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St. Conleth's College

Senior School Parents’ Association

Newsletter

Updates on Information and Activities | May 2015

Welcome

Dates for your Diary

Student Successes / Debating

Student Snippets

Principal’s Message

Junior & Leaving Certificate Exams

Second Hand Uniform Sale

Golf Classic

Third Year—Language and Adventure trip to

Donegal

Sixth Year Awards / Prize-Giving Assembly /

Other Year Awards

Rugby Review / Update on Sporting

Activities

TY Raises Money for Nepal

School Concert Photos

6th Year Graduation / School Captain’s End

of Year Speech

Sixth Years at the Opera/Third Years’

Drama

Sports Day Photos

TY Musical and Graduation Evening

TY 2014/2015—oh! what a year

Parents’ Social Event @ RIYC

Past Pupils’ Union 65th Anniversary / PPU

Activities

40 years of Girls’ celebration

PPU Inaugural Alumni London Dinner

Healthy Eating Survey

Join our Facebook Group

Supporting our Young Peoples’ mental

health

Remembrances and Memories

Adventures of a Puppy Walker

You are the Parents’ Association!

And Finally…

Contents Welcome

Here comes the summer! Hello and welcome to our final edition of the St. Conleth’s Senior School Parents’ Association (SSPA) Newsletter for this school year. Another year has passed us by but we do have the summer to look forward to. This year has been a very special one for St. Conleth’s College, it being the 75th anniversary of the founding of the school, the 65th anniversary of the Past Pupils’ Union (PPU) and the 40th anniversary of Girls at the school. And there were a large number of celebrations to commemorate these and more. In our last newsletter we reported on the Anniversary Mass, Gala Dinner and Special School assembly (who could forget the ice-cream van!) .

This time we have lots of photos and information on recent celebrations—the very successful Parents’ Social held in the RIYC, the PPU anniversary dinner, the 40th years of Girls celebration and the inaugural PPU London dinner.

In addition in this newsletter you will find an abundance of student news—prize-giving, graduation, exams, sports, academics, sports day, TY activities, and the other great things that are happening in our school, which make it such a special place.

We are all part of the St. Conleth’s family, a close-knit community that creates the warm, friendly and happy environment of the school. Although the Senior School Parents’ Association has only been in existence for 15 of those 75 years, parental involvement has always been of paramount importance, and it has been embraced and appreciated by the school who recognise our primary role in the students’ growth and development. Now through the Parents’ Association, we strive to be an important support and informational network both for parents and the school.

We hope this newsletter goes some way to achieving this objective—we hope you enjoy it!

Finally, we wish all the students the very best of luck with their exams. Have a great Summer everyone and see you all in the new academic

year!.

Paul Allen, Chairperson Senior

School Parents' Association

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Dates for your Diary

Check out the School Calendar

here: http://www.stconleths.ie/

pages/senior-calendar.php

Summer Exams

Final day of school &

Second Hand Uniform

Sale

JC & LC Exams begin

St. Conleth's Golf

Leaving Cert Results

Issue

School Opens:

1st, 2nd & 3rd Years only

TY, 5th & 6th Years only

First full day of school for

all classes

Former 6th Years Debs

Junior Cert Results Issue

(estimated)

The Write Stuff!

The Irish Times

conducted a

national

competition in

preparation for

the publication

of a literary

magazine

dedicated to juvenile creative writing. Several Conlethians

entered, and one, 5th Year Rian Boyle, had his story selected

and it was published today. Rian explores the themes of mental

illness and identity in 'Empty Mirrors', a psychological tour-de-

force. Well done to Rian whose story can be read here: http://

www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/empty-mirrors-by-rian-boyle-

age-17-1.2193512

Well done to the three teams from Mr Bolger's Business class who took part in the Bank of Ireland Bond Trader Challenge in the Aviva Stadium recently. The teams competed against schools from across Leinster.

Congratulations to 5th Year Kevin Dolan who has been selected for the Leinster club U18s summer training programme

Student Successes

Many congratulations to 5th year

David Pogatchnik (Pogie) on

getting a place on the Ulster

Rugby U18s. Quite an

achievement for a 16 year old.

