in mid-field due to great work from Ryan Stafford, Dylan Hughes and Albert McEvoy. The ball eventually came to Eoin Joyce on the right wing, who worked his way into the box and scored a well-deserved goal.

All who played should be very proud of their performance and hopefully can take this confidence into their next match.

 

January 14^th 2016

SOCCER SUCCESS!

St. Kilian's U-17 Boys' soccer team had a marvellous victory in the semi-final of the Wicklow-Wexford league on Friday 18th December. They defeated Gaelcholáiste Na Mara 5-4 on penalties after the teams finished all square after normal and extra-time.

The final score after extra-time was 1-1. Ross Maloney kept up his excellent goal scoring run in the competition when he scored the St. Kilian's goal. The match was extremely tight throughout and St. Kilian's outstanding players included Jordan Conroy, Jack Ronan, Alan Acres, Karl Mulligan, Shane Devlin and Gordon McKeever.

All five St. Kilian's penalty takers were successful in the shootout. The scorers were: Ross Maloney, Alan Acres, Dion McGovern, Jordan De Sousa and Karl Mulligan. The goalkeeper, Jordan Conroy, proved to be the hero on the day as he saved the opposition's fifth penalty, thereby sending St. Kilian's through to the final.

Wild celebrations ensued at the final whistle but Mr Duggan is keen to point out that nothing has been won yet. Glenart College, Arklow provide the opposition in the final which is due to take place on Tuesday 19th January. Best of luck to everyone concerned!

 

ROMEO & JULIET THEATRE TRIP

If you were a passenger on the 145 bus on Monday evening 11th January, and thought you heard

lines being quoted from Romeo and Juliet, you weren't hearing things. It was probably just Ms Fox's Third Year English class returning home from a live performance of the Gaiety School of Acting's production of the play in Smock Alley Theatre in Dublin.

The day began with an interactive workshop which focused on staging the play, during which the students also learnt that Shakespearean language wasn't as old-fashioned as they had thought, as they struggled to tell the difference between lines written by the Bard and those uttered by the caped crusader, Batman!

The performance of Romeo and Juliet in the afternoon was a thoroughly enjoyable experience for the students as the troupe of actors delivered high-octane performances which kept the entire audience on the edge of their seats.

Thanks to Ms Fox for organising the excursion for her students.

 

FIRST YEAR BOYS' SOCCER

Glenart College, Arklow 6

St  Kilian's, Bray            5

St Kilian's 1st Year Boys have gone out of the Wicklow-Wexford league in the cruellest of fashions. Two goals from Glenart College in the last four minutes sealed their place in the semi-final instead of St. Kilian's.

The match got off to a brilliant start with both teams creating lots of chances, but it was St Kilian's who took the lead with a great strike from Matthew Tyndall from 25 metres. This lead lasted to the 26th minute when the Arklow team was the quickest to react to a save from Jake McMahon. The central defenders, Daniel Keogh and Dylan O Hagan, were dealing extremely well with most of the attacks from Glenart college. The first half ended with St. Kilian's on top and Ryan Stafford scored a lovely goal after an excellent pass from Davy Berry.

The 2nd half started with another goal from St Kilian's. Adam Wesolowski finished brilliantly after a great pass from Matthew Tyndall. Eoin Joyce increased the lead to 4-1 after Davy Berry spilt the defence to play him through, 1 on 1 with the keeper. At this point, St. Kilian's suffered injuries to the central midfield partnership of Conor Hind and Matthew Tyndall. This caused St. Kilian's to implode as Glenart College scored three goals in quick succession to tie the score at 4-4.

St Kilian's regrouped at this point and and managed to take the lead again. Davy Berry finished off from close range after a brilliant counter attacking move that the majority of the team were involved in. However, the joy of this goal was not to last. The Arklow side pressed forward for the last few minutes and threw everything at St. Kilian's and reaped their reward. Two goals in very quick succession broke the hearts of the St Kilian's players.

Although the 6-5 defeat is heartbreaking for the St. Kilian's players, they hopefully will learn a salient lesson from the match - it's not won until the final whistle sounds! We send our commiserations to the team, and to Mr Donohoe, their hardworking and passionate coach.

 

MULTI - CULTURAL DAY

On Friday 29th January, St. Kilian's will celebrate its annual multi-cultural day in which we celebrate the diverse culture of over 30 nationalities that are currently represented in the school. Food-tasting, music, games, face-painting and a kaleidoscope of colour will be the order of the day as each nationality is represented by students and their parents. A fun and memorable day is assured and it is sure to be a highlight of the school year.

 

 

PARENT-TEACHER MEETINGS

Thanks to all the Third Year parents for the excellent turnout at the P/T meeting on Tuesday 12th January. With the mock examinations commencing on February 1st, parents were eager to get feedback from teachers regarding the academic performance of their children. Hopefully, the high number of exam students attending daily evening study in the school will reap the rewards in the upcoming exams.

There will also be parent-teacher meetings for the First and Second Years group on successive Tuesdays in February. We invite all parents and guardians to attend.

 

 

December 17^th 2015

U-17 BOYS' SOCCER

Best wishes are extended to Mr Duggan's Junior Soccer team who take on Gaelcholáiste Na Mara in the semi-final of the Wicklow-Wexford B League in Arklow on Friday, 18^th December. The team will face a tough task, facing opponents that they know well from matches over the recent years. Best of luck to all concerned.

CHRISTMAS EXTRAVAGANZA!

The Christmas term ended with a bang in St. Kilian's with the annual Christmas religious service, nativity play and concert which took place on the final day of term, Tuesday, 22^nd December.

Ms Egan, the school’s Chaplain, conducted a short religious ceremony to begin the proceedings. This was followed by a loosely themed "nativity play" - this year's offering was entitled "Gogglebox". Thanks to all the staff and students for their involvement in the play, which entertained the audience tremendously.

Finally, there was a concert performed by Ms. O' Sullivan's music students. The concert culminated with the Sixth Year students mildly parodying 12 of their teachers' actions and idiosyncrasies in a hilarious take on "The 12 Days of Christmas". This provided a rousing finale to the proceedings and was an appropriate way to sign off the term for all students and staff.

Special thanks to the school's R.E. Department - Ms Murray, Ms Ní Mhurchú, Ms Kearns and Ms McAndrew for all oftheir hard work behind the scenes in organising the Christmas Extravaganza. Well done also to Ms O Sullivan for all her work with her music students who excelled on stage.

CHRISTMAS ON ICE

The TY students enjoyed an enjoyable outing to the Christmas on Ice extravaganza at the RDS on Monday, 14^th December. Varying degrees of skill on the ice were displayed by the students and the teachers who accompanied them on the trip. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the experience and thankfully there were no accidents or injuries reported after the hour spent on the ice. The only thing injured, for most of the participants was their pride, as they picked themselves up from the ice after countless failed attempts at double axles and triple loops!

CHRISTMAS WISHES

Best wishes are extended to all of our students, their parents, guardians and families, to our past pupils and to all of our friends for a very happy Christmas and a peaceful, prosperous 2016!

The school will reopen on Wednesday, January 6^th 2016.

December 10^th 2015

ORIENTEERING

On Wednesday, 2^nd December, a large number of students from St Kilian's travelled to Malahide Castle to take part in the second round of the Leinster Schools' Orienteering League.

Many of the First Year boys took part for the first time and completed the course admirably. In the First Year Girls' competition, Jara Blasco-Arroyo and Victoria Marin Martin ran excellently and finished in 2nd and 3rd place respectively. Other girls who had good finishes were Melinda Szabo and Weronika Roszczak, who competed in the Junior Girls' competition. They also finished their race in 2nd and 3rd positions.

In the TY Boys’ event, St. Kilian's had three competitors.  Arif Ogunseye finished 4th, German Blasco-Arroyo 8th and Sean O' Dowd finished in 14th place. Many of the Senior Boys were unable to attend the race, but those who did race completed a hat trick for the school. Ryan Kealy had a storming run to finish in 1^st place, with Gary Shortt less than 2 minutes behind in 2^nd, and Matthew Brennan in 3^rd place. There was also a good run in the Senior Boys' B League competition with John Kelly, who turning in a very solid performance.

All the students were delighted with their results and their hard training is paying off. They are looking forward to a resumption of the league after Christmas.

I-ROBOT!

St Kilian’s JCSP Library hosted Learn IT workshops for the day on Friday, 4^th December.  All First Year students attended one of the three sessions where they learnt about the basics of robotics before building their own Lego-bot and programming it to navigate a maze.  The robots are coming!

PURPLE HOUSE CANCER SUPPORT FUND-RAISER

Well done to the students of St. Kilian's who recently raised €480 for Purple House Cancer Support in Bray. This money was the proceeds of a successful Halloween Fancy Dress day that was held in the school in late October. Ms. Watson and members of the St. Kilian's Student Council presented a cheque to Purple House recently. Well done to everyone concerned.

EDIBLE BRAY TREE-PLANTING PROJECT

On Friday, 4^th December, Mr Lawless and some boys from TY planted trees as part of the Edible Bray tree-planting project. 13 primary and second-level schools in the Bray area are taking part in the project. The students from the Environmental Studies class enjoyed getting their hands dirty in an out-of-class activity and Mr Lawless was happy with everyone's hard graft on the day.

ONLINE REPUTATION MATTERS PROGRAMME

On Thursday, 10^th December, Mr Wayne Denner spoke to all our First, Second and TY students about the importance of preserving their online reputation. Mr Denner spoke informatively on what should and should not be posted online and provided sound advice on how students can become more employable in the future by the use of social networks, the Internet and smartphones. The students and attending teachers found Mr Denner's address to be engaging and witty and thanks go to our librarian, Mr Stokes, for organising this presentation.

December 2^nd 2015

AUTISM AWARENESS TALK

On November 19^th, 2015, Adam Harris (founder of AsIAm) spoke to the 3^rd Year students of St. Kilian’s Community School about the Autism Spectrum. Adam Harris has been travelling around the country with his foundation, AsIAm, giving talks to primary schools, secondary schools and businesses for the past few years about Autism. As I, myself, am on the Autism spectrum, it had been a great ambition of mine to have him speak at our school.

Adam spoke very passionately about Autism during the talk. As he is also on the spectrum (Asperger’s), it gave more meaning to the talk and made it very interesting. Adam spoke about famous people on the spectrum (Temple Grandin in particular) and how their Autism has taken them to where they are today. To help people who are not on the spectrum understand things a little better, he used real-life examples. After a powerpoint presentation, he took questions from the students. Thereafter, Adam allowed the 3^rd Year students to brainstorm on how they could be more Autism-friendly and they came up with some excellent ideas. These ideas will form a charter and will be presented by AsIAm to the school. There was great feedback from my peers, saying they found the talk enjoyable and informative. Overall, the talk was an amazing success for the school. Thanks to Ms. Kearns for helping me to organise these 3^rd Year workshops with Mr Harris.  

(Thanks to Ben Rowsome (Class 3L) for writing this article)

 

COLLEGE AWARENESS WEEK

St. Kilian's held a College Awareness recently in early December. Speakers from Third Level institutions spoke to our Fifth and Sixth Years about various courses and access routes to university. Many of the speakers were successful past pupils, who passed on their knowledge and experience of Third Level in an engaging and informative manner for our students.

It was the first time that the school ran a College Awareness Week and special thanks must be given to Ms. Fitzpatrick for her hard work in organising the event. Our current students were very positive and listened intently to speakers from the various universities, and we hope that the experience will motivate them to study hard and and get to college themselves.

On Wednesday, 2^nd December, an information night for parents and guardians regarding college entry requirements and procedures was held in the school. This coincided with the College Awareness Week. This meeting was well attended and parents and guardians found it very informative.

 

JUNIOR CAMOGIE CHAMPIONSHIP

St Kilian's CS 5-1

Glenart College 4-0

St Kilian's CS Junior Camogie team recorded a hard earned win over Glenart College on Tuesday, 1^st December. The first half was keenly contested with St Kilian's getting some early scores from Teigan O'Hagan, Charlie Doyle and Nicole Keogh. Glenart College really came into the game and deservedly lead by a goal at half time.

St Kilian's regrouped at half time and started the second half in a more determined fashion and got a decisive goal from Laura Byrne early on which brought St Kilian's right back into the game. St Kilian's pushed on and another goal by Teigan O'Hagan put them into a strong position. Glenart College fought bravely to get back into the game, but due to strong defending by Jade O'Hagan, Laura Kelly, Victoria Dzidolikate, Demi Whelehan and Kate Leadbetter and a great effort by goalkeeper Abbie Sargent, St Kilian's girls came to the fore and they held out for a merited win.

Congratulations to all the girls and to their coach, Ms. O'Shea.

Team: Abbie Sargent, Jade O' Hagan, Laura Kelly, Demi Whelehan, Daina Moorehouse, Kirsty Kelly, Kate Leadbetter, Victoria Dzidolikate, Charlie Doyle (0-1), Nicole Keogh (1-0) Teigan O'Hagan (2-0) Laura Byrne (2-0) Mayking Chong, Sophie Ward.

 

GAISCE SILVER AWARDS CEREMONY

Six students from St. Kilian’s attended what turned out to be the largest ever Gaisce awards ceremony in the Helix on Monday, 30^th November. Congratulations to Hannah Leonard, Hannah Johnston, Adam Peacock, Claudine Murphy, Mollie McGrath and Allanagh O’Dowd on achieving their Silver Gaisce Award. Many other St Kilian’s students received the award but were unable to travel to the ceremony.

Special guests on the night included M.C. TV3 Presenter Chris Donoghue, social entrepreneur and Founder-CEO of AsIAm.ie Adam Harris and Irish Rugby international Ian Madigan.

Recipients enjoyed the presentations and speeches, and the refreshments afterwards, as well as numerous visits to the Helix Photo Booth!

A record 17 Sixth Year students in St. Kilian’s will complete their Gaisce Silver Award this year. A large number of 4^th and 5^th Year students are currently completing their bronze and silver award while some 6^th Years have already signed up for the prestigious Gold Award. Best of luck to all concerned, and thanks to Mr Walsh for all of his hard work.

 

CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS

Preparations are in full swing for Christmas at St. Kilian's. Teachers have begun to decorate their classrooms doors and the school is festooned with festive artwork and decorations. The Christmas Concert will be held on the final day of term. Highlights will include an alternative nativity play starring members of staff and Sixth Years as well as numerous musical variety acts by the students. Thanks in particular to the RE Department for the energy and enthusiasm they put into making sure that Christmas at St. Kilian's is celebrated in true style!

 

6LCA VISIT THE DAIL

On Thursday 3^rd, December, the 6LCA class visited Dáil Éireann as part of their Social Education course. They were accompanied on the trip by Ms Kells and Ms Kearns. Mr Simon Harris TD met the group on the steps of the parliament and treated them to a guided tour around Leinster House. We would like to thank Mr Harris for being so generous with his time in doing this. Everyone on the trip thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.

 

 

November 19^th 2015

U-17 WICKLOW-WEXFORD BOYS' SOCCER

A late injury time winner from Jake O’Brien ended a very dramatic first league game between St. Kilian’s Community School and East Glendalough School in Greystones on Wednesday, 11th November.  A remarkable team performance saw St. Kilian’s come from 3-0 down to equalise late in the game, but their efforts were rewarded with the late winner to claim all the points. 

The victory was made more significant due to the panel being short a total of 15 players from the registered 30 due to TY Work Experience, injuries and illnesses.  A special mention must go to the 3rd Year players as, during the second half comeback, eight of the eleven on the field are still only in Third Year and they showed tremendous spirit and skill to get back into the game.  A lot of players showed themselves to be well capable of playing at the level and the panel now has huge competition for places. 

Jordan Conroy made at least three exceptional saves and his team’s comeback would not have been possible but for Jordan keeping them in the game at crucial stages.  Both captain, Alan Acres, and vice-captain, Gordon McKeever, were immense throughout and led from the back.  Jason King, Oisín Doyle and substitute Jordan Smith worked tirelessly against a very good attacking East Glendalough Side. 

All the goals came from the starting midfielders with James Ryan and a Dion McGovern penalty bringing the team back into the game.  Jake O’Brien’s move up front late on proved decisive. Firstly, he latched onto a sublime chip from James Ryan and finished to the net to make the score 3-3. The icing on the comeback cake came in injury time with Jake O' Brien getting possession on the edge of the opponents' penalty area, before turning onto his left foot and drilling the ball past the goalkeeper into the bottom right hand corner. It was a sublime finish and a dramatic culmination to the match.

Players who impressed included: Shane Devlin and replacements, Ben Clarke and Ryan Kealy, all of whom showed great energy and work-rate in battling against  a five man opposition midfield. CJ Buckley had a fantastic second half in the centre of defence.  Layth Aluzbi and Michael Moorehouse chased everything and were unlucky not to get on the scoresheet. The next game is against Coláiste Raithín. Well done to everyone, including the team's coach, Mr Duggan.

Team: Jordan Conroy, Jason King, Oisín Doyle, Alan Acres, Gordon McKeever, Shane Devlin, Jake O’Brien, Dion McGovern, James Ryan, Layth Aluzbi, Michael Moorehouse.

Subs: Ben Clarke, Ryan Kealy, CJ Buckley, Jordan Smith.

GIRLS' JUNIOR GAELIC FOOTBALL

St. Kilian's Community School recorded their second win in the Wicklow Girls' Junior B football Championships on Friday, 13th November against St Kevin's CC Dunlavin. The game was a home fixture played in wet and blistery conditions.  St Kilian's dominated the first half with some early scores from Kerri Keane, Kacie Gaule and Charlie Doyle.  Credit to St Kevin's who dominated the early proceedings in the second half with some superb points putting St. Kilian's under pressure.  But due to some great defending by Paris Flynn, Laura Byrne, Jade O' Hagan and Jamie Curran, St Kilian's weren't to be denied as they regained control and finished strongly to record a second win with an impressive score of 8-3 to 1-16. They now qualify for the semi-final. Well done to the squad and to their coach, Ms O'Shea.

FIRST YEAR BOYS' SOCCER

St. Kilian's CS            0

Dublin Oak Academy 4

The First Year Boys took on Dublin Oak Academy on Wednesday, 18th November in Berryfield, Enniskerry and unfortunately were on the wrong side of a 4-0 defeat. The scoreline probably flatters Dublin Oak and the young team from St Kilian's should take heart from that.

There were number of positives to take from the game, like some brilliant tackling in defence by Alan Coster and Mark Byrne. The midfeld trio of Daniel Keogh, Davy Berry-O’Connell and Sergiu Lupes linked up very well throughout the match. The closest chance the boys had was an excellent free-kick which grazed the crossbar early in the 2nd half. The St Kilian's keeper, Jake McMahon, pulled off some wonderful saves too.

Hopefully, the First Year Boys will keep up their good work at training and should reap the benefit of that in their next performance. Best of luck to them and to their coach, Mr Donohoe.

RESERVE DEFENCE FORCES TALK

Thanks to Mr Desmond O' Dowd who delivered an engaging and informative talk to the TY and some Fifth Year students on Thursday, 19th November. Mr Lawless organised this speaker, and the students enjoyed the anecdotes and information about the RDF.

AUTISM AWARENESS

Thanks to Ms Kearns and Ben Rowsome (3^rd Year) for organising Autism Awareness workshops for all the Third Year students. The speaker was Mr Adam Harris, the founder of AsIAm, a foundation which explains the nature of autism and related conditions. Mr Harris came to St Kilian's on Thursday November 19th. The workshops were extremely engaging and informative and were a tremendous success.

NOVEMBER EXAMS

Best of luck to all students who are sitting the November Exams from November 23^rd to 27th. The results of these exams should reflect all of the hard work that has being done by students and their teachers in recent months.

WILLICHEN?

Wo ist WILLICHEN? WILLICHEN, an animated German sausage, has been kidnapped from Frau O' Hara's room in St. Kilian's. The Second Year German students have been busy designing posters about his whereabouts. Keep up the search Second Years! Mrs O' Hara is offering a significant reward for his safe return to Room 23!

November 12^th 2015

GAEILGE 24!

220 students (almost half the student population of the school) undertook the amazing challenge of speaking ONLY Irish for 24 Hours on Tuesday 10th November. Proceeds from this sponsored event went primarily towards assisting Bray Lakers in their wonderful work. In addition, some proceeds went towards some Irish-language initiatives.

All participating students wore blue 'Labhair liom as Gaeilge Inniu' t-shirts  and wristbands. These students had to speak Irish in all their classes and found this a testing but worthwhile challenge. The students even managed to elicit the odd 'cúpla focal' out of their teachers!

The excitement in the school was superb on the day. The students’ confidence in their spoken Irish improved greatly during the exercise.

Great thanks go Roinn na Gaeilge (An tUasal Mac Cormaic, Bean Mhic Giolla Phádraig, Iníon Ní Shé agus Iníon Ní Chinín). Thanks also to other members of staff and management who supported students so enthusiastically on the day.

BIN IT ROADSHOW

This year marks the 10th anniversary of Bin It! - a free, award-winning educational roadshow designed to tackle the impact of anti-social littering. St. Kilian’s School was lucky enough to experience this unique roadshow by inviting them to perform in front of all the 1st and 2nd Year students.

The show started off in modern comedic fashion referring to selfies and teenage behaviour in general. Experiments were carried out on the social littering behaviour of the students. One such experiment involved a group of students being told they could place a beanbag that represented chewing gum anywhere they wanted, including two targets placed in front of them. All the students placed their “gum” on either target, but not in the bin as the two speakers pointed out. When they were asked why they chose to place their beanbag on the target most replied, “because the person before me did.” This social experiment proved that our littering habits can be from watching other’s behaviour towards littering.

More questions were asked about the ‘litterers’ in our society.  The answer to this question was that anyone, from children to the elderly, litter without thinking about it. It was quite clear to anyone who attended the workshop that it is important to take personal responsibility for correct litter disposal and tackle these problems in the most sustainable way, through responsible behaviour.

Well done to the Green School Committee for organising this workshop. It was hugely educational and very entertaining.

[Thanks to Yasmin Keogh (5th Year) for drafting this article].

FIRST YEAR BOYS' GAELIC FOOTBALL

St. Kilian's First Years Boys had their first ever competitive match for their school on Monday 9th  November. They faced a very strong and skilful team from Blessington CC and, unfortunately, the school from West Wicklow prevailed.

The playing conditions were extremely difficult for both teams but despite this both sides contributed to a very entertaining game. Eoin Joyce, Ryan Stafford and Davy Berry all managed to score wonderful goals and should be very happy with their performances. In defence, Oisín Coster, Alex Horan and Adam Byrne stood out with some brilliant tackling and passing. The midfield pairing of Dylan O Hagan and Sergiu Lupes can also be very happy with their effort and endless running throughout the  match.

Hopefully the team will not be too disappointed from this result and will put in a big effort at training to be able to overcome their next opponents, St Brendan's.

 

November 5^th 2015

 

Bray Drugs Awareness Poster Competition

St. Kilian's students excelled in the recent Bray Drugs Awareness Art competition. On Wednesday, November 4^th, the prize winners were announced at a ceremony held in the Barracuda Restaurant on the seafront.

Kayleigh Dodd (5th Year) was announced as the competition's Overall Winner. Her fellow 5th Year students, Megan O' Daly, Rebecca Moore and Tia Kenna were all highly commended for their entries in the Senior Category. Congratulations to the girls and to their teacher, Ms. Hume, on their achievements.

Well done, also, to Melinda Szabo (2H) who was awarded a prize for her art work in the U-14 category. Thanks to Ms. Murray for her work with Melinda in preparing her for the competition.

These awards are a fantastic achievement for the school and we extend our congratulations to the five students and teachers concerned.

Speak Irish for a Day!

On Tuesday, November 10^th, St. Kilian's will be taking part in the nationwide Conradh Na Gaeilge initiative to get students to speak Irish exclusively for a full school day. Participating students are being incentivised to speak only Irish and over 400 schools around the country are taking part. Well done to the participating students and the Irish teachers for their encouragement and guidance.

Halloween Fund-raising

St. Kilian's held two fundraisers before the Halloween midterm break for worthy causes. A bake sale on Thursday raised €280 for LauraLynn Children's Hospice and a fancy dress day on Friday collected €510 for the Purple House Cancer Support Service in Bray. Thanks to everyone for their great generosity and to Ms. Dodd and Ms. Watson for organising the respective events.

BIN IT! Roadshow

On Thursday 5th November, Mr Donohoe organised the "Bin It" roadshow to speak to the junior students in St. Kilian's about the benefits of non-littering. In particular, the focus was placed on not dropping chewing gum on the pavement. The slogan for the presentation was, "Bin your gum when you're done." One of the interesting facts presented in the often humorous and always informative presentation was that, in Ireland every year, over 80 million packets of chewing gum are consumed! The high cost to local councils of cleaning up littered chewing gum from pavements was outlined and students were encouraged to be more aware of their litter disposal every day.

The roadshow was part of the information campaign of the Green Schools Committee in St. Kilian's, and its anti-litter message was imparted to students in a witty and entertaining manner.

Author Visit

On Wednesday, November 4^th, Paul Shortt visited the school and spoke to students about his work as a writer. Paul is a past pupil of the school (Leaving Cert 1998) and is a published author whose resume includes the novel entitled ‘Locked Within’. Paul spoke very insightfully to students about the hard work that goes into writing. In particular, he emphasised the patience, perseverance and dedication required to succeed in order to get a book finally published. He also passed on many tips to aspiring writers about the art of creative writing. It was an informative and worthwhile experience for the students who attended Paul's workshop. Thanks to our librarian, Mr Stokes, for organising the visit.

U-19 Boys' Soccer

Gaelcholáiste Na Mara  4 -2   St. Kilian's C.S.

On Wednesday, November 4^th, St. Kilian's C.S. began their 2015/16 campaign. Unfortunately, they came across a very strong and competitive Arklow team. The 1st half did not go to plan for St. Kilian's. They found themselves one down after seven minutes and two after thirty-five. Both goals were really caused by not clearing the ball in defence when the opportunity was there to do so. St Kilian's were kept in the game by Adam McGrath towards the end of the 1st half, with some brilliant last-gasp defending, thereby blocking a certain goal. The Arklow side did not have it all their own way during this half. A couple of very good goal chances were created, especially by James Kehoe and on another day, the scoreline could have looked very different at half-time.

In the 2nd half, St. Kilian's were like a different side. The effort and enthusiasm of the players increased tenfold and this was rewarded with a great finish from Aaron Kelly shortly after the restart. St Kilian's were definitely on the front foot and the midfield trio of Lee Ward, Karl Mulligan and Brandon Cowan were starting to control the pace of the game. However, Na Mara were the next to strike, reacting quickest to a great save from Ben Brown Roche and tapping home a rebound from a free kick. St. Kilian's had to regroup at this stage and they showed true character by getting themselves back into the game with a goal from Karl Mulligan. Great link up play between Ross Maloney and Aaron Kelly created the opportunity for Karl to latch onto a cross and finish very coolly. Kilian's pressed for an equaliser towards the end of the match and were dealt a very cruel blow when Gaelcholaiste na Mara scored a fourth from a deflected shot.

There were some very solid performances on the St. Kilian's team and Peter Dosa and Thomas Maloney should be very happy with the effort they put in. They say you learn more in defeat than in victory and the St Kilian's team, led by their captain Josh Treacy, will need to put these lessons in to practice for their next match.

 

October 22^nd 2015

GIRLS' JUNIOR FOOTBALL - B CHAMPIONSHIP

St. Kilian's Community School Bray got their Junior Championship off to a good start at Bray Emmets’ GAA Field on Friday, 16th October.  They recorded a comprehensive win over their Bray neighbours, Coláiste Ráithín in the preliminary round of the Girls' Junior Football B Championship.  The St. Kilian's girls started brightly and a few early goals settled them into the match.  They led by 3 goals and 3 points at half time and continued to add decisive scores by Sophie Curran, Kacie Gaule and Lauryn O'Daly to win comfortably by 8-4 to 3-2.

This was a good team performance in which the backs defended bravely in front of goal keeper Katie Fitzpatrick. Most prominent in defence were Jamie Curran, Jade O'Hagan and Paris Flynn. Captain Laura Byrne held the upper hand at midfield and the forwards found the net on 8 occasions!  Credit to the opposition who put on a great performance and battled bravely to the end.  St. Kilian's C.S. now qualify to play St. Kevin's C.C. Dunlavin in the first round proper.

Thanks to Ms O' Shea for her hard work in preparing the team.

 

TRANSITION YEAR BAKE SALE

Well done to Mrs Dodd and her TY Home Economics students for organising a Bake Sale on Thursday, 22nd October. All the proceeds from the sale went to the LauraLynn Children's Hospice.

 

HALLOWEEN FANCY DRESS DAY

A fun day was had by all the students on Friday 23rd October - the final day before the midterm break. The Student Council and Ms. Watson organised a Halloween fancy dress day and students were permitted to doff their uniforms for the day in favour of wearing more weird and wacky creations.

At lunchtime, a Halloween-themed Lunchtime to Shine concert was held in the School Canteen. The highlight of this was a rendition of ‘Ireland’s Call’ by the teachers, all togged out in Ireland rugby gear.

Prizes were awarded for the best costumes in all the different year groups. All in all, great fun was had by everyone on the day. On a more serious note, every student contributed €2 for the chance to dress up, and all proceeds from the day went to the Purple House Cancer Support Service in Bray.

 

FIFTH YEAR PARENT-TEACHER MEETING

Thanks to all the parents and guardians who attended the recent Fifth Year Parents' meeting in the school. There was a high turnout on Tuesday, 20th October and valuable feedback about academic performance was relayed to parents and students on the day.

 

October 15^th 2015

MORE SINNED AGAINST THAN SINNING!

The Sixth Years thoroughly enjoyed their trip to see King Lear at the Helix Theatre on Monday, 12^th October. The Second Age production of Lear was excellent, with strong performances from all the leading actors. Some students were surprised by the minimalist staging and the modern costumes worn by the actors, but these aspects of the production didn't deter from their enjoyment of the show. Everyone thought that seeing the production live helped them to understand the play better, so it was an afternoon well spent away from the classroom! Thanks to Mr Kelly and Ms Kavanagh for organising the trip.

 

 

MUSICAL ACTIVITIES

The musical activities of St Kilian’s have been well and truly launched for 2015-2016.  The concert season began on Tuesday, 13^th October, with the first Lunch-Time To Shine of the year, showcasing talent from different year groups.  This is a lovely opportunity for students to sing or play instruments while others get entertained over their lunch-break.  We had renditions of Elvis, Adele and Emeli Sande, to mention but a few. 

On Thursday, 15th October, music students were treated to traditional Irish music from Ciaran and Martin Tourish, two members of the Donegal-based traditional Irish group Altan. This was a wonderful opportunity for the students to hear experts in the field explaining the subtleties of regional styles of playing, and scholars in the field of musicology who have invested a serious amount of time researching music and performing it. In addition, there are also 13 students who are taking lessons with Music Generation this year.  At every break and on the school corridors, students can be heard practising their instruments.  They are enjoying the experience very much.  Rehearsals for Emmanuel will begin after the mid-term break. 

Thanks to Ms. O' Sullivan for all her trojan work in promoting music in the school.

 

CHEERIOS BREAKFAST FOR CHILDLINE

Class 6LCA took part in the Cheerios Breakfast fund-raising event on Friday, 9th October. This is an annual event held in St. Kilian's for a worthy cause. All funds raised go to Childline. An enjoyable morning was had by everyone. Well done to Chantelle Stevenson (6LCA)  for organising this event.

 

5LCA TEAM-BUILDING

On Tuesday 13th October, class 5LCA went orienteering around Bray Head on a team-building exercise. The School Completion Team organised the event. Students had to navigate their way around difficult terrain and work together to succeed in their endeavours. Everyone had a great time and enjoyed the challenge immensely. A particular word of praise goes to Gina Carroll-Keogh who was deemed to be the most enthusiastic participant in the day's activities. Thanks to Ms. Lynch and Ms. Chow for accompanying the class on this exercise.

 

HALLOWEEN FANCY DRESS DAY

Students (and a few teachers) are encouraged to don wild and wacky costumes on Friday 23rd October for Halloween Fancy Dress day in St. Kilian's. Everyone is asked to contribute €2 for this privilege and the funds raised will go to charity. A great, and somewhat chaotic, day is expected! Thanks to the Student Council and Ms. Watson for organising the event.

 

FIFTH YEAR PARENT-TEACHER MEETING

On Tuesday 20th October, the Fifth Year parent-teacher meeting will take place. We expect that there will be a large attendance to discuss academic performance and teachers' expectations from their students in this crucial first year of the Leaving Cert programme. 

 

POETRY WORKSHOP

On Friday, 16th October, the Brave New Words Poetry Slam workshop was held in St. Kilian's. The facilitator was Mr Stephen Murray and he instructed the TY students on how to write uninhibited and entertaining poetry. He managed to entertain the students tremendously; many of whom were initially sceptical about the merits of poetry. By the end of the workshop, a lot of our students had gained confidence in expressing themselves through writing, so the day was a great success. Thanks to Ms. Kavanagh for organising the event.

 

AXA ROADSHOW

On Tuesday, 13th October, the TY students attended the AXA roadshow in the Royal Marine Hotel in Dun Laoghaire. In the words of one of the students: “The show was about road safety. A mother of a man who lost his life in a motorbike accident stood up and spoke to us about the dangers of motorbikes and buying faulty vehicles. She also told us that if you aren't safe on the road you run the risk of damaging not only your own life but the lives of the people on the road and their families too. A doctor who works in A&E showed us images of the injuries people had sustained in road traffic accidents.  We heard from people who work in the emergency services and they told us about their experiences at road traffic accidents. Listening to stories from the family members of road traffic accidents and from members of the emergency services had a great impact on the way the students see road safety. Thanks to Mrs. Dodd and Ms. Ryan for organising the trip”.

 

October 8^th 2015

 

A PRIVATE AUDIENCE WITH THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND TEAM!

On Tuesday 6th October, twenty-five St. Kilian's CS students were afforded the fantastic opportunity to go to the National Sports Campus in Abbotstown to watch the Ireland soccer team train ahead of their crucial European Qualifier against Germany in the Aviva Stadium on Thursday next. The opportunity was given to St. Kilian's by the local Bank of Ireland in Bray. This is part of a link that the school has formed with the bank this year.

St. Kilian's were the only school there to watch the team train. After training, they got the opportunity to meet the players and get jerseys signed along with getting some photos along the way. We would like to say a big thank you to Gavin Leech in Bank of Ireland and also to the FAI for giving us this fantastic opportunity. We look forward to working with Bank of Ireland this year. Thanks to Ms. Brophy for organising this memorable trip for our students.

 

A CURIOUS INCIDENT?

On Wednesday 7th October, St Kilian's Community School Book Club travelled to the Bord Gais Energy Theatre to enjoy  a performance of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Marianne Elliot's revved-up staging of Mark Haddon’s best-selling novel delighted the book lovers. Stand out performances combined with thrillingly imaginative sets left the students enthralled long after the show ended. A memorable afternoon was had by all. Special thanks must go to the organiser and School Librarian, Mr Chris Stokes. The Book Club meets monthly on Monday afternoons.

 

SENIOR GIRLS' GAELIC FOOTBALL

A very young and inexperienced senior St Kilian’s Gaelic football team travelled to Coláiste Chill Mhantáin on Tuesday, 6th October to play their first match of the season. Unfortunately, the result didn’t go our way. The team played brilliantly, with many girls making their debut on the Gaelic field. Everyone played their best but there were some players who stood out: Laura Byrne, who received player of the match, Katie Fitzpatrick, Laura Drew, Kerri Keane, Orla Devlin, Jade O’Hagan and Sophie Thomas. We look forward to improving form over the rest of the season. Thanks to Ms Ryan for her sterling efforts in coaching the girls. Best of luck in subsequent matches, girls!

 

SIXTH YEAR THEATRE TRIP

Forty-eight Leaving Cert Higher Level English students are looking forward to attending the Second Age production of King Lear, which is being staged in the Helix Theatre on Monday, 12th October. Watching the play live should give the students valuable insights into this marvellous play, and help them in their studies for the English exam. Thanks to Mr Kelly and Ms Kavanagh for organising the trip.

 

SIXTH YEAR RETREAT

On Thursday, 8th October, the Sixth Year students attended a retreat in Ovoca Manor, near Avoca in South Wicklow. The students thoroughly enjoyed the experience and participated in many team-building and fun exercises. It was a day away for the textbooks, and the students felt positive about what they learned on the retreat. Thanks to the Chaplain, Ms. Egan, for organising the trip.

 

TY ACTIVITY DAY

On Monday, 6th October, all the TY students went to Blessington, on an activity day. Three separate activities were laid on: Zip-it high-wire adventure, hillwalking and puppet-making. All tastes were catered for with these disparate activities and everyone had an enjoyable time away from the classroom. Thanks to Mr Lawless for organising the activities. 

October 1^st 2015

 

CLASS 3C VISITs ANIMAL SANCTUARY

On Tuesday, 29th September, class 3C went on an educational trip as part of their CSPE action project. The class wanted to find out about animal cruelty and thought visiting the Sharpeshill Animal Sanctuary would be a great way to get a hands-on experience of this. The class began their day in room 5 with cookies and juice for a quick breakfast before making their way to the sanctuary in Glenealy. There was a very informative talk by two of the animal carers and a chance for our students to ask questions. At the end of the talk, the class met with Oscar, a rather large dog, who recently came to be in the sanctuary. After the talk, the class were able to wander around the sanctuary and meet the animals. The highlight was being able to interact and cuddle some new puppies and kittens. It took some persuasion to get the class to leave all the animals behind! The sanctuary staff were delighted with the box of donated food which the class had collected to help feed the animals.

 

The class then journeyed on to Glendalough. Here, they walked the broad walk loop from the monastic ruins up to the upper lake. Lunch was eaten down by the beautiful setting of the lake. The students  explored the monastic ruins and learned about St. Kevin. The beautiful sunshine really added to the wonderful experience.

 

The class would like to thank their teachers Ms. Murray and Ms. Ní Mhurchú and SNAs Jay and Emma for accompanying them and looking after them on the trip. The day was very enjoyable and it will lead to a very good CSPE action project!

 

SIXTH YEAR PARENT-TEACHER MEETING

There was a very good turnout for the Sixth Year Parent-Teacher Meeting which took place on Tuesday 29th September. The meeting allowed parents and students to get valuable feedback from subject teachers on academic performance and effort. As there is a very high attendance by Sixth Years at daily evening study in the school, this group of Sixth Years are motivated to learn and determined to succeed in their exams. Therefore, the meeting proved a positive experience for the students and their parents. Thanks to all who attended the meeting.

 

The Fifth Year Parent-Teacher Meeting is due to take place on Tuesday, 20th October. We hope for a similarly high turnout from parents on this occasion.

 

AWARENESS - "BEAT THE BLUES" CAMPAIGN

A massive thank you goes to the people of Bray for the wonderful contribution of €783 for the Awareness - "Beat the Blues" campaign which is currently in full swing. Class 6LCA and their co-ordinating teacher, Ms. Kells, went to Tesco in Bray on Thursday, 24th September, and were engaged in bag-packing to support the Awareness campaign. The class was delighted with the large amount of money raised for this cause. Well done to all concerned.

 

FRENCH LANGUAGE FILM - MERMAID THEATRE

The Fifth and Sixth Year French students went to see a French language entitled "Les Combattants" in the Mermaid Theatre on Monday, 28th September. The film is marketed to an Irish audience as "Love at First Sight".

 

"Les Combattants" is a tale of young love and survivalism for a young French couple who cement their love in an army survival training camp. It is a love story with a difference. When easy-going Arnaud (Kevin Azais) meets feisty combatant Madeline (Adele Haenel), he decides to follow her onto a "super difficult" army training programme. Aggression, not affection, sparks their romance in the film! The film charmingly tells of this unusual love match in a fast-paced and humorous fashion, and the students were able to appreciate its quality, judging by their reactions to the film afterwards. Thanks to Ms. Arongundade for organising this outing.

September 24^th 2015

 

SIXTH YEAR ART TRIP

On Thursday, 24th September, the Sixth Year Art classes went to the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) to see an exhibition relevant to their coursework. The students enjoyed the experience and wish to thank Ms. Hume and Ms. Murray for organising the trip.

 

TESCO BAG PACKING

On Thursday, 24th September, as part of their Social Education task, the students of 6LCA went to the Tesco store on the Vevay Road to engage in a day of bag packing. All the proceeds from this enterprise are to go to Aware, an organisation which highlights the problems of depression and helps those suffering.

This is an annual event undertaken by 6LCA - over €570 was raised last year for Aware in a similar effort. It is hoped that the people of Bray will show the same generosity on this occasion in order to raise funds for an organisation that does invaluable work with vulnerable people. Thanks to Ms. Kells for organising and supervising the event.

 

LITTER AND WASTE MANAGEMENT

Thanks to Mr. Eoin Morton from An Taisce who came to the school on Thursday, 24th September, to talk to the Green School Committee and the TY Environmental Studies class on the theme of "Litter and Waste Management". Under the enthusiastic guidance of Geography teacher, Mr Donohoe, the school is aiming to achieve a coveted "Green Flag" and great efforts are being made to educate the students about the need to recycle and reuse.

The students found Mr. Morton's talk to be very informative and he answered all of their queries with insight. Mr Donohoe is optimistic that the great efforts made by the Green School Committee thus far will be sustained as the drive to achieve the goal of a "Green School" continues.

 

NATIONAL PLOUGHING CHAMPIONSHIPS

The 5th and 6th Year LCA classes had a marvellous experience at the National Ploughing Championships at Ratheniska, Co. Laois on Tuesday last. The students were amazed at the enormous array of stands and exhibits at the championships. Thanks to Ms. Kells and Ms. Brophy for organising the trip and accompanying the students on the tour.

 
 

September 16^th 2015

 

OPENING YEAR MASS

On Tuesday, 15th September, the whole school community went to St. Fergal's Church to celebrate the opening Mass of the school year. Fr. Larry Behan was the celebrant. The school's choir sang beautifully under the guidance of Ms. Louise O' Sullivan, our Music Teacher. Josh Fisher (1st Year) and Anthony O' Brien (2nd Year) performed particularly impressive solo routines. Thanks to the Chaplain, Ms. Egan, and to the RE Department for their hard work in organising the church service.

                                                        

SIXTH YEARS ATTEND HIGHER OPTIONS

On Wednesday, 16th September, all the Sixth Years were absent from class for a worthwhile purpose. They went to the RDS to attend the Higher Options exhibition. The students found the experience to be enriching and valuable, as they were able to seek career information and make enquiries from qualified and knowledgeable experts in specific fields of interest. Everyone found the day to be a positive and useful experience and would like to thank Ms. Fitzpatrick for organising the event.

 

NATIONAL PLOUGHING CHAMPIONSHIPS VISIT

6LCA are eagerly looking forward to their excursion to Co. Laois on Tuesday, 22nd September, in order to attend the National Ploughing Championships. This is the first time that the school has organised an excursion to this extremely popular national event, and it is hoped that this trip will begin a tradition that will be continued in the years to come. Ms. Kells, the LCA Co-ordinator, has meticulously planned the excursion and she is certain that her students will benefit greatly from the experience. Best wishes to all concerned.

 

FIFTH YEAR ACTIVITY DAY

On Friday, 18th September, all the Fifth Year students will to Avonree Adventure Centre near Blessington. There, the students will participate in outdoor and team-building activities such as rock-climbing, kayaking, canoeing and orienteering. The students are eagerly looking forward to these activities and we hope that they have a thoroughly enjoyable and fun experience.

 

RETREATS

The TY and First Year students will soon be going to Ovoca House near Avoca for the annual school retreats. Team-building and fun exercises are part of the experience and the students will hopefully benefit from active participation in such activities. Best of luck to all concerned.

September 9^th 2015

 

LOURDES TRIP

Five Leaving Cert students, Mollie McGrath, Hannah Johnston, Jenny Harris, Leah Sergeant and James Kehoe are currently in Lourdes as part of the Dublin Diocesan Pilgrimage. They are accompanied on the pilgrimage by Mr. Anthony O' Kelly, their Year Head. The students are acting as helpers to the sick pilgrims and are working every day to ensure that the pilgrims are comfortable and happy. Our students participate in liturgical services, day trips and social events for the pilgrims. Although this is extremely hard work, it is a very humbling and rewarding experience for the students concerned.

 

STATE EXAM RESULTS

Well done to our Junior Cert and Leaving Cert Applied students who received their examination results on Wednesday last. The results were very encouraging with many students excelling across the board. Thanks to all the teachers for their efforts and hard work in preparing the students for the examinations.

 

PARENTS' ASSOCIATION

St. Kilian's would like to pay thanks to our Parents' Association for the trojan work they did over the summer in running the Book Rental Scheme for the entire school. This work involved countless hours of preparation and was done entirely voluntarily by the parents concerned. The Book Rental Scheme has been running successfully in the school for many years and great credit is due to the Parents' Association for their effort and commitment. Well done and thanks to all concerned.

 

SYRIAN REFUGEE CRISIS APPEAL

In the coming weeks, a group of students are organising a collection of essential items that will be distributed to the refugees across Europe. Collection points will be located in each assembly area and students are asked to contribute the following items: soap, shower gel, toothpaste, toothbrushes, hair brushes, colouring books, pens and pencils among other things. We believe that our students and their families will show generosity and compassion to the refugees by contributing handsomely to this worthwhile and essential appeal.

 

WELCOME FIRST YEARS & NEW STUDENTS

We welcome our new students in First Year and others who have transferred into the school at the start of this term. We hope that our newcomers feel happy and settle in quickly into life at St. Kilian's, as we are a welcoming and inclusive school that caters for the needs and welfare of our students.

 

May 25^th 2015

 

TRANSITION YEAR PARENTS’ NIGHT

On Wednesday, May 27^th, the end-of-year night for TY students and their parents/guardians was held at the school. The night was very ably compered by TY students, Josh O’Connell and Tia Kenna. It was a fitting celebration of a highly successful year, with many groups from St Kilian’s involved in a wide range of national programmes and initiatives, including Build A Bank, Junk Kouture, Green School Initiative, County Enterprise Awards and the Young Social Innovators Award. The TY students bonded together on their many out-of-school excursions throughout the year. Most notable, perhaps, was a two-day trip to Ovoca Retreat Centre last September.

In late April, the TY students each presented a detailed portfolio containing examples of what they had learnt, contributed and achieved throughout the year. On the night, retired Deputy Principal, Mr John Macnamara, who had interviewed each of the students about their portfolios, paid tribute to the quality of their work. Prizes were presented to the students with the best eight portfolios.

The main award winners on the night included:

 

                        Brady Yeoh (Student of the Year)

                        Rachel Downey

                        Gary Shortt

 

Students who had completed their bronze Gaisce awards, were also presented with these.

 

Mr Murphy, Principal, congratulated everyone involved in such a very successful year.

 

The evening finished with a slideshow, giving everyone a light-hearted taste of what it’s like to be a TY student at St Kilian’s.

 

Well done to Mr Lawless for all of his hard work as TY Coordinator throughout the year.

 

May 21^st 2015

 

LEAVING CERT GRADUATION CEREMONY

On Thursday 21st May, the Sixth Years brought the curtain down on their second level education in St. Kilian's with a lavish graduation ceremony at the school. On the previousTuesday, subjects award winners had been announced, with individual teachers recognising students who had excelled and worked conscientiously in their subject areas.

 

The graduation ceremony opened with a religious service, which was conducted by Ms. Sinnott, the school's Chaplain. This was followed by the presentation of the major awards, which were kept a closely guarded secret until the night.

 

The MAJOR AWARD WINNERS were as follows:

 

            Sophie Mooney (Student of the Year)

            Adela Hunt (Academic Excellence)

            Sarah Bermingham  (Bray Lions' Club Endeavour Award)

            Luke Weir (Community Spirit Award)

            Stephen Downey (Attendance Award)

            Ross Doyle (Sports Award)

            Kate McCarthy (Irish Award)

            Stephen McCormack (LCA Student of the Year)

            Jessica Keogh (Prefect of the Year)

 

The Courtesy Award winners were:

 

            Rochelle Healy

            Leanne Joyce

            Brendan Smith

            Daniel Byrne

            Ciara Kehoe

            Shannon Scanlon

            Terry O' Toole

            Chloe Whelehan

 

There were speeches by the Head Boy and Girl, Alex Byrne and Sophie Mooney, and by the Principal, Mr Murphy. A presentation was made to retired Year Head, Mrs Martha Lannin, who addressed the Year Group and congratulated them on their graduation.

Congratulations and thanks go to everyone involved in a hugely enjoyable and successful event. Special thanks to Ms Sinéad Murray and the R.E. Department for their tremendous efforts.

 

CLASS ACHIEVEMENT & SPORTS AWARDS CEREMONY

 

On Friday, May 22^nd, the whole school body gathered together for a ceremony to reward students who have excelled or worked diligently during this academic year. For each individual class, there were four awards - Academic Excellence, Endeavour, Attendance and Community Spirit. Attendance Awards were also presented to the many students with full attendance.

 

The medals for Sports Day were also presented to the winners of the various events. James Ryan was named Junior Sports Star and Ben Brown Roche won the Senior Sports Star award.

 

The Principal, Mr Murphy, congratulated all of the prize-winners, thanked the students and their families, along with all of the staff who worked with them over the course of the year and wished everyone the best of luck in the state and house exams. He finished by wishing everyone a happy and safe summer holiday.

 

The event finished with a slideshow of photographic memories from a very successful and enjoyable 2014-2015 school year.  

 

STATE EXAMS

 

Everyone at St. Kilian's would like to wish the best of luck to our Leaving and Junior Certificate students who will begin their exams on Wednesday, June 3rd.

 

 

May 14^th 2015

 

YOUNG SOCIAL INNOVATORS

On Wednesday 6th May, the Young Social Innovators team attended the showcase in City-West. The students finally got to put their hard work on display in front of the judges and thousands of students. They gave an excellent presentation and answered the judges’ questions brilliantly. Unfortunately, the St Kilian's team did not pick up any prizes on the day, but nonetheless must be highly commended for all their hard work this academic year.

The YSI team and their mentor, Ms. Brophy would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of the students, staff and local businesses for their help and support all year for the team’s efforts to address homelessness.

 

ENTERPRISE CLASS

The student entrepreneurs have been invited to showcase and sell their products in the Bank of Ireland in Bray on Friday, May 22^nd. DrifTY will be there selling their beautiful hand crafted candle holders made from local driftwood. Everyone is welcome to drop in and have a chat with the team and to support their business.

It has been a very busy year for the Transition Year Business and Enterprise classes. They have all worked extremely hard on the various projects and competitions throughout the year. Well done to all concerned and the best of luck to next year's group.

 

SPORTS DAY

Well done to all of the students who participated in events in the annual St Kilian's Sports Day which was held on Wednesday, May 13th. The weather gods smiled on the events and students participated enthusiastically in track and field, skills and novelty events. Everybody thoroughly enjoyed themselves in one of the highlights of the St. Kilian's school calendar. A tuck shop was run by the Lourdes Committee and over €400 was raised to help fund the students' participation on the Dublin Diocesan pilgrimage to Lourdes in September. 

The main winners on the day were: Ben Brown Roche (Best Senior Athlete) and James Ryan (Best Junior Athlete)

Congratulations to Mr Conway for organising a very successful day.

 

TEACHERS v SIXTH YEAR SOCCER MATCH

Well done to the Sixth Year Boys' soccer team who continued the students' winning streak in the annual teachers v students soccer match. The match was a very tight contest, with the students emerging victorious on a 2-0 scoreline. The large crowd of fellow students, teachers and parents enjoyed the match, which was played in a competitive but good-natured spirit.

 

The game was a very even and competitive contest, settled by a goal in each half for the students by Stephen Downey and Craig Melia. The teachers tried manfully to get a goal, but for the second year running, they failed to trouble the scoreboard and drew a blank! Some shooting practice and extra reserves of oxygen are needed to improve to rectify this situation next year! There were  great performances by Ross Doyle, Michael O' Brien, Daniel Byrne, James Cahill and Stephen Harris for the Sixth Year team while Mr Forde, Mr Fitzpatrick, Mr Stokes and the other teachers played well for the vanquished staff side.

 

Thanks to everyone for making the match such an enjoyable and sporting spectacle. Well done to the Sixth Years on their victory, but the teachers are already hatching a plot to win the crown back next year!!

 

END OF YEAR PREPARATIONS

Ms. Murray (Graduation Co-ordinator) and the other members of the Religious Education Department are earnestly preparing for the Sixth Year Graduation ceremony, which will be held in the school on Thursday 21st May at 7.15pm. End-of-year academic, endeavour, community spirit and sporting awards will be presented to students on the night, following a religious service. Weeks of hard work have gone into preparing this showcase night for the school, so best wishes are extended to everyone concerned for the success of the ceremony.

 

May 8^th 2015

 

NEAT STREETS AWARD

On Wednesday 6th May, St Kilian's received their Neat Streets Award in Croke Park. Neat Streets is a programme run by An Taisce for schools to improve litter and waste issues.

 

The Green Schools committee throughout the school year has been promoting recycling in the St. Kilian's and been trying to make students more aware about their waste. Graham Farrell, Theo Farrell, Leah Sargent and Jade Hanley Canavan, with their teacher, Mr Donohoe, represented the committee and St Kilian's at the ceremony. The four students gave a wonderful presentation about all the changes that have been brought about by the committee.

 

Well done to the committee, the 4th year Environmental Studies class and the students in St Kilian's who have helped out in trying to improve our school.

 

2^nd YEAR THEATRE OUTING

On Tuesday 5th May, Mr Kelly's 2^nd Year English class had a very enjoyable outing to see the stage adaptation of To Kill A Mockingbird, which is being performed at the Bord Gais Energy Theatre at the moment. The class thoroughly enjoyed this dynamic production, with its impressive stagecraft and convincing performances from the cast. The production managed to seamlessly integrate dialogue, narration and music into the performance, and thus the plot was told entertainingly to the large audience present on the day. For some students, this was their first taste of live theatre and all the class members agreed that they would like to attend further shows in the future! The class got to stop off for a pre-performance lunch at Carrickmines Shopping Centre, so everyone thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

 

SPORTS DAY

Mr Conway is busily preparing for the St Kilian's annual Sports Day, which is due to take place on Wednesday 13th May. Track, field and novelty events for all ages take place, so the emphasis is on fun and participation for all. The day culminates with the annual Teachers v Sixth Years soccer match. The students were victorious last year, thereby breaking a run of three consecutive victories for the staff. The teachers are eager to claim back the prize and have been engaged in a strict diet and fitness regime in preparation for the match!!! Hopefully, the sun will shine on the day and everyone will enjoy what it one of the most memorable days in the St. Kilian's school calendar.

 

April 23^rd 2015

 

JUVENES TRANSLATORES - A STUDENT'S EXPERIENCE

I entered an international translation competition in mid-November with no expectation of winning. I was asked to translate a text from one chosen European language to another. As I have an Ecuadorian background, I chose to translate a passage from Spanish into English. The passage was about the importance of education and European identity. I didn't find the passage overly difficult but, as I stated earlier, I had no great expectations of success.

Fast forward 3 months to February 2015, when Ms Arongundade told me I had won Juvenes Translatores I couldn't believe it. She informed me that I had won a trip to go to Brussels, I was overwhelmed. It was such a surreal moment for me and I couldn't wait to go home to tell my parents. Needless to say, they were very proud of my achievement and delighted for me.

Over the next few weeks it was all I could think about but on the morning of the flight over to Brussels I felt completely unprepared. I found myself throwing extra things into my suitcase only to take them back out. And finally it was time to go to get the Aircoach to the airport. After that, everything went by so quickly. When we landed in Brussels, I felt like a VIP as there was someone waiting for me in the airport waiting to take me to the Hotel.

The awards ceremony was definitely my favourite part. We were driven to European Commission building. I never expected the room to be so big. They even had a name plaque on the table where I should sit! I felt like a visiting Head of State.  I enjoyed listening to the other participants' speeches but I was glad that I was not making one! I would not have had the confidence to stand up in front of all those people and speak. There were 28 winners from each of the participating EU countries. When my name was called out to accept my prize, I felt very proud as I was representing my country on the European stage. It was one of the highlights of my educational life and a moment I will not forget.

I would like to thank my family for their constant support and thanks also to my teachers Mr Mac Cormaic, Ms Arongondade and Mr Murphy for their guidance and encouragement in this project.

 

Blog written by Adela Hunt (6th Year)

 

YOUNG SOCIAL INNOVATORS

This week saw the results of the Young Social Innovators competition and the feedback on the reports handed in by the teams. The St Kilian's YSI students’ project on Homelessness has been shortlisted and selected for the competition final in front of judges and 1000's of students on May 6th in the City West Convention Centre. There are 60 teams chosen to present and St Kilian's will present alongside four other schools in the "Make our country more inclusive and eliminate poverty" category.

The team continued their great work over the Easter Holidays by presenting sleeping bags to the WH Five Loaves and providing food and clothing to "The Jacket off your Back". They also donated some clothing and other much needed items to ‘The Jacket off your Back’'s Syrian appeal to help children who have been displaced from their homes due to conflict.

They have also been working hard to get their postcards signed that they will present to the TDs in the Dáil this week.

Please show your support by signing a postcard if you meet the students on their travels. Well done to Ms. Brophy and the TY students concerned.

 

GREEN SCHOOLS COMMITTEE

Congratulations to the Green Schools committee.

They will be receiving the Neat Streets award for their efforts in tackling the issues of litter and waste in our school and local community over the past academic year. An Taisce are arranging a celebration Neat Streets event for all schools involved in the programme .This event will take place in Croke Park, Dublin on the 6th of May.  Well done to Mr. Donohoe and all the students involved.

 

STATE EXAMS

Best wishes to the Leaving and Junior Cert students who are currently involved in oral and practical examinations for the state exams.

 

TY ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

On Wednesday 22nd April, the 4th Year Environmental Studies class, along with their teacher Mr Donohoe, helped the Ballywaltrim playground committee carry out a 'Spring Clean' in the local area with a special emphasis on the new playground itself.

 

The Spring Clean-up was organised by the playground committee. Thanks, in particular, goes to the committee's chairperson, Breda Hobbs, and other members such as Sarah Wray and Audrey Donnelly. All these ladies worked extremely hard on the day. Yumie Wild, a parent in the area, played a huge part on the day also.

 

The students really enjoyed being able to help their local community and it also gave them a chance to play on some of the swings and slides in the beautiful summer weather! Well done to all who helped out.

 

 

March 26^th 2015

 

WICKLOW STUDENT ENTERPRISE AWARDS

Thursday, 19^th March saw the Regional Final of the Wicklow Student Enterprise Awards in Rathnew. St. Kilian's was represented by two mini companies: DrifTY and Sugar Rush. There were 34 mini companies on the day and some really innovative ideas. Both teams from St. Kilian's did amazingly well to present their business on stage to a large group of people. It's not easy to public speak in front of your peers!

There were 10 prizes on the day and DrifTY were delighted to be awarded a "Special Commendation" from the Local Enterprise office. The hard work paid off! Well done to Alan Acres, Ryan Clancy, Daniel Fegan and Christopher Adams Mitchell on their award.  Well done also to the girls from Sugar Rush, who narrowly missed out. The girls' team was: Moesha Chong, Julia Radu, Lorena Radu and Martyna Nierkarz.

 

LOURDES FUNDRAISERS

Well done to the Fifth Year students for a plethora of great ideas to raise funds for the Dublin Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes, which will take place next September. A FIFA 2015 X-Box competition has proven to be very popular with the boys, in particular. The competition has run for two weeks and a lot of money has been raised by the participants. Well done to James Kehoe (5B) who was the brainchild and chief organiser behind the competition.

Secondly, on Thursday 26th March, the Fifth Years organised a sports blitz for all the First Year students. Thankfully good weather on the afternoon facilitated the many sports that the First Years played and enjoyed thoroughly. Over €200 was raised as each student paid a nominal fee of €2 to participate and have great fun!

Well done to all the Fifth Years and to Ms. Power for co-ordinating all the activities.

 

ONE BOOK, ONE COMMUNITY PROJECT

On Thursday, 26th March, a quiz was held in St. Kilian's. The quiz questions all centred on the book selected for this year's One Book, One Community project - The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. First Years from St. Kilian's, as well as Sixth Class primary schoolchildren from surrounding schools in the Bray area, took part in the project by reading the popular children's novel. The quiz was very enjoyable for all as the students showed excellent understanding of the novel  by their knowledgeable answers. The First Years in St. Kilian's will later be treated to a showing of the film of the novel after the Easter break. Thanks to Ms. Garvey for organising the quiz.

 

TY ACTIVITY DAY

On Thursday 26th March, all the TY students were out of class on for activities that included hillwalking, zip-it (high-wire walking and team building) and puppet-making. The students had a very enjoyable day and participated enthusiastically in all the activities. Activity days are an integral part of Transition Year in St. Kilian's as the students have the opportunity to try out different pursuits which take them out of their comfort zones. Thanks to Mr. Lawless for all his hard work in organising the various activities.

 

 

March 12^th 2015

 

SEACHTAIN NA GAEILGE

St. Kilian’s Community School celebrated Seachtain na Gaeilge this week. The classroom doors of the school were adorned with signs “as Gaeilge” and pupils displayed their impressive artistic talents in the popular “Comórtas na bPóstaeir”. On Tuesday afternoon, an orienteering treasure hunt "as Gaeilge" was organised by An tUasal Mac Cormaic for the First Year classes. This proved to be very popular and competitive!

On Thursday afternoon, First Year and Second Year pupils took part in a talent show which celebrated Irish culture, music and dance. The Sixth Class pupils from St. Fergal's N.S. attended the concert and throughly enjoyed the spectacle.

Thanks to Ms. O' Sullivan, Ms. O' Shea and An tUasal Mac Cormaic for all their hard work throughout the week to celebrate Seachtain Na Gaeilge in the school. A great week was had by all. Buíochas mór le gach duine a ghlac páirt ann.

 

SIXTH YEAR PREFECTS CHOSEN

Congratulations to the successful 24 Fifth Year students who were chosen to be the prefects in their Leaving Cert Year. 58 students applied for the honour to be chosen as a prefect, and many worthy students were left disappointed at not being chosen. Commiserations to the unsuccessful candidates.

The prefects for the next academic year are:

Matthew Brennan, Gabor Dosa, Graham Farrell, Theo Farrell, Hannah Leonard, Nikita Moloney, Allanagh O' Dowd (all from 5A).

Dmitri Chizhikov, Mayling Chong, Orla Devlin, Hannah Johnston, Lucy Masterson, Adam Peacock (all from 5B).

Georgia-Lee Flynn, Catriona Gillman, Jennifer Harris, Jessie Lopez, Alison McGrath, Ben Daly McKenna, Natalie Sroka, Abdallah Balasmeh (all from 5C)

Chloe Forde, Jason Somers, Adam Doyle-McGrath (all from 5LCA)

Well done to all the successful candidates. The Head Boy and Head Girl for next year will be chosen from the list of prefects, after an interview process, in May.

The new prefects will begin their duties in the forthcoming weeks as they take over from the outgoing Sixth Years, who will concentrate on their studies for the upcoming Leaving Cert in June.

 

LCA WORK EXPERIENCE

Thanks to all the local businesses who facilitated our LCA students with their work experience which took place from March 9^th to 13th. Thanks to Ms. Kells, the LCA Co-ordinator, for all her hard work in preparing the study for work experience and for monitoring our students' progress at work during the week.

 

March 4^th 2015

PARIS CULTURAL TRIP

On Monday, 23rd February, thirty-three Fourth and Fifth Year students travelled to Paris for a four day cultural tour. The trip was organised by Ms Hume (Art teacher) who was accompanied by Mr Connolly and Ms Lawlor.

The students got the chance to visit a number of world famous museums and monuments, such as The Louvre, The Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame and of course The Eiffel Tower. The students also enjoyed a night- time cruise along the Seine and dinner at an authentic French crêperie. They bought their gifts on the famous Champs-Élysées and visited the scenic Montmartre all before returning home on Thursday night.

 

FIRST YEAR GIRLS' BASKETBALL

Following a 23-9 win over Avondale CC, the First Year Girls played East Glendalough School for their second game of the season. A close game saw EGS emerge with a 25-18 win.

Scorers for St. Kilian's were Katelyn Moloney, Kayleigh Howick, Teigan O'Gorman, Melinda Szabo and Weronika Roszczak. St. Kilian's next game will be away against St. Mary's, Arklow on March 19th.

Well done to the girls for the battling qualities that they have displayed in their first two games of the year. Mr. Conway is very hopeful for good results in forthcoming matches considering the effort put in by everyone on the panel thus far.

 

EMMANUEL

Emmanuel is a project of the Dublin Diocesan Liturgical Resource Centre and promotes the use of Sacred Music in Secondary Schools.  Eleven students from Third, Fourth and Fifth year have been attending choir practices over lunch-times for the last few months in preparation for a big concert.  There are 2,100 students involved in concerts over three days.  Our students attended rehearsals and performed in a concert with about 700 other secondary students on Tuesday, 3rd March.  All of these students had been working in their own school, with their teachers, on twenty set pieces. Tuesday’s rehearsal, followed by the concert, was the first time all of these students had been together as one massed choir.  It was a wonderful event with big band, students singing and playing, moving and clapping to the rhythms in a really electric atmosphere in the Helix. Already they are asking if they can go again next year … testament in itself to its success and enjoyment! 

Well done to our students and to Ms. O' Sullivan for all their hard work over the past few months on this project.

 
 

February 25^th 2015

 

CAMOGIE BLITZ

The girls from St Kilian's Community School, Bray travelled to Aughrim on Thursday, 12th February  to compete in the Wicklow Post Primary 1st year Camogie Blitz.

The maroon and whites dominated their opponents in all their league games and earned their place in the final. Scoil Chonglais of Baltinglass and Arklow Community College had to play-off for the other final spot with the Baltinglass girls coming out on top.

The final was the most keenly contested match of the day with non-stop action and, as time was running out, the teams were deadlocked. However, St Kilian's conjured up a moment of magic with Jodie Moorehouse scoring the winner. The final whistle was greeted with joy and relief as the Bray team celebrated an amazing achievement and collected the trophy.

This victory was fashioned by the efforts of the whole team. Goalkeeper Katie Fitzpatrick inspired at the back and pulled off some fantastics saves. The backs comprising of Jodie Moorehouse, Abbie Sargent, Kacie Gaule, Kerri Bradshaw and Erryn Joyce defended stoutly and cleared their lines. At midfield, captain Charlie Doyle led by example ably assisted by Daine Moorehouse. While up front Teigan O'Hagan, Laura Kelly, Zoe Keating, Jade Murphy, Katie McGogan and Taylor Flood posed a threat to all opposition and scored freely throughout the day.

Well done to all the girls and trainer Ms O'Shea and hopefully they will continue on to represent their school in the years ahead.

Team and scorers : Katie Fitzpatrick, Jodie Moorehouse (7.0). Abbie Sargent, Kacie Gaule, Kerri Bradshaw, Erryn Joyce, Charlie Doyle (8.0), Daine Moorehouse, Teigan O'Hagan (3.0), Laura Kelly (2.0), Zoe Keating, Jade Murphy, Katie McGogan, Taylor Flood.

Team Trainer: Ms O'Shea

 

BRAY LIONS' CLUB DEBATING

Hard luck to the Debating Team of Patrycja Struzynska, Barbara Krupinska , Dmitri Chizhikov and Josh O' Connell who were recently defeated in the opening round of the 2015 Bray Lions' Club Debate. The team proposed the motion that, "The Junior Cert by continuous assessment is a mistake." Coláiste Ráithán opposed the motion and both teams can be proud of how they collated information for the debate and argued their point on the day. St. Kilian's team had three debutants to speaking from the plinth and Patrycja, Barbara and Josh can be proud of how they performed. All the students are looking forward to the next competition and hopefully a better result!

Thanks to the research team of Transition Years and also to Mr. Kelly and Ms. Murray for preparing the team.

 

PARIS CULTURAL TRIP

Best wishes to Ms. Hume and her Art students from Fifth Year and Transition Year who are currently enjoying a cultural break in France. The group will view all the beautiful sights that Paris has to offer, as well as visiting many of its famous art galleries. Mr. Connolly and Ms. Lawlor are also accompanying the students on this exciting adventure. We are certain that they with regale us with tales of the splendour of ‘Paris in the Springtime’ on their return! Bon Voyage!

February 5th 2015

JUNK KOUTURE

This year, three groups of our Transition Year students took part in the Junk Kouture fashion design project as part of their Option modules. This is a nationwide competition and is in its fifth year this year. The competition inspires students to look at junk and waste as a means of creating fashionable and wearable items of clothing from materials that would have ended up in the bin or at recycling centres. This year’s teams were extremely creative and the teams and their teacher, Ms Joan Murray, are extremely happy with their finished designs. Results for the competition will be announced in late February and will include on-line voting and a regional fashion show of the top 80 designs from each region. Best of luck to our three wonderful designs and ‘fingers crossed’ in the mean time!

Thanks to Ms Murray for her hard work in aiding the students with their creative designs.

UNDER-15 WICKLOW - WEXFORD SEMI-FINAL

St Kilian’s CS, Bray                4

Coláiste an Átha, Kilmuckridge 5

St Kilian’s U15s continued the unfortunate bad run in finals for 2015. After the U-17s and U-20s  both lost by a goal in their finals, the U-15s followed suit!

St. Kilian’s got off to a brilliant start, taking the lead after 7 minutes through Jake O’ Brien after he had been been played through by Andrew Knight. The lead was doubled by Michael Moorehouse by the 18th minute. Michael’s pace was just too much for the defenders and he placed the ball coolly into the bottom right corner. However, Coláiste an Átha scored twice before half time to level things up.

The team had to regroup at the break and came out totally rejuvenated for the second half. This renewed energy paid off as St. Kilian’s retook the lead from Andrew Knight getting in behind their defence once again. The fourth goal for St Kilian’s came from a superb long range effort from James Ryan. His shot came off the crossbar and post before ending up in the back of the net. However, Coláiste an Átha never gave up and scored 2 goals to level the match up again. The equalising goal coming seconds before the final whistle!

This extremely exciting match now entered extra time. Once again, the St Kilian’s boys had to recompose themselves and they proved they could do this. Throughout both halves of extra time, St. Kilian’s created opportunities on goal but couldn’t find the back of the net. They came to regret these near misses as Coláiste an Átha scored right at the death of the match. A heartbreaking conclusion to a thrilling match.

On another day, St. Kilian’s could have won this match by several goals but football is a funny old game. They can be very proud of their efforts as they have come a long way this year. Keep up the good work!

MULTI-CULTURAL DAY

Congratulations to everyone involved in our successful multi-cultural day which took place on January 30th. Food-tasting, designs and traditional music from 23 countries were on display and the school was awash with colour and sound on the day. Thanks to all the teachers, parents and students for their great efforts in making it a memorable day in the school.

TY WORK EXPERIENCE

TY students are on work experience from February 2nd to 6th. Work experience is an integral part of Transition Year and the students learn much about the working world and possible future career choices. Thanks to all of the local businesses that have facilitated our students with work experience this year.

 

January 28^th 2015

MULTI-CULTURAL DAY

The inaugural St. Kilian’s CS multi-cultural day will be held in the school on Friday, January 30^th.  There are 25 different nationalities represented by the student body. The aim of the day is to celebrate all the different cultures within the school community and to educate each other on aspects of the cultures.

There will be a multitude of events on the day; some of which include a dance workshop, face painting, a concert, a play, various displays and tastings of foods from around the world, cooked by students and parents.  It is anticipated that this will be a great day and the start of a new tradition in St. Kilian's.

Many thanks to all the teachers, students and parents who have worked together to celebrate the multi-cultural nature of our school community.

SENIOR GIRLS' GAELIC FOOTBALL

St. Kilian's Community School’s Senior Girls' Gaelic Football team took part in a school blitz in Ballinakill on Friday, January 23rd. They played Blessington C.C., Arklow C.C. and St. David's, Greystones. Great excitement and skill was displayed by all the girls throughout an action-packed event. Well done to all involved.

The team: Michelle Moran (captain) Sarah McGrath (vice-captain), Rebecca Moore, Natasha Bradshaw, Aimee Coogan, Georgia Browne, Jade O'Hagan, Laura Byrne, Kerri Keane, Zoe Kelly, Amber Murray, Sophie Thomas, Abbie Treacy, Tori-Lee O'Brien. Trainer: Ms. O'Shea.

ORIENTEERING

On Wednesday, January 21^st, a large group of orienteers from St. Kilian's participated in a Leinster Schools' Orienteering event. The venue was Bushy Park in Rathfarnham. Despite the abysmal weather conditions, the competitors performed to their usual high standards, much to the delight of the coach, Mr. Lawless.

Results from the Bushy Park event are as follows:

1st Years: Sky Earls and Victoria Dzidolikaite had a top 10 finish

TY Girls: Neringa Dzidolikaite and Rachel Downey finished  2^nd and 3^rd, respectively.

Senior Girls: Claudine Murphy finished 3rd.

Senior Boys: Abdullah Balasmeh had his first ever win. He was followed in second place by Jessie Lopez and in 3rd place by Aaron Kelly.

Overall Final Standings - Leinster Schools' Orienteering League - (2014/2015):

2nd and 3rd Year Boys:

4th place - Darragh Lynch

Top 10 placings for John Paul Verdon and Matthew McDonald.

TY Boys:

2nd Place-Gary Shortt

6th Place-Ryan Keely

Senior Boys:

1st-Aaron Kelly

2nd-Jessie Lopez

3rd-Abdallah Balasmeh

4th Brendan Smith

Senior Girls:

2nd-Sarah McGrath

3rd-Claudine Murphy

4th- Lucy Masterson

SENIOR DEBATING

On Tuesday, February 10^th, in the opening round of the Bray Lions' Club Debating competition, St. Kilian's Senior Debating team travel to Colaiste Craobh Abhann in Kilcoole to propose the motion that, "The Junior Cert Examination by continuous assessment is a mistake." The team is comprised of three TY students: Barbara Krupinska, Patrycja Struzynska, Josh O' Connell and Dmitri Chizhikov (5th Year). There is also a dedicated  team of interested researchers from TY who are helping the speakers with their preparations. We wish the team the best of luck in the debate.

Thanks to Ms Murray and Mr Kelly for their work in preparing the team to debate this very topical issue.

PARIS CULTURAL TRIP

Thirty-three lucky 4^th and 5^th year students will be spending 4 days and 3 nights in Paris immediately after the midterm break, on an action-packed Art and Architecture trip. They will have guided tours of all the major galleries and the magnificent Gothic churches of Notre Dame and the beautiful Sainte Chapelle. They will spend a full day in Versailles, and after dinner in different typical French restaurants, their evenings will be spent viewing the sights from a barge on the Seine, or from the top of the Eiffel tower or discovering the history of an Art Deco cinema. There will be some time for a little exploring, and of course a visit to Montmartre for a portrait or two before they return home! The trip has been organised by their Art teacher, Ms Hume, and she will be accompanied on the trip by colleagues, Mr Connolly and Ms Lawlor.

YSI

Students have bought 80 more sleeping bags for rough sleepers and will be donating these to various organisations during the coming week. The team is also in the process of lobbying the government to make some changes to improve the social housing crisis. They have printed up postcards depicting a homeless Christmas and have addressed these to the Housing Minister. We would be grateful if you could fill one in if asked.

BUILD A BANK

TYB - Transition Year Bank... is OPEN! Eighty 1^st Year students joined us for our opening last Friday where fun and games were enjoyed. The bank's opening was celebrated with a Just Dance competition, twister and many more fun activities.  Many new accounts were opened and the launch was a great success.

UNDER -17 GIRLS' SOCCER

After a great win in the first game this year, our under 17 girls took the short trip to Loreto Bray for their second game. We had a skeleton squad with only one sub but unfortunately we could not break down the Loreto defence. St. Kilian's girls tried very hard, but gave away a couple of soft goals to be down 2-0 at half time. St Kilian's had a much better performance in the second half with a number of chances to score, but unfortunately we just couldn't get the goals needed. The final score was 3-0 to Loreto. Well done to Loreto on a great performance.

 

January 21^st 2015

SOCCER DISAPPOINTMENTS!

It was a very disappointing week for three of the boys' soccer teams in St. Kilian's. The Senior, Under-17 and Under-15 squad were all eliminated from the Wicklow-Wexford Leagues at the final and semi-final stages respectively.

The U-17 team faced Gaelcholáiste Na Mara, Arklow in the final on Wednesday 14th January. It was a very closely fought encounter played in atrocious weather conditions. St. Kilian's were defeated on a 2-1 scoreline. Brandon Cowan was the goal scorer in the opening half. Ben Brown Roche played well in goal, but unfortunately the team didn't perform as well as they had in previous games where they had ran out comprehensive winners. Commiserations go to all concerned and to the coach, Mr Duggan.

The U-20 team lost their final 2-1 on Friday 16th January to East Glendalough School, Wicklow.

Ross Doyle scored in the first half for St. Kilian's. Best performers on the day were Alex Byrne, Josh Treacy and Ross Doyle. The physical strength and power of the Wicklow team proved decisive in the final, and St. Kilian's could have no complaints about the result on the day. Well done to the team and to their joint coaches, Mr Donohoe and Mr Forde.

Finally, the U-15 team lost 5-4 after extra time in the semi-final of the Wicklow-Wexford league on Monday last. The opposition on this occasion was Coláiste an Átha, Kilmuckridge. St. Kilian's goal scorers were Jake O' Brien, Michael Moorehouse, Andrew Knight and James Ryan. Mr Donohoe was happy with the team's performance in the match and felt that they were a little unlucky to lose. Unfortunately, it was another case of "so near but yet so far" for St Kilian's footballers!

MULTI-CULTURAL DAY

On Friday, January 30^th, St. Kilian's will celebrate a multi-cultural day to acknowledge the diverse cultures and heritages students. Information display boards on each of the countries will be complemented by samples of indigenous food and other aspects of culture. Students in non-exam classes will be involved in various activities throughout the day.

Thanks to all the teachers and parents who have been working hard behind the scenes to make our first multi-cultural day a success. Best wishes to all concerned for what should be a fabulous day!

MOCK EXAMS

Best wishes to the Sixth and Third Year students who begin their written mock examinations on Monday, February 2^nd. Attendance at after-school study is very encouraging and hopefully the hard work will pay dividend in the forthcoming exams.

 

January 14^th 2015

BUILD A BANK

The opening of the school bank is planned for the coming weeks. Students can collect forms from the Build a Bank Team and they will get their account opened for them. There will be a Launch day for 1st Year students and students who bring back their completed forms will get to come to the launch and play games and get rewards! Best wishes for a successful launch to the Build A Bank team!

YOUNG SOCIAL INNOVATORS

Christmas has come and gone and homelessness is no longer making the headlines. It is our job to keep it in the news. The YSI team are currently getting postcards printed to get signed by the public. When we have them signed, we will take them to Leinster House and try to make our Government see that the people of Bray want action on the Housing Crisis. We are also in the process of purchasing 40 sleeping bags and mats to give out to rough sleepers.

Well done to the YSI team and Ms. Brophy for their trojan efforts to highlight the epidemic of homelessness in the local area.

U-15 BOYS' FOOTBALL

St. Kilian’s CS           1

Dublin Oak Academy 0

The U-15 Boys team produced an outstanding performance to reach the semi-final of the Wicklow/Wexford League. The game was played in driving rain and a gale force wind  in Kilcroney, on Wednesday January 7^th.

The first half ended up scoreless, but this score line does not do the game justice. St. Kilian's had numerous chances to take the lead in the opening period. Shane Devlin made the keeper pull off a stunning save and Dylan Bermingham's shot from the edge of the box rattled against the crossbar. Michael Moorehouse, Jake O Brien and Andrew Knight all came very close during this half. 

The second half was a much tenser affair. St Kilian’s still managed to create chances but so did Dublin Oak. However, the defence held strong, Jack Ronan, CJ Buckley Jordan Smith and Jason King produced a brilliant display of defending in such terrible conditions. James Ryan playing as a holding midfielder and he helped out his defence hugely. Oisín O' Leary and Gary Purcell came on midway through the half and both added a lot to St. Kilian’s energy.

St Kilian’s goal came towards the very end. It was made by the pressure the forwards had placed on the Dublin Oak defenders all match. A kick out was pounced upon by Jake O Brien, who coolly played through Andrew Knight and he placed the ball into the bottom right corner. A real striker’s finish! Jordan Conroy in nets was always there when needed and pulled off a great save from a free in the dying moments of the match.

Well done to the whole panel and hopefully they can continue with their great run in the competition.

U-17 BOYS' FOOTBALL REPORTS

St. Kilian’s Community School have qualified for the Wicklow Wexford Junior (U-17) final where they will take on the current champions Gaelcholáiste na Mara, Arklow.  On Tuesday, January 6th, they had a comprehensive 7-0 victory over Coláiste an Átha, Kilmuckridge in Arklow.  It was a fantastic team performance and the squad’s strength in depth has really been evident throughout the campaign. 

Ger Clancy’s performances were rewarded with a hat-trick including a second goal that would have gave Stephanie Roche a run for her money for Goal of the Year!  Defence was rock solid again with Luke Harvey, Gary O’Sullivan, Peter Dosa, Alan Acres, Gordon McKeever and Mark Curran all impressive either as starters or substitutes.  Alan was very unlucky not to score with a fantastic long range effort that came back off the crossbar.  Captain Ben Brown Roche maintained his great form with another clean sheet and has only conceded two goals in the competition so far.

Aaron Kelly, Karl Mulligan and top scorer Ross Moloney all continued their great scoring form by adding a goal each.  Supersub Dion McGovern scored again when introduced to show the strength of the squad and quality in reserve.  Brandon Cowan’s first half performance was as good as has been seen in schools football. His efforts in midfield were complemented by the energy of Luke O’Sullivan. This ensured that St Kilian's controlled the game for long periods.  Ger Clancy’s hat trick was memorable but even more impressive was the amount of turnovers he had as time after time, he won possession back for St. Kilian’s.  William Coogan has very impressive when introduced and will be pushing hard for a starting place in the final. Craig Healy Brown worked very hard when introduced in midfield.  It is proving very difficult to select the 16 players that get game time and training will prove important in making the cut for the final.

Team: Ben Brown Roche (C), Luke Harvey, Gary O’Sullivan, Peter Dosa, Alan Acres, Ger Clancy, Luke O’Sullivan, Brandon Cowan, Aaron Kelly, Karl Mulligan, Ross Moloney.

Subs Used: Gordon McKeever, Will Coogan, Dion McGovern, Craig Healy Brown, Mark Curran.

Unused Subs: Podge McDonald, Rhys Jordan, Jordan de Sousa, Nathan Bas, Oisín Doyle, Josh Flanagan, Dylan Kelly, Jack McKeon, Luke O’Connor, Brandon McGrath, John Paul Verdon.

U-17 v East Glendalough

St. Kilian’s again proved their strength with a great 8-2 victory over East Glendalough at Enniskerry Youths’ fabulous facilities in Berryfield.  Ross Moloney was in sensational form and got a hat trick.  Karl Mulligan added two and Aaron Kelly, Luke and Gary O’Sullivan added further goals.

Team: Ben Brown Roche (C), Luke Harvey, Gary O’Sullivan, Peter Dosa, Alan Acres, Ger Clancy, Aaron Kelly, Luke O’Sullivan, Brandon Cowan, Karl Mulligan, Ross Moloney.

Subs Used: Rhys Jordan, Gordon McKeever, Dion McGovern, Nathan Bas, Luke O’Connor.

Unused Subs; Podge McDonald, Dylan Kelly, Josh Flanagan, Oisín Doyle, Jack McKeon, Mark Curran.

U-17 v Arklow CC

St. Kilian’s kicked off the season with a good 4-0 victory over Arklow C.C. in Arklow.  Ross Moloney scored two goals with one each coming from Karl Mulligan and Dion McGovern. 

Team: Ben Brown Roche (C), Luke Harvey, Gary O’Sullivan, Alan Acres, Podge McDonald, Craig Healy Brown, Ger Clancy, Will Coogan, Karl Mulligan, Aaron Kelly, Ross Moloney.

Subs Used: Peter Dosa, Dion McGovern, Luke O’Sullivan, Gordon McKeever, Dylan Kelly.

Unused Subs: Jordan de Sousa, Aaron Forrestal, Brandon McGrath, Michael Vickers, Ryan Clancy, Brandon Cowan, Jack McKeon, Oisín Doyle, Jordan Dunne, John Paul Verdon, Ciarin Gormley, Nathan Bas, Niall Worwood, Josh Flanagan, Luke O’Connor.

ST. KILIAN'S OPERATION TRANSFORMATION!

St. Kilian's is officially registered as a group for Operation Transformation. It is hoped that teachers, students and parents will be fitter and healthier in 2015. There will be a focus on fitness, healthy eating and general wellbeing. There will also be small targets each week, with a planned group activity each Wednesday to bring everyone together to work on our fitness. The overall aim is to get as many of us as possible registered for the Operation Transformation 5K in the Phoenix Park.