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Senior Debating

UCD L&H Senior Mace Grand Champions- 5th Year Daniel Gilligan and 6th Year Conor White (largest Senior Mace

Debating Championship in Ireland)

Member of the National Schools Debating team - Daniel Gilligan

Debating Successes

Junior Debating

Inter-school: Juniors—Leinster Junior Championship:

Leinster Senior Championship

Runners-up: 5th Years Daniel Gilligan and Philip O’Hanrahan

Semi-Finalist: Sean Pettitt

Quarter-finalist: Arthur Etchingham-Coll

In-house Debates

1st Year:: McCarthy Cup: Frank Knowles

2nd-3rd Years: O’Connor Cup: Oisín Dowling

Kinlen Cup for Senior Debating: Daniel Gilligan

Bouchier-Hayes for Senior Debating: Daniel Gilligan and Conor White

Gardner Cup for Senior Debating: Conor White and Daniel Barry

Best Maiden Speaker: Oscar McAuley

Some of the Junior Debating team members

Daniel Gilligan and Philip

O’Hanrahan

3rd Year (3) Oisín Dowling to

the Quarter-finals. 3rd Year

Conor Power to the semi-final.

3rd years Harry Mansfield

and Simon Pettitt to the Grand

Final (and also were

Castleknock Community

College National Junior

Mace). Oisín, Conor, Simon

and Harry also advanced to

the National Finals of the

Matheson Junior Mace.

2nd Years Tomas Clancy and

Dylan Browne had success as

a team, with Tomas

advancing as an individual to

the Grand Final.

1st Year Frank Knowles

through to knock-out rounds

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First Year Castle Competition

Winner Joseph Caruana with his

impressive creation

Classics

Classical Association of Ireland

Teachers' Annual Speech

Competition

Saul Burgess: second in Junior Classics

Eavan O’Riada: second in Senior Latin

Philip O’Hanrahan: second in Senior Classics

‘Ides of March’ Classics Table Quiz

Three Conlethian teams entered, with one

finishing a good placed 6th out of 30.

Student Snippets

Conlethians Eye Eclipse

Ms. Ní Aonghusa leads

school down to Herbert

Park for a rare scientific

experience.

Once again the teachers beat our sixth years pretty soundly and retained the

coveted "Goblet of Fire" cup in the hard fought soccer match in Irishtown

earlier this month. They have certainly not been shy of using their bragging

rights to the maximum, proudly displaying the cup at every opportunity—it

took pride of place at the Sixth year graduation ceremony.

The Goblet of Fire

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Principal’s Message

It is hard to believe that we are coming to the end of another school year

and bidding farewell to another 6th Year class. The school year began in

such a whirlwind fashion with our 75th Anniversary Assembly on the 4th

of September. It was one of the most memorable days that I can

remember during my time in the school. The sun shone brightly and ice

cream cones were enjoyed by all at the end of the day. Indeed one

Spanish student who started that day wondered if we had an Ice Cream

Van everyday!

The 2014/15 School Year has had many highlights. The Gala Dinner

took place in early October. Past Pupils, parents, present pupils and

teachers celebrated reaching this wonderful milestone. We also celebrated 40 years of girls in St

Conleth's this year culminating in a special celebration night in the school in April this year.

Appropriately this year we announced that girls would be joining us full time starting with The Junior

School in September 2015 and the Senior School in September of the following year.

So many things occur during the year it is hard to mention them all. There have been many highlights.

I must mention the gallant efforts of our Senior Rugby team, they gave us all a day out in Donnybrook.

All the talks, workshops, debates, competitions, plays, concerts, awards, visitors, charity collections,

scholarships, publications, receptions, lunches, dinners, fairs......I will mention no name but thank all

that took part and make our school such a wonderful place to work and learn.

This year we lost a wonderful member of our St Conleth's family. In February our dear friend,

colleague and much loved teacher Francoise Brotelande passed away. Francoise taught in St

Conleth's for over 30 years. She was a most passionate and committed teacher who loved her school

and her pupils. She epitomised all that is great about the school and her legacy will long live on

through all the pupils she taught over the years and her contribution to school life. At this time of the

year Francoise was always a huge support to those pupils who were anxious about the Leaving and

Junior Cert exams. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family.