See the Facebook page for all information - St. Kilian's Bray Operation Transformation.

Thanks to Ms Brophy and Ms Dodd for driving this health initiative in the school.

TY DRUG AWARENESS SEMINAR

On Monday, January 12th, a drug awareness seminar was held for all the TY students. The facilitator was Mr Clay Darcy and the seminar was organised by Ms Sinnott. The students found the talk to be very engaging and informative.

TY ACTIVITIES DAY

On Friday, January 16th, all the TY students will be engaged in "outside class" activities which should be different and fun for all concerned. Activity days are an integral part of Transition Year as students get to experience a wide range of activities stemming from hillwalking, boxercise and self-defence to archery to name but a few. Thanks to TY Co-ordinator, Mr Lawless for his efforts in organising the various activities.

MOCK EXAMS

The written mock examinations are just around the corner. Exams begin on Monday, February 2^nd. Attendance at Supervised Study is very encouraging. Sixth, Fifth and Third Year students are offered this facility and many students are availing of the opportunity to revise their subjects in a quiet environment conducive to learning. Let's hope the benefits of their hard work is borne out in the mock examinations, but more importantly in the state exams this summer.

Thanks to Mr Connolly for organising Supervised Study.

 

December 17^th 2015

CHRISTMAS EXTRAVAGANZA!

The Christmas term will end with a bang in St. Kilian's with the annual Christmas religious service, nativity play and concert which takes place on the final day – Friday, 19th December.

Ms Sinnott, the school chaplain will conduct a short religious ceremony to begin the proceedings. This will be followed by a loosely themed "nativity play" - this year's offering is entitled "Talk to Joe".  This play is based around the topical theme of homelessness and the popular Radio 1 talk show will provide assistance to Mary and Joseph as they seek a home for the baby Jesus. Thanks to all the staff and students for their involvement in the fun event of the year in the school.

Finally, there will be a concert organised by Ms. O' Sullivan's music students. The concert will culminate with the teaching staff's rendition of Band Aid's "Do They Know it's Christmas?" This will provide a rousing finale to the proceedings and a suitable way to sign off the term for all students and staff.

Special thanks to the school's R.E. Department - Ms. Murray, Ms. Power, Ms. Ni Mhurchú and Ms. Kearns for all their hard work behind the scenes in organising the Christmas Extravaganza.

 

CHRISTMAS CAROLLING

Well done to the TY students who performed popular Christmas Carols outside Tesco in Bray on Tuesday, December 16^th. All the money collected went to the local branch of St. Vincent De Paul. Ms Sinnott and Ms O' Sullivan accompanied the students and everybody sang heartily to get shoppers into the spirit of Christmas cheer. A lot of money was raised for charity and the event proved to be very enjoyable for all concerned.

 

GIRLS' SOCCER

St. Kilian’s U17 Girls’ Soccer Team enjoyed a great 2-0 victory over Enniscorthy Vocational School on Tuesday, December 16^th. The girls put in a great effort throughout the match and fought hard for the win. St. Kilian's two goal scorers, Shannon Reilly and Charlie Doyle, played well throughout the match. There was an excellent performance also by the goalkeeper, Aimee Coogan. The girls continued to create goal chances right to the end. Congratulations to all involved. Well done to the team's coach, Ms. O'Toole for preparing the team.

 

6LCA STUDENTS VISIT DÁIL EIREANN

On Tuesday, December 16^th, Ms. Kells and Ms. Farrell accompanied 6LCA into Dáil Éireann. The class were firstly given a guided tour of the Dáil. They then sat in on a Seanad Éireann debate on the proposed increase to children's benefit and listened to the noted orator, Dr David Norris among others. The teachers and students would like to pay special thanks to Junior Minister and Wicklow Fine Gael TD, Simon Harris, who greeted them on the steps of the Dáil and gave a brief outline about his work and the history of the parliament. Everybody thoroughly enjoyed the outing and thanks to Ms. Kells for organising the trip.

 

3J STUDENTS VISIT CROKE PARK

Mr Leonard and Mr Stokes brought class 3J on a very interesting and enjoyable trip to Croke Park's History Museum on Thursday, DecembeR 11^th. The class was given a guided tour around the museum and walked on the hallowed turf of the stadium that has staged so many memorable GAA matches over the years. Everybody had a wonderful day and special thanks to the teachers for organising the event.

 

5LCA STUDENTS VISIT LIBRARY

On Monday 15th December, Ms. Kells brought the 5LCA class to Bray Library on Eglinton Road in order to research their family histories for a Social Education task. The class were given an informative talk on how to research topics in the library and everybody was fascinated to learn about the students’ family histories in Bray and the surrounding areas. Thanks to Ms. Kells for organising the visit.

 

YOUNG SOCIAL INNOVATORS

Ms Brophy and the YSI team in Transition Year are actively tackling the homelessness crisis by embarking upon the "Take The Jacket Off Your Back" campaign. This involves people donating unwanted but warm coats to those in need this Christmas. The campaign was run in the few weeks leading up to Christmas and it has been a wonderful success. Ms. Brophy and the YSI team presented the donated coats to the Five Loaves and other associated charities. Well done to the YSI team and to all the students who brought in clothing to be donated to those in need this Christmas.

 

 

 

December 10^th 2014

 

YOUNG SOCIAL INNOVATORS

The YSI team have presented Claire from the WH Five Loaves charity with 25 "Christmas Presents" equipped with socks, underwear, gloves, hats, shower gel, deodorant etc. The Five Loaves were absolutely delighted with the donation. Thanks to everyone who donated. They have also visited the Bank of Ireland to display their project and tell the local community about it. They managed to raise another €500 that day to buy more sleeping bags for rough sleepers.

We would like to thank the Bank of Ireland, Bray Credit Union and the general public for their very generous donations. We have a raffle taking place this week with great prizes. Anyone who is interested in buying tickets, please see the YSI team members.

BUILD A BANK

We have decided to hold off on opening the bank until the New Year as school is so busy at the moment. Students can collect forms now to open a bank account and the accounts will get up and running in the New Year. There will be free pizza for any new account opened on the launch day in early January. So save a few euro over the holidays and invest after Christmas!

MINI-COMPANIES

Two of our three mini-companies will begin trading this week at the St. Kilian's craft fair on December 12th. We have a company selling very special jars of sweets and another selling one of-a-kind, handmade candle holders, made from local driftwood collected on the beach in Bray. Please search the companies on Facebook to place an order or look at what they have to offer. The three companies are entitled: Sugar Rush, Jars of Joy and DrifTY. Best of luck with the trading everyone!

SENIOR GIRLS' SOCCER

St Kilian's Senior Girls' soccer team played St Mary's School, Goldenbridge on  December 4^th in Crumlin. St. Kilian's lost the match 2-0 but showed admirable determination and spirit in what was their first competitive outing of the season.

The St Kilian's girls began the match in whirlwind fashion. From the outset, Orla Devlin kept the opposition's goal keeper on her toes after a few very close attempts to score. Donna Kelly, Michelle Moran, Lorena Radu and Yasmin Keogh formed a formidable defence for St. Kilian's. However, midway through the first half, a fortuitous shot from a St Mary's player made the score one-nil. Nevertheless, in the second half, the team redoubled their efforts and  were eager to fight again for victory. After a good battle of 20 minutes, the team was unlucky as a player from St Mary's scored another goal for her team. Even with the score standing at 2-0, St Kilian's girls never succumbed. The team's motto is, 'defend until the end' and this characterises their spirit and fight which was displayed abundantly in this match.

The player of the match was awarded to Aimee Coogan ,the St Kilian's goal keeper. Throughout the match, she saved many rasping drives that seemed destined for the back of the net. Even the referee throughout the match commented on her goalkeeping skills. The girls should take heart from their excellent display and we wish them the best of luck in their forthcoming fixtures, which are due to occur before the Christmas break. Thanks to Ms. McCoy for her time and effort in coaching the team.

 

SENIOR BOYS' U-20's SOCCER

St Kilian’s CS under 20’s Boys played a home game against East Glendalough in the group stages of the Wicklow/Wexford league on Tuesday 9th December. Despite poor weather conditions, St. Kilian’s produced some good football and won a very closely-fought encounter by 3-2.

The first goal of the game came after 14 minutes with a great counter attack by St Kilian’s. It started from the back with Stephen Downey playing a wide ball to James Kehoe. James played it up the line to Dan Byrne who switched it to Michael O’Brien. Michael found Alex Byrne who calmly slotted the ball past the keeper.

East Glendalough struck back when St Kilian’s attempts to clear the ball were blocked down and the striker had an easy finish past keeper Ben Brown Roche, who was helpless to prevent the score. Nevertheless, St Kilian's lads didn't lose heart at this setback and, just before the half time whistle, they took the lead again with a deflected shot from long range by James Kehoe.

Ten minutes into the second half, St Kilian’s struck again. Gary O’Sullivan won a great tackle on the wing and produced a good cross for Alex Byrne. Alex’s shot was saved but Stephen Harris volleyed to the top corner to make it 3-1. East Glendalough brought it back to 3-2 with a very good header from a corner, but St Kilian’s finished strongly and had numerous chances which were denied by the excellent East Glendalough goalkeeper.

The match finished 3-2 which means St Kilian’s are top of the group and advance to the final which will be played early in the new year.

St Kilian’s : Ben Brown Roche, Dan Byrne, Josh Treacy, Stephen Downey, Gary O’Sullivan, Ger Clancy, Stephen Harris, Michael O’Brien, Lee Ward, James Kehoe, Alex Byrne.

Subs: Aaron Kelly for Alex Byrne, Ben Hanlon, Padraig Mc Donald, Craig Healy Brown, Ewen Jones.

Well done to all the squad and to the team's joint managers - Mr Forde and Mr Donohoe.

POPULAIRE

On Tuesday December 9th, the senior French students went to the Mermaid Theatre to see a French film entitled "Populaire". This movie charts the rise of female liberation in the late 1950s. It is set in Normandy and the main character, Rose wants more from life than an arranged marriage to a man whom she doesn't love or even know well. Thus, she embarks upon a career as a secretary and discovers that she is particularly adept at using a typewriter, which becomes a symbol of progress and liberation in the film.

The film was enjoyed immensely by all the students. Special thanks go to  Ms Arogundade, the students’ French teacher, for organising the outing for the senior students.

CHRISTMAS ON ICE

The TY students enjoyed an enjoyable outing to the Christmas on Ice extravaganza at the RDS on Tuesday, December 9^th. Varying degrees of skill on the ice were displayed by the students and the teachers who accompanied them on the trip. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the experience and thankfully there were no accidents or injuries reported after the hour spent on the ice. The only thing injured for most of the participants was their pride, as they picked themselves up from the ice after countless failed attempts at double axles or triple toe-loops!

December 3rd 2014

GREEN SCHOOLS COMMITTEE

On Wednesday,  19^th  November,  Mr Donohoe, along with six Fifth Year students, Lucy Masterson, Kelsey Fitzpatrick, Natasha Earls, Hannah Johnston, Theo Farrell and Jack Dempsey attended the Clean Coasts Symposium in the College Of Physicians, Dublin.

The day was full of interesting talks from different people around the country about how they keep their coasts clean. Some of the interesting talks were by Lush Cosmetics and Martin Dorey, who started the 2minutebeachclean.

These students, along with Mr. Donohoe and the rest of the Green School Committee, are hoping to take part in the National Coast Clean Week which takes place from May 9^th to 18th 2015. They plan to help clean up the coast of the Wicklow/ Bray area. Well done to Mr. Donohue and the team and we wish them all the best in their endeavours.

CHRISTMAS CRAFT FAIR

When?             Friday 12th December; 9.30am - 2.00pm

Where?           St. Kilian's C.S.; Room 33.

The Christmas Craft Fair is a combined effort from the parents of St. Kilian's CS, St. Fergal's J.N.S. and St. Fergal's S.N.S..

The three schools operate the Fair as a non-profit event and a charity will be chosen on December 12th for any small profits that are made.

Parents who attend can buy ready-made items or pay a small fee to cover costs of materials and make their own Christmas crafts. The parents of St. Kilian's students who are volunteering will be demonstrating how to make the items on display. There will also be a raffle and a coffee station with Christmas goodies.

Entry is free and refreshments will be provided!!

Christmas Crafts Coffee Morning - Friday 12th December - 9.30-2.00 - St. Kilian's C.S. - Room 33.

 

U20's BOYS' FOOTBALL

St. Kilian’s CS    5 - 0   New Ross CBS 

St Kilian’s U-20's made it two wins in a row last Friday in a match played in Ballywilliam, Co. Wexford. This was another extremely solid display from this team, with their Captain Ross Doyle leading by example and producing a man of the match performance and scoring two goals.

St. Kilian’s dominated the first half and Ross Doyle scored his first goal with a brilliant individual effort after 13 minutes. Winning the ball back from a New Ross defender, he then nut-megged another to coolly slot home in the bottom right corner. The second goal was a great long range effort from Ger Clancy, who drilled the ball from all of 30 metres out to the bottom right corner. Alex Byrne scored St. Kilian’s next goal, a close-in finish from a cross from Michael O' Brien.  The second Ross Doyle goal was made again by the St. Kilian’s players pressing the New Ross defenders and Alex Byrne winning possession back. Alex laid his pass off to James Kehoe who crossed to Ross and he volleyed home. This was another great finish and just what the team wanted before half time.

In the second half, St Kilian’s had to show their defensive strengths as New Ross produced a number of good attacks and used a strong wind to their advantage. Stephen Harris, playing as a holding midfielder, and the central pairing of Stephen Downey and Josh Treacy dealt brilliantly with everything that was thrown at them. Ben Brown Roche produced his usual very composed display in goal. Finally, the two wing backs, Lee Ward and Daniel Byrne, produced assured performances throughout the entire game. Overall, this really was an excellent team display.

St Kilian’s final goal came from the penalty spot; the scorer being Michael O Brien, who had won it himself with an excellent run into the box. Michael finished the penalty himself but then showed off his dancing skills in celebration. He really should keep those moves to himself!

St Kilian’s have one game left in this group versus East Glendalough School. The team are in a great position to reach the final of the Wicklow/Wexford League for the second year running. Keep up the good work!!

 

U-15's BOYS' FOOTBALL

St. Kilian’s CS  2 - 0  Arklow CC  

St. Kilian's U-15s had an impressive win against Arklow C.C. on Monday, 1st December in Lamberton. St. Kilian's were in control of this match from the very beginning and, in truth, should have won by several more goals.

The central trio of James Cash Fell, Andrew Knight and Jake O Brien had outstanding performances and Jake O' Brien scored two wonderful goals that any striker would be proud of. The first of these was a bullet of a header from a corner in the 13th minute, and the second a volley from the outside of the box, right at the very end.

Having a one goal lead for most of the game meant that the St Kilian's defence of James Ryan, CJ Buckley, Jack Ronan and Jordan Smith, with Jordan Conroy in goal had to be on top of their game and they were! Dylan Bermingham produced some amazing skills throughout the match and was a real thorn in the side of the Arklow defence. Shane Devlin was extremely unlucky and on another day could have scored a hat-trick, hitting the post and crossbar on three occasions! Michael McMahon worked tirelessly for his team up front and his replacement, Michael Moorehouse, did likewise.

This team should take heart from this performance and, if they can produce it again, they will give themselves a real chance of reaching the semi-finals. Keep up the good work everyone!

JUVENES TRANSLATORES

Juvenes Translatores is an EU Translation Competition run annually for students born in a particular calendar year. This year, our school was one of only 11 selected from throughout Ireland to enter the competition. The participating students are Fifth and Sixth Years: Sophie Mooney, Jessica Keogh, Natalie Sroka, Adela Hunt and Annie McCann. We wish them the best of luck in the competition.

 

November 19^th 2014

Irish Quiz

Pupils from 2nd, 3rd, 4th, & 5th year attended a Tráth na gCeist in Coláiste Ráithín, Bray last Monday, November 17th  at 7.00pm. The quiz was organised by Feachtas for schools in the surrounding area and beyond. A great night was had by all. Many thanks to everyone involved, including Ms. Fitzpatrick who prepared the students for the quiz.

Mini-Companies

Our mini-companies are nearly up and running at this stage. Hopefully they will be trading and selling their products in the coming weeks. We have products ranging from handcrafted candle holders made from local driftwood, Tie Dye clothing, to various different jars of sweets that will make great Christmas presents. Look out for them at local Christmas markets in the coming weeks. The students are working hard on their business plans for the county finals of the Student Enterprise Awards in March.

Build-a-Bank

Now that the team has been chosen, work is being done on the bank's name, logo, theme and various other different important aspects of their enterprise. The team will also be preparing business plans for the County Finals of the AIB Build a Bank Challenge in March. 

Students in St.Kilian's will be given the opportunity to open bank accounts and lodge money weekly here in school. There will be various themed events along with a huge opening party that will be held in the coming weeks. There will be rewards and incentives to get people involved. Well done to Ms. Brophy and the banking team for all their hard work.

Young Social Innovators

The TY students involved with this initiative are an amazing bunch of people. This week, we have been trying to get local cafes involved in the "suspended coffee" initiative. This allows people to buy an extra coffee and leave it there for someone less fortunate to avail of it later. We hope to have 5 cafes on board in the next few days and we will post a list to our Facebook page.

The Social Innovators team took the Aviva and Twitter by storm at the recent Ireland v USA match with a huge banner displaying their Twitter name and project. This has so far been retweeted by the likes of Sean Moncrieff, Miriam O'Callaghan, Mary Lou McDonald, Councillor John Brady and Aoibinnn McGinnity (Trish from Love/Hate). Their next step is to lobby the government on the Social Housing Crisis. Please do anything you can to spread the word!

Well done to the team for their remarkable energy and initiative.

 

November 12^th 2014

Bray Drug Awareness Art Competition

Huge congratulations to the three First Year students from Miss Murray's Art class who received prizes in this year’s Bray Drug Awareness Art competition. Highly Commended prizes in the under 14's category went to Chloe McDonald and Melinda Szebo, and Best Art Work in under 14's category went to Alin Tudose. All three students received certificates and prizes at a reception held in Barracuda Restaurant on Wednesday, November 5th. Well done to the three students concerned and to Ms Murray.

TY Enterprise/Business

Despite the fact that Transition Year students are on work experience this week, there is still a lot going on behind the scenes.

The Young Social Innovators team are still busy researching Homelessness and working on other projects to help the homeless.

The Mini-companies are busy getting the final touches to their products and will hopefully be ready to sell their products to consumers in December, just in time for Christmas.

The big news this week is that the “Build a Bank” team has finally been chosen after interviews last Thursday. The team will be as follows:

 Bank Manager:                                  Nicole Byrne

Assistant Manager:                            Dylan Kelly

Financial Controller:                           Brady Yeoh

Sales & Marketing Executive:            John Kelly

Customers Service Representatives: Nicole Tighe, Oisín Doyle and Ben Clarke

Congratulations to all on their new appointments. There will be much work ahead to get the bank open and running as soon as possible. We wish everyone concerned and Ms. Brophy success with this enterprise.

TY Work Experience

Best wishes to the TY students who are on a week's work experience from Monday 10th - Friday 14th November. Thanks to the TY coordinator, Mr. Lawless, for his hours of hard work in organising the work experience for almost one hundred students. Thanks, also, to all the businesses in the local area who facilitated our students' work placement.

 

November Service of Remembrance

St. Kilian's C.S. will host a service in our Garden of Remembrance. The remembrance service will take place on Wednesday 19th November at 1.15pm. This is an opportunity for bereaved students, families and teachers to remember loved ones who have sadly passed away. Light refreshments will be served after the service. All are welcome to attend.

First Years look back in Time!

Classes 1B and 1Z spent an enjoyable day at Wexford Heritage Park on Monday, November 10th 2014. With a Viking-clad tour guide, they visited replicas of dwellings from the Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages. Pupils also saw a reconstruction of an Early Christian monastery and learnt about recent archaeological dating techniques. Thanks to Ms. Darcy and An t-Uasal Mac Cormaic for organising this interesting outing, which the students enjoyed tremendously.

Cake Sale for Lourdes Pilgrimage

On Friday, November 7^th, the R.E. department and the current Fifth Year students had a cake sale to raise funds for the Dublin Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes, which occurs in September every year. The cake sale was a great success, and €463 was raised as ravenous students and teachers bought every tempting delicacy on sale! Well done to everyone who spent a lot of time baking delicious cakes and buns! All the hard graft was worth the trouble as all that was left at the end of the sale were empty plates and satisfied appetites!

The Sound of Music!

St Kilian’s musical activities bring plenty of sounds to the corridors.  We have a monthly Lunch-Time to Shine (LTS) series which takes place in the canteen.  Students are encouraged to perform on any instrument or sing solo, in groups, with backing tracks, karaoke versions of songs, or with their own accompaniment. One can hear electric and acoustic guitars, keyboards, low whistle and, in addition in our next session, we will hear tin whistles, violin, bodhráns, mandolin, ukeleles, saxophone, drums, bongos and congas. This is our very own X-Factor and we hear some great talent during these activities. A traditional Irish group is currently in rehearsal for the next LTS concert; this group performs quite a fusion of traditional and popular styles.  Along with this, a choir meets weekly and they are preparing carols for Christmas and hope to submit a recording for the Lyric FM Choirs for Christmas competition. 

A big thank you to Ms O’Sullivan, to the students involved, to the Music Committee, comprised of students within the school, and to the staff for their support and encouragement.  We look forward to many more musical events in the future.   

TY Adventure Retreat

In keeping with the school’s extensive attention to the pastoral care and wellbeing of it’s students,  the 4th  and 6th year students from St. Kilian’s Community School had the opportunity of experiencing an overnight adventure retreat in Ovoca Manor.  This retreat took place on the 20th to the 21st October for the 4th year students and 21st to the 22nd October for the 6th year students.

Ovoca Manor is the Scripture Union’s Retreat and Adventure Centre located in the stunning Vale of Avoca, Co Wicklow. Set high above the valley floor, the centre boasts breathtaking views. The 21 acres of grounds encompass river walks, forest trails and an incredible array of facilities.

The students experienced the thrill, exhilaration and unquestionable benefits of the outdoor adventure experience and also took part in thought provoking discussions and spiritual reflection.

Amongst the activities the students were involved in was the high ropes course, rock climbing on their purpose built wall, zip line, tunnel slide and various team building activities.

A night walk through the woods and a bonfire saw the first night end on a high and provided the students with a chance to reflect on what they had learned about themselves through out that day. The second day ended with team challenges culminating with each team building their own raft that ultimately had to successfully stay afloat with a student in the lake.

The students also had opportunities to mix well with each other whether in the games room or on the stunning grounds which allowed them the chance to create bonds and a sense of wellbeing in a safe environment.

Thank you to all the teachers that made this possible by giving up their free time to help with the supervision of the two overnight retreats.

Bully 4U Workshop 

The care and wellbeing of all students is a priority at St. Kilian’s Community School.

On Friday, November 7^th, the parents of our students were given the opportunity to attend a talk in relation to keeping our young people safe while using the internet in the school.  This talk was led by Stephen Heffernan, our Bray Community Garda, and by the crime prevention officer for Co. Wicklow.   Parents found the talk very informative, eye-opening and thought-provoking.

Also on Friday, our Fourth Year students participated in workshops facilitated again by our Community Garda Stephen Heffernan.  These workshops not only addressed internet safety and cyber-bullying but also the legal implications that posting pictures or information on line has for students now and in the future.

Tuesday 11th November saw our First Year and 5LCA students participate in highly interactive workshops which addressed the issues of bullying and internet safety.  These workshops were carried out by Bully 4u.

Bully 4u has established an excellent reputation in the provision of anti-bullying services for primary and secondary schools in Ireland.

 

October 15^th 2014

U-15s Wicklow/Wexford B League

St. Kilian's    1         Gaelcholáiste na Mara    2

The St. Kilian’s U-15s Boys suffered their first defeat on Monday, 13th October in a very competitive and high standard match against Gaelcholáiste na Mara, Arklow.

The game got off to a great start with St Kilian’s taking the lead after six minutes. A great counter attack culminated with Andrew Knight delivering a lovely cross which was finished very coolly by Jake O Brien to the bottom left corner. However, this lead was not to last as Coláiste na Mara equalised shortly after with a corner.

St. Kilian’s created as number of very good chances but an extremely determined keeper pulled off some wonderful saves from Jake O' Brien and Andrew Knight, in particular. Coláiste na Mara took advantage of this by going in front just before the end of the first half.

The second half produced attack after attack for St. Kilian’s but, unfortunately, they could not get the deserved breakthrough needed to tie the match.  The work of Cian Mangan, Michael McMahon, James Cash Fell and Dylan Bermingham could not be faulted. Arif Ogunseye, CJ Buckley, Jordon Smith and Jack Ronan, all produced excellent displays in defence. Jordon Conroy can be very happy with his performance in goals also. He pulled off some outstanding saves throughout the match.

The game ended 2-1 to Gaelcholáiste na Mara but St Kilian’s can take a lot of heart from this display and, with a small amount of improvement, will be able to rectify this result. Well done to all the players and to Mr Donohoe.

 

Young Social Innovators

On Friday 10th October, the Young Social Innovators team held a “Funky Shoe” day to raise money for homelessness. Students wore all sorts of footwear from wellies to slippers and managed to raise €500. This money will be divided up to buy sleeping bags and other much needed accessories for the many people who sleep on the streets each night. They students have already established links with Cedar House in Dublin. They are also hoping to work with The Five Loaves in Bray. They have many other initiatives in the pipeline to try and tackle homelessness.

 

Build A Bank

The interviews for the Build A Bank team will take place on Monday, 20th October. There are approximately 12 students hoping to earn one of the six jobs available on the team. They will be interviewed by two people from AIB and, once the team is chosen, they will begin the journey of setting up their school bank. St. Kilian’s has been very successful in this competition in previous years and we hope to keep that standard going into the future.

 

Enterprise Awards

The Enterprise class is a hive of activity at the moment with a number of students in the early stages of setting up their mini-companies. Some have prototypes already made and others are still at the design stage. The class will be undertaking market research over the coming weeks to see if their products can be a success. They will hopefully being selling by next month and are entered into the Enterprise Ireland Awards in March. We wish them all the best of luck.

 

3F Zoo Trip

Class 3F will be attending Dublin Zoo on Thursday, 23rd  October. They are going as part of their CSPE action project for which they have decided to investigate Animal Rights. They will leave the school very early in the morning to be at the zoo in time to take part in the Zooardship Education module. They have chosen an endangered animal they wish to learn about and will get to see this animal up close in their habitat. All students are very excited about this trip and are looking forward to learning about the zoo and its work.

 

Senior Girls' Gaelic Football

 St. Kilian's Community School Senior Girls' Gaelic football team had their first match of the season on Monday 13th October. It was a home game against Gaelcholáiste na Mara Arklow. They played well for a newly-formed team but, unfortunately, things didn't go their way. Their opponents had much more experience and were bolstered by a number of county under-18 players. Well done to all involved and to Ms. Ryan and Ms. O'Shea for coaching the team.

 

TY German & Cultural Studies Outing

On Monday 13th October, Ms. O' Hara's and Ms. Kells' TY classes visited the Mermaid Theatre in Bray to view a German film entitled Das Leben ist Nichts fur Feiginge (Life's Not A Piece Of Cake). It is an insightful and moving story of a 15-year-old girl who is struggling to cope with the recent death of her mother. The students and their teachers really enjoyed this moving drama and found the experience to be very worthwhile and enlightening. Thanks to Ms. O' Hara for organising the trip to the theatre.

 

World Champion Kick-Boxer!

Heartiest congratulations to Chloe Bishop (2N) on her recent outstanding achievements in the World Kick-Boxing Championships. The competition was held in the City West Hotel in Dublin in early October.

Chloe Bishop from Eagle Martial Arts Club in Bray competed in two sections. Chloe won a Bronze medal in girls' light-contact, 13-15 year-olds under 50kg. Chloe also won a Gold medal in the light-contact girls' team event in the same age category. Well done Chloe on your marvellous achievements!

 

October 9^th 2014

U-15s Leinster Boys' B Cup

St. Kilian’s      6                   St Laurence’s          3

The season of 2014-15 has gotten off to a great start for the St. Kilian's Boys U-15 football team. This is the first year of this competition  and St Kilian’s have come out of their first match with a comprehensive win against St. Laurence’s, Loughlinstown.

Played in beautiful autumnal sunshine, St. Kilian’s got off to a very bright start by creating a number of chances in the opening 10 minutes. However, St. Laurence’s took the lead with their first real opportunity. This did not unsettle St. Kilian’s. The central midfield trio of James Cash Fell, Jake O Brien and Andrew Knight dictated most of the play and it was Jake O' Brien who levelled the match with a superbly placed shot to the top right hand corner of the goal. Two minutes later, James Cash Fell gave St. Kilian's the lead with another strike from outside the box. St. Kilian’s continued to press forward and produced a wonderful goal when Andrew Knight spotted Dylan Bermingham on the overlap and he crossed in to Shane Devlin at the near post to slot home very coolly. The 1^st half finished on a high, with Gary Purcell winning the ball back and laying it off to Andrew Knight to drill home.

The 2^nd second half produced some brilliant football again from both sides. The St Kilian’s defence was under a little more pressure and Jordan Conroy played his part in nets with a number of very good saves. CJ Buckley and Jordan Smith, in the centre of defence, produced very solid performances, and a marvellous goal-line clearance from C.J. helped St. Kilian's to stay in the ascendancy. Arif Ogunseye and Sean Leggett, as well as their replacements, Jason King and Graham Kane, worked extremely hard as wing backs and got forward with every opportunity.

Tiredness did creep in a little in the 2^nd half and St. Laurence’s managed to score twice but Shane Devlin and Andrew Knight scored a goal each during this half to maintain St Kilian’s lead. Oisín O'Leary-Broughan showed great skill when he came on, with lovely link up play and Sean Yang worked hard chasing everything down.

The game ended 6-3 and St Kilian’s go through to the next round. They can take heart out of their first performance and with continued work can keep this run going. Well done to all the players and to their coach, Mr. Donohoe.

 

TRANSITION YEAR ART TRIP

On Thursday, 9th October, Ms. Hume's TY Art class went on a tour to Rossborough House near Blessington and Castletown House in County Kildare. The day began with a guided tour of Rossborough and the group viewed over 200 paintings exhibited there! After this tour concluded, lunch was taken. After that, the group made their way to Castletown House. Here, they were made aware of the wonderful architecture and history of the house due to a very informative guided tour. The excursion was a cultural tour-de-force and the students returned home tired but satisfied with all they learned on the day. Thanks to Ms. Hume and Ms. Murray for  accompanying the students on the tour.

 

KARATE KID!

Well done to the Head Boy of St. Kilian's, Alex Byrne, who competed in the Irish Karate Championships over the weekend. Alex is a 2nd Dan Brown Belt and has been competing for many years in the sport. Alex acquitted himself very well in the national finals and was very pleased with his performance. Well done Alex!

 

YOUNG SOCIAL INNOVATORS COMPETITION

Well done to Ms. Brophy and her team of TY students who have entered the Young Social Innovators competition. This competition promotes social awareness and inequalities in Ireland today. Students are required to engage with a local social problem, raise awareness of it and find a solution. Ms. Brophy's team are working on the issue of homelessness. On Friday 10th October, the team a "Funky Shoe Day" in which students paid €2 in order to wear their own shoes for the day. More events will be forthcoming. Well done to all!

 

COUCH TO 5K!

Well done to Mr. Conway who has initiated a ten-week programme of "Couch to 5K" at St. Kilian's. On Wednesdays after school, Coach Conway supervises participating students and staff. Everyone has an individual training programme and Mr. Conway, a fitness enthusiast himself, motivates and encourages everyone to reach their goal of running 5 kilometres before Christmas. Keep up the hard work everyone!

 

October 1^st 2014

 

WORLD WAR 1 EXPERIENCE

A number of our students have had the opportunity to gain an insight into what it was like to be a soldier in World War 1.  On Monday, 22^nd September, Mr. Chris Stokes, our school librarian, organised a guest speaker for our students. The students got to dress up as both officers and soldiers. They got to hold actual authentic weapons used  in the Great War. They also learned what it was like to experience a mustard gas attack and to wear protective gas masks. The most horrifying aspect of the talk for the students was to learn about the unhygienic conditions prevalent in the trenches. It was a very informative and enjoyable presentation.

 

SIXTH YEAR PARENT -TEACHER MEETING

On Tuesday, 30th September, a Parents Meeting for Sixth Years took place in St. Kilian's . The meeting was very well attended and it provided an excellent forum for teachers to discuss the academic progress of students with their parents. This was the first of two Sixth Year parent-teacher due to take place - the other meeting will take place after the "mocks" next year. The Sixth Years are attending after-school study in the school and are applying themselves to their studies well. This diligence and application to study will certainly benefit students in their academic endeavours. Keep up the hard work everyone!

 

PAIRED-READING

A special word of thanks to the group of parents who give up their own time to come into St. Kilian's, every Tuesday morning, in order to assist Class 1.Z with a paired-reading programme. The programme is working excellently and there is a steady low hum of activity as students are reading enthusiastically in the company of supervising parents. The students of 1.Z deserve credit for their efforts and enthusiasm and are engaged in the process. Thanks to Ms. Garvey for organising the programme.

      

TRANSITION YEAR ACTIVITY DAY

On Friday 19th September, all the Transition Years had a free day from the classroom and participated in an out-of-school activity instead. Their choices included, "zip-it" tightrope walking, abseiling, "coastaleering" off Dalkey Harbour and, for the less energetic students, a trip to Wicklow  Gaol and ten-pin bowling was offered. Everyone had an enjoyable day and the weather was favourable for the outdoor activities. Thanks to Mr. Lawless for his hard work in organising such a vast array of activities for the TY students.

 

AWARE "BEAT THE BLUES" CAMPAIGN

On Thursday, 25th September, 6.LCA took part in the "Beat The Blues" campaign for Aware. The class were involved in a bag-packing fundraising drive in Tesco, Bray. A very impressive total of €592.61 was raised. All of this money raised goes towards educating young people about the challenges of depression and mental illness. Thank you to everyone involved in the fundraising and to all the people who contributed money on the day. Special thanks to Ms. Kells for organising the event.

 

ST. VINCENT DE PAUL GUEST SPEAKER

On Monday 29th September, a guest speaker from St. Vincent de Paul spoke to all the First Year classes about the work that the charity does for the under-privileged in society. Ms. Sinnott organised the guest speaker, and the speaker informed the students about the work of St. Vincent de Paul in the Bray area, in particular. The talk was informative and useful for everyone. Thanks to Ms. Sinnott for organising this event.

 

September 16^th, 2014

 DUBLIN DIOCESAN PILGRIMAGE

 Well done to our four Sixth Year students - Sarah Bermingham, Abby O' Keeffe, Michael O' Brien and Brendan Smith - for their hard work as helpers in the annual Dublin Diocesan Pilgrimage. The students were up at 6am each morning and each student was assigned an elderly and infirm pilgrim to assist for the duration of the pilgrimage. In addition, the St. Kilian's students worked in the kitchen and helped to prepare meals for the pilgrims each day. A particular highlight for everyone was the torchlight procession to St. Bernadette's Church. The students also really enjoyed the youth Mass and participated in the service.

Thanks go to Ms. Farrell who accompanied the students and to Ms. Power who acts as the school group coordinator at St. Kilian's. A special word of thanks to all the parents who did trojan work in fundraising for the pilgrimage this year.

 

FIRST YEAR RETREAT

First year students attended an Adventure Retreat at Ovoca Manor, Monday 15^th September.

Ovoca Manor is Scripture Union’s Retreat and Adventure Centre located in the stunning Vale of Avoca, Co Wicklow.  Set high above the valley floor, the centre boasts breathtaking views. The 21 acres of grounds encompass river walks, forest trails and an incredible array of facilities.

Besides the thrill and unquestionable benefits of the outdoor adventure experience students were offered a blend of the physical, mental, social and spiritual combining the challenge of a range of outdoor activities and team games with an interactive exploration of the Christian faith.  Such activities included Archery, Leap of Faith, Rock Climbing, Jacob ’s Ladder and other team-building games.

Our group of First Years had a fun and challenging day with many opportunities to build bonds with their new classmates. A great day was had by all. Special thanks to Ms. Sinnott for organising the retreat.

 

SIXTH YEAR HIGHER OPTIONS

On Wednesday, 16th September, the Sixth Years attended the Higher Options exhibition in the RDS. It was a wonderful opportunity to attend career talks and lectures from all the various Third Level institutions in Ireland. Speakers at the career talk sessions shared their experience and expertise in various field of industry to give students insight into how qualifications, experience and aptitude can further them in their chosen career. Students also got a chance to meet with current Third Level students and representatives from various careers exhibiting there. Thanks to Ms. Fitzpatrick for organising the trip for our students. They all found the experience to be beneficial and worthwhile.

 

GREEN SCHOOL INITIATIVE

Well done to Mr. Donohoe for his efforts in coordinating a Green School initiative in the school. Meetings have been held with interested students from each year group and enthusiasm for the project is encouraging. We hope that the school can achieve a coveted green flag through the efforts of all staff and students.

Thanks are also due to Mr. Lawless and the TY students who have begun a clean-up of the gardens and green areas around the school. Mr. Lawless has been a driving force behind the effort to make the surrounds of the school attractive for many years. We thank him for his work with students in the TY Environmental Studies class and look forward to a clean and tidy school for everyone to be proud of.

 

September 4^th 2014

WELCOME BACK!

Welcome back to all staff and students for the coming academic year. In particular, we welcome the incoming First Years and hope that they are coming to terms with the transition from primary school to St. Kilian's. Induction days for incoming students were held before school resumed. New pupils are inducted and made feel part of the St. Kilian's community from the outset, and we wish everyone happiness and success during their time in our school.

Furthermore, good wishes are extended to eight new staff members who have started in St. Kilian's this year. They are:       

        Ms Gilchrest (Maths)

        Ms Watson (Biology/Science)

        Ms Ryan (Maths/Science/Physics)

        Ms O' Sullivan (Music)

        Ms Casey (Career Guidance)

        Ms Kearns (Religious Education)

        Ms O'Shea (Gaeilge/Geography)

        Ms McCoy (Home Economics)

 

STATE EXAM RESULTS

Well done to the Leaving Cert class of 2014 for their outstanding results in the state examinations. Many students have begun third level courses and were thrilled with their results.

Well done to the Junior Cert students who achieved outstanding results in their exams also.

Last but by no means least, congratulations to the 6LCA class who received their results from the Fifth Year assignments and tasks last week. Many of the class achieved distinctions and merits and are well set up to achieve outstanding results in their final examinations, if they continue the good work in Sixth Year.

We extend congratulations to all our students, both past and present, on the results achieved in the state exams in 2014.

 

DEBS BALL

The 2014 Leaving Cert class enjoyed the Debs Ball in the Newgrange Hotel, Navan, Co. Meath on Wednesday 3rd September. Everyone looked fabulous in all their finery and danced the night away until the small hours! Many teachers attended the event also. The outgoing Sixth Year students were delighted to thank teachers personally for all their help and dedication to them whilst in St. Kilian's.

  

DUBLIN DIOCESAN LOURDES PILGRIMAGE

Current Sixth Year students, Sarah Bermingham, Michael O' Brien, Abby O' Keeffe and Brendan Smith are representing the school on the annual pilgrimage to Lourdes. The pilgrimage takes place over five days in early September. The students are accompanied by Ms. Farrell on the pilgrimage. Best wishes to all concerned.

 

TRIP TO TITANIC BELFAST

In early June, Ms. Dodd, Ms. Farrell, Mr. Duggan and Mr. Donohoe accompanied a large group of Third Year students to Titanic Belfast. The students and teachers found the exhibition to be fascinating and highly informative. Everyone really enjoyed the outing. Thanks to the teachers involved for organising the trip during their holidays

 

SUPERVISED STUDY

Supervised Study resumed in St. Kilian's on Monday, 8th September. There has been an excellent take-up on study this term and this will certainly benefit students academically in the long term.

We encourage all our Public Exam students and Fifth Years to avail of the opportunity to revise in an environment conducive to learning. Thanks to Mr. Connolly for his hard work in organising  Study.

May 22nd 2014

3K CSPE

3K presented Bóthar with a cheque for €150 which they had raised by organising a sponsored walk as part of their Junior Cert action project.

This money will buy a sheep for a family in Uganda that will help them to become self-sufficient and afford to send their children to school. Well done to all concerned.

 

5LCA VPG

5LCA completed the Wrap-Up session of their partnership with Local company Elavon as part of the "Business in Schools" initiative. The students made presentations to the company explaining what they liked and what they felt could be improved for next year. Over the course of the year, the students had a site visit to Elavon, as well as CV and Interview workshops, Mock Interviews and the Wrap-Up session. This was very beneficial to students as the interview skills will stand to them in the future. Thanks to Ms. Brophy for organising these events.

 

SIXTH YEAR GRADUATION CEREMONY

On Thursday, May 22nd, the curtain falls for the Sixth Years in St. Kilian's as they have their graduation ceremony. The ceremony is one of the school's showpiece events, and each year the ceremony never ceases to amaze due to the meticulous planning of Ms. Murray, Ms. Ni Mhurchu and the Religious Education department.

A full list of prize winners will appear next week!

 

TRANSITION YEAR CELEBRATION

On Wednesday, May 29^th, the Transition Year Parents’ Night takes place in the school. Mr. Lawless, the TY co-ordinator, organises the evening event, which celebrates the activities and skills acquired by the TY students. Awards will be presented to the students who have embraced the spirit of Transition Year most enthusiastically. Thanks to Mr. Lawless for all his hard work in organising the TY schedule this year.

 

FIRST V SECOND YEAR SOCCER MATCH

On Wednesday, May 21^st, the First and Second Year boys played a soccer match that had been eagerly awaited by both groups for months! After early dominance by the Second Years, the First Years fought back and honours were shared with a 7-7 draw!

Thanks to Mr Duggan and Mr Donohoe for organising the match.

 

May 15^th 2014

SPORTS DAY

Well done to everyone who contributed to a hugely successful annual St. Kilian's Sports Day on Wednesday, May 14^th. The weather gods smiled on the events and students participated enthusiastically in track and field, skills and novelty events. Everybody thoroughly enjoyed themselves in one of the highlights of the St. Kilian's school calendar. A tuck shop was run by the Lourdes Committee and over €350 was raised to help fund the students' participation on the Dublin Diocesan pilgrimage to Lourdes in September. 

Special thanks to Mr Conway for his hard work in organising such a great day.

 

TEACHERS' WINNING STREAK ENDS!

Well done to the Sixth Year Boys' soccer team who ended the teachers’ three-year winning streak in the annual Staff versus Students  match. The match was a very tight contest, with the students emerging victorious on a 1-0 scoreline. The large crowd of students, teachers and parents thoroughly enjoyed the contest, which was played in a competitive but good-natured spirit.

 

Jamie McGrane proved to be the match winner with the game's solitary goal. This was scored after only five minutes, before the teachers had time to properly limber up and organise! Thereafter, the game was very evenly balanced, with both teams showing great commitment and the odd flash of skill!

 

Try as the teachers did to preserve their winning streak in this fixture, the equaliser wouldn't come. Mr. Forde rattled the students' crossbar in the second half and a desperate scramble saw a defender heading the ball off the line to keep the students in the lead. However, Mr Donohoe played excellently in goal for the staff - his double save to deny Sam Mulligan in the second half was truly outstanding!

 

Thanks to everyone for making the match such an enjoyable and sporting spectacle. Well done to the Sixth Years on their victory, but the teachers are already hatching a plot to win the crown back next year!!

 

END OF YEAR PREPARATIONS

Ms. Murray (Graduation co-ordinator) and the other members of the Religious Education Department are earnestly preparing for the Sixth Year Graduation ceremony, which will be held in the school on Thursday, May 22^nd at 7.15pm. End-of-year Academic, Endeavour, Community Spirit and Sporting awards will be presented to students on the night, following a religious service. Weeks of hard work has gone into preparing this showcase night for the school, so best wishes are extended to everyone concerned for the success of the ceremony.

An end of year Mass for the whole student body is to take place in St. Fergal's Church on Tuesday, May 20th at 11.45am. Thanks to Ms. Sinnott for organising the event.

 

U-19s LEINSTER LEAGUE FINAL DIVISION 2

 

St. Kilian’s C.S. 1

Coláiste Éanna 5

 

On Friday the 9th May, the U-19s St. Kilian’s soccer team took part in the school’s first Leinster final in 25 years. Unfortunately, they came across an exceptionally good side in Coláiste Éanna, Rathfarnham in the final but can be very proud of their efforts.

 

The final took place at Wayside Celtic home ground, on the astro pitch in Kilternan, in extremely blustery conditions. For the first half, St Kilian’s faced this strong wind and they got off to the best possible start, scoring just four minutes into the match. Stephen Harris won the ball in midfield and passed to Michael O Brien out on the left wing, who dribbled by a couple of defenders and swung in a wonderful cross which was headed into the roof of the net by Sam Mulligan. This should have settled any nerves of St Kilian’s but instead appeared to rouse Coláiste Éanna. Their midfield was able to control much of the play for the rest of this half and they made it count by scoring in the 22nd and 31st minutes. Both goals came from our team losing possession in the middle of the field. The first goal came from a cross to the back post from the left and was finished calmly by their winger; the second strike was a shot into the bottom left corner from outside the box. St. Kilian’s did have their opportunities towards the end of this half, both of which fell to Sam Mulligan but were very difficult chances and ultimately came to nothing.

 

The half time break gave St. Kilian’s team the chance to regroup and plan for the next 45 minutes and they started the half extremely well. The midfield of Ross Doyle, Adam Casserly and Jamie Fitzpatrick began to get their passing game going and St. Kilian’s put Coláiste Éanna under some pressure for a time. But the killer goal was scored by Coláiste Éanna in the 52nd minute and this really gave the upper hand to them. St. Kilian’s had to press the game, and this meant they were left vulnerable to the counter attack. Our goalkeeper, Keith Kelly, pulled off a number of great saves and Barry O' Brien cleared off the line to give Kilian’s hope. However, this hope was quickly extinguished as Coláiste Éanna went on to score another two goals. Throughout the half, the St. Kilian’s players never gave up and continued to try and get back into the match. Adam Kelly, Jamie McGrane and Jamie Fitzpatrick showed great individual skill and displayed why this team had reached the final. Jordan Ebbs, Michael Doyle, Stephen Downey and Alex Byrne can also be very pleased by their performances throughout the match.

 

The match finished 5-1, but the score-line definitely did not do justice to St. Kilian’s efforts. The team can be very proud of the football they have produced in this final, but also in all their other matches to get to this point. The experience from this competition will stand to them for the rest of their footballing careers and their future will be bright.

On behalf of the school, the team's management would like to thank the boys for the time they have put in this year to achieve their goals.

 

St. Kilian’s Team : Keith Kelly, Stephen Downey, Jordan Ebbs, Adam Casserly, Barry O Brien, Adam Kelly, Michael Doyle, Ross Doyle, Michael O Brien, Stephen Harris, Sam Mulligan.

Subs: PJ Conroy, Alex Byrne, Jamie Mc Grane, Jamie Fitzpatrick & Stephen Keeley.

Panel: Ian Mahoney, Nathan Monahan, Joseph McLoughlin, James Kehoe, Lee Ward & Ben Brown- Roche.

 

TRANSITION YEAR ACTIVITIES

On Thursday, May 15^th, the TY students had their final Activity Day of the school year. Three activities were organised by the co-ordinator of TY, Mr. Lawless. The activities were Hillwalking, Zip-it and Puppetry and all the students thoroughly enjoyed the out-of-classroom experience.

 

 

May 8^th 2014

Theatre Trip to the Bord Gais Energy Theatre

The St Kilian's Book Club members went on a memorable trip on Wednesday, April 16^th  to the Bord Gais Energy Theatre to see the very popular production of War Horse. The show was definitely worth every cent of the admission price and all of the students were enthralled by the spectacular nature of the production. Many thanks go to our Librarian, Chris Stokes, and to Mrs Dodd and Ms Garvey for organising this excellent theatrical experience.  

 

CSPE Trip to Sharpeshill Animal Sanctuary

Classes 2V and 2J enjoyed an outing to Sharpeshill Animal Sanctuary in Rathdrum on Wednesday, April 30^th. The trip was part of their CSPE course as the students are undertaking an action project on animal cruelty and neglect. The students found the trip to be both informative and enjoyable. The guide at the sanctuary gave a 20 minute introductory talk about the work carried out at the sanctuary and showed the students some horrible images of neglect and cruelty to animals. Thereafter, the students were given a guided tour around the sanctuary and met the animals face to face! Thanks to Linda, our guide, for an informative presentation and to Ms Ni Mhurchú, Ms Murray and Mr Kelly for organising the outing.

 

Talk on Cyber Bullying

On Tuesday, April 29^th, two Gardaí from the Bray Community Policing Unit spoke to the three Transition Year groups about the dangers and consequences of cyber-bullying. Garda Stephen Heffernan and Garda Suzanne Byrne presented the information in a very forthright and student-friendly manner, and the students were engaged and shocked by aspects of the presentation. The Gardaí invited many questions from the audience, and the students obliged with many interesting queries, which were answered clearly and without equivocation. The students and teachers who attended thoroughly enjoyed the talk and found it to be a valuable experience.

Thanks to Garda Heffernan and Garda Byrne for their lively and interesting presentation of the facts on cyber-bullying. Thanks also to Ms Sinnott, our Chaplain, for organising the talk. 

 

Celebrity Chef visits St Kilian’s!

On Tuesday, April 29^th , Class 2J had a fantastic morning cooking with Head Chef Paul Kavanagh from The Garden Shop in Malahide. 

Paul arrived with a huge fresh hake, the likes of which the students had never seen before! They saw how to fillet and prepare the fish for cooking. It was fantastic to watch a professional at work - he made it look so easy!

Paul worked with the students on three fantastic dishes: Pan Fried Hake with a Moroccan Three Bean Cassoulet, Creamy Italian Chicken Pasta and a delicious Stewed Plum with Chantilly Cream and Hazelnut Praline. Everything needed to be prepared for lunchtime. Mr Murphy and Ms Bools were first in the door for a taste of the finished dishes and they licked their plates clean! In fact, lunch was a slightly quiet affair with everyone eating and enjoying the food. There were no leftovers -  a sure sign of success! 

Students all said they would be making one or more of the dishes for their families and really enjoyed the experience of working and learning with Paul. We look forward to more of his visits and wish him continued success in Malahide. A huge thank you to Mrs Farrell, Chris Stokes and Mrs Dodd for organising the event.

 

Fundraiser for Five Loaves charity

Well done to 5th Year Leaving Cert Applied class, who organised an Easter Egg Raffle for the Five Loaves charity in Bray. This fundraiser was a component of their Religious Education course. Students worked very hard in making the raffle a great success and managed to raise €115. A big thank you to all those who supported the Easter Egg Raffle. Thank you also to Claire from Five Loaves for coming to St. Kilian's to promote the event and speak to the class about the charity's work in the community.

 

Leinster Under-19 Boys’ Soccer Final

Best wishes to the under-19 soccer squad who face Coláiste Éanna from Dublin in the Leinster final on Friday, May 9th. It has been over 20 years since a senior soccer team from the school has reached the provincial final, so the team have performed excellently to reach this stage. We encourage all parents and supporters to attend the final, which will be held at Jackson Park, Wayside Celtic’s ground in Kilternan.

 

Fundraiser for Lourdes Diocesan Pilgrimage

Four Fifth Year students - Sarah Bermingham, Abby O' Keeffe, Michael O' Brien and Brendan Smith - have been selected to represent the school on the annual Dublin Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes. The pilgrimage will take place at the beginning of the new school year in September.

The students are organising fundraising activities to finance the trip to France. A bake sale was held in the school on Thursday 8th May. Another novel fundraising activity which raised a lot of money was a "Guess the Sweets" challenge. Finally, the students will run a "Tuck Shop" on Sports Day, and all funds raised in these three events will help to finance the students' travel costs. Well done to all the students concerned.

 

Sports Day

The annual Sports Day will take place in St. Kilian's on Wednesday, May 14^th. A mix of athletic and novelty events is sure to appeal to everybody, and the emphasis is on participation and fun for all involved. The day concludes with the Teachers v 6^th Years soccer match. The teachers are looking to make it four wins on the trot, but the Sixth Year team are particularly strong as they are primarily the same team that reached the Schools Soccer Final this year! So the smart money is on youth to win out over craft and experience this year!

Thanks to Mr Conway for all his hard work in organising the Sports Day.

 

April 10^th 2014

ST KILIAN’S ‘ANIMATED’ GUEST

Cat Little, who is an award-winning filmmaker and has worked in the animation industry for over ten years, visited St. Kilian’s on Wednesday, April 9^th. She delivered a talk to 5LCA and TY students.

The visit was organised by Ms Fox’s 5LCA English and Communications class as one of their key assignments, and well done to them for all of their hard work, as the event ran very smoothly. Congratulations also to TY students Natalie Sroka, Allanagh O' Dowd and Alison McGrath who designed a welcome poster in the style of Cat’s TV show Wobblyland. The students were assisted by their Art teacher, Mr. Lawless. Cat sent on a photo of the poster to Brown Bag Films, the Oscar nominated producers of her show. The producers were so impressed with the students’ work that they posted the photo onto their website, which is there now for all to see. Well done to all involved

ORIENTEERING

On Tuesday, April 8^th, 31 students from St. Kilian's C.S. travelled to Emo Court in County Laois for the Irish Schools' Orienteering Championships. The weather was bright and sunny and this made for good underfoot conditions for the runners.There was a delay in getting the competition under way and this made for nervous students. Students eventually settled and got their minds back on the job at hand. Courses were technically tough and this was challenging for a number of students. For many competitors, this led to slow times.

The best finisher in the 1^st Year Girls' competition was Inès Cueto who finished in 8th place from a field of 35. The best of the 1^st Year Boys was Matthew Mcdonald. Top of the St Kilian's Junior Boys were Gary Shortt and John Paul Verdon with clean runs. Best of the Senior Boys were Evan Williams and Aaron Kelly with top ten finishes. Despite her recent form, current Leinster Champion Sarah McGrath found the going tough and wasn't able to match her recent success. Rochelle Healy was back in good form with a clean run and a good performance.

The Orienteering Season is now drawing to a close, but will recommence in September with fitness training and some technical map training. All newcomers are welcome and should see Mr Lawless in September.

DUBLIN DIOCESAN LOURDES PILGRIMAGE

Congratulations to Fifth Year students Michael O' Brien, Brendan Smith, Abby O'Keeffe and Sarah Bermingham who have been selected, following an interview process, to go on the Lourdes pilgrimage next September. The students will take part in fund-raising activities to finance the trip. We wish them the best of luck in their efforts.

SECOND YEAR HOME ECONOMICS - THE GREAT IRISH BAKE!

Well done to Mrs Dodd’s 2^nd Year Home Economics class who raised €188 last Friday 4th April as part of the Great Irish Bake for Temple Street Children’s Hospital. A stunning display of Easter cupcakes, freshly made on the day disappeared almost instantly at morning break. The class organised the event paying attention to advertising, marketing, production and sales. Everyone in the class did a fantastic job. The team work was excellent and the results delicious!!  We are all looking forward to more delicious bakes from these budding bakers! Thanks to Mrs. Dodd and her students for all their hard work.

EASTER SERVICE OF FORGIVENESS

On Tuesday, April 8^th, St. Kilian's students went to St. Fergal's Church for a Service of Forgiveness for Easter. Fr. Behan conducted the service and many students participated in the event by reading or carrying offerings to the altar. Thanks to Ms. Sinnott, Ms. Murray and Ms. Ní Mhurchú from the R.E. Department for organising the service.

 

April 2nd 2014

U-19 LEINSTER BOYS' SOCCER SEMI-FINAL - DIVISION 2

St Kilian's     - 4

Scoil Mhuire - 1

St Kilian's CS have reached their first Leinster final since 2002. On that occasion, it was the U 15s who were beaten in the final but this year it’s our U-19s led by captain, Sam Mulligan who will take to the field. Last Wednesday, March 26^th, the U-19s produced a very comprehensive performance against Scoil Mhuire of Strokestown, Co. Roscommon to proceed to the final.

Played in Mullingar Celtic grounds, St Kilian's started a little slowly and were punished for this after three minutes. A slight mix up in defence between the centre defenders and the keeper, allowed Scoil Mhuire’s striker to pounce for an easy tap in. This woke St. Kilian's up and from that moment on, they took control of the match.

The St. Kilian's players pressed the opposition at every opportunity and they could not cope with this. This pressure led to the first two goals for St. Kilian's. Both goals were scored by Adam Kelly from the penalty spot. Sam Mulligan chased down what seemed like a lost cause and it ended up with the defender taking him down in the box. This led to the first penalty.  Stephen Harris did likewise for the second penalty. The referee also decided to send the full back off for this tackle, which really put St Kilians in the driving seat.

For the rest of the first half, St Kilian's laid siege to Scoil Mhuire's goal. Ross Doyle created a number of opportunities and hit the post on two of these occasions. Eventually the third goal came and this really sealed the victory. A brilliant passing move from defence to attack, with a number of one-twos was finished with a sweet strike from Sam Mulligan from the edge of the box.

The second half was played at a very controlled pace by St. Kilian's. They held possession for long periods in the half but Scoil Mhuire got large numbers behind the ball and made it very difficult to break down. On the few shots we did manage to get off, the keeper from Scoil Mhuire pulled off some magnificent saves. Ross Doyle’s hard work paid off mid-way through the 2^nd half, when he found himself in the box with just the keeper to beat. He made no mistake.

St. Kilian's saw out the rest of the match very comfortably and overall they should be delighted with this performance. The defence of Barry O Brien, Jordon Ebbs, Adam Casserly and Stephen Downey were extremely solid for the majority of the game. In mid-field, Ross Doyle, Michael Doyle and Adam Kelly proved to be a constant thorn for Scoil Mhuire. Up front, Sam Mulligan and Stephen Harris produced their usual very high standard of performance. Even the subs that came on made their impact in this match, namely Ian Mahoney, Jamie Mc Grane and Stephen Keeley.

The Leinster final is due to be played after the Easter break against Coláiste Éanna of Rathfarnham. This is a great opportunity for this group of players to achieve something that St Kilian's  CS has not done before. We wish them the very best in this. Congratulations to the squad and to Mr. Duggan and Mr. Donohue, the team's coaches.

 

AN TAISCE SPRING CLEAN-UP

Well done to all the Transition Year and 5LCA students for their hard work in tidying around the school and its surrounds on Thursday April 3rd. The students did trojan work and deserve to be commended for their industry. Well done to everyone and thanks to Mr. Lawless for organising this worthy event.

 

LEAVING CERT ORAL EXAMS

Best wishes to the Leaving Cert students who are currently engaged in oral examinations in Irish and German.

 

CSPE VISIT TO SHARPE'S HILL ANIMAL SANCTUARY

Mr. Kelly's 2V CSPE class are undertaking an investigation into animal cruelty and the organisations that care for animals. To this end, the class are going on a visit to Sharpe's Hill Animal Sanctuary in Rathdrum on April 30th. Afterwards, the class are going to have an awareness-raising day in the school on the topic of animal welfare. Then the class will complete the action project, which accounts for 60% of the mark in the Junior Cert CSPE exam. The students involved are enthusiastic and are looking forward to the visit.

 

March 25^th 2014

5LCA MOCK INTERVIEWS

 

On Monday 24th March, 5LCA students took part in a mock interviews facilitated by Elavon personnel. These interviews are part of the Skills @ Work programme that St.Kilians runs in conjunction with Elavon.

 

Students had to apply for a job in Elavon via their website and attend for an interview with a number of Elavon staff members. This is no easy task but our students were well prepared thanks to Elavon’s CV and Interview Skills workshop earlier in the year.

 

Students were given great feedback from the Elavon staff and presented themselves very well at their interviews. This will give them a great advantage in future interviews. Congratulations to all who took part and a very big thank you to Elavon.

 

ORIENTEERING

On Wednesday, March 12^th, 32 students from St Kilian's C.S. took part in the Leinster Schools’ Orienteering Championship. Hopes were high after a number of wins in the Leinster Schools’ League as students had been showing consistently good form throughout the winter.

The Event was held in Djouce Woods in County Wicklow. The conditions on the day were ideal and made for good running. The courses were both technically challenging and physically demanding with the steep slopes in the woods.

Many students who were expected to do well may have underestimated the complexity of the challenge and did not find the courses as easy as expected. Consistency and level headedness won the day for more cautious runners.

 1st Year Girls:            Erin Connelly (3^rd); Ines Cueto (4^th).

 TY Girls:                     Lucy Masterson (2^nd)

 TY Boys:                    Jessie Lopez II (1^st); Evan Williams (2^nd);

                                    Abdullah Balasmeh (3^rd); Dmitri Chizhikov (5^th).

 Senior Girls:               Sarah McGrath (1^st); Sophie Mooney (3^rd).

 Senior Boys:              Brendan Smith was the fastest finisher from St Kilian's.

 

All the students were happy with their results and are looking forward to travelling to Emo Court to take part in the Irish Schools Championship on April 8^th.

 

CONGRATULATIONS

Well done to two First Year students on their recent outstanding sporting achievements.

Chris Shortt (1.C) has been selected to play on the Leinster U-15 Rugby team who are due to face Munster this weekend. This is Chris’s second appearance for his province at this age. The Greystones club player faced Connaught in February and scored the winning try for Leinster in that match.

Congratulations are also extended to Michael Moorehouse (1.C) who has won the Leinster Boys’ 48kg Boxing title. This is a fabulous achievement for the young boxer from St. Fergal’s Boxing Club.

 

UNDER 19 BOYS'LEINSTER SEMI-FINAL

Best wishes are extended to the Senior Boys’ Soccer squad who are due to play Scoil Mhuire, Strokestown in the Semi-Final of the Leinster Schools’ B Champions’ League competition in Mullingar on Wednesday, March 26^th. Full report to follow next week!

 

March 19^th 2014

SEACHTAIN NA GAEILGE

Well done to the Irish Department for all the activities organised for the annual celebration of the Irish language and culture - Seachtain Na Gaeilge. Two highlights of the week of celebration were the "Lá unBéarlable" on Thursday last and the "Ceili Mor", which was the culmination of proceedings on the Friday before St. Patrick's Day. Well done to all concerned for organising these events.

GAISCE WALK

Preparations are well underway for the annual Gaisce walk that is due to take place in the final week of March. Many Fourth and Fifth students are involved in the President's Award scheme, and they are seeking bronze and silver awards respectively. Well done to all the students involved in this worthy pursuit. Special thanks to Mr. Walsh for organising this worthwhile and challenging. programme

ORIENTEERING

Well done to our students who did extremely well in the recent Leinster Championships. St. Kilian's students did extremely well in all categories. Standout results included first place for Sarah McGrath (5^th Year) who won the Senior Girls event and Jessie Lopez (4^th Year) who triumphed in the TY boys event. Well done to everyone who competed and to Mr. Lawless for his tireless dedication to promoting orienteering in the school.

EVENING STUDY

Evening study is continuing each day for exam and Fifth year students. The study sessions are well attended and we encourage our exam students to avail of the opportunity to study in a quiet and positive learning environment. Thanks to Mr. Connolly for organising evening study.

TY ACTIVITIES DAYS

On Thursday, March 20th and Monday, March 24th, all the TY students will be out of class and participating in various activities such as hill-walking, Bushcraft and Puppetry. Activity days are an important aspect of TY, as students get to experience and enjoy previously untried pursuits. In addition to this, the TY girls are attending weekly swimming lessons in the Shoreline Leisure Centre. Thanks to the co-ordinator of TY, Mr. Lawless, for his hard work in organising the various activities.

 

 

March 13^th 2014

DEBATING DISAPPOINTMENT!

Commiserations to the Senior Debating Team who lost the semi-final of the Bray Lions' Club Debating competition on Monday, March 10^th. St. Kilian's opposed the motion that, "Life is about experiencing success with no time for failure." Pres. Bray proposed the motion and a lively and engaging debate entertained the large audience who gathered in the school’s library to view the proceedings.

The St. Kilian's team comprised Sarah McGrath (captain), Dmitri Chizhikov, Adela Hunt and Sophie Mooney. All of the team spoke with poise and confidence, and their speeches were content-laden, witty and interspersed with personal anecdotes. They performed to the best of their ability and the three judges spent a long time deliberating before declaring Pres. to be victorious. We wish Pres. The best of luck in the final.

Thanks must be extended to many people. Firstly, well done to the four speakers for their hard work in researching and delivering their speeches. Secondly, thanks to Ms. Kavanagh and Ms. Murray for preparing the team so well and finally well done to the Transition Year hospitality group who prepared the library for the debate and organised the refreshments on the day. Special thanks to the TY students for the delicious, home-baked cupcakes that everyone devoured during the interval!

 

NERDIE!

On Thursday, March 6^th, St. Kilian's took part in the Wicklow Student Enterprise awards for the first time. We have been trying to get a mini-company to these awards for many years but this was the first year we were successful.

TY Business and Enterprise students came up with their concept of NERDIE (Not Everyone Realises Different Is Everything). This mini-company was set up to provide merchandise and revision aids while promoting an anti-bullying message in our school.

The students who represented St.Kilian's at the competition were: Hannah Leonard, Lucy Masterson, Nikita Maloney, Peter Hui and Dmitri Chizhikov.

It was a great day, with our students presenting themselves in front of 24 other schools, teachers and judges. NERDIE was awarded a special commendation from the Wicklow County Enterprise Board, which is a huge achievement for our first attempt at this competition.

Here’s to a new relationship between St.Kilian's and the Student Enterprise Awards!!

Thanks to Ms. Brophy and Mr. Duggan for all their hard work in preparing the students and well done to the team on their great achievement.

 

 

 

ISPCC NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION FUNDRAISER

A number of our pupils from Year 1 of the Leaving Cert Applied Programme took part in the ISPCC National Day of Action on Friday, March 7^th. They sold shield pins, which are a symbol for standing up against bullying. The students patrolled the town of Bray and through their great efforts raised an impressive amount totalling €334.43.

Well done to all who took part and thank you to everyone who supported.

Thanks to Ms. Kells, the LCA co-ordinator, for organising this very successful fundraising event for a worthwhile cause.

 

SOCCER - U-19s Leinster Quarter-Final

St Kilian's CS 5

Gaelcholaiste Cheatharlach 4

 

St Kilian's progressed into the Division 2 Leinster semi-final after an extremely entertaining and exciting football match. On Wednesday, March 12^th, St Kilian's faced the champions of the Carlow-Kilkenny League, Gaelcholaiste Cheartharlach.

St Kilian's were slow to start and found it difficult to get their passing game going on the pitch in Ballywaltrim. But like all good teams, they eventually adapted to the playing surface and began to dominate possession. St. Kilian's first goal came from the penalty spot, created by the brilliant movement and skill of Sam Mulligan who was taken down in the box. Adam Kelly placed the ball on the spot and finished very calmly. The second was to follow shortly afterwards; Adam finishing a perfectly directed corner from Ross Doyle on the half volley at the near post. The Carlow team got themselves back into the game just before half time from another corner which wasn’t cleared quickly enough by the Kilian's defence. Jordon Ebbs had to come off at this point due to an injury which meant a lot of reshuffling in the Kilian's team.

The second half started with the Carlow team having their best spell in the game and putting the new Kilian's defence under pressure, most of which was dealt with very well by the centre back partnership of Adam Casserly and Michael Doyle. The equaliser did come for Carlow via a long range free, which was saved by keeper Keith Kelly, but the quick reaction of a Carlow forward netted the rebound to equalise.

This woke St Kilian's up, and with a few positional changes, they got hold of the game again. Jamie Fitzpatrick, Ross Doyle and Stephen Harris crowded out the midfield and started spreading the ball more effectively down both wings to Michael O Brien and Adam Kelly. Sam Mulligan worked tirelessly up front chasing everything down. Eventually, this pressure paid off and St Kilian's recaptured the lead through Adam Kelly. This goal was created by the very determined defending of Stephen Downey and Adam Casserly, which broke up a Carlow attack. Adam Casserly instinctively found Michael O Brien who sliced their defence apart with a lovely diagonal pass with Adam Kelly bravely heading home at the back post for his hat-trick.

With 10 minutes to go by this stage, St Kilian's had chances to finish the game off but could not find that goal.  They were made to pay for that when Carlow once again found an equaliser to bring it to 3-3 in the 90th minute. This is what it ended at full time.

Extra time was really a tale of two halves. Carlow controlled possession better in the first half and St Kilian's keeper, Keith Kelly, pulled off an amazing save to keep it level at the break. In the second half, St. Kilian's lifted the tempo again. Adan Kelly’s fourth goal came from Jamie McGrane blocking a clearance by the Carlow defence. He worked the ball into their box and rolled the ball back for Adam to slot the ball into the bottom left corner. Nearly straight after this, Sam Mulligan got the fifth after chasing down the ball and coolly finishing into the bottom left corner.

Most teams would have lain down at this point but to Carlow’s credit they didn’t give up the tie and managed to find another goal. However, there was to be no dramatic late equaliser this time and St Kilian's saw the match out.

St Kilian's got through this match because of their work rate and real belief in themselves. This was a great test for the team and will definitely benefit them going forward in the competition.

Well done to the players and to the coaches, Mr. Duggan and Mr. Donohoe.

 

3Ɵ & 3K SPONSORED WALK

3Ɵ and 3K enjoyed the Bray to Greystones cliff walk on Monday 10th March. In beautiful springtime sunshine, both classes, with their teachers Ms Brophy and Mr Donohoe, witnessed the wonderful scenery along all this stretch of coastline.

The classes had taken this sponsored walk on as part of their CSPE action projects, raising money for WWF (World Wildlife Fund) and Bóthar. Class 3K are hoping to raise enough money to sponsor a goat for a family in Africa. While Class 3Ɵ are having difficulty deciding whether to adopt a Giant Panda or a Snow Leopard!

Well done to all who took part. The ice creams in Greystones were well deserved!

 

March 5^th 2014

STORYTIME!

On Thursday February 27th, Niall De Búrca, a well-known storyteller, made a return visit to St. Kilian's. As usual, Niall entertained our students with hilarious anecdotes about life in Bray and scared them with tales of intrigue and horror. Niall has been coming on school visits for many years. On each occasion, his repertoire has expanded and adapted in keeping with the times. He entertained the First and Transition Year groups on this occasion. Everyone, including the teachers who attended, thoroughly enjoyed Niall's anecdotes. Thanks to our librarian, Mr Stokes, for organising the visit.

 

GEOGRAPHY FIELD TRIP

On Friday March 7th, Mr Walsh's Sixth Year Geography class embarked upon a field trip to conduct a study of deposits and examine wave formation patterns. The trip took the class to the beach in Shankill, Co. Dublin. The class have to write a comprehensive report on their findings from this field trip, and this accounts for 20% of their final mark in Leaving Cert Geography. Mr Walsh was very pleased with the trip and both he and his students cannot wait to get started on writing the final report!

 

SEACHTAIN NA GAEILGE

Preparations are underway in the Irish Department for the annual Seachtain Na Gaeilge celebrations that take place in St. Kilian's on the week leading up to St. Patrick's Day.

Already, many of our Transition Year girls attended a céilí in St. Brendan's College on Monday, March 3^rd. Many other exciting events celebrating our Irish language, culture and heritage are planned to happen at St. Kilian's to mark the event. Rooms and social areas have been decorated and green is the colour of the week in the school! Well done to the Irish Department teachers for their energy and enthusiasm in promoting this event.

 

INTERNET SAFETY & CYBER BULLYING

Community Garda, Stephen Heffernan, will give a talk to parents/guardians on Wednesday, March 12th at 9.30am at the school. Garda Heffernan is specialised in the areas of Internet Safety and Cyber Bullying and his talk promises to be both helpful and informative. This talk will be held in conjunction with talks given by Garda Heffernan to the Transition Years.

 

 

 February 26^th2104

DEBATING SUCCESS!

Well done to the St. Kilian's debating team who defeated St. David's Greystones in the first round of the Bray Lions Club Debating Competition. The debate took place in St. Kilian's on Wednesday, February 26^th. The topic up for debate was: "CCTV imposes restrictions on our freedom", and St. Kilian's were chosen to propose the motion.

The team captain, Sarah McGrath, defined the motion excellently and spoke with her usual poise and charm. Dmitri Chizhikov made his debut at the plinth as the second speaker. He showed few nerves and performed excellently. Adela Hunt and Sophie Mooney made up the quartet. Both girls displayed remarkable confidence and delivered their speeches perfectly. As a team, the four members gelled very well together and were able to offer rebuttal to the opposition's arguments.

After a few narrow defeats in other debating competitions, the team and their mentors, Ms. Kavanagh and Ms. Murray, were thrilled when St. Kilian's were announced as the winners. Pres. Bray will provide the opposition in the semi-final and best wishes are extended to the team and the teachers involved.

 

CHARITY FUNDRAISER

Well done to Mrs. Dodd and to everyone who contributed to the St. Valentine's Day Charity baking event. Staff members showed off their baking skills and designed a cake with a romantic theme as fitting the occasion. Ms. Dodd, from the Home Economics department, judged the entries and a number of small prizes were awarded to the "master bakers"! More importantly, over €150 was raised and donated to the Laura-Lynn Foundation as a result of this fundraiser. Well done to everyone concerned.

 

MOCK EXAMINATIONS

Best wishes are extended to our Leaving and Junior Certificate students who are currently sitting their written mock examinations. The exams are a valuable reality check for students and provide them with a "test run" before the real exams commence in June. Hard work and effort will be rewarded with good grades and our exam students are encouraged to keep attending the after-school study facility that is available daily in St. Kilian's.

 

February 12^th 2014

U-19 WICKLOW-WEXFORD LEAGUE FINAL

CHAMPIONS - St. Kilian’s Community School 4 v Ramsgrange C.S., New Ross 0

St. Kilian’s were crowned champions of the U-19 Wicklow Wexford Senior League Division Two on Thursday 30th January 2014 in Arklow.  St. Kilian’s had already beaten this opposition in the league stages and was confident heading into the final.  There is a fantastic panel of players available at this age group and the toughest decision for management was picking the 16 to tog out on the day.  Thankfully the result went the way of St. Kilian’s and all panel members are back competing for places in the 16 as the team progresses into the Leinster stages of the competition.

The game was tight at the start but St. Kilian’s dominated possession and it was only a matter of time before the opener came.  Stephen Downey and Adam Kelly started very brightly down the right and Ramsgrange could not cope with the pace of the Kilian’s play.  The first goal came from the right and an excellent delivery from Stephen Downey was met in the air by Sam Mulligan and the captain directed the ball into the net.  Kilian’s continued to create chances in the first half and were unlucky with a few attempts.  Some great football deserved a few more goals.  Stephen Harris played some lovely through balls and Jamie Fitzpatrick and Ross Doyle threatened throughout. The quality of set piece delivery from Ross was also of the highest standard.  Jordan Ebbs led the defence again despite injury and Adam Casserly, Michael Doyle and Barry O’Brien were rock solid. 

The second half started 1-0 and Ramsgrange were unlucky not to get an equaliser in the early stages of the second half.  The strength of the St. Kilian’s team this year is the quality of the panel and this was never more evident than in this second half.  All substitutes contributed to the victory and none more so than Michael O’Brien who set up three goals of his introduction on the right.  He sent in a beautiful cross for Adam Kelly to knock down to Sam Mulligan to finish and Captain Sam completed his hat trick from another Michael O’Brien cross.  The final goal came again from great work by Michael and his pass was finished to the net by another substitute Ian Mahoney who had replaced the hat trick hero.  Alex Byrne slotted into the middle of midfield and Michael Doyle dropped back to centre half to hold out any late pressure.  Birthday Boy Jamie McGrane replaced the excellent Stephen Downey at right back and showed his quality.  PJ Conroy replaced Keith Kelly who maintained his impressive stats with a clean sheet.

Mr Donohoe and Mr Duggan would like to congratulate this group of players on the success they have had throughout their years in St. Kilian’s and they have represented the school with great distinction and made many finals.  A lot of this group had experienced success last year at U-17 level but it is the first time in a long time the school has brought a senior title home.  The very best of luck in the Leinster competition and this panel definitely has the quality to go very far.

Many thanks again to Dylan Donnelly for his expertise in the Assistant Manager role and to Luke Weir for helping with First Aid and to our lucky bus driver Jamie.  Special thanks to all the supporters who travelled and shouted the team to victory.  There was a great turn out of students, teachers and parents.  It was great to have both Principal Mr Murphy and Deputy Principal Ms Bools in attendance.

Team: Keith Kelly, Stephen Downey, Barry O’Brien, Jordan Ebbs, Adam Casserly, Michael Doyle, Adam Kelly, Ross Doyle, Sam Mulligan, Stephen Harris, Jamie Fitzpatrick.

Subs used: Michael O’Brien, Alex Byrne, Jamie McGrane, P.J. Conroy, Ian Mahoney.

Subs not used: Nathan Monahan, Joseph McLaughlin, Luke Walsh, Stephen Keeley, Dan Byrne, Ben Browne Roche, James Kehoe and Lee Ward.

 

5th Year Home Economics Trip

On Friday last 22 budding cooks from 5th Year made a trip to the Baking Academy of Ireland in Lucan. Derek O Brien, a master baker, welcomed us on our arrival.  He then began an excellent demonstration on bread-making, explaining the best techniques and ingredients to use to ensure success. We took our places at our units and began the process for ourselves. It was at first messy and a little sticky but eventually everyone had beautifully kneaded dough shaped in a plait ready to bake. While the dough was rising we had a demonstration on decorating cupcakes.  We all got creative and decorated 6 individual cakes each. These were carefully boxed for the trip home. All the while the smell of baking bread wafted around us.  Each loaf of bread was delicious and looked so professional.  We boarded the bus for home delighted with our new skills and treats. No doubt the freshly made bread and delicious cupcakes made everyone very popular at home. Hopefully the sales of baking ingredients soared over the weekend as students and adults alike practised their new baking skills. A sincere Thank You to Derek, Mary and Kate in the Baking Academy for making us so welcome and making the day a huge success.  A big Thank You, also, to Ms Moran and Mrs Dodd for organising the trip.

 

January 29^th 2014

 U-19 BOYS' SOCCER

St. Kilian’s have qualified for the Wicklow - Wexford U-19 Senior Football Final with two great victories against Ramsgrange C.S., New Ross and Coláiste an Átha, Kilmuckridge.

St. Kilian’s 4 v Ramsgrange C.S. 1

St. Kilian’s finally opened their U-19 League campaign against Ramsgrange C.S. in Ballywaltrim on Friday, January 17^th.  St. Kilian’s were missing the U-17 members of their panel due to their final the previous day.  A lot of players took their chance and claimed their jersey with superb performances.  A tight, tough match ended in a 4-1 home victory with goals coming from Adam Kelly, Barry O’Brien, Sam Mulligan and ‘Super Sub’ Nathan Monahan, who scored with his first touch and received a yellow card with his second!

St. Kilian’s dominated the wide areas and superb performances from Adam Kelly and Jamie Fitzpatrick, ably assisted by full backs Stephen Downey and Barry O’Brien, tormented the opposition.  Stephen Harris worked tirelessly up front and showed the form that has made him the most improved player of the year so far.  Sam Mulligan was a constant threat and fully deserved his goal. 

Defence was excellent throughout, apart from one corner that ended up with a man at the back post free to score.  Keith Kelly was safe in goals and his distribution was excellent.  Jordan Ebbs and Adam Casserly lead from the back and midfield was dominated by superb performances from both Michael and Ross Doyle.

Team: Keith Kelly, Stephen Downey, Barry O’Brien, Jordan Ebbs, Adam Casserly, Michael Doyle, Adam Kelly, Ross Doyle, Sam Mulligan, Stephen Harris, Jamie Fitzpatrick.

Subs used: Nathan Monahan, Stephen Keeley, Joseph McLaughlin, Luke Walsh.

 

Coláiste an Átha , Kilmuckridge 1 v St. Kilian’s 7

Due to the withdrawal of Wexford V.C., this game became a semi-final with the winner qualifying to the final and the loser being eliminated from the competition. Inclement weather and poor playing conditions made this game a very difficult assignment.

After a slow start, St. Kilian's assumed control and eventually Adam Kelly scrambled in the first goal.  However Kilmuckridge replied with a soft goal conceded from a corner. Thereafter, Kilian’s went on to control the game. Jamie Fitzpatrick destroyed the opposition down the left in the first half and had three different players marking him and he deserved his goal for his form this year.  Adam Kelly bagged his second goal despite moving to right back and man of the match Sam Mulligan stole the show with four goals and was unlucky not to bag four more!  Kilmuckridge could not deal with his movement and pace up front. Defence was rock solid throughout and Keith Kelly made some fine saves when he was called upon.  Barry O’Brien posed a threat every time he advanced up the field and corners proved a very effective attacking option with great deliveries from Ross Doyle.  Adam Casserly enjoyed his move to midfield in the second half and Michael Doyle, Stephen Downey and Jordan Ebbs ensured Coláiste an Átha could not get back into the game.

Subs Lee Ward, James Kehoe, Alex Byrne and Nathan Monahan all contributed in very difficult conditions and Nathan nearly scored again with his first touch.  PJ Conroy replaced Keith in goals and illustrated the strength in depth in this squad this year.  The toughest challenge faced so far will be to pick the 16 for the final. 

Many thanks to Dylan Donnelly for his expertise in the Assistant Manager role, and to Luke Weir for helping with First Aid.

Team: Keith Kelly, Stephen Downey, Barry O’Brien, Jordan Ebbs, Adam Casserly, Michael Doyle, Adam Kelly, Ross Doyle, Sam Mulligan, Stephen Harris, Jamie Fitzpatrick.

Subs used: James Kehoe, Lee Ward, Alex Byrne, P.J. Conroy, Nathan Monahan.

Subs not used: Joseph McLaughlin, Stephen Keeley, Dan Byrne, Michael O’Brien, Ian Mahoney.

FIRST YEAR BOYS' GAELIC FOOTBALL

St Kilian's First Year Boys' Gaelic team were knocked out of the "A" competition by Scoil Chonglais Baltinglass at the quarter finals stage on Tuesday 28th January.. They made their way down to Baltinglass to play a very strong team in terrible conditions and unfortunately came up a little short. They competed for the full game but were beaten by a stronger and more skilful team.

This is not the end of the road for the team however as they progress to the "B" competition. Fingers crossed they can go a little further.

ORIENTEERING

Wednesday, February 22^nd saw 39 students from St. Kilian's travel to Malahide Demesne for the final event of the Leinster Schools' Orienteering League. The weather was bright but cold, and ground conditions were dry, which allowed for fast running. It was the first event where the younger 1st Year students ran solo. Notable finishers were Inés Cueto, Erin Connolly and Sheenagh Bohe Doyle who finished 2nd, 3rd and 5th respectively in the 1st Year Girls' category. Fionn Doyle was the strongest St Kilian's finisher in the 1st Year Boys' event.

 

Other notable finishers were Aaron Kelly in the TY Boys’ event. Aaron had an excellent run to finish 2nd, and he was closely followed by Jessie Lopez, Dimitri Chizhikov in 4th and 5th places respectively. Evan Williams and Abdallah Balasmeh also finished strongly in a field of over 30 TY boys.

In the TY Girls' event, Hannah Leonard finished top of our girls with a super run which saw her narrowly miss out on first place. Hannah Johnston finished 3rd overall from a field of 21 competitors. Natasha Earls and Claudine Murphy also finished well up the field.

The 5th Year Girls’ Competition was a hotly contested event. Sarah Birmingham's diligence in map reading finally paid off with a super run which saw her take first place over her rivals.

Alex Byrne put in a faultless run to garner first place yet again in the Senior Boys' event. These two wins make up for his error in the first event which saw him lose out on a technicality. Brendan Smith had another great run which will see him consolidate his overall standings in the league.

Well done to all who took part on behalf of St Kilian's. Training for the Leinster and National Championships begins next week.

TY CPR

All 70 students took part in a day-long training event in which they were introduced to the basic skills in emergency CPR. The day was organised by their PE Teacher Mr. Conway who brought them through various emergency scenarios. It was a day for developing skills in how to deal with a serious emergency, but also a day of good humour and fun. Well done to all concerned.

TY WORK EXPERIENCE

Students are finalising their preparations for going out on work experience. They will be out in the world of work for a week in early February and will get the chance to gain an insight into possible career choices. This is a busy time for them and their organising teacher, Mr Lawless. Thanks to the many local businesses and organisations that facilitate our students for their work experience.

 

January 22^nd 2014

 

WICKLOW - WEXFORD UNDER 17 SOCCER FINAL

Commiserations to the Boys' Under-17 soccer squad who narrowly lost the final of the Wicklow -Wexford League on Thursday 16th January. Their opponents were Gaelcholáiste Na Mara, Arklow and the final score was 1-0.