Finally I would like to wish our exam classes all the best in their exams. The rest of you can pack up

the buckets and spades and we will see you all refreshed and enthusiastic in September.

Dónal Ó Dúlaing

We wish all the exam students in 3rd year and

6th year the very best of luck in their exams next

month.

Leaving Certificate Timetable

Junior Certificate Timetable

Summer Exam Timetables:

These are available for 1st, 2nd and 5th Years

Junior & Leaving Certificate Exams

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Second Hand Uniform Sale: Friday 29th May

The committee is organising a sale of second hand uniforms and sports clothing / boots on Friday 29th May, which

is the last day of term This event will be jointly held by the parents associations of both the junior and senior school

and will begin at 8:30am and run until about 9:30am.

Parents are asked to donate any unwanted, good quality school clothing to the school in the week before the sale

or alternatively bring them along on the day. The intention of the sale is

three-fold: (1) provide a facility for re-cycling school clothing, (2) assist

parents who are looking to purchase second hand clothing and (3) raise

funds for the local St Vincent de Paul. The senior school will be organising

a jersey day on the Friday in order to assist the sale.

The sale will be run on a “donation box” model—whereby purchasers can

donate what they think the items are worth. Pick up a bargain for a worthy

cause.

Third Year—Language and Adventure trip to Donegal

Dates have been selected for the annual trip by Third Years to Donegal for

some francophonic outdoor fun. So, current Second Years and their parents

should mark it into the calendar: Sunday, October 4th - Tuesday, October

6th. One reason, at least, to look forward to coming back to school in Septem-

ber! The cost will be approximately €190.

Golf Classic—Friday 5th June

Calling all Golfers—St. Conleth’s is holding its

annual Gold Classic on Friday, June 5th, 2015.

There are still tee-times available. The event is

being held in Milltown Golf Club and it comprises

Singles, Fourballs and teams of Four, starts at

1.45pm, followed by a Dinner at 7.30pm. The

entry fee is €80 per person (which includes din-

ner). Non-golfers are very welcome to join the

dinner at a cost of €30 per person.

All entries to Shay Keenan

keenans@stconleths.ie

Pictures from last

years’ trip to

Bundoran, Co.

Donegal.

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Daniel Barry was awarded the prestigious Bank of Ireland Pupil of the

Year award. Well done to Daniel and many congratulations to the all

the sixth year prize-winners listed below.

Sixth Year Awards

Daniel Barry, winner Bank of Ireland

Sixth Year Pupil of the Year

Daniel Barry & Conor White, Gardner Cup Debating

Oscar McAuley, Maiden Debater

Prize

Daragh O’Connor, Vice Captain &

Geography Award

Sean Allen, AIB Maths Award

Daniel Barry, Music Award

Mark McNulty, Art Award

Michael Raftery, Sports Award

Paul Mooney, Galileo Thermometer Science Prize

Robbie Glynn, School Spirit

Pierce Cambay, Linguists Award

Robert Duff, Woods Bowl for Irish &

Anglo-Irish Studies

Sixth Year Maths Team

Gavin Sheridan, Saskia Dooley, Harry Norris, Sports Captains

Conor White, Class Captain & John Kelly Award for Classics

& Modern Languages

Isabelle Connolly, Girls’ Captain

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The St. Conleth’s College Annual Prize-Giving Assembly was held in the sports hall on Wednesday 19th

May for all prizes apart from TY and 6th Year (which were already awarded at the TY Musical and 6th Year

Graduation events respectively). The following is the list of the recipients of all the other awards and

prizes. Well done to all prize-winners.

Prize-Giving Assembly

ALL OTHER YEAR AWARDS

Student of the Year Award:

Student of Year:

1st Year: 1a Frank Knowles, 1b Michael Cooke

2nd Year: 2a Daniel Lawless 2b Tomas Clancy

3rd Year 3a Jack Andrews 3b Conor Power

5th Year 5a Marina Bourke 5b Eavan O’Riada

Debating Awards:

1st Year McCarthy Cup: Frank Knowles

2nd & 3rd Years O'Connor Cup: Oisín Dowling

4th - 6th Years Bouchier Hayes Plate (Impromptu Mace Competition): Conor White & Daniel Gilligan