 

Greystones was the venue for the final on a bright and sunny morning which was conducive to good football. Over 120 supporters travelled to support St. Kilian's in the match and they were vociferous in their support for the team.

 

The first half was very evenly balanced. Ian Mahoney had a great chance to score after five minutes. He controlled a free-kick from Dan Byrne expertly, swivelled and shot in an instant. Unfortunately, his shot shaved the angle of crossbar and post and Arklow survived. As the half wore on, Arklow went on the attack and St. Kilian's were indebted to goalkeeper, Ben Brown -Roche for two magnificent saves to keep the scoreboard blank. Ben's agility was one of the highlights of the match and he played brilliantly throughout. Alex Byrne, Lee Ward and Michael O' Brien worked tirelessly in midfield and James Kehoe was a constant threat to Arklow with his incisive and menacing runs down the left flank. St. Kilian's best chance to score came near the end of the first half when Kehoe's in-swinging corner fell to Josh Treacy, six yards out. Josh's shot was smothered by a ruck of Arklow defenders crowded on the goal-line and 0-0 was the half-time score.

 

Arklow took charge of the match in the first period of the second half. Josh Treacy, Gary O' Sullivan , Adam McGrath and Daniel Byrne defended manfully, but the pressure told eventually. Ben Brown-Roche pulled off a great diving save low to his left, but the rebound fell to the Arklow forward who lifted his shot into the roof of the net.

 

The first goal was always going to be decisive in such a closely-fought game. St. Kilian's pressed forward and tried hard to get the equaliser, but all to no avail. However the team can be very proud of their efforts. They tried very hard and were just beaten by a strong and skilful side. Well done to everyone and special thanks to Mr Forde, the team's coach.

 

TEAM: Ben Brown Roche, Adam McGrath, Gary O' Sullivan, Josh Treacy, Dan Byrne, Aaron Kelly, Michael O' Brien, Alex Byrne, James Kehoe, Lee Ward and Ian Mahoney. Subs used: Luke O' Sullivan, Craig Melia and Pablo Cueto.

 

FIRST YEAR  BOYS' SOCCER

St. Kilian's CS    1            Dublin Oak Academy    4

 

St Kilian's First Year Boys were very unlucky not to take some points away from this game but definitely can be very proud of their performance. Two very late goals made this result look very flattering to Dublin Oak Academy.

In an action-packed opening half, St. Kilian’s dominated possession but found it hard to create clear goal chances. However, Dublin Oak Academy did make the most of their chances and St. Kilian's were 2-nil down after 20 minutes. The mid-field of St Kilian's started to string lots of passes together at this point, with Michael Moorehouse, Dylan Bermingham, Shane Devlin and Gary Purcell all becoming very influential.  Jordan Conroy got St. Kilian's back into the match with a stunning free-kick from 25 metres out. This was the last significant act in the first half, which ended with D.O.A. leading 2-1.

The St. Kilian's defence played extremely well throughout this match. Captain of the team, CJ Buckley and James Ryan were solid in the centre of the defence and Jordon Smith and Jason King played their part too. Ryan Ebbs pulled off some outstanding saves to keep his team in this match and he can be very happy with his performance.

In the 2^nd half, St. Kilian's had a number of chances to get back level. The best of these fell to Gary Purcell, whose strike came off the post, following a lovely weighted pass from Michael Mc Mahon. Oisin O' Leary-Broughan worked his socks off, constantly up and down the wing and made the keeper work hard on a number of occasions.

As St Kilian's pressed for the equaliser,  they fell victim to two swift counter attacks in the dying moments. The team can take lots of positives from this match and hopefully will get what they deserve in their next match. Keep up the hard work.

 

MACBETH TRIP

On Tuesday January 21^st, Mr. Kelly's Sixth Year English class travelled to UCD to see the college's Dramsoc's production of the Shakespearean tragedy Macbeth, which is on the Leaving Cert course in 2014. The students found the play to be both entertaining and informative, and everyone agreed that the trip was a beneficial experience with the dreaded "mocks" just around the corner! The performances and production level were of a high standard and an enjoyable afternoon was had by Mr. Kelly and the 26 students who went on the trip.

 

FIRST YEAR PARENT-TEACHER MEETING

St. Kilian's would like to thank all the First Year parents and guardians who attended the parent-teacher meeting in the school on Tuesday 21st January. Nearly 90% of parents attended, and they were very happy and positive about the feedback received from teachers about their children's academic progress and social integration at second - level. Well done to the Year-Head of First Year, Mr. Fitzpatrick, for organising the meeting and for facilitating the high parental turnout at the event.

 

5LCA BUSINESS & ENTERPRISE TRIP

St Kilian's 5LCA class attended Elavon In Cherrywood, Co. Dublin on Monday 20th January. The students are taking part in the "Business in the Community" programme. The class had a tour of the business and got to hear about the jobs of various people and how they came to work in Elavon.

The students had a great time and enjoyed seeing the inside of this large company that do business all over the world. Thanks to Ms. Brophy, the Business and Enterprise teacher of 5LCA, for organising the visit to Elavon.

 

FIRST YEAR FILM & BOOK PROJECT TRIP

On Thursday January 23^rd, all the students in First Year enjoyed a trip to the Mermaid Theatre in Bray to see the film version of "Coraline", which was read during the English classes since the start of this term. "Coraline" written by Neil Gaiman, is a supernatural fantasy novel aimed at older children, and the students enjoyed studying the novel immensely. As part of the Film and Book initiative, students read a novel, watch the film and attend a quiz based on the book and film. The quiz is to happen soon and is eagerly anticipated by the students. Thanks to Ms. Garvey, St. Kilian's Home School Liaison Coordinator, for organising the film excursion to the Mermaid Theatre.

January 16^th 2014

U-15 Wicklow-Wexford Minor Football League

St. Kilian’s had two games in quick succession playing Dublin Oak Academy away on Wednesday, January 8^th  and a home game against East Glendalough School, Wicklow on Friday, January 10^th. 

Dublin Oak Academy 4 v St. Kilian’s 2

The first round defeat to Gaelcholáiste na Mara proved costly as Kilian’s did not make the semi-finals.  Two cracking long distance goals from William Coogan and Ross Moloney were not enough against a strong and talented Dublin Oak who ran out 4-2 winners.  A soft early goal meant Kilian’s were chasing the game from early on.  Ryan Kealy was tested in the Kilian’s goals and made great saves at crucial stages of the match.  Captain Alan Acres was a huge loss to injury and was missed in a defence that defended excellently throughout with Jack Ronan, Oisín Doyle and Jordan De Sousa under a lot of pressure.  Mark Curran did a great job defensively as well as offering an attacking option down the right.  William Coogan led midfield along with support from Brandon McGrath. William stood out on a day of many great performances on both sides and his goal was fully deserved.  Andrew Knight and Karl Mulligan showed their talent and were threatening down the flanks.  Andrew made a big difference in the first half when moved into the middle of the pitch and the three-man Kilian’s midfield caused Dublin Oak huge problems before half time.  Up front, Dion McGovern never stopped working and was unlucky on a few occasions.  Anthony Fitzpatrick assisted the team and had to adapt to a role down the right wing and worked hard.  It was great to see Ross Moloney back from injury and the quality of his goal showed all present what we were missing.

 

Team: Ryan Kealy, Mark Curran, Oisín Doyle, Jack Ronan, Alan Acres (C), William Coogan, Andrew Knight, Brandon McGrath, Anthony Fitzpatrick, Dion McGovern, Karl Mulligan.

Subs used: Jordan De Sousa, Ross Moloney.

Subs not used: Dylan Kelly, Ben Clarke, Graham Kane, Pedro Huertas, John Paul Verdon & Michael Vickers.

St. Kilian’s 7 v East Glendalough 3

St. Kilian’s finished their campaign in style with a very impressive 7 goal performance against East Glendalough.  Ross Moloney stole the show with four goals of great quality on the day, finishing with 5 in a week.  Jack Ronan’s and William Coogan’s performances also deserve a mention with Jack attacking every ball and leading the defence in the absence of captain of Alan Acres.  William Coogan controlled midfield and his ability to spread the play brought other players into game.  Jordan de Sousa was in defence from the start alongside Brandon McGrath and Oisín Doyle allowing Mark Curran start on the right side of midfield.  Michael Vickers replaced the injured Andrew Knight and had a great game in centre midfield.  Karl Mulligan tormented East Glendalough again down the left and deserved his goal when moved up front.  Dion McGovern was captain for the day and also added a goal, with the other goal coming from a Mark Curran corner kick that was deflected by a defender into his own net.  It was another fantastic performance by this young St. Kilian’s team who were unlucky not to make the semis. 

Team: Ryan Kealy, Jordan de Sousa, Oisín Doyle, Jack Ronan, Brandon McGrath, William Coogan, Mark Curran, Michael Vickers, Ross Moloney, Dion McGovern, Karl Mulligan.

Subs used: Ben Clarke, Pedro Huertas, Graham Kane, Daniel Shaw, John Paul Verdon.

Subs not used: Anthony Fitzpatrick, James Cash Fell & Cian Mangan

ART TRIP

On Tuesday January 14th, students from Transition Year and 5th year went to Dublin to the IMMA (Irish Museum of Modern Art). The students were given a guided tour of the Eileen Gray exhibition. Eileen Gray was an influential Irish designer who lived and worked in France. Students got to see original samples of her work and got a better understanding of her influence on the world of modern house and furniture design. The students also toured the exhibition of another Irish Female artist-"Leonora Carrington", whose exhibition is currently running at IMMA. The students got the chance to view her work and gain an understanding into her style of Surrealism. Students ended their day with a brief tour to see the "Book of Kells" in Trinity College. The students had a great day out and gained a better insight into their Senior Art History Course. A big thanks to Mr Stokes for accompanying the group.

DEBATING

On Wednesday, January 15^th, St. Kilian's travelled to the County buildings in Wicklow to participate in the quarter-final of the Wicklow County Council Environmental Debating Competition. The team of Sarah McGrath, Sophie Mooney and Adela Hunt opposed the motion that, "The future of the environment is safe in the hands of today's youth." Their opponents were Coláiste Chill Mhantáin, who defined and proposed the motion.

The St. Kilian's team spoke excellently and were commended for their diction, wit, eloquence and research skills. Unfortunately, the St. Kilian's team did not win the debate as CCM were declared the winners by the adjudicating panel. In spite of their disappointment, the girls were very happy with how they performed and each of them should be proud of their efforts. A special word of praise goes to Adela Hunt, who made her debut at the plinth, and spoke excellently. The team cannot wait to speak in the next debating competition and success will be hopefully just around the corner!

Well done to Ms Kavanagh and Ms Murray for their efforts in coaching the team.

 

UNDER-17 BOYS' SOCCER SEMI-FINAL

The under-17 footballers from St Kilian's had a great win in the semi-final of the Wicklow/Wexford League on Thursday, January 9^th. They beat Wexford CBS in a very close match, winning  3-1 after extra time.

Wexford CBS started stronger and looked most likely to score first but the St. Kilian's back four of Adam McGrath, Gary O’Sullivan, Josh Treacy and Dan Byrne held strong. James Kehoe opened the scoring with a well-placed free kick and St. Kilian's started to take control of the tie.

Wexford CBS scored the equaliser soon after half time, but the St. Kilian's midfield of Aaron Kelly, Alex Byrne, Lee Ward, Ian Mahoney and Michael O’Brien took control of the match and created a number of goal chances. Wexford had chances also, but some excellent goalkeeping from Ben Brown-Roche kept the scores level at full time.

With the introduction of Craig Melia, Luke O’Sullivan and Pablo Cueto, Kilian's had renewed energy in extra-time and two well-taken goals from Michael O’Brien and Lee Ward sealed the victory for St. Kilian's.

St. Kilian's go on to play Gaelcholáiste Na Mara, Arklow in the League Final on Thursday, January 16^th in Greystones at 10am. Best of luck to the squad and their coach, Mr Forde.

 

 

 

 

January 9^th 2014

 WELCOME BACK!

Welcome back to all students, teachers and ancillary staff after the Christmas break.

 

FIRST YEAR PARENT-TEACHER MEETING

On Tuesday 21st January, the First Year Parent-Teacher meeting will take place in St. Kilian's. We invite and encourage all parents to attend this meeting to gain information about their children have settled into St. Kilian's.

 

FIRST YEAR BOYS' SOCCER

St. Kilian's First Year Boys' soccer team suffered a heavy 6-0 defeat in their first group match in the Wicklow-Wexford league. Gaelcholáiste na Mara from Arklow were the opposition and the match was played in Lamberton on Wednesday January 8th.

Despite the one-sided scoreline, St. Kilian's tried very hard on the day. Gary Purcell's shot struck a post when St. Kilian's trailed by 1-0, and the Arklow team scored almost immediately to double St. Kilian's deficit to 2-0. This proved to be a turning point as it occurred just after half-time. From then to the end of the match, the physically stronger Arklow team took over and scored four more times before the game ended.

St. Kilian's best players on the day were Gary Purcell, Jordan Conroy, Dylan Bermingham and Michael Moorehouse. Thanks to Mr Donohoe for his efforts in coaching the team. He asks that the players not be discouraged by the scoreline, as it did not accurately reflect the effort of the St. Kilian's team on the day.

 

EVENING STUDY

Evening study has resumed in St. Kilian's and continues to be very well attended by exam students and Fifth Years this term. We encourage as many students as possible to avail of this facility that the school provides. Thanks to Mr Connolly for organising the after school study.

 

PARENTS' COFFEE MORNING

A parents' coffee morning took place in St. Kilian's on Friday, January 10th from 9-11am. The morning was organised by the HSCL teacher, Ms Siobhan Garvey. Parents were given information on free courses that are being held for parents in the school this term. Various courses on offer include Adult Literacy, Understanding Teenagers, Zumba , a talk on Cyber Bullying and a parents' trip to UCD. Thanks to Ms Garvey for all her hard work in the Home-School Community Liaison area.

December 18^th 2013

CHRISTMAS CRAFTS COFFEE MORNING

A big Thank You to all the parents, guardians and friends of St. Kilian's CS and St. Fergal's SNS and JNS who participated and supported the Christmas Crafts Coffee morning which took place on Friday 13th December at the school. There was a fabulous display of ‘make and take’ craftwork and the room was buzzing with Christmas carols, mulled wine, mince pies, and busy craft tables. At times, the room was choc-a-bloc with both parents and students enjoying the festivities!

This is an annual social, non-profit event. Our chosen charity this year, for proceeds from our raffle and craft stalls, is "Cardiac First Responders" in Bray. A cheque for 450 Euro will be presented to this local charity.

 

DON'T FEED THE ANIMALS!

'' Stop and listen! You may hear these monkeys before you see them'' was the warning on a plate about the interesting Bolivian squirrel monkeys. These beautifully colourful monkeys were the first stop for the members of class 3Ɵ at the Zoo.

On Wednesday 11th December, class 3Ɵ from St. Kilian's Community School in Bray had the honour to visit the Dublin Zoo as their trip for their C.S.P.E Action Project entitled, ''Conservation of Endangered Animals''.

The whole class (in warm clothes) walked the whole way around the 4th oldest zoo in the world. The zoo is located in Phoenix Park, which is the biggest park in Europe stationed inside the borders of a city. The zoo has approximately 127 different species of animals. Dublin Zoo is divided into many areas: Endangered Species, World of Primates, African Plains, City Farm, World of Cats, The Arctic area, The Kaziranga Forest Trail, Birds and Reptiles. However in the zoo you can also find many rare plants that the zoo conserves. The Dublin Zoo is part of a worldwide programme to breed endangered species and helps in the conservation of endangered species in Europe. It is also part of the European Endangered Species Programme.

The class received a lecture about the conservation of endangered species in the zoo. The lecture took place in the Zoological Society. After the lecture, the class divided to see their favourite animals. Some of them were reptiles such as the scary yellow-black skinned snakes. The African Savanna contained zebras, giraffes, rhinos and ostriches, and this was a very exciting place to visit. In Camp Congo ( the island of gorilllas), we saw the caring mother of the family-Lena and the great leader-Harry. These mates also had three children named: Kituba, Alf and Evindi. The class were fascinated by the power and interactive ability of the gorillas. Many other interesting animals enthralled the students as they went from cage to cage.

The trip ended with a group photo of class 30 and many great memories. Thanks to our CSPE teacher, Mr. Donohue, for organising the trip to Dublin Zoo.

Report written by Patrycja Struzynska (Class 30)

 

RDS CHRISTMAS ON ICE

On Tuesday 17th December, 65 students from Transition Year and 5LCA enjoyed an afternoon ice-skating in the RDS arena. Fun and frivolity (and thankfully no injuries) were the order of the afternoon as everybody took to the ice, with varying degrees of success. All the students and even the teachers ventured onto the ice and everybody thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Thanks to Ms Fitzpatrick, Ms Duggan, Mr Donohue and Mr Kelly for accompanying the students to the RDS for the trip. We are reliably informed that none of the teachers intend to give up the day job to pursue a career on the ice!

 

CHRISTMAS CONCERT AND PANTOMIME

Traditionally, St. Kilian's breaks up for Christmas with a concert and "alternative" nativity play on the last day of the term. This year was no different as the concert took place on Friday 20th December. This year, the pantomime was entitled, "Nollaig, Nidge and Mayhem!" Ms Ní Mhurchú, Ms Murray and Mr Kelly corroborated in the writing of the script and many teachers and Sixth Year students acted in the play. The audience were entertained by the irreverent nature of the humour and the performances of the two leads, Mr Leonard (Detective Morrissey) and Sam Mulligan (Nidge). Somehow, Nidge turned out to be a hero by helping Mary and Joseph deliver the Baby Jesus!! Hilarious laughter filled the hall during the play, which very cleverly intermingled still photography with live action to tell the nativity story - St. Kilian's style!

The play was followed by a concert, which was co-ordinated by Mr Kelly. Students performed songs, dances, comedy sketches and poetry recitations to the delight of the audience, who responded with warm applause to show their appreciation for the performers' efforts.

Ms Sinnott, the school's Chaplain, conducted a short religious service to commemorate the spirit of Christmas. The religious service preceded the drama and musical performances on the day.

Special thanks to all teachers and students who organised or performed in the event. It was an excellent send-off to put everyone in a good mood for the holidays!

 

CHRISTMAS NEWSLETTER

Congratulations to Transition Year students, Georgia-Lee Flynn, Caitriona Gillman and Dmitri Chizhikov who had articles published in a recent newsletter produced by students from St. Kilian's, Pres. Bray and Loreto College. The newsletter was based on the Christmas theme and students from the three participating schools spent a lot of time planning the enterprise. A further newsletter will be produced before Easter. Well done to our three students for their hard work and enthusiasm in this project.

 

 December 12th 2013

MENTAL HEALTH PUBLIC SPEAKING COMPETITION

St Kilian’s was ably represented at the Mental Health Ireland Public Speaking Competition last Wednesday evening. Sarah McGrath, Sophie Mooney and Alex Byrne spoke eloquently on behalf of the school. Their challenging topics included, “Hope has the audacity to reach a hand into darkness and come out with a handful of light,” “Everyone and everything around you is your teacher,” and “Technology – devastating when abused but wonderful if put to good use”. 

The students were competing against an experienced side from Coláiste Chill Mhantáin, who secured a narrow victory. Commiserations go to the team from St. Kilian's. They spoke very articulately and their performance augurs well for future debating competitions. Thanks to Ms Kavanagh and Ms Murray for tutoring the team.

 

ORIENTEERING

Recently, forty two students took part in the Second Round of the Leinster Schools Orienteering League in Cabinteely Park, County Dublin.

The courses were longer than previous ones, and were more complex. In this round, St. Kilian's  had some new competitors taking part in the First Year competition. Inés Cueto, Erin Connelly and Sheenagh Bohe-Doyle all completed the difficult course successfully and took a clean sweep on the podium, by finishing in first, second and third places respectively. In the TY Girls' League, Hannah Johnston currently lies in fourth place overall and she is closely followed by Lucy Masterson, who lies in fifth position.

Gary Shortt of Third Year was the most impressive male competitor. He lies in seventh place overall in the standings after the second round of the competition.

Well done to all students who took part and to Mr Lawless for his dedication to orienteering in the school.

 

TY SPORTS ACTIVITY DAY

Transition Years had a sports activity day on Monday 10th December. The Sports Promotion Unit of Bray Youth Services set up activities and games which were inclusive and catered for all genders and abilities. Students were able to carry out their sports outdoors as the weather was mild and the St Kilian's Pitch was in excellent condition. A wonderful day was had by all the students.

 

ICE-SKATING

Preparations are well underway for Ice-skating next week at the Winter Wonderland venue in the RDS.  TY students are looking forward to this end of term activity which will wrap up their activities for this term and for 2013.

 

CHRISTMAS CAROLLING

4th year students from St. Kilian’s Community School demonstrated their community spirit when they went carolling outside Tesco, Vevay Road last Wednesday, December 11th.

Their festive tunes were in a bid to entice people to donate the very important charity of St. Vincent de Paul. All money raised will be donated directly to the local conference of SVP to help those in need in Bray this Christmas. 

The students were motivated by their desire to ensure that every family in Bray have a Christmas dinner and every child will wake up to a present on Christmas morning this year.

Mr Frank. Kelly ensured that the students were well prepared to carry out the carolling and directed them on the day.

A total of €130 was raised by this event. A big thank you to everyone who contributed, to the carollers themselves and to Ms Sinnott who organised the event.

 

December 5^th 2013

 

UCD BIOLOGY TRIP

On Tuesday 3rd December, Mr Dunne's 5th Year Biology class visited UCD. The tour was facilitated by St. Kilian's past pupil, Dr Daniel Crean, who works as a research scientist in UCD. He invited many lecturers to come and talk to the students. The lecturers spoke about their experiences of studying science at university and their work in the college. The academics were open to questions, and some students took this opportunity to enquire about various aspects of scientific research and development. The class also did many laboratory experiments, which they found fascinating. Everybody thought the trip was interesting and worthwhile.

Thanks to Mr Dunne and Dr Crean for facilitating this trip.

 

FIRST YEAR BOYS' GAELIC FOOTBALL

St. Kilian's Community School 5-7

St. Brendan’s 1-2

On Wednesday December 4^th, St. Kilian’s First Year Boys finished off their group matches with a fine victory over local rivals St. Brendan’s. This result sees them reach the quarter finals, which are due to be played early in the New Year.

This result was never really in question. St. Kilian’s got off to a blistering start, scoring 1-3 in the first five minutes, all of the scores coming from Michael McMahon. Shane Devlin, who started his first game for the school, also contributed to the scoring and ended up with an impressive tally of 3-1.

The defence did have to endure long periods of pressure in both halves but coped admirably. In particular, Gary Purcell, Jordon Conroy and Sean Leggett excelled in the back line. Other scorers on the day were Christopher Shortt (1-0) and Dylan Bermingham (0-1).

The team can be very happy with this performance. Every player worked extremely hard and the team were very clinical in attack. A similar level of performance will be required if they want to progress further in this competition. Congratulations and well done to the team and to Mr Donohoe.

 

PARENTS' CAO INFORMATION NIGHT

On Wednesday December 4^th, a Sixth Year Parents' CAO Information Night was held. Ms Fitzpatrick gave a number of comprehensive presentations on the CAO application system, the Leaving Cert points systems, applying for PLC courses, the HEAR and DARE programmes and applications for Third Level Grants.

The informative evening should allow parents and guardians to provide invaluable support to their sons and daughters over the coming stressful months.

THIRD YEAR PARENT-TEACHER MEETING

On Tuesday 10th December, the Third Year parent-teacher meeting took place. The meeting was well attended. Parents were given feedback on the progress of students based on the results of the recent November house exams and effort made in class. Thanks to all who attended the meeting.

 

SENIOR HISTORY LECTURE

On Tuesday, December 3^rd, Rachel Nolan from the youth section of ICTU visited St. Kilian's. All the senior History students attended a workshop and seminar on the 1913 Strike and Lockout. It was a very informative and interesting presentation and many of our students were appalled at the actual living conditions in Dublin in 1913. As well as learning about the main figures involved in the Lock-out, it was a wonderful opportunity to learn about workers' rights today and the importance of being in a trade union. The presentation involved power points, short films and group discussion.

Many thanks to Ms Nolan for such an interesting presentation and to the senior History teachers for organising this lecture.

 

CHRISTMAS PREP!

Ho! Ho! Ho!!! The R.E. Department and their students are currently doing trojan work in decorating the school with festive artwork. All the social areas are festooned with festive imagery and paraphernalia, which add to the fun and build-up to Christmas in the school. A Christmas concert and pantomime is being held on the last day of term, so the holiday season is truly marked and celebrated in the school. Thanks to all the R.E. team and the many students who have acted as Santa's little elves for the past week!!

 

November 29^th 2013

 

BOYS SENIOR GAELIC FOOTBALL

St. Kilian’s were very unlucky in defeat against Coláiste Ráithín in the Boys Senior Gaelic Football competition. The game took place at St. Kilian’s on Thursday, November 14^th.  The result was 3-9 to 3-5 in favour of Coláiste Raithín after a very competitive game played at a high standard.  Best of luck to Coláiste Ráithín in the remainder of the competition and with those representing Bray Emmets in the County Minor Hurling Final.

Team:

Keith Kelly (Captain), Joseph McLaughlin, Stephen Keeley, Michael Doyle, Jordan Maher, Jordan Ebbs, Barry O’Brien, Terry O’Toole (0-01), Adam Kelly, Jamie McGrane (1-00), James Cahill (0-02), Martin Molloy, Sam Mulligan (0-01), Stephen Harris (0-01), Nathan Monahan (2-00).

Subs:

Wayne Hinch for Jordan Maher, Paul McGrath for Joe McLaughlin, Jamie Fitzpatrick for Martin Molloy, Ross Doyle for Sam Mulligan, Adam McGrath, Luke Walsh, Adam Casserly, Michael O’Brien, Dylan Donnelly, Ian Mahoney.

 

STUDY SKILLS

The Sixth and Third Year students had a study skills seminar on Monday 18th November. The seminar was hosted by Mr Michael Bond, an ex-school principal and All-Ireland Hurling winning coach with Offaly in 1998. The students were given an individual  study scheme and offered guidance on useful study practices. Everybody found the seminar to be most helpful and informative. Thanks to Mr Murphy for organising the seminar.

 

NOVEMBER EXAMS

Well done to all students who worked hard for the mid-winter exams. The exams were a great opportunity for the students to consolidate their learning since September.

 

LCA WORK EXPERIENCE

Well done to all the LCA students who successfully completed a two-week work experience placement recently. LCA Coordinator, Ms Kells, visited all the students during their placements. She was very happy with the contribution the students had made in their various workplaces. Thanks to all the local businesses who facilitated our students with work placements.

 

November 12^th 2013

JOURNALISM & PUBLISHING WORKSHOP

On November 7^th, a small group of Transition Year students from St.Kilian's, Presentation College and Loreto Bray came together to begin a project which will help them improve their writing skills and understand more about journalism and publishing. They met with journalist Frank Corr, from the Knights of Columbanus in Presentation College to discuss ideas and tasks they would complete for the Christmas edition of the “God R Us” Newsletter. This will then be distributed to schools around Bray. The group will also plan for an Easter edition of the newsletter to be made after Christmas.

Well done to Georgia-Lee Flynn, Caitriona Gillman and Dmitri Chizhikov from TY in St. Kilian's for taking part in this project.

 

U-15 WICKLOW / WEXFORD SOCCER LEAGUE

The U-15 team had an epic football league game versus Gaelcholáiste na Mara, Arklow on Friday, October 25^th in torrential rain in Ballywaltrim.  The Kilian’s performance was one of the best team performances in many years and unfortunately it wasn’t enough as they were very unlucky in a 7-5 defeat.  Kilian’s missed numerous chances and Gaelcholáiste na Mara were clinical with any chances they created and punished any errors.

Kilian’s started very well and proved very strong down the left wing with Oisín Doyle and Karl Mulligan causing huge problems for the opposition.  Defence was solid led by Alan Acres and ably assisted by Jack Ronan.  Mark Curran offered an attacking option from right back who was solid throughout.  Brandon McGrath led the team from midfield beside Dylan Kelly. William Coogan dominated midfield, especially when switched to the centre.  Anthony Fitzpatrick and Dion McGovern were causing huge problems up front with endless running and were very unlucky with a few chances.  Dion fully deserved his two goals.  Andrew Knight made a huge impression on his introduction and created numerous chances from the right wing.  Congratulations to Pedro Huertas on his debut for St. Kilian’s in goals on a very difficult day to play in goals and made some very important saves and there is great competition for that spot between himself and Ryan Kealy who also impressed on his introduction.  Jordan De Sousa replaced William Coogan towards the end after a nasty clash of heads which resulted in William’s departure from the field and best wishes to him in his recovery.

Special mention goes to Man of the Match Karl Mulligan, who fully deserved his hat trick and was very unlucky not to have scored more.  It was one of the best individual displays by a St. Kilian’s student in a long time.  Most impressive was his hard work for the team, and this was complemented by some lovely touches and even some beautiful dummies which created chances for others.  He tormented the opposition down the left and was very dangerous when moved up front.

The team now face East Glendalough School, Wicklow and Dublin Oak Academy, Kilcroney, with training continuing on Fridays after school.  The 2nd Years are looking for revenge after a defeat by the 3rd Years on Friday 8th November including an Asmir Begovic goal from goalkeeper Ryan Kealy!

 

Team: Pedro Huertas, Mark Curran, Oisín Doyle, Jack Ronan, Alan Acres, Dylan Kelly, William Coogan, Brandon McGrath (C), Anthony Fitzpatrick, Dion McGovern, Karl Mulligan.

Subs used: Andrew Knight, Ryan Kealy, Michael Vickers, Jordan De Sousa.

Subs not used: Ben Clarke, Graham Kane, Cian Mangan, James Cash Fell, Josh O’Connell (injured), Aaron Forrestall, Tristin O’Toole, John Cahill.

 

TY BUSINESS & ENTERPRISE

Transition Year Business & Enterprise students are making great progress with their Mini Companies and hopefully will soon be making profits to reward their enterprise.  They have completed Idea Generation and Idea Screening stages along with Concept Development and now are currently working on the Feasibility Study and Prototype Development stages.  All St. Kilian’s students can expect to take part in market research in coming weeks.  We look forward to seeing more from Brain Freeze, Happy Hashtags and NERDIE. 

Many thanks to Anne-Michelle McDonald from Wicklow County Enterprise Board for her advice and guidance.  Keep up the good work and best of luck to all the students involved. 

 

 

1ST YEAR BOYS' GAELIC FOOTBALL

St. Kilian’s CS 3- 10 St. David’s 7 -2

St. Kilian’s came very close to a very hard fought win against a strong St. David’s team but fell short at the very end. A last minute goal took away any hope from taking something from this match.

But there were many positives to be taken from this game. The mid-field pairing of Michael McMahon and Jake O Brien both played extremely well. In defence, Jordan Conroy and Michael Moorehouse broke down many attacks in the 2nd half for St. Kilian's

Up next for this team, is a match against St. Brendan’s. It is a must-win match if St. Kilian’s want to proceed to the next stage in this competition. Best wishes to the team in this match.

 

WORK EXPERIENCE

Best wishes to both the TY and LCA students in St. Kilian's who are currently out on work experience in shops, schools and various businesses around the Bray area. Thanks to all the business owners for facilitating our students with this essential part of their course.

 

GOLD GAISCE AWARDS

On Tuesday 12th November, Karen Robinson and Nicole Johnston (Leaving Cert 2012) received the  Gaisce Gold Award in the President's Awards Scheme. This was a great honour for our school as only 33 students nationwide received the gold award this year. Whilst many students start out and achieve their bronze award, very few find the time or have the dedication to work through the silver award and on to gold.

Both Karen and Nicole put in many hours of volunteering, working in the community and building personal skills to achieve the gold award. The students were mentored in the Gaisce scheme by Mr Walsh and Ms Murray, who were their "pals" for Gaisce. Karen and Nicole, their families, along with Mr Walsh and Ms Murray attended the Gold awards scheme, which was held in Dublin Castle. It was held in St. Patrick's Hall in the castle, a venue that is used for state occasions.

The ceremony was hosted by Katherine Thomas and the president Michael D. Higgins was guest of honour. The president addressed the students before presenting the recipients with their medals and certs. A short film showed the achievements of the gold award winners. The Garda band played for the afternoon and Mr Walsh really enjoyed the delicious refreshments.

Well done to Karen and Nicole, you have made us very proud!

 

 

November 6^th 2013

 

ORIENTEERING

 

On Wednesday October 23^rd, the school’s Orienteering Team travelled to Santry Demesne for an orienteering competition.

This was the first competitive outing for many of the forty team members.

The TY Boys course had 23 points in it and was 4.4km in length. The TY girls had to run a 17 point course that was 3.2km in length. Best performances came from Hannah Johnston who was placed 2nd in the TY Girls' competition, finishing in a time of 23:24 and Aaron Kelly who finished in 4th place in the TY Boys’ category in a time of 31:54.

Orla Devlin, Lucy Masterson, Hannah Leonard, Sophie Mooney, Brendan Smith and Dmitri Chizhikov all put in very strong performances on the day.

The students’ orienteering mentor, Mr Lawless, was very happy with everyone’s results. Training continues for the next competition in December.   

 

MARATHON COMPLETED!

 

Well done to Mr Shane Walsh who successfully completed his first marathon on Bank Holiday Monday in Dublin. The months of arduous training and self-denial paid off as he ran the marathon in 3:31:49. In addition, Shane raised funds for the Laura Lynn Foundation by completing the race. Well done Mr Walsh!

 

WICKLOW COUNTY COUNCIL'S ENVIRONMENTAL DEBATING COMPETITION

 

On Wednesday November 6th, the St. Kilian's debating team of Sarah McGrath, Sophie Mooney and Alex Byrne travelled to Wicklow to take on East Glendalough School in the Wicklow Co. Council's Environmental Debating competition. St. Kilian's had to propose the motion that the "Irish Government is failing to act to protect the climate."

Sarah McGrath captained the team and defined the motion excellently. She and her fellow team-mates spoke with poise and confidence against a very competent and well-coached opposition team, who won this competition last year.

The standard of argument and rebuttal was excellent on the day, and the result was in the balance until the judges delivered their verdict. Unfortunately for St. Kilian's, East Glendalough were declared the winners and therefore progress to the next round.

Sarah, Sophie and Alex should be proud of their hard work and efforts. Well done to all!

Thanks to Ms Kavanagh and Ms Murray for mentoring the team.

 

 

October 23rd 2013

 

FIRST YEAR BOYS' GAELIC FOOTBALL

St. Kilian's 5-7 Coláiste Ráithín 2-0

St Kilian's 1^st Year Boys got off to a flying start to the league when they beat Colaiste Ráithín in Ballywaltrim on Friday, October 18^th. Played in terrible conditions, this team produced a very attractive brand of football to see off their opponents.

St. Kilian's played the 1^st Half into a very stiff breeze and found themselves losing by one point at half time, 1-2 to 2-0. The backs were under constant pressure throughout this half and Gary Purcell, Sean Leggett and Jason King broke down these attacks on numerous occasions. CJ Buckley, St. Kilian's  goalkeeper, pulled off a couple of great saves in the 1^st Half to keep his team in touch going into the break.

With the wind behind them in the second half, St Kilian's forwards got to see a lot more of the ball and they made it count. Michael Moorehouse was the most prolific, scoring a hat trick of goals. Another Michael and captain for the day, Michael McMahon, kept the scoreboard ticking over with a total of five frees throughout this match. In the full forward line, Kyle Stephenson scored two goals and Christopher Shortt got the last.

A number of other players stood out with their performances: Jake O' Brien, Christopher Lynch and Dylan Bermingham in particular. Hopefully this team will maintain this high standard of football for the duration on the competition and experience many more favourable results. Thanks to Mr. Donohoe for his sterling efforts in coaching this and other teams in the school.

 

6LCA VISIT THE CHOCOLATE GARDEN!

On Thursday, October 17^th,as part of their HCT class,  6LCA paid a visit to the Chocolate Garden of Ireland, which is located near Tullow in Co. Carlow. The students got to see how chocolate was made and where the cocoa beans came from. They also got to sample white, milk and dark chocolate and some lovely caramels. The class were also shown how ice-cream was made.

Each student got to make and decorate a chocolate bear to bring home. Everyone received a certificate for their participation in the chocolate workshop.  The trip concluded with a visit to the nearby Rathwood Garden Centre where everyone had a lovely lunch before embarking upon the long return journey to Bray!

The outing was both informative and enjoyable and the feedback from students was very positive! Well done everyone! Special thanks are due to Ms. Whelan for organising the outing.

 

TY SUGARCRAFT DEMONSTRATION

On Wednesday 9th October, Miss Whelan's Transition Year Sugarcraft class were very lucky to have the wonderful Trudy O' Rourke come to visit and demonstrate how to make edible Converse runners! These can be used to decorate the top of many celebration cakes. The colours chosen by the students were brilliant and their wonderful work was displayed in the school library for all to see! Well done to everyone!

 

PRIDE IN DEFEAT!

Commiserations to Mr. Duggan and his Bray Emmets team mates on their narrow defeat to Glenealy in the Wicklow Senior Hurling Final which was held on Sunday last. Mr. Duggan got a lot of support from the students and staff of St. Kilian's before the match. The school was bedecked in the Emmets' colours of green, white and navy. Many students made the long journey down to Aughrim to cheer on their teacher! Hard luck but well done also to Mr Duggan on the fine achievement of reaching a senior county final.

 

MARATHON MAN!

Best wishes to Mr Walsh who is the final stages of an arduous training schedule to run the Dublin City Marathon on October Bank Holiday Monday. As a Geography teacher, Mr Walsh should have no difficulty in following the 26 miles, 385 yards route around the streets of Dublin. Training has been going well and he expects to break the four hour mark in his first attempt at a marathon. Best of luck Mr Walsh!

 

SIXTH YEAR ART TRIPS

On Friday 11th October, St Kilian's 6th Year Art class visited the National Gallery and the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin. In the National Gallery, they studied European paintings by famous artists such as Monet and Jack B. Yeats. They learned about Impressionism and its techniques. In the museum, they saw objects that dated back to the Bronze and Iron Age in Irish history. They observed famous historical treasures such as the Ardagh Chalice and the Tara Brooch. The students were given wonderful guided tours which provided them with a lot of information for their Leaving Cert course.

On Tuesday 22nd October, the 6th Year students took an Art trip to the Irish Museum of Modern Art and the Hugh Lane Gallery. At IMMA, the class had a guided tour of the Eileen Gray exhibition. Everyone was impressed with the iconic work of this Irish designer.

Afterwards, the students went to the Hugh Lane Gallery to see some European paintings by artists such as Leech and Renoir. They also went to see the actual studio of the twentieth century artist, Francis Bacon. Fantastic tour guides helped to enrich the learning experiences of the students.

Thanks to Ms. Hume for organising both excursions and to Shannon Doonan (6th Year) for drafting this article about the Art trips.

 

 

 

October 16th 2013

 

MATHS WEEK!

October 14th to 18th is Maths' Week in St. Kilian's. A lot of fun events are being held both inside and outside the classroom. A Mega Maths Quiz is being organised for all First Year students. A Maths poster competition for all year groups is also taking place, with prizes given for the most innovative and artistic creations.

 

There are many fun in-class activities in Maths classes this week also. Magnetic Darts are being "thrown" to test computational skills, and the Flashmasters computer challenge is another innovative and enjoyable way used to test mathematical proficiency.

 

It promises to be a fun-filled and excellent learning experience for all the students. Well done to all the teachers in the Maths department for thinking outside the box and making their subject more accessible and less daunting for the students.

 

UNDER 17 BOYS' SOCCER

The Under 17 football team played Arklow Community College in Arklow on Wednesday, October 16th. This was the first match of the year and the team got off to a great start with a 4-2 victory. St. Kilian’s started the match strongly and took the lead through James Kehoe with a well-placed free kick. St Kilian’s were well on top for the first 30 minutes with great play from Michael O’Brien, Alex Byrne and Lee Ward and they took advantage of this period of dominance with a great goal from Aaron Kelly, set up by James Kehoe. The first half was rounded off with another goal from James Kehoe who had an excellent half.

 

Arklow came out fighting in the second half but the defensive line of Adam McGrath, Gary O’Sullivan, Josh Treacy and Dan Byrne played with passion, clearing their lines on numerous occasions. Ben Brown Roche was having a great game in goals but was finally beaten from a close range shot following an Arklow attack. St Kilian’s rallied and Ian Mahoney scored the fourth with a well-placed strike. Jordan Maher, Jason Somers, Padraig Mc Donald and Pablo Cueto came on in the second half and all had a positive impact on the game.

 

Arklow scored a second with about ten minutes remaining but there was never a doubt about the outcome of the match. St Kilian’s were deserved winners and can now look forward to their next match.

 

Thanks to Mr Forde for coaching the team. He is hopeful that the team can have a good season following this promising first match.

 

WICKLOW SENIOR HURLING FINAL

Best wishes to our Business and Accounting teacher, Mr Brian Duggan , who is due to line out for Bray Emmets in the Wicklow Senior Hurling Final against Glenealy on Sunday next. Everyone in the school wishes Mr Duggan and the Bray team the best of luck and it is hoped that Emmets can bridge a 61 year gap by winning the senior title this year.

 

5LCA TRIP TO MERMAID THEATRE

Ms Fox’s 5LCA English class went on a trip on Thursday October 10th to see the comedian Ger Carey perform in the Mermaid Theatre in Bray. The show was especially enjoyable for the students, as it was aimed specifically at teenagers. The theatre was full of excited students and accompanying teachers from schools around Bray.

 

Carey joked about school life, but focused particularly on the weird and wonderful life of the teenager. He dealt with everything from teenagers' funny mannerisms and laziness, to uniforms and relationships. Everyone showed that they had a good sense of humour and were able to laugh at Carey's insightful parodies of the modern teenager. Teachers didn't get off the hook either; Carey lampooned their mannerisms and idiosyncrasies mercilessly. His jokes drew uproarious laughter from the audience.

 

Thanks to Ms Fox and Ms Farrell who accompanied the students. Thanks also to Pauline in the LCA office and Jenny in the main office for booking the trip.

 

SIXTH YEAR ADVENTURE RETREAT

The 6th year students at St. Kilian’s Community School had a well-deserved break from study as they took part in an Adventure retreat at Ovoca Manor on Tuesday, October 15^th. The students experienced the thrill, exhilaration and unquestionable benefits of the outdoor adventure experience before they took part in a later workshop inside. Amongst the activities the students were involved in were the high ropes course, rock climbing on their purpose-built wall and various other team-building activities.

 

Ovoca Manor is Scripture Union’s Retreat and Adventure Centre. It is located in the stunning Vale of Avoca, Co Wicklow.  Set high above the valley floor, the centre boasts breathtaking views. The 21 acres of grounds encompass river walks, forest trails and an incredible array of facilities.

 

The students really enjoyed the time-out from their academic studies. Thanks to Ms. Sinnott for organising the retreat.

 

 BULLY 4U

The care and wellbeing of all students is a priority at St. Kilian’s Community School.

Over the last two weeks, First, Second and Third Year students participated in highly interactive workshops which addressed the issues of bullying and internet safety. 

These workshops were carried out by Bully 4u.

Bully 4u has established an excellent reputation in the provision of anti-bullying services for primary and secondary schools in Ireland. The workshops aimed to empower students to deal with bullying behaviour while interactive exercises engaged all students and challenged them to put themselves into the shoes of a victim of bullying behaviour.

 

During the workshops, cyber bullying was an issue very much to the fore and strategies were offered that would help empower students to respond in a positive manner to cyber- bullying, thereby fostering a culture of e-safety.  The consequences of posting data online for future employment and college applications was also addressed.

 

Students were also given the opportunity to ask questions and discuss the issues which confronted them during this thought provoking and emotional production.

The workshops received a very positive response from both students and staff.

Thanks to Ms Sinnott for organising these valuable workshops for our students.

 

October 9th 2013

TY Art Trip

On Thursday, October 3^rd, the Transition Year Art class were brought on the first of two trips organised for them. They began by going to see the Marino Casino in Dublin. This is a neo-classical building designed to look like an ancient Greek temple. The class were given plenty of information about the style and architecture of the house which will be very useful for their Leaving Certificate.

 For the afternoon portion of the tour, the class were brought on a walking tour of the Docklands area of Dublin. The tour began at the Customs House Building and ended at the Bord Gais Energy Theatre. The guide was very helpful and taught the class about the different stages of development in Dublin from Georgian architecture to modern buildings.

Despite the inclement weather on the day, the class thoroughly enjoyed their trip and would like to thank their art teacher Ms Hume for organising the outing. Everyone is eagerly looking forward to their next tour!

 

Under 19 Soccer - St. Kilian’s CS 1 Benildus CS 0

On Wednesday, October 2^nd, St. Kilian’s U-19 got their season off to a very good start against a very physically strong Benildus side. Played in very tough conditions, both teams produced some excellent passing football. 

With a number of players from the winning U-17 team of the Wicklow-Wexford League last year, St. Kilian’s showed that they will be a very hard team to break down this year again. Even on the rare occasion when the defence was breached, PJ Conroy, the keeper, was fit for anything Benildus shot at him.

 The midfield partnership of Ross Doyle and Sam Mulligan were at the centre of all the action and both were very unlucky with a number of efforts. Michael O Brien and Adam Kelly showed lots of individual skill and speed down the wings also. Up front, Dylan Donnelly and Jamie Fitzpatrick, worked extremely hard and held up the ball excellently.

 St. Kilian’s goal came midway through the 2nd half; Adam Kelly powered home a header from a pinpoint corner kick by Ross Doyle. This was the only chance which St Kilian’s managed to convert but this was not down to the lack of opportunities created. Benildus’ keeper pulled off some brilliant saves, the best of which were two efforts in quick succession from Nathan Monahan.

 Two players who stood out with their very impressive performance were Michael Doyle and Stephen Downey.  Both showed great composure on the ball and worked hard throughout the game. 

 This was an excellent start to the season and with a large number of players missing the match, it really shows the depth of talent that St. Kilian’s have at this level.

 

Sixth Year Art Trip

 

On 26th September, St Kilian's 6th Year art class took a trip to the Marino Casino and the Docklands near O' Connell Street in Dublin.

In the Marino Casino, the class were given a guided tour. The guide, Ruth, told them of the architect William Chambers and his beautiful designs in the Marino Casino. Then the tour moved on to the Docklands. There, the group were given a guided tour around O' Connell Street and its surrounding areas. The guide, Simon, showed them various  different buildings and discussed the architecture of the GPO and the Custom House. This was very educational and stimulating for the students.

Thanks to Ms. Hume for organising the outing and to the two excellent tour guides for their insightful and interesting presentations.

 

3K History Tour

Class 3K took a fun-filled history trip to Dublin on Friday October 4^th. The class were accompanied by Mr. Leonard and Mr. Stokes. Everyone had a riotous time on a Viking Splash tour, learning about the settlement of Dublin and its development over the next 1200 years.  It was both an informing and comic look at Dublin's past.

 After a quick stop for lunch, the class moved onto the Natural History Museum, aka 'The Dead Zoo'! Stuffed animals and preserved examples of Ireland's rich bio-diversity fill the galleries in an exhibition that fascinated the students. This experience provided the students with not just the opportunity to stare close up at a stuffed tiger or see an elephant's skeleton, but also to question the history and practice of killing and displaying animals in a museum.

 An excellent day was had by all the students. Thanks to Mr. Stokes and Mr. Leonard for facilitating the outing for 3K.

 

October 2^nd 2013

 

FIRST YEAR RETREAT

The five First Year classes took part in an adventure based retreat on Tuesday 1^st October in Ovoca Manor.   Ovoca Manor is Scripture Union’s Retreat and Adventure Centre located in the stunning Vale of Avoca, Co Wicklow.  Set high above the valley floor, the centre boasts breathtaking views. The 21 acres of grounds encompass river walks, forest trails and an incredible array of facilities.

 

Amongst the activities the students were involved in were, archery, leap of faith, rock climbing on their purpose built wall and team building activities. All this provided exciting, physical and mental challenges that pushed boundaries and left students feeling on top of the world.  The students also took time out to chat and reflect in small groups on the important issues in their lives.

 

Thanks to Ms. Sinnott, our Chaplain, for organising the retreat.

 

TRANSITION YEAR ACTIVITIES

On Monday 30th September, the TY students were split into three groups for out-of-school activities. One group went mountain-biking with Mr. Lawless in Ballinastoe Woods; a second group went rock-climbing and caving in Dalkey and the final group remained on the school premises and engaged in the more sedentary pursuit of animation.

 

The activities on offer provided students with a wonderful opportunity to try out new experiences and face exciting personal challenges. All the students entered into the spirit of the day with gusto! Everybody thoroughly enjoyed participating in the activities day. Thanks to Mr. Lawless for organising the events.

 

SIXTH YEAR PARENT-TEACHER MEETING

On Tuesday 2nd October, the Sixth Year Parent - Teacher meeting took place. The meeting provided parents and students with an opportunity to gain valuable feedback and insight into the academic progress of students in their various subject areas. The meeting was extremely well-attended and it is hoped that it will provide a spur to the Sixth Years to value their education and work hard to succeed to the best of their respective abilities.

 

LOURDES PILGRIMAGE

Well done to four Sixth Year girls and their teacher, Ms. Lawlor, who went on the Dublin Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes in early September. The four students were: Lydia Griffith, Kathleen Greene, Joanna Czyz and Chloe Redmond.

 

The students helped elderly, incapacitated and unwell pilgrims during the five-day long stay in Lourdes. Their work involved assisting the pilgrims at religious services, providing companionship and ensuring they were having a good time! Other duties involved flag-bearing, participation in religious ceremonies and night prayer. All the students performed the various duties and represented St. Kilian's with grace and honour.

The students all felt the experience was humbling and life-changing.

 

 Thanks to everyone involved; namely Ms. Power, the St. Kilian's Dublin Diocescan  Pilgrimage Coordinator, Ms. Lawlor, and to the four students.

 

 

September 26th 2103

 

TRANSITION YEAR ACTIVITIES

 

On Friday 20th September, all TY students were involved in an Activities Day.

The students were split into three groups. The first group went hillwalking in Glendalough. This group thoroughly enjoyed the walk and were accompanied by Mr. Walsh and Ms. Finger on this activity. Another group went mountain biking. This group had a wonderful day in Ballinastoe Woods and were led by Mr. Stokes on the trip. Finally, Mr. Lawless led the third group to Dalkey where they went rock-climbing and later this group went kayaking at Bray Harbour. Safety precautions were paramount for these particular activities and the students enjoyed the experience immensely.

The TY students cannot wait until Monday September 30^th, the next  Activity Day.  The activities on this day will be rock-climbing and caving, animation and mountain biking.

 

ART TRIP

On Thursday 26th September, Ms Hume led a group of Sixth Year students on an Art trip to Dublin. The trip is an essential component of the Leaving Cert. Art curriculum.  The group visited the Marino Casino and went on an architectural walking tour of Dublin city. The only thing to dampen their spirits was the inclement weather on the day.

A more detailed account of the trip will follow next week.

 

EVENING STUDY

Evening study has begun for the Leaving, Fifth Year and Junior Cert. students in St. Kilian's. After school study benefits participating students immensely. They get the opportunity to do homework and engage in revision for upcoming exams. We encourage as many students as possible to sign up for evening study. A quiet atmosphere conducive to effective learning is assured!

 

GAA COACHING

GAA skills coaching has begun in St. Kilian's on Thursdays after school concludes. The first coaching session was well attended by enthusiastic First Year students and the session was conducted by a qualified GAA Schools' Skills Coach. Thanks to Mr Duggan for facilitating these coaching sessions.

 

BRAY EMMETS' SENIOR HURLING SUCCESS!

Congratulations to Mr Brian Duggan (St. Kilian's Business & Accounting teacher) and his fellow teammates on the Bray Emmets' Senior Hurling team. They comprehensively defeated St. Pat's of Wicklow in the county semi-final last weekend and now are looking forward to their first county final since 1952.

Mr Duggan is the team's full-forward and he scored 1-0 in the defeat of St. Pat's. Everyone at St. Kilian's wishes Mr Duggan and the team the best of luck in the upcoming final.

 

 

September 19th 2013

 

MEMORIAL MASS

On Monday September 9th, a memorial Mass was held in St. Kilian's for Mr Barry O' Leary R.I.P..

Mr. O' Leary died on March 16th this year. He had worked in St. Kilian's as a Business, Accounting and Geography teacher for 19 years from 1986 to 2005.

The Mass was celebrated by Fr. Pat Power OFM, the school's former chaplain. Fr. Pat spoke warmly of Barry's good humour, friendliness and professionalism. These sentiments were echoed by the large number of staff and former students of Barry's who attended the ceremony. Barry's family travelled from Co. Clare to attend the memorial service and agreed that the ceremony fittingly celebrated the life of a lovely man and a dedicated teacher.

Special thanks is due to Mr Murphy, our Principal, for organising the ceremony. He spoke very warmly in a eulogy about the contribution that Barry made to life in St. Kilian's. Much credit is also due to Ms Sinnott, the current Chaplain, for preparing the religious aspect of the ceremony. Finally, a huge debt of gratitude is due to Ms Noreen Scanlon, who prepared delicious food and refreshments for everybody.

 

TRANSITION YEAR NEWS

Well done to Ms. Murray and her dedicated group of art-workers in TY. They have decorated their assembly area in the colours of Mayo and Dublin, in preparation for the eagerly anticipated All-Ireland Football Final clash on September 22nd. The colours of green/red and sky blue/navy are appropriate considering the friendly rivalry between Mr O'  Kelly, a true-blue Dub and Mr Kelly, the English teacher, who is a long-suffering Mayo fan!

The assembly area looks resplendent with coloured bunting, flags and posters. It is a fitting way to mark the showpiece day of our national game.

Prizes were awarded to Natalie Sroka, Jessie Lopez and Jenny Harris for their trojan efforts in decorating the TY social area. Well done to all concerned for their efforts!

 

The Seamus Heaney Poetry Competition  also took place recently. TY students were encouraged to design a competition entry based on a poem of Seamus Heaney's. Prizes were given for the most innovative and creative entries in the competition. Thanks to TY Year Head, Mr O'  Kelly for organising the competition and to the English teachers, who  provided advice and guidance to many students about their entries.

Prize winners in the competition were judged by Ms Kavanagh and Mr Kelly. Both teachers agreed that the standard of entries were excellent. After much deliberation, the winning entries were selected. The winners were: Allanagh O' Dowd, Georgia-Lee Flynn, Alison McGrath and Caitriona Gillman.

 

JUNIOR CERT RESULTS

Well done to all our Junior Cert. students who performed commendably in the 2013 examinations. Results were very good in all subject areas and students were rewarded for the work they put in during their first three years in the school. Congratulations to all the students and thanks to all the subject teachers for their hard work in preparing their students excellently.

Well done to the 6LCA students who received their overall results for Year 1 of the LCA course. Ms Kells, the LCA co-ordinator, was happy with the grades awarded and she hopes that the students will build on this success in 6th Year.

 

HIGHER OPTIONS CONFERENCE

Sixth Year students from St. Kilian's Community School attended the Higher Options conference in the RDS on Wednesday, 18th September. This is a unique opportunity for students to access information on a wide range of college courses and career options. Our aim in St. Kilian's Community School is to maintain our very high progression rate to third level education. Thanks to Ms Fitzpatrick for organising the trip to the conference.

 

 

September 12th 2013

 

Kevin Meehan R.I.P.

The news of Mr Kevin Meehan’s passing on September 9^th was met with great sadness by everyone at St Kilian’s Community School. A Dublin man, Mr Meehan was the school’s first Principal, serving in that role from 1981 until his retirement in 1998. He had previously served on the teaching staff and as Vice Principal of St Brendan’s College, Bray.

As Principal, Mr Meehan was an inspirational leader, extremely progressive in his approach to education and at all times committed to the values of fairness, inclusion and community.

Mr Meehan’s commitment to community extended far beyond the grounds of the school. He played a central role in countless civic, sporting and community organisations. His work with the Ballywaltrim and District Recreational Development Association established the school’s Sports Hall and Playing Field, and he was a tireless campaigner for the preservation, for sporting and recreational use, of what is now the Ballywaltrim Recreational Park. He played a major role in facilitating the establishment of Bray Choral Society, and was their Life Patron. Mr Meehan also served as President of Woodbrook Golf Club.

Mr Meehan’s vision led to the establishment of the twinning of St Kilian’s Community School with Matthias Grünewald Gymnasium in Würzburg, Bavaria in 1983. This was the platform for the strong civic and business links that the two areas now enjoy, due to the subsequent formal twinning of the town of Bray and the county of Wicklow with the city of Würzburg.

Mr Meehan served for thirty-five years on the Board of Management of Marino School, Bray, twenty years of this as Chairperson. He also served on the Board of Directors of Enable Ireland.

Nationally, Mr Meehan played an influential role in educational debate and development across several decades. He served as President of both the Association of Community and Comprehensive Schools (ACCS) and the Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland (ASTI) and was instrumental in the establishment of the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD). Mr Meehan also served, for many years, on the Board of Thomond College of Physical Education, Limerick.

At St Kilian’s, Mr Kevin Meehan will be remembered as a progressive educationalist, a fair and supportive leader, a gentleman and a wise and loyal friend to all who knew him.

The community of St Kilian’s Community School extends heartfelt condolences to his wife, Bríd, his son, Dáire, and Mr Meehan’s extended family.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.

 

September 5th 2013

 

WELCOME BACK!

We would like to welcome staff and students back to St. Kilian's for the new academic year. In particular, a special welcome is extended to new staff members, including:

• Ms Sinead O'Toole (Gaeilge)
• Ms Niamh Burke (Maths, Science & Biology)
• Ms Danielle Rosenberg-Polak (Guidance)

Everyone at St. Kilian's would like to wish Dr Maureen O' Rafferty a long and healthy retirement after many years of long and distinguished service to the school. Dr O' Rafferty taught Maths, Science and Physics at St. Kilian's. She was one of the school's original members of staff and commenced employment at the school in 1981. Best wishes are extended to her from everyone at the school.

 

TRANSITION YEAR

Tuesday September 2nd saw the start of the new TY year with an activities day facilitated by Danny and the team from Bray Youth Service.

Each of the TY classes got their chance to take part in team building games in the playing fields outside the school. The games were designed to help them get to know each other better and to develop team skills. Mostly the students had a ball in the brilliant sunshine and are looking forward to more activities later this month.

 

ORIENTEERING AND CROSS COUNTRY RUNNING

The first training session recently took place in the new school field. There was a large turnout of students from across all the different years and the training catered for all abilities. St Kilian's had great results in last year's Leinster Schools' Orienteering League and hope to repeat the success this season.

This year will also see a return to the cross county schools' league for the students of St Kilian's. Mr Lawless is confident that the high standards achieved in previous years will be maintained and bettered in competitions this year.

 

QUILTING SUCCESS!

Congratulations to our quilters who brought home three rosettes from the All Ireland Open Quilt Competition at the Tinahely Agricultural Show on August 6th. The quilts made during Transition Year used traditional designs such as Grandmother's Flower Garden and Scrappy Strings. Every student in the class groups made some aspect of the quilts, a great team effort!  Two quilts were quilted by hand using a traditional quilting frame. The three quilts will be donated to Henry Bear Heart Children in Our Lady’s Hospital, Crumlin.

Well done to all who worked on these beautiful quilts. In particular, congratulations to Mrs Dodd for all her hard work in tutoring her students to such a high standard. Looking forward to this year's creations!

 

 

May 23rd 2013

 

LEAVING CERT GRADUATION CEREMONY

On Thursday, May 23^rd, the Sixth Years drew the curtain on their second level education in St. Kilian's with a lavish Graduation Ceremony at the school. On the previous day, Subject Award winners were announced, as teachers rewarded students who had excelled and worked hard in specific subject areas.

The Graduation Ceremony opened with a religious service, which was conducted by Ms Sinnott, the school's Chaplain. This was followed by the presentation of the major awards, which were kept a closely guarded secret until the night.

 

The MAJOR AWARD WINNERS were as follows:

• Jeslyvette Lopez (Student of the Year)
• Miriam Verdon (Academic Excellence)
• Carol Thornton (Bray Lions' Club Endeavour Award)
• Ann-Marie Edwards (Community Spirit)
• Thomas Ryan (Special Attendance Award)
• Cathy Waters (Irish Award)
• Julieanne Vickers (LCA Excellence Award)
• Rebecca Briggs, Tom Hui ; Robert Farrell, Raymond Garcia; Noor Kashif, Brendan McCarthy; Michael Curran & Julieanne Vickers - all received Courtesy Awards.

 

Special thanks must be paid to the Graduation Coordinator, Ms Murray, and the R.E. Department for all their hard work in organising this event.

We wish our outgoing Sixth Years every success in the Leaving Cert and the best of luck in the future.

 

TY ACTIVITIES DAY

On Monday 20th May, Mr Lawless organised his TY students into three groups and ran three different activities. Mountain Biking and Hill Walking took place in Ballinastoe, and an Animation Workshop took place in the school. It was a great last activity day for all of the Fourth Years who really enjoyed it.

 

HARLEM SHAKE!

Class 2M organised a Harlem Shake on Tuesday 14th May as part of their CSPE Action Project. It was a great success and raised money for Bray Cancer Support. Class 2M intend to raise further money throughout the course of the next academic year and greatly enjoyed the visit by the charity's founder Veronica O'Leary earlier that day.

Thanks to Ms Darcy for organising this event.

 

 

May 15th 2013

SPORTS DAY

On Wednesday 15th May, the school held its annual Sports Day. The event proved to be a huge success with many students taking part in various events. Events were varied, ranging from conventional to the unusual. Sprints and Javelin throwing vied with Nerf throwing and the Long Kick for popularity. Events were organised into Senior and Junior categories, and mixed relay races were staged and proved to be a great success. An early cloudburst threatened to hamper proceedings, but thankfully the weather cleared sufficiently in order that all the scheduled events took place.

 

Best Overall Senior Athlete was Cathy Waters (6B) and Ben Brown-Roche (3N) won the Best Overall Junior Athlete. A big Thank You goes to to P.E. teacher, Mr Conway, for organising the Sports Day and well done to all the students who took part in any event on the day.

 

TEACHERS WIN AGAIN!

Congratulations to the teachers on their third victory in a row over the Sixth Years in the annual Staff v Students soccer match. This event concludes the school's Sports Day, and a large crowd stayed on to watch the match. This year, the teachers emerged victorious on a 4-0 scoreline. Yet the result belies the fact that this was a hard-fought and sporting match, and the result was in the balance until the latter stages of the second half.

 

Mr Duggan was the undoubted star of the match. He scored a hat-trick of goals, and his pace and power up front proved too much for the students to handle. Other teachers to impress were Mr Fitzpatrick (Year Head & Team Captain), Mr Donohoe, Mr Connolly, Mr Jones and Mr Walsh. Best for the students were Jamie Doyle, Jamie Brierton, Gordon Leonard and Graham Sutton. 

 

CULTURAL STUDIES/ART HISTORY TRIP

Ms Hume's TY Cultural Studies class and her Fifth Year Art class went on a trip to Russborough House near Blessington and Castletown House in Co. Kildare on Tuesday, May 14th. The students were shown around both houses by tour guides, who explained the history and architecture of each place. The students found the trip informative and interesting and look forward to similar cultural trips in the future!

Thanks to Ms Hume for organising this outing.

 

CONGRATULATIONS!

Congratulations to the current Fifth Year students who were selected to be prefects for the next academic year. Also, interviews were held to select a Head and Deputy Head Boy and Girl. The successful candidates were: Aisling Morris (Head Girl), Stephen Keeley (Head Boy), Emily Kelly (Deputy Head Girl) and Nathan Monahan (Deputy Head Boy).

The chairperson of the interview board praised the enthusiasm, energy, insight and forethought displayed by all candidates who were interviewed, and it took a lot of deliberation before a final decision was reached.

May 9th 2013

TY SOCIAL JUSTICE WORKSHOPS

As part of this year's RE programme, all Transition Year students recently took part in two social justice workshops which complemented the topics covered in class. 

The first workshop was held on Tuesday 30th April and was facilitated by an organisation called SERVE. SERVE is a development and volunteering organisation committed to tackling poverty in the majority of the world. In a world bound by poverty, SERVE is committed to justice, equality and sustainable development.  The workshop focused on the areas of Absolute Poverty, Global Citizenship and Fair Trade. 

The second workshop was delivered the following week by CONCERN. Concern work in partnership with the very poorest people in the world's poorest countries, directly enabling them to improve their lives, as well as using our knowledge and experience to influence decisions made at a local, national and international level that can significantly reduce extreme poverty.  Concern personnel delivered a very impressive and inspiring workshop, exploring some of the complex issues relating to Concern’s work in a simple and understandable way. The facilitator of the workshop shared his own experiences from his trip to Uganda.  In doing this, he explored gender issues, child soldiers, lack of health care and education as some of the problems he witnessed and causes of world hunger.

Thanks to our Chaplain, Ms. Sinnott, for organising these workshops.

 

6th YEAR GRADUATION 2013

Preparations continue for the Sixth Year Graduation which is due to take place on Thursday 23rd May. This year's theme is "Journeys".

The students have been working hard to prepare artwork, singing and other celebrations. We wish the graduation team the best of luck with this year's celebration.

 

SPORTS DAY

Mr. Conway, our PE teacher, is busily preparing for Sports Day, which is scheduled for Wednesday, May 15th. A large number of running, field and novelty events are being organised for the students.

A highlight of the day is the annual Teachers v Sixth Years soccer match. The students are hoping to halt the teachers' attempt to achieve their third consecutive victory in the match. Best of luck to all concerned!

 

STATE PRACTICAL AND ORAL EXAMINATIONS CONCLUDE

Leaving and Junior Certificate students have concluded their practical and oral examinations in Art, Home Economics, Woodwork, Metalwork, Building Construction, Music, French, German and Irish.

Students were generally pleased with how they performed in these exams. We wish everybody the best of luck in the forthcoming written exams and take this opportunity to thank our teachers for all their hard work in preparing the students for the state examinations.

 

GAELIC FOOTBALL: 1^st YEAR SUPER 7’s

St. Kilian’s had 25 Boys and Girls attending the GAA 1st Year Super 7’s Gaelic Football County Final Blitz in Bray Emmets GAA Grounds on Wednesday May 1^st.  This was our biggest representation for a number of years and it was great to see both a Boys and Girls Team in attendance. 

The Boys team started slowly and were beaten by eventually finalists Scoil Chonglais, Baltinglass in the first game.  They saved their best performance for the game v St. Brendan’s.  St. Kilian’s were leading by a point at half time by a score of 2-2 to 2-1 but two Brendan’s goals in the second half meant Kilian’s would not be making the semi-finals as only one team qualified per group.  Coláiste Bhride from Carnew provided the opposition in the final game and ran out winners. Congratulations to their first team on winning the competition.  The standard of football all day was very high and it was great to see the big number of teams entered.

 

The Girls’ team recorded an excellent victory against Blessington CC after defeats to Coláiste Chill Mhantáin and Arklow CC. This was their first outing and they showed some great skills and a determined attitude all day.  Thanks to Ms. Roses for looking after this team.

Panel & Scorers:

BOYS

Ross Maloney, Jack Ronan, Cian Mangan, William Coogan (2-1), Michael Vickers (0-1), Karl Mulligan (C), Andrew Knight (1-3), Michael Mulcair, John Cahill, Tristin O’Toole, Jamie Fitzgerald, Mark Curran, Graham Kane, John Paul Verdon, Jordan de Sousa.

GIRLS

Sophie Thomas, Chloe Murphy, Zoe Kelly, Chloe Gray (1-0), Amber Murray (1-1), Georgia Browne (C) (0-2), Kelly Waters, Shannon Reilly, Codie O’Brien.

 

BOXING SUCCESS!

Heartiest congratulations to Shannon Reilly (1^st Year) who recently won a gold medal at the under-14 All-Ireland Girls' Boxing Championships.

 

May 2nd 2013

FIRST YEAR GAA YEAR SUPER 7'S HURLING

St. Kilian’s 1^st Years attended the Chill Mhantáin Post Primary Schools County Finals at Bray Emmets GAA Grounds on Wednesday 24^th April 2013.  It has been a few years since we entered a hurling team and the lads did the school proud. 

The opening game was against Scoil Chlonglais, Baltinglass and the game finished in a draw with a score line 1-02 to 1-02.  With the top two teams going through to the semi-finals, a victory was important in the next two games.  Although dominating periods of both games, luck was not with us but with some practice and match sharpness there is the foundation of a very good hurling team. St. Kilian’s could not put away the chances they were working hard to create.  A last minute goal against Arklow CBS resulted in a two point defeat. 

The group was so competitive that score difference may have been important and the relentless pursuit of goals in the final game against Presentation College, Bray was in vain.  It was an excellent team performance with great attitude, discipline and work rate evident throughout the entire squad.  Again, a late goal caught us and another tough two point defeat meant we wouldn’t be making the semi-finals.

It was a very enjoyable day and great experience for the panel which will stand to them in the upcoming Gaelic Football blitz.  There is great potential in the panel and all players are encouraged to train and play with their clubs.  Big thanks is due to Hugh Kenny and the organisers, referees and Bray Emmets for an excellent day and we hope the First Year boys and girls enjoy the upcoming Gaelic Football Blitz.

Panel & Scorers:

Tristin O’Toole, Jack Ronan, Cian Mangan (Captain), Michael Vickers (0-01), William Coogan (1-02), John Cahill (0-01), Andrew Knight (0-01), Karl Mulligan, Ross Moloney, Michael Mulcair, Jamie Fitzgerald.

 

TY TREE PLANTING

This week, eight TY students were hard at work planting trees and gardening in order that we will soon have our very first orchard at St. Kilian's Community School. These 4th years spent the past couple of days digging holes, planting trees, and sawing stakes to start the foundation of our school orchard. The students and teachers who helped out enjoyed this activity, and  it will hopefully be carried on by the incoming TY students next year, to help and improve the orchard, and give our school something else to be proud of. Many thanks to Mr. Lawless for organising this great activity.

 

U-17 BOYS’ SOCCER RUN COMES TO AN END!

On Friday 26th April, St Kilian’s U-17 team's great run in this year's soccer competitions came to an end. Unfortunately, they were beaten 4-1 after extra time in the semi-final of the Leinster U-17s Cup. But, this is a score-line which does not do any justice to this team.

The match took place at the Oscar Traynor Astro-turf pitch in Coolock, Dublin and was played in extremely blustery conditions. St Kilian’s played the first half with the aid of the wind but started very nervously. Their opponents, Balbriggan CC, put them under pressure from the very beginning and, for the opening 10 minutes, St. Kilian’s were pinned back in their own half. They failed to get their passing game together but even during this period, the defence and midfield stood up to all Balbriggan had to offer.

After this period, St Kilian’s started to string some passes together. Jamie Fitzpatrick made brilliant runs down the channels and was unlucky to be called offside on a few occasions. The game was flowing freely from one end to the other and both sides looked dangerous on the counter attack. Balbriggan received the best chance to open the scoring in the 1st half, after their striker made the most of a slight nudge by Jamie Mc Grane in the penalty area. St. Kilian’s keeper, PJ Conroy came to the rescue with a brilliant save down to his right hand post and this gave St. Kilian's a huge lift. St Kilian’s had their best spell of the match at this point with Ross Doyle and Ian Mahoney bringing the best out of the Balbriggan keeper. Sam Mulligan was unfortunate not to win a penalty during this period also. St Kilian’s did not want the first half to end but the teams went in at half time nil all.

The second half began much the same as the first with St Kilian’s defence under lots of pressure but Jordan Ebbs and Seán Jennings were having an outstanding game and dealt with everything very comfortably. Unfortunately, Adam Kelly and Jamie Mc Grane did not get to venture forward as much as in previous games but, when they did, St. Kilian’s looked very dangerous, especially Ian Mahoney up front. Balbriggan opened the scoring with a scrappy goal. Our defence failed to clear their lines and we played the ultimate price when the ball fell kindly for their striker and he finished very well. Like on many occasions previously, St. Kilian’s had to dig deep and had to find an answer and once again they were able to do so. Great pressure from Ian Mahoney won the ball back and he played a lovely ball over the top to Jamie Fitzpatrick. Using his strength, Jamie shrugged off the defender to coolly slot the ball home. St. Kilian’s ran themselves into the ground for the remaining part of the match, in particular the two wingers, Alex Byrne and Michael O' Brien. Michael close to the end had to be substituted due to injury but Barry O' Brien continued where he left off. The second half came to a close wityh the sides level at 1-1, with both sides’ defences on top.

In extra time, Balbriggan’s depth on their bench was the difference between the two sides. St. Kilian’s continued to work as hard as they could but when Balbriggan scored a stunning free kick just before the end of the first period, it gave them the boast they needed. Even with Adam McGrath and Stephen Downey coming on to raise the energy levels, St. Kilian’s could not find an answer. Balbriggan finished off the match on top, scoring another two goals before the final whistle.

St. Kilian’s can walk away from this competition with their heads held high. They produced some amazing performances in winning the Wicklow-Wexford League, something which had not been achieved for 12 years in the school. Hopefully they will learn from these experiences and go on to bigger and better achievements next year.

Team; PJ Conroy, Jamie Mc Grane, Seán Jennings, Jordan Ebbs, Adam Kelly, Alex Byrne, Sam Mulligan, Ross Doyle, Michael O Brien, Ian Mahoney, Jamie Fitzpatrick. Subs: Barry O Brien, Stephen Downey and Adam McGrath.

 

PREFECTS

Congratulations to the Fifth Years who were recently appointed as prefects for the 2013-2014 academic year. Being appointed as prefect in Sixth Year is an honour bestowed upon our best students and those appointed wear the designated black jumper with pride and carry out a lot of mentoring and supervisory duties during their final year in St. Kilian's.

The Head Girl, Head Boy and the Deputy Head Girl and Boy will be appointed from the chosen prefects following an interview process.

 

KARATE SCOTTISH OPEN

Aisling Morris (5^th Year) represented Ireland on the Senior Ladies’ Karate team at the Scottish Open on April 27^th. As the number teams entered in the Ladies’ Kata was small, the ladies teams were put into the Men’s section. Despite competing against the men, Aisling and her colleagues managed to finish in a very creditable 3^rd position.

In her individual section, Aisling was unlucky to be drawn against the World Under-21 Champion in the knockout stages but, overall, can be very happy with her performance in the tournament. Well done, Aisling!

 

April 25th 2013

LEINSTER BOXING CHAMPIONSHIPS SUCCESS!

Heartiest congratulations to Shannon Reilly (1.F) on winning the 60kg category in the Leinster Girls' Boxing Championships on Saturday April 13th. Shannon had to defeat three opponents to win the Championship and everyone at St. Kilian's would like to congratulate her on this achievement. Lets hope that Shannon has taken the first step on the road to emulating the boxing achievements of our famous past pupil - Katie Taylor.

 

TY GEOGRAPHY CLASS OUTING

On Thursday April 18th, the 4th Year Geography class visited Dublin Zoo. They were accompanied by their class teachers, Mr. Donohoe and Ms. Roses. The students had an extremely enjoyable and educational day, learning about endangered species and animal conservation. The highlights of the day were the African plains and the very slow-moving sloth! Well done to all who took part.

 

 

SAMARITANS' TALK TO FIFTH YEAR CLASSES

As part of promoting the well-being and pastoral care of our students, the 5th years attended a talk from two Samaritan volunteers on Friday 19th April.  The talk was given to the individual 5th year class groups, and it focused on students' emotional health and the work of the Samaritans.

The Samaritans is a national charity. It operates 24 hours a day to provide confidential emotional support for people of all ages who are experiencing feelings of emotional distress or despair. Their services (phone lines, emails, letters and in branch) are manned by people who volunteer for the Samaritans. These volunteers been through months of thorough training to qualify as a Samaritan.

The Fifth Years found the talk by the Samaritans' representatives to be very informative and useful. Thanks to Ms. Sinnott for facilitating this class visit.

You can contact Samaritans at Tel: 08457 909090.  Email: jo@samaritans.org

 

TY ARCHITECTURE TRIP

On Tuesday 23rd April, Ms. Hume's TY Architecture class went on a trip to Dublin. She, Mr. Connolly and 20 students went on the tourof three prominent city landmarks.

The first visit was to the Bord Gais Energy Theatre. A tour guide met the group there. Her name was Denise and she was an architect herself. The class had a brief tour of the building and Denise explained its history and architecture. The tour guide then brought the group to Harp Bridge. Finally, Denise led everyone up to the Custom House and told of the history of the building. This was the end of the trip around the Dublin Docklands. The class thanked the tour guide for her interesting and informative presentation of facts.

After lunch, the group met at Christchurch Cathedral for the next tour. The class went inside to meet the next tour guide. His name was John. He told us a lot about the cathedral's history. He informed the students about the reasons why the building was rebuilt many times during medieval and Victorian times. The entire class enjoyed this trip because it was full of interesting facts and history.

The final destination that the group visited was the Aviva Stadium. This proved to be the highlight of the day for the students, as many are avid soccer and rugby fans. Lesley, the tour guide, led the group to the press rooms and explained how a press conference is conducted. Thereafter, Lesley brought the class through to the dressing rooms and finally through the tunnels and onto the hallowed turf of the Aviva Stadium. Everyone loved this part of the tour as they could imagine the atmosphere created on many great occasions in Irish sport held in this marvellous stadium.

Thanks to Ms. Hume for organising this interesting and enjoyable excursion. Special thanks to Daniel Byrne for writing this article.

 

ORIENTEERING SUCCESS!

On Wednesday 24th April, 22 students from St Kilian's travelled to the woods at the Hellfire Club, County Dublin. Students came from all different age groups and included both girls and boys. This was the final schools event of the year and students were eager to do well. They travelled early to the venue and carried out some technical map training and pacing exercises.

St Kilian's students were competing against 200 students from eight different Dublin schools. Emma Kelly from First Year did well, finishing in the top 10 in her year group.

The best of the 3rd year boys was Mikolai Piotrowski who finished in 5th place, six minutes behind two members of the Irish Junior Squad. Notable performances also came from Abdallah Balasmeh who finished in 8th place. He was closely followed by Dimitri Chizhikov in 9th. The three St. Kilian's boys can be proud of their top ten placings from a field of over 30 competitors.

Expectations were high for Maciek Piotrowski in 6th year, who is the current Senior Schools' League Winner. He was only beaten once in the league all year, and was the clear favourite before the race commenced. He did not disappoint with a flawless run in 39 minutes to take first place and become the new Senior Boys' Schools' Orienteering Champion. Well done Maciek on a marvellous performance!

The Senior Girls' category threw up an unexpected result.  Miriam Verdon in 6th year, was favourite to take first place. Miriam had won the Senior Girls' League with some consistently good performances. However luck was not on her side on this day. Miriam made an early error which proved costly and actually cost her a podium finish.

However, St Kilian's can still claim the Senior Girls' champion, courtesy of a deserved win by the resilient and consistent Jeslyvette Lopez. She was delighted with her win, which is the result of her commitment to the sport. Aisling Cooling Nolan and Anne-Marie Edwards, both 6th year students, had great runs and deservedly finished in 2nd and 3rd places respectively. So St. Kilian's senior girls made a clean sweep and secured all the podium places. A great achievement by the girls!

Although the courses were challenging, the students from St Kilian's found the day rewarding and are looking forward to the new league which is to begin in September 2013. New members are always welcome! Well done to Mr. Lawless for all his hard work in promoting the sport of orienteering in the school.

 

KARATE KID!

Best wishes are extended to Aisling Morris (5.B) who has been selected to represent Ireland this weekend in The Scottish Open 2013. She was selected for the Irish Karate team in January and has been training with the elite squad every fortnight and four/five nights a week in her own club (Wicklow Karate Org - Kilmacanogue). Aisling will be competing in three sections in Scotland: U17's kata, Senior ladies team kata and Open U21's kata.

Aisling is no stranger to international selection. In September 2008 as a 13-year-old, she competed in the World Traditional Karate Association Championship which was held in Italy. Aisling came 2nd overall in the U-18 competition and is now a First Dan Black Belt in traditional Shitoryu Karate.

Everyone in St. Kilian's wishes Aisling the best of luck in her upcoming fights.

 

APRIL 17TH 2013

THIRD YEAR PARENTS' NIGHT

St. Kilian’s Community School hosted a meeting for third year students on Monday 15th April. The purpose of this meeting was to inform students about Transition Year, the Leaving Certificate Applied and subject choice for Senior Cycle.

The meeting was attended by an extremely large group of parents, guadians and students who were both informed and entertained; informed about subject choices and career options for students after school, and entertained by the videos depicting Transition Year student activities during the 2012/2013 school year.

All who attended enjoyed the night and hopefully left with a greater knowledge of the possibilities after Junior Cycle.

FIFTH YEAR ART TRIP TO NEWGRANGE & KNOWTH

On Tuesday April 16th, Ms. Hume, Ms. Murray and 17 Fifth Year Art students travelled to Co. Meath to see at first hand the wonders of Newgrange and Knowth. The weather gods shone brightly on the excursion and everyone was delighted that the trip wasn't spoiled by inclement weather. Instead, sunshine and short sleeves was the order of the day as the group enjoyed an informative day away from the classroom.

This trip brought to life the Leaving Cert. Art History course. Students were able to experience at first hand the wonderful megalithic art. The trip started with a guided tour of Newgrange Passage Tomb. The students were captivated by Maeve, the excellent tour guide, who gave great insights into the building of Newgrange. Due to the size of the group, the students were lucky to spend a lot of time inside the passage tomb. Here, they saw the corbelled roof and cruciform chambers. The tour of Newgrange concluded with a walk around the monument exploring megalithic art.

The students had a delicious lunch at the Brú Na Bóinne Centre. They attended the exhibition area and completed worksheets before setting off to the second destination: Knowth. This is a larger passage tomb, which is currently still under excavation. The group was allowed to enter part of the east passageway and learn of the importance of the monument. Our tour guide, Declan, showed us around the numerous other satellite monuments. The students busily sketched examples of megalithic art.

A wonderful day was had by all. It brought Art History and our heritage to life. Thanks to Ms. Hume for organising the trip.

TY INTERVIEWS

From April 15th until 19th inclusive, all the TY students in St. Kilian's were put through their paces as they faced an interview about the contribution they had made in Fourth Year. Each student had to bring along a portfolio of work from the year. The student was then subjected to a 15-20 minute interview about what they had experienced, learned and volunteered to do whilst in TY.

Students prepared diligently for the interview by ensuring that the portfolio was content-filled with information that they had gathered during TY. The interviewers commented on the confidence and insight displayed by the majority of students at their interviews. The students were then graded on their performance at the interview, as well as their overall contribution and effort in TY. Well done to all concerned.

STATE EXAMS - ORALS & PRACTICALS BEGIN!

Best wishes to our Leaving and Junior Certificate students who have recently started their oral and practical examinations in a number of subjects. Leaving Cert. Oral Irish occurred this week, as well as practicals in Junior Cert. Home Economics and Music. More Oral and Practical exams will happen in the next few weeks, as the reality of state examinations finally dawns for the students. St. Kilian's would like to like to wish all our students  best wishes in Oral, Practical and Written exams in the upcoming  weeks.

April 10th 2013

EUROPEAN IRISH DANCING CHAMPIONSHIP SUCCESS!

On Saturday April 6th, three students who attend St.Kilian's Community School competed in the  W.I.D.A. European Irish Dancing Championships which were held in Dusseldorf, Germany. The competition itself was based in the Maritim Hotel. The three girls, Sara Treacy , Abbie Treacy and Nikki Moloney have been dancing for many years and are a part of The Berry Dance Academy which is based in Bray Bowling Alley. Altogether, 23 Berry dancers competed in Germany last weekend.

The three girls Sara, Abbie and Nikki did themselves and their school proud. Sara Treacy  danced in the under-17 age category. She was placed 1st in her category and is now the under-17 European Irish Dancing Champion! Nikki Moloney also competed in the under- 17 category. Nikki did remarkably well also, as she secured 5th place overall in this category.

Abbie Treacy achieved 4th place in the under-14 age category's overall standings. This is a remarkable achievement for a girl who has been Irish dancing for only four years. Congratulations to all three girls on their remarkable achievements.

 

GERMANY CALLING!

Recently, 22 of our students along with their teachers, Ms. Lawlor and Mr. Kelly, had the wonderful opportunity to travel to the town of Wurzburg in Germany. Our school is twinned with the Mattheis Grunewald Gymnasium School in Wurzburg.

Bi-annually, our students travel to Germany and stay with a host family from the school. They attend school and experience the German education system. They also attend many cultural visits and experience German family life. It is of great benefit to our students studying German.