5th - 6th Years Kinlen Cup: Daniel Gilligan

5th - 6th Years Gardner Cup (Team Prize at Kinlen Cup): Conor White & Daniel Barry

5th - 6th Years Maiden Speaker (Best New Speaker at Kinlen Cup): Oscar McAuley

Other Student Awards:

1st Year Maths: Oisín McGinley & Jamie McMahon

5th Year Maths Week: Francesco Lopez, Simon Ghose, Paddy Cahill

French: 1st Year: Suyash Patidar, 2nd Year: Hugh Downes, 3rd Year: Oisín Dowling

Junior Science: 3a Hugh Etchingham-Coll , 3b Simon Pettitt

Junior Music: Ronan Connor

Castle Competition: Joseph Caruana

Junior Art: Alex Murphy

Junior Linguist: Aonghus Hegarty

Senior Creative Writing: Rian Boyle

Technology Prize: Saul Burgess

Chess: Suyash Patidar

Endeavour Award: Elliot Browne

Rugby Sports Award

Player of the Year: 1st Year: Michael Cooke, 2nd Year: Joe Hyland JCT Luke McKay, STC Michael McKay

Most Improved Player: 1st Year Liam Carr, 2nd Year Tom Finn, JCT Cian O’Mahony, SCT Cameron Ross-O’Reilly

Basketball Sports Awards

Most Valuable Player: 1st Year Jamie MacMahon, Jack Doyle 2nd Year Eoghan Fitzmaurice, 16s Shane Byrne, Jamie

Romero, 19s: Richard Hogan, Girls Marina Bourke

Most Improved Player: 1st Year Daire Henry, Sean Woods, 2nd Year Juan Rodriguez, 16s Tim Leary 19s Oscar Harley-

Monks, Girls: Trixie Schulte-Huermann

Golf Sports Awards

Junior Golf Award: Jamie MacMahon

Senior Golf Award: Elliot Browne

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All Other Awards

Aonghus Hegarty, Junior Linguist Award

Francesco Lopez, 5th Year Maths Week

Eavan O’Riada, 5b Student of the Year Oisín Dowling,

O’Connor Cup & 3rd Year French Award

Jamie MacMahon, 1st Yr. Maths & Golf & Basketball Awards

Conor Power, 3b Student of the Year

Suyash Patidar, 1st Year French & Chess

Awards

Elliot Brown, Senior Golf Award &

Endeavour Award

Marina Bourke, 5a Student of the Year

Alex Murphy, Junior Art Prize

Daire Hanry & Sean Woods, Basketball 1st Year Most Improved Players

Joe Hyland, 2nd Year Rugby Player

of the Year

Ronan Connor, Junior Music Award

Daniel Lawless, 2a Student of the Year

Tomas Clancy, 2b Student of the Year

Jack Andrews, 3a Student of the Year

Frank Knowles, 1a Student of the Year

& McCarthy Cup

Michael Cooke, 1b Student of the Year

& 1st Year Rugby

Jack Doyle, 2nd Year Basketball Most Valuable Player

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Rugby Review

St. Conleth’s encourages all students to participate in school sports—this is shown with the amount of

students participating in all the sports on offer athletics, tennis, basketball, soccer, golf, hiking, fencing

and rugby.

SCT Rugby

It was another good year on the rugby front this year. Another year and another final. This time it was the Senior

Cup Team that made it through to the League Final. Unfortunately losing out to a much bigger St. Fintan’s team.

Despite not bring back the silverware this time, both supporters and players had a great day out in Donnybrook and

with only two of our squad graduating, the signs look good for next year when we are hoping to have one of our

biggest squads in the last few years.

The SCT Team in Donnybrook before the final

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Rugby Review (continued)

JCT Rugby:

The JCT & 2nd years had a mixed run of form this year. They had a good run in the cup—the players really showed

some great dedication and skill through the whole season and some of the talent coming through is looking good

for the following season.

1st year are over-flowing with talented players. Under Mr. Kilcommons & Mr. Manners they won the majority of the

games that they played and showed some great running rugby. The future bodes well.

Senior school rugby players enjoying the hospi-

tality of Bank of Ireland at the last Leinster game

v Treviso

JCT Team 2014/2015

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Update on Sporting Activities

Basketball

First and Second Years reached the semi-final stages of their

respective competitions, they did well and it was a successful year

for all teams.