This year is the 30th anniversary of the exchange and many past teachers travelled to Wurzburg to commemorate this event. Everybody enjoyed the celebrations and had a great time in Germany. Next year, we will repay the compliment as our German friends will come to Bray and stay with Irish host families.

 

BRAY LIONS' CLUB DEBATING DISAPPOINTMENT!

Commiserations to our senior debating team who were defeated in the semi-final of the Bray Lions' Club debating competition on Wednesday 10th April. The St. Kilian's team consisted of four TY students who were all making their debuts at the debating plinth. The team members were: Sarah McGrath (Capt.), Sophie Mooney, Kate McCarthy and Alex Byrne.

The motion for the debate was: "The private lives of public figures should be exploited in the media". St. Kilian's had to oppose this motion and Loreto Bray proposed the argument.

A lively and skilled debate ensued and every speaker excelled on the day. The inexperienced St. Kilian's team performed marvellously. All spoke with poise, confidence and eloquence. The result was in doubt at the end, and the three judges took a long time to deliberate and declare that Loreto were the winners. We congratulate them and wish them well in the final.

Well done to Sarah, Sophie, Kate and Alex for their excellent performance on the day. Each of them cannot wait for an opportunity to debate again for the school. Thanks to Ms. Kavanagh, Ms. Murray and Mr. Kelly for helping the students prepare for the debate.

 

SOCCER - LEINSTER U-17 SEMI-FINAL

Best wishes to Mr. Donohoe's under-17 boys' soccer squad who are scheduled to play opponents from Balbriggan, Dublin in the Leinster semi-final. The game is due to be played on Wednesday, April 24th. It's been a long time since a team from the school has gotten to the Leinster stage of a soccer competition. This follows their recent victory in the Wicklow-Wexford competition in March. Best wishes to all concerned.

 

 

March 20th 2103

 

MR. BARRY O' LEARY R.I.P.

It is with deep regret that we announce the passing, after an illness, of our friend, former teacher and colleague, Mr. Barry O'Leary. Mr. O'Leary taught Business Studies and Geography in St. Kilian's from 1986 until 2005.

May his gentle soul rest in peace.

 

GAISCE WALK

 On Wednesday, March 20th, a large group of TY and Fifth Year students embarked on an arduous walk along the Wicklow Way as part of the President's Gaisce Awards. The participating Fifth Years are aiming to get the Silver Award while the TYs are seeking the Bronze Award.

Each day, the students had to walk long distances. Those seeking the silver medal had to endure two overnights and three lengthy walks, whereas their bronze counterparts had only one overnight and two long walks to overcome.

The school has a long-standing tradition in entering students for the President's Awards scheme. Many thanks to Mr. Walsh and Mr. Lawless for their continued work in facilitating this scheme in St. Kilian's and congratulations to all students who took part in the recent excursion along the Wicklow Way.

 

SERVICE OF FORGIVENESS

On Wednesday, March 20th, St. Kilian's staff and students participated in a Lenten Service of Forgiveness in St. Fergal's Church. The service provided everyone with time for reflection and prayer. The themes of forgiveness and understanding were central messages imparted to the congregation, who listened with patience and respect.

Thanks to our new Chaplain Ms. Sinnott, and the R.E. department for organising the service. Well done to the students who enhanced the service by being involved as readers, in the choir or in the procession.

 

MOROCCAN COOKERY DEMOSTRATION

On Tuesday, March 19th, Mr. Paul Doyle, a chef at the Little Marakesh restaurant in Dublin gave a Moroccan cookery demonstration to the 6LCA class as part of their Hotel, Catering and Tourism course. The chef prepared a wonderful feast of exotic Moroccan food, including spicy lamb with cous cous. The students and staff had the opportunity to sample the wonderful food, and all agreed that it was delicious! Thanks to Mrs. Dodd for organising this event.

 

DUBLIN DIOCESAN PILGRIMAGE TO LOURDES

Congratulations to four Fifth Year students, Chloe Redmond, Kathleen Greene, Lydia Griffith and  Joanna Cycz on being selected to represent St. Kilian's on the 2013 Dublin Diocesan Pilgrimage which is to take place next September.

These four students were selected after a rigorous interview process which took place on Friday 15th March. We wish these students every success in the upcoming pilgrimage. Thanks to Ms. Power and the RE Department for all their work in facilitating this process.

 

MARCH 13th 2013

 

U-17 BOYS' SOCCER FINAL SUCCESS!!

Congratulations to the U-17 Boys' Soccer squad on their wonderful victory in the final of the Wicklow - Wexford Soccer League on Wednesday, March 13th. The team's opponents were Wexford CC and the final score of 4-1 did not flatter the Bray team, as they were skillfully and physically superior throughout the match.

St. Kilian's began the final, which was held in Lamberton, Arklow very much on the offensive. Despite playing against the breeze, St. Kilian's pushed forward repeatedly in the first half. The full-backs, Jamie McGrane and Adam Kelly got forward to supplement the attack often and they were ably supported by driving runs from the midfielders, Sam Mulligan, Ross Doyle and Alex Byrne. Unfortunately, St. Kilian's were unable to make their pressure tell on the scoreboard in the first half. A number of good scoring chances were spurned; the best opportunity lost was when Jamie Fitzpatrick fired over following a marauding raid and cross from the right wing by McGrane.

As so often happens when a team fails to convert their superiority into goals, they are vulnerable to a swift counter attack by the opposition. Such was the case in this match. Wexford CC launched a lightning raid down the right and in a desperate attempt to stop the attack, captain Jordan Ebbs mistimed his tackle in the penalty area and fouled the Wexford attacker. It was a clear penalty and the Wexford forward firmly planted the kick past PJ Conroy in the St. Kilian's goal. This proved to be the only score in the first half, but St. Kilian's could feel pleased with the way that they played during the period.

The team's coach Mr. Donohoe, gave a calming and insightful half-time talk to the team. He urged patience and calmness and told the team to keep bringing the game to the opposition. To the team's credit, they carried out his instructions perfectly in a blistering second half performance.

From the first whistle, St. Kilian's laid siege to the Wexford penalty area. In a game-changing ten minute period after half-time, St. Kilian's scored three goals to turn a deficit into an unassailable lead. Ross Doyle led the way with a brilliant solo goal. He made a barnstorming run down the left, cut into the penalty area and drilled a hard right foot shot into the top corner of the net! Suddenly the shackles were off for St. Kilian's and before long, Alex Byrne broke through the defence and coolly slotted a right foot shot to the bottom corner of the net to make the score 2-1 to St. Kilian's. Wexford were reeling from the shock of this turnaround and their gentle migraine soon became a full-blown headache when Sam Mulligan headed into the Wexford net following Ross Doyle's corner kick. This proved to be the decisive score as St. Kilian's assumed total control until the end of the game. The icing was put on the cake by Ian Mahoney, as he brilliantly converted a pinpoint through pass by Michael O' Brien to make the final score 4-1 to St. Kilian's.

Delirious scenes of joy and excitement were seen at the end of the match as the supporters rushed onto the field to congratulate the team. Special thanks must be paid to the large band of St. Kilian's students and teachers who provided vociferous support for the team and created a memorable atmosphere on the day. The team and Mr. Donohoe deserve great credit for their performance and the graciousness with which they accepted victory at the end of the match. Jordan Ebbs marked a great performance on the pitch with a gracious acceptance speech that drew praise from the competition's organiser.

To conclude, this was St. Kilian's first victory in a soccer final since 2002. The school had lost a number of finals over the past decade so the succession of near-misses, what-ifs and hard luck stories were finally put to rest last Wednesday. Well done to all concerned and best of luck to the team in the Leinster stage of the U-17 competition.

 

TEAM: PJ Conroy, Jamie McGrane, Adam Kelly, Sean Jennings, Jordan Ebbs (C), Alex Byrne, Michael O' Brien, Sam Mulligan, Ross Doyle, Jamie Fitzpatrick, Ian Mahoney.

Subs: Adam McGrath, Lee Ward, James Keogh, Stephen Downey.

 

 

STUDENT COUNCIL FUNDRAISER

Recently the Student Council in St. Kilian's organised a fundraiser for the Marie Keating Foundation for breast cancer awareness. Pink ribbons were sold to the students and staff. A total of €261 was raised for this worthy cause. Well done to the student council for their initiative in organising this event. Thanks to Ms. Taaffe, the Student Welfare Officer, for all her hard work with the Student Council.

 

SEACHTAIN NA GAEILGE

 St. Kilian’s Community School celebrated Seachtain na Gaeilge this week. The classroom doors of the school were adorned with signs “as Gaeilge” and pupils displayed their impressive artistic talents in the popular “Comórtas na bPóstaeir”. On Thursday afternoon, Second Year pupils took part in a “Tráth na gCeist” where they put their knowledge on “sport”, “ceol” and “leabhair” to the test. On Friday morning, St. Kilian’s joined forces with the 4th class from St. Fergal’s and danced the morning away at the traditional Céilí Mór. A great week was had by all. Buíochas mór le gach duine a ghlac páirt ann.

 

TY SPEAKER - IRISH DEAF SOCIETY

All Fourth Years are participating in a course of Sign Language classes as part of their Religious Education Programme with the Chaplain, Ms Sinnott. The course is led by Chris Derwin, a seminarian working in St. Fergal’s Parish.  Deaf Awareness Training was also provided to the Fourth Years on Monday, March 11th. This training was carried out by The Irish Deaf Society.  Mr Eddie Redmond communicated via a translator about the everyday experiences of a deaf person and made the students aware of the different ways they can communicate with deaf people.

 

FEIS CEOIL SUCCESS!

 Heartiest congratulations to our music teacher, Mr. Frank Kelly and his family for their third consecutive victory in the Family Ensemble set of the Feis Ceoil. Frank, Rebecca, Orlaith, Emily and John Kelly sang "Java Jive ", a song made famous by Manhattan Transfer in the 1970s. Emily and John are both currrent students at the school, while Rebecca and Orlaith are past pupils. The competition took place in the RDS on March 12th and everybody in St. Kilian's wishes to congratulate the Kelly family on this remarkable musical accomplishment.

March 6th 2013

 

DROP EVERYTHING AND READ! (D.E.A.R)

As part of World Book day celebrations on Thursday 7th March, St Kilian's students decided to Drop Everything And Read.  All of our 1st and 2nd year students took part in the event which saw them stop their normal classes and become engrossed in a book, magazine or even one of the generously donated copies of the Bray People!

Students also received a World Book Day book token to celebrate their success and encourage the reading habit. Thanks to Mr. Stokes for organising this event.

 

DAVE'S JUNGLE!

'Dave's Jungle' came to St Kilian's Library on Friday 15th March. Dave brought along a host of spiders, snakes, lizards and creepy crawleys of all types.  Students were given the opportunity to learn all about these animals, from how they sensed prey, killed their victims and managed to survive in the wild.  The really brave ones even got to feel tiny taps of a tarantula walk over their hands!  Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the experience to get up close and personal with the natural world.

 

BOXING SUCCESS

Well done to James Cahill (3L) who got to the final in the 54kg category of the Leinster Boys' Boxing competition. James won a number of bouts to progress to the final, where he succumbed to a strong opponent from Athy Boxing Club. James deserves great credit for this achievement and everyone in St. Kilian's wishes him well in future competitions.

 

U-17 BOYS' SOCCER FINAL

Best wishes to the Boys' U-17 Soccer team in the final of the Wicklow-Wexford soccer league. Their opponents are Wexford CBS and the game is scheduled to be played in Arklow on Wednesday March 13th. The school hopes to end a long, unwelcome run of defeat in soccer finals. Perhaps Lady Luck will shine on the team and power them to success on this occasion! Good luck to everyone concerned!

 

 

FEBRUARY 27th 2013

 

 

FEBRUARY 20th 2013

 

3T - CSPE ACTION PROJECT IN AID OF THE LAURA LYNN FOUNDATION

 

Students from 3.N have been raising money for the LauraLynn Children's Hospice in Dublin in recent weeks. They have been doing this for their CSPE Action Project for their Junior Certificate. They have campaigned by making posters and collecting money from students and staff of St.Kilian's, and the action involved doing a sponsored walk from Bray to Greystones to raise money for this worthy cause.

The LauraLynn Children's Hospice is a hospice for terminally ill children and is the only one of its kind in the country. Class 3T have raised €285 for the cause and presented this cheque to a representative from the foundation, who came to the school to inform the class and thank them for their fundraising efforts.

This class visit happened on Friday 8th February. Mr. Kevin Murphy from the foundation came to St.Kilian's to give a talk and to answer questions that the students in Class 3T had about LauraLynn and the work that they do. The students found the talk both interesting and informative, and it raised awareness of the wonderful work that the LauraLynn Foundation do for sick children and their families.

Well done to all concerned for their efforts in raising this money.

 

3N - CSPE ACTION PROJECT - TRIP TO DAIL EIREANN

 

On Thursday 7th February, students from Class 3N in St Kilian's Community School  visited Government Buildings.  As part of their CSPE action project, pupils were tasked with petitioning Ministers on the issue of lowering the voting age to sixteen. As it happened the day turned out to be both historic and enlightening.  Having toured both the Dail and the Seanad, TD Martin Ferris and local Sinn Fein councillor John Brady then spoke at length on many key issues concerning young people today. 

There was a great buzz around the Dail as TDs had just spent a marathon session passing the Emergency legislation required to dissolve the IBRC and renegotiate the terms on the promissory note. Everywhere, bleary eyed ministers were giving impromptu interviews to the world's press. It provided huge insight into the workings of government and students got a rare view of history playing out before them.

 

TY TALK WITH THE SAMARITANS

 

On Tuesday 19th February, two volunteers from the Samaritans organisation in Dublin, Michael and Debbie, came in to the school to speak to the 4th years about their work. The Samaritans is a helpline which supports people's (and particularly teenagers') mental health, by being open to the public 24/7. The Samaritans give advice to everyone who seeks help and are a listening and patient sounding board for those in need or distress.

The TY students were very interested and interactive with the speakers from start to finish and the talk was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone. Many thanks to Mr. Lawless for organising the talk for the students.

 

PANCAKE WEDNESDAY!

 

Congratulations to Ms. Power and her 5LCA Vocational Preparation and Guidance class who ran a very successful pancake sale on Wednesday 20th February. The students worked hard in planning and implementing their enterprise, which is an essential component of the LCA course in Fifth Year. Their efforts were rewarded by healthy sales figures and the students learned a lot about how to plan, market and implement an enterprise by organising the pancake sale. Special thanks is due to Ms. Whelan in the Home Economics department for her help in facilitating the enterprise on the day. The principal, Mr. Murphy, proved to be one of 5LCA's best clients as he scoffed quite a few of the delicious pancakes!!!

 

FIRST YEAR ENROLMENTS

 

Application Forms for First Years for the 2013/2014 school year are now available from the school office (admin@stkilianscs.com and (01)2828126).

Application forms should be submitted without delay.

Assessment testing for incoming First Years will take place on Saturday 2nd March.

Parents/Guardians of students who have already completed applications, will by now have received further documentation in the post.

There will be a meeting in the school library for parents/guardians of incoming First Years at 10am on Wednesday 27th February. Parents with queries about the Assessment Day or other matters are welcome to attend.

 

ENVIRONMENTAL CLEAN-UP DAY

 

On Thursday 28th February, both the Transition Years and 5LCA are planning a clean up of the surrounding school area. It has been organised by the TY Environmental Studies class as part of their portfolio and LCA will use it as part of their assignment. The students will clean the whole school and grounds. Thanks to Mr. Lawless for organising this event.

 

 

JANUARY 27th 2013

 

SPONSORED WALK FOR LAURA LYNN FOUNDATION

On Wednesday January 30th,  Class 3T and their CSPE teacher, Mr. Donohoe, braved the elements and undertook the seven kilometre cliff walk from Bray to Greystones.  The class members raised well over €200 for the Laura Lynn foundation, which looks after children with terminal illnesses.

Everyone had a great time on the walk and are using this as their "action project" for the CSPE Junior Cert. examination. Mr. Donohue will now assist the class in writing up the booklet for the project. He anticipates that class 3T will undertake the written aspect of the  project as enthusiastically as they did the fund-raising and the sponsored walk! Well done to everyone concerned for their efforts.

 

CAREER TALKS

A representative from Carlow Institute of Technology, gave a talk to the senior students at St. Kilian’s Community School  on Friday, January 25th. A talk was given on course options at Carlow IT and there was a discussion on career possibilities after graduation.

On Tuesday January 29th, a lecturer from the Engineering Deaprtment at Dublin Institute of Technology visited the students in St. Kilian’s  to talk about Engineering courses in the college and possible career options. An interesting piece of information  which emerged from the lectures is that girls generally do better in all Engineering courses.  Something for our male students in senior cycle to think about!

 

MARIE KEATING FOUNDATION

This week, February 4th to 8th, the Student Council have been hosting a "Think Pink" week in aid of the Marie Keating Foundation. They have been selling pink ribbon badges throughout the week and on Friday 8th, there will be a Pink Day where both students and teachers are being encouraged to wear a pink accessory and donate to the cause. Many thanks to all involved in the preparations and running of the fundraiser.

 

ORIENTEERING SUCCESS!

Congratulations to Maciek Piotrowski (6th year) and Miriam Verdon (6th year) who, for the second year running, each took 1st place in the Senior Boys' and Senior Girls' categories in the Leinster Schools' Orienteering League. The League consisted of three separate events held in different parks throughout Dublin. Competition was against ten other Dublin schools. Both students have been orienteering in St.Kilian's for the past six years and  always with great success.

 

The 6th Year Girls' team also took the 1st place in the Senior Team event. Great performances were put in by Anne Marie Edwards, Aisling Cooling-Nolan, Jelsyvette Lopez and Aisling Morris.

 

Emma Kelly (1st Year) and Celine Carmen (1st Year) also competed really well. They came  2nd and 3rd in the 1st Year Girls' League. Both girls have turned up regularly to training and were rewarded with their fine successes.

 

Darragh Lynch and Graham Kane (both 1st Year) also had  commendable performances with 10th and 12th place finishes, respectively. Best 3rd year boys finisher was Matthew Brennan in 6th place, and this placing reflects his consistently strong performances in the competition.

 

A big thanks to Mr.Lawless (coach) and Mr.Walsh (assistant coach) for all their hard work over the years.

 

6LCA RETREAT

The 6LCA class went on retreat to Ovoca House, near Avoca in County Wicklow, on Tuesday February 5th. The class were accompanied by their Year Head, Mr. Fitzpatrick and the Chaplain, Ms. Sinnott.

The class thoroughly enjoyed team-building exercises and the time for contemplation and reflection that the retreat offered them. Well done to all concerned.

 

MOCK EXAMINATIONS

Leaving and Junior Cert. students will have a busy mid-term break preparing for their mock examinations, which will begin on February 20th. Best wishes are extended to all students who are doing the mock written and practical examinations.

 

ST VALENTINE'S DAY CELEBRATIONS!

 

St. Kilian's is getting "loved up" for St. Valentine's Day by virtue of a romantic poem/story writing competition. Fifth Year girls are the driving force behind the competition, which encourages students to pen a short poem/story to their beloved. Many prizes are on offer and the judges will have a difficult job in adjudicating, considering the large volume of entries received. Well done to the girls for their initiative in organising this competition.

 

January 20th 2013

 

U-17 BOYS' SOCCER SUCCESS!

St Kilian’s Community School   3 - 1   New Ross CBS

St Kilian’s came through an extremely competitive U-17 Wicklow-Wexford league semi-final against New Ross CBS in Arklow on Tuesday January 29th. In a gale force wind and driving rain, the St Kilian’s team adapted to the conditions quickly and put the New Ross defence under pressure from the start. The wingers, Alex Byrne and Mikey O Brien, pushed forward throughout the first half. They supplied numerous crosses to the forwards, Ian Mahoney and Jamie Fitzpatrick, but neither could get the breakthrough.

The pressure on the New Ross defence eventually told when Ross Doyle opened the scoring for St. Kilian’s. He hit a stunning volley from outside the box mid-way through the first half. New Ross rallied after that and the St. Kilian's 1-0 lead was taken into half time, only thanks to a magnificent goal-line clearance by Sam Mulligan.

St. Kilian’s started the brighter in the second half. Only for the heroic saves of the New Ross keeper, St Kilian’s could have found themselves several goals up in the first 15 minutes. However against the run of play, New Ross drew level midway through the half from a set piece. The referee was in a perfect position to see the ball bouncing over the line and then back into PJ Conroy’s hands.

St Kilian’s had to regroup at this stage and they showed true character to take the lead again. A well-worked short corner was directed into Sam Mulligan's feet, and he calmly slotted the ball into the bottom left hand corner. Three minutes later, Ross Doyle scored his second of the match; a brilliant individual effort to give St Kilian’s a much needed two-goal cushion.  

The last five minutes saw New Ross pump lots of high ball into the St. Kilian's rearguard but the centre defence partnership of Jordan Ebbs and Sean Jennings dealt very well with the pressure. Well done to the panel on reaching the final but the job is not finished yet! Congratulations to team coach Mr. Donohoe also.

Best of luck to everyone concerned in the final.

 

LCA INTERVIEWS

Best wishes to the LCA students who have their interviews for the General and Social Education tasks this week.

 

MOCK EXAMINATIONS

Preparations are well underway for the mock examinations for Leaving and Junior Certificate which are due to start in St. Kilian's on Wednesday February 20th. The mid-term break will offer students a chance to engage in much needed revision for the mocks. We wish all our students the best of luck in the forthcoming exams.

 

PARENTS' TRIP TO UCD

On Thursday February 7th, a group of parents of students from St. Kilian's will pay a visit to UCD in the company of Home School Liaison Officer, Ms. Garvey. The aim of this visit is to see the UCD campus at first hand and to learn more about the huge range of courses on offer at the college. It promises to be a very worthwhile and interesting experience. Thanks to Ms. Garvey for organising this event.

 

BRAY LITERACY INITIATIVE

On Monday February 4th, class 1J will visit the Mermaid Theatre in Bray to view the film version of Katherine Patterson's novel entitled "The Bridge To Terabithia". 1J have read this book in their English classes and are looking forward to seeing the film. They have participated in 'story sacks' and a quiz based on the novel and have enjoyed the whole experience very much.

This is the fourth year of this literacy initiative in Bray and St. Kilian's is delighted to participate in the scheme. Thanks to Ms. Garvey, Ms. Farrell and Mr. Leonard for all their work in facilitating this initiative at St. Kilian's.

 

 

January 23rd 2013

 

TY COMPUTER CLEAN-UP!

On Thursday January 17th, the TY students of St Kilian's spent their morning  collecting all of the broken computers from every nook and cranny of the school. They were counted and boxed by the 4th years, collected by the organisation Camara Ireland to be repaired, and then shipped out to be used in less privileged countries in Africa. It proved to be a lot of work on behalf of the students, but it would have been a more difficult task to complete without the help of Mr. Lawless and Mr. Dunne. Well done to the TY students and their teachers for participating in this initiative, which was a great success.

 

TALENTED YOUTH

Twelve students from St. Kilian’s Community School in Bray attended the Centre for Talented Youth in Dublin City University on Saturday 19th January.  The centre aims to identify students with exceptional academic ability and to provide them with services and for their parents and their teachers.

Students who are identified as academically talented are offered a range of programmes in 30 subject areas. There is also an opportunity for students to meet other young people with similar interests. We wish all our students from St. Kilian’s good luck in this talent search.

 

CSPE ACTION PROJECT

On Wednesday, January 30th, class 3T and their CSPE teacher, Mr Donohue, will do a sponsored walk for the Laura Lynn foundation. This foundation looks after very sick children who have terminal illnesses.

The walk will take place from the school to Bray Head. From there, the group will walk to Greystones, a distance of approximately seven kilometres. We hope that all involved will enjoy the outing and that a lot of funds are raised for a very worthwhile cause.

 

5LCA FUNDRAISING EVENT

Class 5LCA are holding a raffle to raise funds from the Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes, which the school takes part in every September. Ms Ní Mhurchú, 5LCA's RE teacher, organised the raffle and the class are selling tickets at a healthy rate for some lovely prizes. The fundraising event is part of 5LCA's RE assignment which require the students to make contact with an outside agency - in this case the Dublin Diocescan Pilgrimage. Ms Ní Mhurchú and the 5LCA class would like to thank all who have supported this project.

 

LOLLIPOPS FOR S.V. de P.

At lunchtime on Thursday January 24th, First Year students, from class 1F, in St Kilian's Community School, ran an appeal to help the work of the local conference of the S.V. de P.. The students planned their appeal in their Religion class under the tutelage of Mr Walshe. The class had been studying the Society of St. Vincent de Paul as an example of a community of  faith. This study inspired the students to organise their appeal. The idea that the class came up with was to sell lollipops to staff and students while raising awareness of the charitable work of the S.V. de P. The appeal was an overwhelming success with a superb response from the whole school community,  largely due to the enthusiastic and intricate planning of the 1F class group.

Class 1F would like to thank all those students and staff who supported their appeal. Mr. Walshe would like to give a special note of congratulations to the students of 1F for their tremendous effort in the planning of this appeal in class and at home, as well as their dedication in giving up their lunch break within which this highly successful appeal took place.

January 16th 2013

 

VISIT TO BT YOUNG SCIENTISTS' EXHIBITION

On Friday January 11th, Mrs Lannin organised a TY trip to the BT Young Scientists' Exhibition which was held in the RDS. There were over 450 exhibits on show and those visiting could ask questions of the exhibitors about the projects they produced. St. Kilian's students found the exhibition to be fascinating. The standard of the projects was very high and all the exhibitors and their teachers deserve great credit for the hard work in producing such projects. Everyone enjoyed the day and hopefully it has inspired some of the St. Kilian's students to take part in next year's competition.

 

NEW CHAPLAIN

 Everyone in St. Kilian's would like to welcome Ms. Roseanne Sinnott to the school and congratulate her on her appointment as the school's Chaplain. Ms. Sinnott began her employment in St. Kilian's this week and we wish her luck and success in her new post.

 

FIRST YEAR PARENT-TEACHER MEETING

 Thanks to everybody who attended the First Year parent-teacher meeting which was held on Tuesday, January 22nd. The meeting was well attended and offered parents valuable feedback about how their children have settled into life in St. Kilian's.

 

U-17 BOYS' SOCCER

Best wishes are extended to Mr. Donohue's U-17 boys' soccer squad who are scheduled to play New Ross CBS in the semi-final of the Wicklow-Wexford league on January 23rd. The team are as yet unbeaten this season, but a tough match is expected in the semi-final against their opponents from Wexford.

 

January 9th 2013

CHRISTMAS EXTRAVAGANZA!

 

St. Kilian's ended the Christmas term with a bang with the holding of its annual "extravaganza" - a variety show organised by the R.E. department. This year, the entertainment was provided by a number of acts including singing solos by Megan O' Daly, John Kelly and  Emily Kelly among others. A particular highlight was an exhibition of Irish dancing, which was performed by Sara Treacy, Nikki Moloney and Abbie Treacy. These girls belong to the Berry Dance Academy and have won awards at national level in their age categories. No less entertaining, but a little less polished, was a performance of the popular " Gangham Style" dance. Thanks to the TY boys who managed to persuade Messrs. Donohue, Duggan and Walsh to embarrass themselves in front of the student body!

As usual, an alternative take on the Christmas Nativity was performed by an ensemble of staff and students. The audience enjoyed the light-hearted, slightly irreverent nature of the piece judging by the frequent raucous bursts of laughter. Great credit is due to the R.E. department who integrated technology with dialogue to make for a very entertaining piece of drama.

Thanks to Ms. Murray, Ms. Power and Ms. Ni Mhurchu for all their hard work in organising the event and to Mr Frank Kelly for his work with the musical acts.

 

 

December 19th 2012

 

CSPE TRIP TO DAIL EIREANN

Class 2H went to Leinster House on Thursday 13th December 2012 as part of their CSPE Action Project. It was a very informative trip as pupils were able to see TDs debate the Social Welfare Bill that was passed later that day. Other highlights included a visit to the Seanad, a classroom lesson, a debate on democracy and a question and answer session with Billy Timmons, the Fine Gael TD for the Wicklow/Carlow constituency.

Students were particularly concerned about the broken glass and lack of lighting in the park area by the playground in Ballywaltrim and raised this issue with their TD.

Thanks to Ms. Darcy and Ms. Murphy for accompanying the class on the trip.

 

U-17 BOYS' SOCCER

 St Kilian’s 4

Arklow CC 1

St Kilian’s Community School progressed to the semi final of the U-17 School Boys' B competition. After been taken to extra time, St. Kilian’s ran out comprehensive winners in the end.

Both teams started very nervously in the opening half which was played in tough, wet and blustery conditions. But St Kilian’s soon found their stride and got their passing game going. After a number of close chances, St Kilian’s took the lead. A superb diagonal ball from left back Adam Kelly found Mikey O Brien; his cross located the in-rushing Ian O' Mahoney who slotted home from six yards out.

That lead was held until mid-way through the 2nd half when Arklow headed home from a corner. This woke St. Kilian’s up again but try as they might, they could not find a winner before the final whistle. Sam Mulligan came closest by hitting the post on two separate occasions.

In the first period of extra time, Alex Byrne reacted the fastest to a rebound off the post to give St Kilian’s the lead again. St Kilian’s finished the game off with two goals from Sam Mulligan - the first of them was an amazing individual effort; the other from a free-kick.

St Kilian’s were excellent right across the pitch, from Jordan Ebbs and Sean Jennings in the centre of defence to Jamie Fitzpatrick up front. Hopefully all this hard work will eventually see them into a final. Congratulations to the squad and best wishes for their next fixture. Well done to Mr. Donohoe for all his hard work in preparing soccer teams this year in St. Kilian's.

 

RETIREMENT OF CHAPLAIN

Everyone in St. Kilian's wishes Mr. Tom Purcell a long and happy retirement. Tom has served as chaplain in the school for the past five years; up until then he had taught Religious Education and History in St. Kilian's, since he commenced working here in 1989.

Tom served as Director of Adult Education in St. Kilian's for many years. He organised several educational tours to Italy over the years and many students benefited from his hard work and dedication to the job. His good humour and compassion made him a popular figure among staff and students alike.

A former captain of Kilcoole Golf Club, Tom hopes to be able to spend more time on the fairways in the next year. He looks forward to lowering his handicap with the free time that retirement will offer him. Everyone in St. Kilian's sincerely offer Tom the best wishes for a long and fulfilling retirement.

 

SUGAR CRAFT!

Ms. Whelan held a Christmas Sugar Craft class on Wednesday 19th December after school ended. Students decorated their cakes with snowmen, Santas and lots of other edible festive decorations that they made. Lots of festive fun was had by all! Thanks to Ms. Whelan for organising this fun event in the school.

 

LCA ENGLISH & COMMUNICATIONS OUTING

On Tuesday December 18th, members of 5LCA went to see the latest "Twilight" film in The Square Cinema, Tallaght as an assignment for their English & Communications course. The class were accompanied by Ms. Power and Ms. Brophy. Everyone found the film riveting viewing and they will write a report on their experience in English class as the assignment. Thanks to Ms. Power for organising the trip.

 

TY ACTIVITIES DAY

On Thursday December 12th, all the TY students braved the elements to go on a pre-planned activities day. Class 4A were the "culture vultures" on the day. They went to Dublin where they saw the Book of Kells in Trinity College. This was followed by a tour of Kilmainham Jail. The class found both tours very interesting and would like to thank Ms. Kavanagh and Mr.Stokes for accompanying them on the outing.

Class 4B had the more energetic pursuits. They went to Dalkey where rock-climbing and team-building games awaited them. All the students participated enthusiastically and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The class would like to thank Mr. Walsh for taking part in all the activities and showing himself to be quite an adrenaline junkie in the process!

 

December 12th 2012

 

PAUL ANTHONY SHORTT'S VISIT

On Thursday 6th December, St. Kilian's welcomed a past pupil, Paul Anthony Shortt (L.C. 1998), back to the school. Paul has recently published his first novel, which is entitled "Locked Within". The book is classified in the urban fantasy genre and it took Paul almost three years to write and edit it and then get it published.

Paul kindly agreed to come back to his alma mater to talk to the senior classes about the life of an author and the difficulty in getting a novel published. Paul told the fascinated students how he combines his day job with at least four hours of writing each day. He outlined how his novel underwent extensive editing and is almost unrecognisable from its original draft. The students were amazed at Paul's drive and dedication in order to follow his dream in order to see his novel published.

The talk ended with a question and answer session. The students asked many interesting questions and thoroughly enjoyed and learned about writing from listening to Paul. Many thanks to Paul for coming to St. Kilian's and we wish him continued success with book sales and in his future literary exploits.

Thanks to Mr. Murphy and Mr. Stokes for facilitating the visit of Paul to the school.

 

LIBRARIAN TO AUTHOR!

On Wednesday December 5th, Ms. Carmel Kelly, formerly the librarian at St. Kilian's, returned to promote and speak about an Irish children's book that she has recently written and had published. The book is entitled "Spidey".

Carmel spoke to the JSPE and First Year classes about her book. The children were captivated by Carmel's engaging manner and interesting anecdotes. St. Kilian's would like to thank Carmel for coming into the school and we wish her every success in her literary venture. Thanks to Ms. Farrell for organising the visit.

 

THIRD YEAR PARENT-TEACHER MEETING

Thanks to everyone who attended the Third Year Parent-Teacher meeting which took place on Tuesday  December 11th. The meeting was very well attended and proved beneficial in providing feedback on students' academic progress in the light of the recent November examinations.

Evening study is provided in St. Kilian's for students and is well attended. We particularly encourage our 3rd and 6th Year students to avail of this service. Thanks to all teachers who supervise after-school study.

 

RESTYLED MR. DONOHOE!

Congratulations to Mr. Donohoe on raising over €150  for prostate cancer awareness as a result of partaking in the "Movember" campaign. The students and staff of St. Kilian's donated the money to select an appropriate facial hairstyle for Mr. Donohoe.  As a result of majority selection, Mr. Donohoe is now sporting a "trendy" handlebars moustache, a la Padraig Harrington! Thanks to Mr. Donohoe for being a great sport and in raising money for a worthwhile charity. 

 

ALL-IRELAND SCHOOLS' TALENT SEARCH COMPETITION

Congratulations to 2nd Year student Megan O' Daly who has progressed to the Leinster semi-final of the All-Ireland Schools' Talent search competition. This nationwide competition is run in aid of Cheerio's Childline.

On Sunday 25th November, Megan was one of eight qualifiers from a field of 29 contestants in the first round of the regional competition. Megan sang "Turning Tables" by Adele in the heat which took place in the Arklow Bay Hotel. She was complimented on her performance by the judges and was thrilled to progress in the competition.

We wish Megan the best of luck in the next round. If she is fortunate enough to qualify from the next heat, she will go through to the live TV final, which is to be held in Dublin next March.

 

CHRISTMAS BY CANDLELIGHT

Congratulations to past pupil Ross Scanlon (L.C. 2005) who performed the Christmas by Candlelight concert on Saturday 15th December in St. Fergal's Parish Church in Ballywaltrim. It was a homecoming for Ross, as in previous years he had performed this concert in venues such as Christchurch in Dublin. The church was packed to capacity on Friday night. Everyone in the congregation was captivated by the awesome power and beauty of Ross' stunning voice.

Ross currently lives in London where he sings professionally. The Irish Times recently credited Ross by calling him the "most promising Irish Tenor heard in years." Such an accolade is highly deserved, as Ross has won numerous national awards for his craft. Everyone in St. Kilian's wishes Ross continued success in his singing career.

As a footnote to this story, both of Ross' proud parents, John and Noreen, work at St. Kilian's.

 

ANYONE 4 MATHS?

The Anyone 4 Maths workshop visited St Kilian's library on Monday December 10th.  All 1st Years students attended this one-hour show which brought maths to life with demonstrations in mind reading, logic and even floating bowling balls - yes some bowling balls do indeed float! The show was a window into the ways that mathematics surround us everyday and the ways in which numbers can be stranger than fiction. Thanks to Mr. Stokes for organising this event.

 

COMMUNITY QUIZ!

On Tuesday December 11th, Ms. Garvey and a number of other teachers from a variety of different primary schools came together to organise a quiz for 6th class and 1st year students. Transition year students were asked to help out and there was a great turnout of over 70 students. A great day was had by all! Thanks to Ms. Garvey for organising this event.

 

ORIENTEERING

Recently, 42 students from St Kilian's took part in the Leinster Schools' Orienteering League, which took place in St Anne's Park, Dublin. This was the second event out of a scheduled three competitions. This year sees the largest number of students from St. Kilian's ever to take part in the Leinster Schools' Orienteering League.

Students attend training sessions on Wednesdays, which are aimed at helping them navigate their way around courses. They use maps and take part in drills which help them develop their map-reading skills. 

On the day of the event, the weather conditions were cold and the paths in St Anne's Park were icy. Students had to be cautious to avoid mishaps and heavy falls.

COMPETITION RESULTS: In the First Year Girls' competition, Celine Carman came 5th with a time of 27:17. In the First Year Boys' event, J.P. Verdon came 1st, with an impressive time of 17:24. This was a remarkable achievement for J.P., as it was his first time taking part in an orienteering competition. In the Junior Boys' competition, Mikolai Piotrowski came sixth in an impressive time of 34:02. Alex Byrne made his debut in orienteering competition and he finished in a commendable 6th place in the Transition Year Boys' event, with a time of 36:53. Miriam Verdon won the Senior Girls' competition with an excellent time of 33:11. This is Miriam's second straight win and she has high hopes of securing top place in the final standings. In the Senior Boys' event, Kevin Shortt achieved first place with a flawless run. His time was 32:47. Kevin beat his old rival, Maciek Piotrowski by just over one minute. Maciek is looking forward to the final event in the league where he hopes to turn the tables on Kevin. This competition is due to take place early in the new year.

Well done to all who took part in the event and thanks to Mr. Lawless for preparing the team so meticulously.

 

December 5th 2012

TY CULTURAL STUDIES OUTING

On Tuesday November 20th, Ms Hume's Transition Year Cultural Studies class visited both Castletown House in Co. Kildare and Russborough House in West Wicklow. Mr. Lawless, the Transition Year co-ordinator, also joined the group on the outing.

Castletown was the first house visited. The tour guide, Claire, met the St. Kilian's group at the West Wing of the house. This was where the female servants were placed to work back in the 18th century. Claire gave the group a detailed tour of the Palladian style building. They learned that the house itself was built for William Connolly, who later became the speaker for the House of Commons.

Castletown was the first 18^th century house built in Ireland. Thankfully, all the furniture and paintings were carefully looked after and are preserved beautifully to this day. The wonderfully preserved interior and manicured lawns outside met the approval of everyone on the trip.

The second port of call was  Russborough House. On this occasion, the guide's name was Anne and she did not hesitate  to answer any questions the group put to her about the origins of the house. The house was designed by the German architect, Richard Cassels.  The plaster work on the ceiling inside was particularly striking. It is called Stucco, and was designed by the La Franchini Brothers, who were also responsible for the design in the Castletown hallway.

When the tour of Russborough House concluded, the students were given the chance to go through the maze. The maze is located in the sprawling gardens of the house. Everyone had a great time running around trying to find a way out of the maze. Eventually everyone emerged out of the maze safe and sound amid much mirth and laughter!

 Everyone in the TY Cultural Studies class had a marvellous day out. Thanks to the wonderful tour guides and to Ms. Hume and Mr. Lawless for organising the excursion.

 

HAIR TODAY...GONE TOMORROW!

Best wishes to a hirsute Mr. Donohoe as he prepares to lose his well-developed facial hair, so perfectly grown since the beginning of November. Like so many others, Mr. Donohue is partaking in the "Movember" campaign. This worthy campaign highlights awareness of men's health issues, and in particular, prostate cancer.

Mr. Donohoe has "grown" very attached to his facial hair. Now that the time has come to shave it off, he has decided to offer the students of St. Kilian's the opportunity to donate to the Movember campaign. For the princely sum of 50 cents, a student can choose his/her preferred look for the new and improved Mr. Donohoe. They can choose from a variety of styles including handlebars, Groucho Marx's, goatees, Tom Sellecks and even clean-shaven. Mr. Donohue has pledged to style himself according to the majority's wishes! Goodness knows what he will look like next week!

Thanks to Mr. Donohoe for taking part in this event and raising funds for charity.

GIRLS' BASKETBALL

The final match of the Girls' Junior League was played between St. Kilian's and St. Mary's, Arklow on Monday 3rd December. St. Mary's physical power and strength proved decisive and they ran out convincing winners on a scoreline of 40-18.

St. Kilian's girls showed a major improvement on their previous matches and were competitive throughout the game. Among the scorers for St Kilian's were Orla Devlin and Hannah Johnston, who converted two baskets each. Georgia-Lee Flynn played very well  and Lucy Masterson converted a wonderful three-pointer near the end of the match.

Sadly, the basketball season is now over for the girls. But they should be proud of their efforts and skills improvement as the season progressed. The team is looking forward to next season already and wish to thank Mr. Conway for coaching them.

 

IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS...

It's that time of year again when St. Kilian's becomes awash with festive decorations and colour. Since Monday last, the RE teachers and the festive helpers/elves have been busily turning the school into a Winter Wonderland. This year, the team decided to decorate each classroom door in wrapping paper. Every class was instrumental in making the decorations for their area. Many hours have gone into the marvellous artwork and helped to make the school a special place this Christmas.

Many thanks to the RE team and all the students concerned.

 

LCA

Welcome back to school to the Fifth and Sixth year LCA classes. Both classes were on a two week work experience module. St. Kilian's would like to thank to all the employers in the local area who provided our students with the opportunity to gain work experience. 

 

November 28th  2012

VISIT OF HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR TO ST. KILIAN'S

On Thursday November 22nd, St Kilian’s was honoured to receive Mr Tomi Reichental, a survivor from the Nazi Holocaust.

Mr Reichental, originally from Slovakia, was imprisoned in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany as a child. After suffering appalling deprivation, he was freed from the camp at the end of World War II and has lived in Ireland since the late 1950s. Mr Reichental spoke for almost two hours to senior students about his childhood before the outbreak of the war and his experiences in the camp. Students had an opportunity to ask questions and have a photo taken with Mr Reichental before a presentation was made to him by the school.

Students and staff alike were entirely absorbed by this rare opportunity to meet and engage with a Holocaust survivor. Many thanks to Ms. Kavanagh for organising this visit.

 

TY CONSTRUCTION STUDIES TRIP

On Wednesday November 21st, Mr. Connolly's TY Construction Studies class paid a visit to a historical cottage, which is currently being revamped and modernised by Friel Contractors. The house is located on the Kilcroney Road and the class availed of the bright, crisp weather conditions prevailing to walk from the school to the site last week.

Friel Contractors are constructing a high quality contemporary two-storey extension to an existing cut-stone cottage. Restoration work has just begun on the cottage and is progressing well. The TY class are studying the build, with the aid of detailed architectural drawings and regular visits to the site. Everyone enjoyed the first trip and are looking forward to returning in the new year to see how the work is progressing. Thanks to Mr. Connolly for organising the outing.

 

FIRST YEAR GAELIC FOOTBALL

St. Kilian’s were defeated by Coláiste Ráithín in a very exciting game of Gaelic Football played in Bray Emmets on Wednesday 21^st November.  The final score of a very exciting game was 8-13 (37) to 10-01 (31).  It was a fantastic team effort from St. Kilian’s and excellent performers on the day included Jamie Fitzgerald, Jack Ronan and Karl Mulligan.

Team: Jamie Fitzgerald, Michael Mulcair, Jack Ronan, Robert Byrne, Jordan De Sousa, Michael Vickers (2-0), Cian Mangan (1-0), John Paul Verdon, Jordan Dunne (1-0), Andrew Knight (1-1), Karl Mulligan (3-0), Ross Moloney (2-0).  Subs: John Cahill, William Coogan.

 

FIRST YEAR BOYS' SOCCER

St. Kilian’s lost their opening game in the First Year Wicklow-Wexford League on Friday 9^th November away to an excellent Dublin Oak Academy.  Kilian’s struggled with the size of the opposition in the first half and conceded numerous headed goals.  Kilian’s trailed 8-0 at half time, but an excellent second half performance left the final score 8-4. 

There was a fantastic team spirit evident and the team never stopped encouraging each other and worked very hard.  Jordan De Sousa kept  St. Kilian's in the game on numerous occasions with some fantastic saves.  Jack Ronan led the defence and was ably assisted by Graham Kane, John Paul Verdon, Cian Mangan and Mark Curran.  Michael Vickers was superb in midfield with the help of Andrew Knight, Jordan Dunne and Ross Moloney.  Karl Mulligan was a constant threat up front and deserved his goal. Jordan Dunne scored twice and Andrew Knight got his first of the season.

Team: Jordan De Sousa, Graham Kane, Jack Ronan, John Paul Verdon, Mark Curran, Jordan Dunne, Cian Mangan, Michael Vickers, Ross Moloney (C), Andrew Knight, Karl Mulligan.

Subs: John Cahill, Robert Byrne, Michael Mulcair.

 

On Friday 23^rd November, St. Kilian’s travelled to St. Brendan’s for their final group match and were beaten 7-2 by a much physically bigger Brendan’s side who played very well on the day.  The Kilian’s side showed great heart and determination as they have done in all their games this season. They battled right to the end and were unlucky with some very close efforts, including a magnificent lob from William Coogan which cannoned off the crossbar.  Andrew Knight got another goal for the season and Mark Curran got a deserved goal after excellent attacking in the second half.

Team: Jordan De Sousa, John Paul Verdon, Jack Ronan (C), Cian Mangan, Mark Curran, Jordan Dunne, Michael Vickers, William Coogan, Ross Moloney, Andrew Knight, Karl Mulligan.  Subs used: Graham Kane, Michael Mulcair.

Thanks to Mr. Duggan for all his work in mentoring the team.

U-17 BOYS' SOCCER

St. Kilian’s 3 East Glendalough 2

St. Kilian’s U-17 boys' soccer squad have progressed to the quarter-final stage of the Wicklow-Wexford League. The team scored a great victory over East Glendalough on Wednesday 21st November. St. Kilian's came from behind twice in the match, and this shows the mental strength of a very mature and determined team.

 In a frenetic opening to the match, St. Kilian’s found themselves 1- 0 down within ten minutes. This did not unsettle the St. Kilian's boys. They regrouped and carved out a number of great opportunities before the first half ended. The best of these was a shot from Ross Doyle which was cleared off the line. However, St. Kilian's failed to find an equaliser before half time.

The second period continued in much the same way as the first, with St. Kilian’s dominating possession. Eventually, this pressure paid off when Ross Doyle levelled things courtesy of a fine shot from outside the box. But the score did not stay like this for long, as East Glendalough took advantage of a defensive lapse in concentration to go 2 – 1 up.  This setback seemed to bring the best out in St. Kilian’s. They raised the tempo and Ian O' Mahoney finished off a great one-two with Sam Mulligan.  This score drew the sides level. However, St. Kilian’s continued to push on. Their persistence paid off when Ross Doyle scored his second goal, when a quick throw put him through and he converted the opportunity calmly. This goal ended the scoring, leaving the result 3-2 to St. Kilian's.

There were a number of performances that stood out for St. Kilian's. In defence, Adam Mc Grath and Jamie McGrane both excelled. Ross Doyle and Michael O' Brien had tremendous games in midfield, and up front the pair of Sam Mulligan and Ian O' Mahoney worked extremely hard throughout the game.

St. Kilian's finish top of their group with two wins out of two and are looking forward to the upcoming quarter-final. Well done to the team and to Mr. Donohoe, their coach.

LCA WORK EXPERIENCE

Best wishes to our Fifth and Sixth year LCA students who are currently on their two week work experience module. This is an integral part of the LCA course, as it helps students to make informed career choices by sampling different jobs and trades. There are four work experience modules over the two years of the LCA course. Students are taught the practicalities of the world of work as they "learn by doing" on the job. We wish all our students well and hope that they gain valuable insight and knowledge from their work experience.

 

November 21st 2012

 

U-17 SOCCER

St. Kilian’s 2 St. David’s 1

St. Kilian’s Boys came away with the points on Wednesday 14^th November in Greystones by virtue of a well deserved victory against St. David’s. For long periods of the 1^st Half, St. Kilian’s dominated possession but failed to convert their chances, Jordon Ebbs coming closest with a shot from outside the box, just rising over the crossbar. St Kilian’s were made to pay for their missed chances as they found themselves 1-0 down at half time.

However, the 2^nd Half got off to the perfect start when Alex Byrne volleyed home a clearance to get St. Kilian’s back on level terms. This gave the team the boast they needed and they pushed on from there. Jamie McGrane, Ross Doyle and Jamie Fitzpatrick worked extremely hard and this work paid off when Alex Byrne won a penalty. Sam Mulligan placed the penalty in the corner to give St. Kilian’s the lead. From here, they saw the match out comfortably and have put themselves in the driving seat in the league.

They face East Glendalough on Wednesday 21st November, and will need another composed performance to garner three more points. Best wishes to the team in this fixture.

 

SENIOR BOYS' GAELIC FOOTBALL

St. Kilian’s 3-6 St. Brendan’s 7-9

St Kilian’s put up a brave performance against a strong St Brendan’s team on Thursday 15th November. The game was extremely competitive until mid-way through the 2^nd half when St Brendan’s strength really began to show.

Mark Dempsey and Jamie McTernan showed up well throughout the game and they both set up Graham Sutton on a number of occasions. Graham Sutton finished the game with an impressive tally of 2-1. Adam McGrath, playing in goals for St. Kilian’s, pulled off some amazing saves, including from a penalty in the 1^st Half! Ian Mahoney produced some excellent free taking throughout the game.

St Kilian’s boys should take a lot of heart from their performance and keep up with their training.

 

U-15 BOYS' SOCCER

St. Kilian’s 0 Dublin Oak Academy 4

St. Kilian’s U-15 soccer team were eliminated from the Wicklow-Wexford league competition at the group stage but can hold their heads up high. The score does not do this team justice in the effort, work and wonderful team spirit they showed throughout this campaign.

St. Kilian’s central trio of Luke O’Sullivan, Ben Brown Roche and Gerard Clancy covered a huge amount of ground to limit Dublin Oak’s chances. But they found themselves one-nil down at half time due to a deflected long range effort.

Throughout the 2^nd half, St. Kilian’s team worked themselves to a standstill. In defense, James Cahill and Gary O’Sullivan were extremely solid and broke down several attacks of Dublin Oak. In goal, Alan Arces produced a very commanding performance. Unfortunately, in the last few minutes of the games as St. Kilian’s pushed for an equaliser, they were caught out on a couple of occasions. 

Mr. Donohoe is delighted with the effort put in by his panel since the start of the year and looks forward to more competitions in 2013.

 

INFORMATION NIGHT FOR SENIOR CYCLE PARENTS

Parents of senior students attended a college information night on Wednesday 14th November. The Guidance Counsellor, Ms. Fitzpatrick,  gave parents all the relevant information needed for applications to Third Level education.

Parents enjoyed a series of presentations and talks on the following topics:

• Applying to college, the Central Applications Office (CAO)
• Higher Education Grants
• Post Leaving Certificate courses (PLC’s)
• Higher Education Access Route (HEAR)
• Disability Access Route (DARE)

We, at St. Kilian’s, feel that is vitally important to inform students about the college application system as early as possible. It can be quite complicated and it is essential that parents are kept up-to-date with any new developments or changes.

It also helps us to uphold our tradition of large numbers of students progressing to third level. Students are guided through each step of the application process and given much help in applying for other grants or scholarships.

 

TY CULTURAL STUDIES OUTING

The inside of the house was just as beautiful as the outside. Since it was the first 18^th century house built in Ireland, all the furniture and paintings were carefully looked after up until this day. The beautifully preserved interior and manicured lawns outside met the approval of everyone on the trip.

The second port of call was  Russborough House. The guide name was Anne and she did not hesitate  to answer any questions the group put to her about the origins of the house. The house was designed by the German architect, Richard Cassels.  The plaster work on the ceiling inside was particularly striking. It is called Stucco, and was designed by the La Franchini Brothers, who were also responsible for the design in the Castletown hallway.

When the tour of Russborough House concluded, the students were given the chance to go through the maze. The maze is located in the sprawling gardens of the house. Everyone had a great time running around trying to find a way out of the maze. Eventually everyone emerged out of the maze safe and sound amid much mirth and laughter!

Everyone in the TY Cultural Studies class had a marvellous day out.

Thanks to the wonderful tour guides and to our dedicated teachers.

 

IRISH DANCING SUCCESS!

Heartiest congratulations to three girls from St. Kilian's who took part in the Irish Step Dancing championships, which took place in Ashbourne, Co. Meath on Saturday 17th November. The three students are: Sara Treacy (5B), Nikki Moloney (3R) and Abbie Treacy (1V). All three belong to the Berry Dance Academy in Bray and each of them have qualified for the European Championship, which is to be held in Dusseldorf, Germany in April 2013.

Sara Treacy, who is 16 years of age, competed in the under-25 ladies' category. Despite her tender years, Sara enjoyed amazing success! She was placed first in the reel, second in both the slip jig and open reel categories and third in the triple jig competition. Sara finished third in the overall under-25 championship.

Sara's sister, Abbie, also did the Treacy family proud by coming fourth overall in the under-13 girls' competition. Nikki Moloney finished third overall in the under-15 girls' competition. Nikki achieved second place in the light jig category and finished fourth in both the reel and slip jig competitions.

The achievements of all three girls must be commended. Over 130 dance schools competed in the national championship for Irish dancing. St. Kilian's are proud of our three students and hope that they fly the flag proudly for themselves and their school in Germany next year! Well done girls!

 

GERMAN TY TRIP 

On Monday 19th November, Ms. Heaney's TY German class went to the Mermaid Theatre in Bray. The class saw the brilliant German movie Winter Tochter (Winter's Daughter). Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the outing and found the movie to be engaging and informative. Thanks to Ms. Heaney for organising the trip.

 

NOVEMBER EXAMS

Best wishes to all students in St. Kilian's as they are sitting house exams from Monday 26th - Friday 30th November.

 

November 14th 2012

 

U-16 BOYS' BASKETBALL

On Thursday 8th November, St. Kilian's U16 boys' basketball team showed improved teamwork to defeat St. Conleth's, Ballsbridge. This was their third fixture in the group and a victory was much needed for confidence and effort.

St. Kilian's began the match aggressively. Led by Jesse Lopez and Lorenz Garcia, St. Kilian's attacked the opposition's rearguard with menace. Adam Peacock and Linden Liu grabbed vital rebounds and scored valuable baskets so that St. Kilian's surged into a quick lead and that proved the groundwork for victory.

To their credit, St. Conleth's battled back and tied the game at 19 points apiece. St. Kilian's team coach, Mr. Brewer, made some defensive adjustments, and as a result, they limited Conleth's to just one three-pointer in the final quarter. St. Kilian's ended the game with a flourish. Ryan Kealy was especially dominant at this stage. He drove his colleagues on and made some astute passes to teammates, who profited by scoring easy baskets.  At the final whistle, St. Kilian's triumphed by eight points. The final score was 30 to 22.

Man of the Match - Jessie Lopez (St. Kilian's)

MACBETH TRIP

Thirty two students from the Fifth and Sixth Year English classes ventured across the Liffey to see the Second Age Theatre Company's production of Macbeth at the Helix Theatre in DCU on Tuesday 13th November. Blood and battles combined with heckling and humour and these elements ensured that the students were enthralled from beginning to end. The trip proved to be a very worthwhile experience in bringing the play to life for the students and all thoroughly enjoyed the performance. Thanks to Mr. Kelly and Ms. Taaffe for accompanying the students to the evening show in Dublin.

 

BOYS' SOCCER

St. Kilian's U-15 soccer team made their exit from the Wicklow-Wexford league on Monday 12th November with a 5-2 defeat to St. Thomas's, Bray. This followed a heavy defeat in their first game to St. Brendan's. Ben Brown-Roche and Luke O' Sullivan were St. Kilian's standout players in their two matches.

Unfortunately the first year boys didn't fare any better in their first outing of the season. On Thursday 8th November, the first year team were vanquished by Dublin Oak Academy on a scoreline of 8-4. The strength and physical size of the opposition proved the difference as five of the goals they conceded came from headers! Nevertheless Mr. Duggan was pleased with the plucky, never-say-die enthusiasm of the St. Kilian's team and he predicts a better result in the next match. Commiserations to both teams, and thanks to Mr. Donohoe and Mr. Duggan for managing the respective squads.

 

STORYTIME!

The school welcomed the gifted storyteller, Niall De Burca, back on Monday 12th November. Niall has visited St. Kilian's on many previous occasions and has always captivated his audiences. He didn't disappoint on this occasion either. Niall has an engaging style of delivery, which encourages the students to participate in his stories rather than being passive listeners. As a result, everyone laughed uproariously at his anecdotes and mimics. It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience for all concerned.

 

GAELTACHT INFORMATION EVENING

On Wednesday 14th November, St. Kilian's hosted a Gaeltacht Information Evening for parents and students of First, Second and Fifth Year. The aim of the evening was to provide information about the various Gaeltacht colleges and to encourage students to attend summer courses in these colleges.

 Six Irish summer schools exhibited on the evening and their representatives provided information about the courses and facilities on offer for students.

Five Third Year students who went to the Gaeltacht last summer spoke to the audience about their experiences in the Irish colleges. They all waxed lyrical about the fun they had, the friendships they forged and the "cúpla focail" that they learned! 

As spoken Irish now makes up 40% of the Junior and Leaving Cert. exams, a trip to the Gaeltacht is a huge benefit to any student learning Irish, as it develops their listening and speaking skills in the language.

The information evening was a great success. It was very well attended and it is hoped that the many students who expressed an interest in going to the Gaeltacht next summer will do so. Many thanks to Ms. Murphy and the members of Class 4B for organising the event.

 

GIRLS' BASKETBALL

St. Kilian's girls' U-16 basketball team played their third match of the Wicklow Schools' League on Thursday November 8th. Their opponents were GSM Arklow. Unfortunately the St. Kilian's girls lost a closely-fought encounter but were extremely competitive throughout. St. Kilian's scores on the day came from Shannon O' Sullivan, Georgia-Lee Flynn and Hannah Johnston.

Mr. Conway, the team's coach, was very pleased with the performance of the team. Thanks to TY students: Sophie Mooney, Sarah-Jane Fox and Sarah McGrath who were learning how to do match score- keeping duties for the upcoming First Year league.

Basketball training continues on Wednesdays and all First Year girls are expected to attend.

 

BOOK LAUNCH

Congratulations to the St. Kilian's past pupil, Paul Anthony Shortt, (Leaving Cert 1998) who recently launched his first fantasy novel entitled, "Locked Within." The book was officially released on November 8th. We wish Paul every success with sales and congratulate him on his wonderful achievement in getting his novel published.

 

November 7th 2012

GAISCE FOUR-DAY WALK

Heartiest congratulations to Karen Robinson, Nicole Johnston (both L.C. 2012) and current 6th year, Gordon Leonard, who have just completed a gruelling four-day 80km walk as part of the Gold Gaisce President's Awards. Only 23 people in Ireland are going for the gold award in 2012; so Karen, Nicole and Gordon are part of a very exclusive club indeed. All three students did the necessary five-day voluntary work aspect of the Gaisce Awards by going on the Dublin Diocesan Sick Pilgrimage to Lourdes with the school, and the four-day walk was the final piece in the jigsaw for them to achieve this prestigious award.

The walk took place over the Halloween mid-term break. The students began the walk on Saturday when they journeyed from Marley Park along the Wicklow Way to Knockree Hostel near Enniskerry. The group battled inclement weather on Sunday. Their walk was from Knockree to Glendalough, and they were accompanied by Mr. Lawless on Sunday. On Bank Holiday Monday, Mr. Murray, Mr. Kelly and some adult family members accompanied the group on the six-hour 21km walk from Glendalough to Lough Dan and back again. The delighted trio completed the 80km on Tuesday by walking from Glendalough to Roundwood. 

Everyone at St. Kilian's would like to congratulate Karen, Nicole and Gordon for their fantastic dedication in achieving the requirements for the Gaisce Gold President's Awards. The group will meet President Higgins in the Aras in the new year to be presented with their gold medals. Thanks to Mr. Walsh and Mr. Lawless for facilitating the Gaisce Awards in St. Kilian's.

 

U-20 BOYS' SOCCER TEAM ELIMINATED!

St. Kilian's senior soccer team have made a disappointing exit from the U-20 Wicklow-Wexford league.Their elimination from the competition is due to successive defeats suffered in matches versus Presentation College and St. Brendan's. The team battled hard in both matches, but succumbed on each occasion to very strong opponents.

On Thursday 25th October, St. Kilian's senior team suffered a crushing 4-0 defeat to Presentation College at a blustery Greystones. However the one-sided nature of the result is misleading, as Pres. did not score their first goal until twenty minutes from the end of the match. Up until that point, both sides were very evenly matched. St. Kilian's best performers on the day were goalkeeper, P.J. Dowling, Sam Mulligan, Stephen Kearney and Adam Casserly.

As a result of the defeat V. Pres., St. Kilian's had it all to do in the final group match versus St. Brendan's. The group leaders, St. Brendan's, hosted the fixture on Wednesday 7th November. Unfortunately St. Kilian's  were overpowered by skilful opponents and lost by 7-2. The game remained in the balance until the latter stages of the second half, when St. Kilian's embarked upon all-out attack in a game that they simply had to win. Thus, the scoreline is an inaccurate reflection on the balance of the play in what was a close and competitive match.

Stephen Kearney and Mark Dempsey scored a goal in each half for St. Kilian's. The team battled manfully throughout. Jamie Doyle and Mark Dempsey tried especially hard, but the team's efforts were hampered by injuries to key players, Sam Mulligan, Jamie McTernan and Jordan Ebbs.  Commiserations to the team and their coach, Mr. Duggan.

 

FIFTH YEAR PARENT-TEACHER MEETING

The fifth year parent-teacher took place on Tuesday November 5th. The meeting was well attended and valuable feedback about academic and behavioural progress was provided to parents and students. Thanks to everyone who attended the meeting.

 

October 25th 2012

U-16 BOYS' BASKETBALL

St, Kilian's vs. St. Mark's (29-39) 

On Thursday 18th October, St. Kilian's hosted St. Mark's in a cadet boys' basketball match. St. Kilian's came out of the blocks fast, by scoring the first three baskets.  Jesse Lopez led the attack, with help from James Wong and Matthew Brennan.  Kilian's continued to keep the opposition on their heels by playing good defence, particularly Adam Peacock who had numerous steals. Matthew Brennan and Jesse Lopez led the team in rebounding, both grabbing rebounds over the taller St. Mark's players. 

St. Mark's started the second half with a surge and went ahead. But to their credit, St. Kilian's continued to fight and keep the score within five points until the last two minutes. However the superior strength of the opposition led to a couple of break away scores and the match ended with St. Mark's getting the win by 39 - 29. 

Apart from the aforementioned players, other creditable performances came from Brady Yeoh and Gary O'Sullivan for St. Kilian's. Well done to the team for a great effort and special thanks to Mr. Brewer, the team's coach. Best of luck to the lads in their upcoming matches.

 

SIXTH YEAR ART TRIP

On Tuesday 23rd October, Ms.Hume's 6th year Art class went on a trip to Dublin. The class visited three places on the trip: the Marino Casino, the National Art Gallery and the National History Museum. 

The group went on a very interesting and informative guided tour of the 18th century building, the Marino Casino. They were treated to amazing Irish examples of architecture, which were explained concisely and informatively to them by a tour guide from the Marino Casino.

From there, the class travelled to the National Art Gallery. Unfortunately they only had a short amount of time in the gallery. Despite not having much time, the group saw fantastic examples of European Art, as well as some of Jack Yeats' most celebrated works. 

Lastly, the group went on a guided tour of the National History Museum, where they viewed objects ranging from Bronze Age sun disks and lunulas to the intricate Tara Brooch. It was a very interesting end to the trip.

Many thanks to Ruth (Marino Casino) and Mary-Jane (National History Museum) for excellent guided tours, and of course special thanks to Ms. Hume from her 6th year art class for a wonderful trip.

 

TRANSITION YEAR ACTIVITY DAY

On Wednesday 23rd October, the Transition Year classes, A and B, went on two separate trips. Class A went to Bray and Dalkey Harbours where they took part in kayaking and rock climbing/abseiling. Class B went to Glendalough where they went on a eight mile hill walk! Everybody participated enthusiastically and were physically drained by the end of the day. All activities were thoroughly enjoyed by all the students. Thanks to the teachers who organised and took part in the activities.

 

EDCO COMPETITION SUCCESS!

Congratulations to Alison McGrath (3.T) on her success in winning an Apple iPad in Edco's recent nationwide competition. Alison simply liked and shared a photo on Edco's Facebook page when they were having a competition over a span of four weeks. Whilst doing some exam practice on the Edco web-site, Alison stumbled across the competition and decided to enter. It proved to be a very good decision!

 Four IPads in total were awarded as prizes and Alison was the lucky recipient of an IPad for being the fourth winner in the competition! Naturally, Alison was thrilled with her prize and has been enjoying it since it was presented to her on Monday 22nd October. Well done Alison!

 

'GENERATION INFORMATION'

Congratulations to Josh O' Connell (2.Z) on being one of the winners in a national  journalistic competition called "Generation Information". The project aims to get the opinions of young people in Ireland heard. Eight young people from around Ireland were chosen as "roving reporters" for their region. Josh O' Connell was one of lucky eight chosen from hundreds of applicants. 

Josh will have to report on a wide variety of topics including the Young Scientists' Exhibition, the recession and the influence of social media on the lives of young people. Josh has been supplied with a video camera and, after receiving his training, his interviews will be posted on the Young Scientist website.

 

HALLOWEEN SHORT STORY & POETRY COMPETITION

Thanks to all the students who participated in a short story and poem writing competition for Halloween. The theme of the works had to associated with ghouls, ghosts and vampires and many entries were received and judged by Mr. Stokes, the school's librarian. Prizes were awarded to all participants in the competition and the standard of entries was very impressive. Well done to all concerned.

 

October 18th 2012

U-20 WICKLOW/WEXFORD SOCCER LEAGUE

On Wednesday last, St. Kilian's played their opening match in the U-20 league with a hard-fought 2-2 draw against St. David's Greystones. The match was played in abysmal conditions and great credit is due to both teams for an excellent match.

St. David's played with the elements in the first half. Despite excellent defensive contributions from Sam Mulligan, Mark Dempsey and Jamie McTernan, the Greystones school went ahead with a well-worked goal after 20 minutes. To their credit, the St. Kilian's team battled bravely. Their persistence paid off in the closing stages of the first half when Jamie McGrane headed the equaliser, following excellent work by Sam Mulligan.

St. Kilian's were the dominant team in the second period. Dylan Donnelly, Adam Kelly and Jamie Doyle all did trojan work in midfield, and St. Kilian's took the lead due to an own goal by a Greystones defender following a dangerous cross into the penalty area by Adam Kelly.

The match ended cruelly for St. Kilian's. In the final minute, St. David's won a free kick just outside the penalty area. The resultant free kick found the corner of the Kilian's net, and the score was 2-2. There was still time for Jamie McTernan to force a save from the 'keeper and in the ensuing scramble the ball hit the Greystones crossbar before being hacked to safety.

The final whistle was greeted with disappointment on the St. Kilian's bench, as victory had been snatched away so close to the end. Nevertheless the team should be very happy with the performance. Best for St. Kilian's on the day were: Sam Mulligan, Jamie McTernan, Dylan Donnelly and substitute, Barry O' Brien. Thanks to Mr. Duggan for preparing the team so well and best of luck to the lads in their forthcoming matches.

FIRST YEAR RETREAT

On Tuesday last, the three First Year classes went on retreat to Ovoca House in Avoca, Co. Wicklow. The retreat gave the First Years a chance to reflect on their early experiences of life at St. Kilian's. The students also took part in team-building exercises, which everybody enjoyed immensely.  The students enjoyed the retreat very much as it provided a refreshing alternative to the classroom. Thanks to Mr. Purcell for organising the retreat.

WELCOME BACK!

Welcome back to the Transition Years who have returned to class after their two weeks Work Experience. We hope the students found the work experience to be useful and valuable in making an informed career choice in the future.

UNDER 15 WICKLOW/WEXFORD LEAGUE

St Brendan’s 6   St Kilian’s 0.

On Wednesday afternoon, St Kilian’s came across a very strong St Brendan’s team. Both teams started very brightly with some attacking football. The best chances for Kilian’s in the 1^st half came from  Gerard Clancy with a long range effort and Luke O’Sullivan with a disallowed goal for offside. However, Brendan’s made the most of their opportunities, and enjoyed a three goal lead at the break.

St. Brendan’s physical size helped them push on in very tough conditions in the 2^nd half. St Kilian’s found themselves defending for long periods. Edward Cranley and Padraig Mc Donald put in very good shifts in defence. Goalkeeper Ben Browne Roche pulled off some outstanding saves to keep the score respectable. Gary O’ Sullivan had the best chance in the 2^nd half, hitting the crossbar from 25 yards out with a free kick. As Kilian’s pressed forward to try and get back in the game, they were caught with a few counter attacks towards the end of the game. St. Brendan's managed to score three more goals to seal a comprehensive victory.

Despite the scoreline, St. Kilian’s can take a lot of positives from the game and are sure to improve in their next encounter against St. Thomas’s. Well done to all the players for their efforts against strong opponents. Special thanks to Mr. Donohoe, the coach of the St. Kilian's squad.

GER CASEY LIVE!

On Thursday 11th October, the 5th and 6th LCA classes attended a comedy performance in the Royal Hotel in Bray. This trip was arranged as a  requirement of the English & Communications module. An "out of class" trip is a requirement for the English module and happens every year for the LCA classes.

Everybody laughed uproariously at Ger Casey's hilarious anecdotes and jokes. The outing was a wonderful success. Thanks to the teachers who organised the trip.

 

OCTOBER 11th 2012

ORIENTEERING

Mr. Lawless is delighted with the progress of the St. Kilian's orienteering squad as they prepare for the first round of the Leinster Schools' League competition which takes place on 24th October. There are 34 competitors from St. Kilian's due to take part in the Leinster Schools' League. Mr. Lawless is especially happy with seven new recruits from First Year. They participate enthusiastically in training sessions and are learning the map-reading and navigational skills necessary to excel in this difficult discipline.

St. Kilian's has had plenty of success in the past in orienteering. Maciek Piotrowski and Miriam Verdon (6th Year) have won many schools' competitions and Mr Lawless hopes that the squad will be as successful this season. Best of luck to all concerned.

GIRLS' BASKETBALL

Commiserations to the U/16 girls' team who lost a closely-fought match with Avondale College, Rathdrum on Thursday last. The St. Kilian's girls showed plenty of fighting spirit against a physically imposing and skilful team. Mr. Conway was pleased with their attitude.  The intense training schedule will continue and hopefully this will benefit the girls' results and performances in forthcoming matches. Well done to all concerned.

LCA RETREAT

On Tuesday 9th October, the Leaving Cert Applied classes went on retreat to Ovoca Manor in Avoca village. They were accompanied by Mr. Tom Purcell, the school's Chaplain. The retreat gave the students the opportunity to reflect on their lives and examine their relationships with each other. The retreat was a valuable experience for all who attended.

CSPE ACTION PROJECT

Class 3L completed their "action" for the CSPE project by restoring the Garden of Remembrance in St. Kilian's to its former glories. Over the past weeks 3L, under the supervision of their teacher, Mr. Kelly, have weeded and cleaned out the area which had become a little overgrown. The students planted daffodils, crocuses and narcissi in the garden. When the flowers bloom in Spring, the hard work that everybody in the class put into the project can be appreciated by everyone. The only task left for everyone is to write up the report on the action project. Mr. Kelly hopes that 3L participate as enthusiastically in this task, just as they did in their time outside the classroom working in the garden!

GAISCE

Over forty Transition year and Fifth year St. Kilian's students have signed up for the  highly successful "Gaisce: The President’s Award" programme run in the school by Mr. Walsh.  Students take part in four prescribed activities, including developing a personal skill, taking on a physical challenge and volunteering in the local community. The Gaisce challenge will culminate in an adventure journey involving a three day walk across the Wicklow Mountains. Students are currently finalising their activities and are looking forward to embracing the challenges that Gaisce presents.

Two former students, Karen Robinson and Nicole Johnston, along with current Sixth Year students Gordon Leonard, Cathy Waters and Miriam Verdon, have been working on the Gaisce programme for the last three years. These students are currently undertaking the prestigious Gold Gaisce challenge and are planning a gruelling four day 100km hike as part of their challenge. They have already completed most of the requirements and are hoping to be the latestSt. Kilian's  students to complete the Gold Award and meet the President, Michael D Higgins, at their Awards Ceremony. Well done so far and we wish them all the best in their efforts.

GER CASEY LIVE!

On Thursday last, the 5th and 6th LCA classes attended a comedy performance in the Royal Hotel in Bray. This trip was arranged as requirement of the English & Communications module. An "out of class" trip is a requirement for the English module and happens every year for the LCA classes.

Everybody laughed uproariously at Ger Casey's hilarious anecdotes and jokes. The trip was a wonderful success. Thanks to Ms. Power and Ms. Taaffe who organised the classes to the event.

 

October 4th 2012

KATIE TAYLOR'S TRIUMPHANT RETURN!

On Tuesday 2nd October, the Olympic Lightweight Boxing Gold medalist, Katie Taylor, returned to her alma mater to celebrate her tremendous achievement at London 2012. Katie was accompanied by her father and coach, Peter, and the pair received a rapturous reception in the sports hall. Her former teachers and the current students of St. Kilian's joined together to celebrate Katie's success in London. The rousing strains of Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger" boomed out as the champion entered the hall and Katie was afforded a standing ovation and prolonged applause befitting her achievement.

The principal, Mr. John Murphy, led the tributes to Katie. Mr. Murphy praised Katie's extraordinary determination to succeed and emphasised her position as a positive role model for all young people today. He highlighted the role that her parents played in her upbringing and pointed out that her popularity stems from her innate modesty, humility and lack of egotism. His well-judged speech drew much appreciative applause.

Mr. Paul Connolly, Katie's former year-head in St. Kilian's, was the Master of Ceremonies. He called on Katie to answer a few questions about her achievements in boxing and her schooldays in St. Kilian's. She spoke with warmth and fondness about the school and the captivated audience hung on her every word.

When the formalities ended, Katie waited for almost two hours to sign autographs and pose for photographs with her fans. Her charm, good humour and genuine warmth for everyone was wonderful.

Her return to the school as an Olympic Champion was a special and memorable day in the history of the school. Thanks to everyone involved in organising the event and in particular to the Parents' Association for providing refreshments.

TRANSITION YEAR WORK EXPERIENCE

Best wishes to all our TY students who began their two-week work experience on Monday last. Work experience is an integral and valuable aspect of transition year and can lead to students to making informed career choices in the future. St. Kilian's wishes to thank all local businesses for allowing our students to experience the world of work for the first time. 

SIXTH YEAR PARENT-TEACHER MEETING

On Tuesday last, the 6th year parent-teacher meeting took place. The meeting was well attended and afforded parents the opportunity to see how their sons and daughters are progressing in subjects for the upcoming Leaving Cert. Valuable feedback and guidance regarding appropriate study practices were imparted to students and parents during the meeting. Thanks to all parents who attended.

STUDENT COUNCIL

Congratulations to the following students who were recently appointed to the St. Kilian's Student Council for 2012-2013: Tom Hui (Head Boy); Miriam Verdon (Head Girl); Robert Farrell (Deputy Head Boy) and Cathy Waters (Deputy Head Girl. In addition, the following students were elected as their year representatives: Michael Vickers & Amber Murray (1st); Ryan Clancy & Emma O' Reilly (2nd); James Kehoe & Laura Drew (3rd); Stephen Downey & Sophie Mooney (4th); Kalum Vella Whelan & Nicole O' Brien (5th) and Dylan McDermott & Michaela McGrath (6th).

We wish the above students and the Student Welfare Officer, Ms. Taaffe, the very best of luck in their deliberations during the current school year.

SOCCER

Mr. Donohue's strenuous training regime for the U/17 soccer squad is in full swing at the moment. The team are preparing hard for the beginning of the Wicklow-Wexford competition. The team are due to play their first game next week. We wish the team and their mentor the best of luck in a competition that they came so close to winning last year. So let's hope that the team has a successful season! More news on their progress next week!

 

September 27th 2012

MATHS IS FUN!

Transition year students decided this week to try and make learning Maths fun. They organised a Maths quiz for the 4th years and class 2M. The event was a great success. All the participants had great fun and there was a keen sense of competition for the top prizes! Refreshments were provided and prizes were organised by the TY co-ordinator. The winners on the day were: Aine Peare, Michelle Moran and Shannon Doyle (4th Year) as well as Kirsty Moloney, Rebecca Fitzpatrick and Nadia Devlin in 2nd year.

Many thanks to Mr. O' Kelly and his TY students for organising this event.

TRANSITION YEAR ART TRIP

Last Tuesday, the T.Y Art class spent the day in Dublin, visiting two of its many galleries across town. After arriving in Dublin at Pearse Street station, the group spent the morning at the Jack B. Yeats exhibition, observing his many famous paintings, comics, etc. Due to the gallery's building itself being under construction, many exhibits were closed; but there was still plenty to see. Following a short lunch break, the T.Y students took what they claimed to be a long walk to the opposite side of the city, where they viewed masterpieces such as "The Eve of St. Agnus" by Harry Clarke and paintings by Claude Monet in the Hugh Lane art gallery. Accompanied by Mr. Lawless, most of the art students enjoyed the trip - even if the weather was quite inclement on the day!

FOURTH YEAR RETREAT

On Thursday last, our school chaplain Mr. Tom Purcell took the entire TY group on a bus to Avoca, where the students spent the day at Ovoca House, participating in group games, activities and much more. Everyone had a great time at the retreat. It was a wonderful bonding experience for the group. 

Many thanks to Mr. Purcell for organising a great day for the TY students.

COFFEE MORNING

Many thanks to Ms. Bools for organising a coffee morning in aid of the Hospice Movement on Wednesday last. This was part of a national drive to raise funds for the Hospice Movement and it proved to be a great success in St. Kilian's.

PARENTS' ASSOCIATION

On Wednesday 3rd October, the Parents'  Association AGM  will take place in the school at 8pm. All parents and guardians are invited to attend this important meeting.

 

September 20th 2012

SCHOOL MASS

Our opening Mass for celebrating the beginning of the school year was held on Thursday last in St. Fergal's Church. It was a wonderful occasion and a chance for the whole school to come together and pray. As part of the worship, our first year students were welcomed. Each first year class made a class banner which was carried to the altar by a class representative.

 Many thanks to Fr. Brendan Scully for celebrating with our community. Thanks also to our religion department.

LUNCHTIME ACTIVITIES

Lunchtime activities such as chess and table tennis continue in Room 1 and the social area at lunch time. All students are very welcome to come along and try both sports. Many students avail of these activities and special thanks to Ms. Ni Mhurchu and Ms. Power who give up their lunch breaks to supervise. 

SCHOOL LIBRARY

Why not drop in to our school library and borrow a book? Our school library is a very popular part in our school and has a wide range of interests to suit everybody. From the latest releases in fiction, sport and specialist topics , new titles are added every week. Pop in during break or lunchtime and avail of this wonderful facility! The librarian, Mr. Stokes, will help all students with any queries they may have and is delighted to see our pupils avail of this wonderful facility in St. Kilian's.

TITANIC TRIP

On Thursday last our  6LCA class had the great opportunity to visit the Titanic exhibition in Belfast. The class left Bray at a very early hour and travelled by coach. Ms. Dodd and Ms. Farrell  accompanied the class on the journey. They found the exhibition to be enthralling and very engaging. In particular they loved then personal stories of the various passengers. The students enjoyed lunch in Belfast and many thanks to all involved.

 SIXTH YEAR HIGHER OPTIONS

All Sixth Year students from St. Kilian's Community School attended the Higher Options in the RDS on Friday 21 September 2012. This is a career event which allows students to access a wide range of information on career options.

On the day the students met representatives from colleges, universities and institutes of further education to discuss further education and training choices. They also attended lectures delivered  by experts in different fields of education and training.

The Higher Options Open Day is a very worthwhile event which has always  been instrumental in helping students to make positive career choices.

 

September 13th 2012

NEW SCHOOL WEBSITE

The school has launched its new website www.stkilianscs.com.

Students and parents should find it useful for keeping up to date with school news and events. We hope that the website will grow and develop and become an effective communication link between the school and the wider community. Parents and students are encouraged to visit our new website to gain insight into and information about life in St. Kilian's. So we encourage you to log on to stkilianscs.com to learn more about what goes on in the school.

JUNIOR CERT RESULTS

Congratulations to all students who received their state exam results last week. In general, the results were very encouraging and most students were delighted with the grades that they achieved.  Well done to all students and to their teachers for preparing them excellently for their exams.

CLASS 3.L CSPE PROJECT

Class 3L are embarking on an interesting CSPE project by restoring the Garden of Remembrance to its former glory. Everyone in the class has shown great enthusiasm and desire to work hard as they have dug out weeds and cut overgrown shrubbery. Finally when the garden and its surrounding paths are fully cleaned out, shrubs will be planted. It is hoped to complete the project in the next few weeks. Let's hope that the weather gods will smile kindly on the work! The teacher, Mr. Kelly, is looking forward to the physical work being completed so that class 3L can get down to the serious task of writing up their role in the project!

LOURDES TRIP

Three 6th years students, Cathy Waters, Miriam Verdon and Gordon Leonard have returned from the Dublin Diocesan Sick Pilgrimage to Lourdes. All the students found the experience very rewarding and fulfilling. They worked hard in caring for the sick and elderly pilgrims but fulfilled all their tasks excellently. Well done to the students and to Mr. Donohue who accompanied them to France.

ORIENTEERING

Mr. Lawless has begun training in earnest for this year's orienteering competitions. The school has had remarkable success in past Leinster championships and Mr. Lawless is confident that his charges this year will continue the school's good run in competitions. First years are especially encouraged to attend training sessions and are guaranteed to enjoy a healthy and competitive pursuit.

 

September 6th 2012

OLYMPICS 2012 

St. Kilian's C.S. is very proud of our past pupil, Katie Taylor, (L.Cert. 2005) on her fantastic achievement at winning a gold medal in the women's lightweight boxing competition at the London Olympics. 

Katie was a model student during her time in St. Kilian's. She was diligent and hardworking and very popular with both students and teachers. In spite of her gruelling sporting schedule as a champion boxer and an Irish international soccer player, Katie excelled in the classroom also and achieved commendable results in her Leaving  Cert.

Her achievements in the London Olympics brought pride to the nation and to the Ballywaltrim community in particular. Katie behaved with dignity and humility in the plethora of media and public appearances following her Olympic success. She is truly a credit to her family and to the nation in general.

 Everybody in St. Kilian's wish to congratulate Katie and her family on her amazing success. We are very proud to have educated an Olympic Champion!

Everyone in St. Kilian's would like to congratulate another past pupil, Padraic Moran, (L. Cert 2004) on his participation in the Paralympics in London. He competed in Boccia, but unfortunately was unsuccessful in capturing a medal for Ireland. Still, Padraic has a lot to be proud of as he has achieved success in previous world championships at this event. 

Once again, heartiest congratulations to our two past pupils on their amazing achievements over the past few weeks. Well done from everyone connected with St. Kilian's.

RETURN TO SCHOOL

We would like to welcome back all our students and teachers as we begin a new school year. In particular, we welcome the first years, who have come from no less than 14 primary schools in the surrounding area. St. Kilian's also welcomes two new teachers - Mr. Tim Jones who will teach Woodwork and DCG and Ms. Brianna Primmer, who has arrived to us from Wisconsin USA to teach English until December. 

LEAVING CERT RESULTS

The school was very pleased with the results attained by our students in the recent Leaving Cert. examinations. Many students achieved the necessary number of points to secure places in third level courses and the LCA students achieved distinctions and merits in their exams. We would like to congratulate all students on their results and thank their teachers for their hard work in preparing the students for their exams. 

DEBS BALL 

The Leaving Cert class of 2012 let their hair down and celebrated the culmination of their 2nd level education in style with the Debs Ball. The celebration was held in the Red Cow Inn. Great style was seen on the night as the former students "glammed up" in their finery. Beautiful ball gowns and dapper suits were the order of the day. A large number of teachers attended to pay tribute to the class of 2012. A great night was has by all!

 LOURDES TRIP

Final preparations are underway for the 6th years who will travel to Lourdes on Friday as part of the Dublin Diocesan Pilgrimage. Our four students are Cathy Waters, Miriam Verdon, Shannon Hussey and Gordon Leonard. They are accompanied by their teacher, Mr. Donohue. Our students will act as helpers to the sick and elderly pilgrims. We wish them all the best for what is certain to be an enriching and character-shaping experience for all involved.