Track and Field

Several students competed in the East Leinster Championships.

Soccer

This year saw 1st year, 2nd year , 4th and 5th year take on other schools in friendly soccer games while also participating in their own in house leagues. The 1st years played John Scottus three times, twice on the astro and 1 on the grass.

2nd years played Sandford park but unfortunately didn’t come away from the game with the Win.

While 4th year and 5th year combined to play john Scottus and won easily enough. They have also been playing in an in-house league, where there is 6 teams, and 42 players. It was played every Friday for the past few weeks and has been a great success.

Hiking

The school did two hikes this year— Bray to Greystones and Stepaside to Enniskerry. Looking to organise more hikes next year. Keep an eye out on the school website and school twitter for more information.

Golf

The school entered the Leinster School Golf competition during the year and the players performed very well.

Tennis

As always the school entered a minor, Junior and senior tennis teams in the Leinster School tennis Competition.

Completed well.

First years versus St John Scottus in their final game last week

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TY Raises almost €3,500 for Nepal from Bake Sale and

TY Cycle. Ishan Prasai (Nepal native), Mati Remi and

Sean Keane presenting a cheque for €3445 to Laura Gal-

lagher and Anna Marie O'Carroll from Irish Red Cross, for

the Nepal Disaster Relief Appeal, raised through TY Cake

Sale.

TY Raises Money for Nepal

School Concert Photos

Our talented sons and daughters is never more visible than when it comes to performing, and this is demon-

strated regularly in St. Conleth’s through the regular school concerts and the monthly buskers corner. Music is

now firmly ensconced in the hearts of the students and there is never a shortage of performers as

in the recent school concert with various performers doing classical music, rock, singing, bands,

and our now famous juggling.

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6th Year Graduation

A farewell to our sixth years—their graduation took place in the school hall on Friday 16th May. It was a

very enjoyable event with prayer, song, speeches, entertainment, prize-giving, photos and lots of fun.

Graduation Class 2015

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School Captain’s End of Year Speech

The following is the speech that Conor White, school captain, gave at the graduation.

It is an immense privilege to be able to address you this evening. Indeed, every single day of the last 6 years has been such an honour. From first thing on a Monday morning to the Sunday evening before school, and every mo-ment in between, coming into school has been something to look forward to, without exception.

We started First Year on a particularly wet day in 2009, with the school still a building site. Six years ago you couldn't possibly have expected the multitude of memories that we've accumulated.

One off events like 4th year trips into town or to Carlingford, or sports days

and retreats will always stand out. Yet, the everyday memories are just as endearing and enduring – whether it be lively lunchtime conversations, chats with teachers in the corridors, or trigonometry in Herbert Park.

As a year we are on the cusp of St. Conleth’s history. Two years from now, the TYs will never suffer the psychological scars of the 4

th year musical. The

nightmares of the ‘bevy of beautiful maidens’ will never stop, where Ryan’s fishnet tights, Jordan's accentuated features and Theyo's meticulous makeup deserve particular mention. Soon after that rehearsal, we were lucky enough to gets some new classmates. The arrival of the girls was nothing short of hilarious. For the first few weeks, there was a strong gravitational pull drag-ging the girls to the front of form class, in a well-calculated escape from us, the well-intentioned gurriers and blaggards.

But of course, the girls have been such a great addition to the year from the moment they arrived. We would be lost without them. Their mysterious lunches, their impromptu chats with Ms. Killen and their carte blanche to escape to the bathroom, will all remain unsolved enigmas. In 6

th Year, we’ve had a marvellous culmination of everything that

defines the St. Conleth’s experience. For many even the last few weeks have been special, with the opera a highlight and last Friday’s match a memorably unjust humiliation.

We’ve also had moments of reflection and contemplation. This year we suffered the loss of Ms Brotelande, an inspir-ing teacher loved by so many in Sixth Year. I don’t know about anyone else, but hardly a day passes by when I don’t think of Neil. As a year we were so fortunate to have the opportunity to spend time with someone so fun loving, gen-erous and kind. There are still few words than can quantify the April of two years ago. It’s my belief, though, that those feelings will forever be surpassed by the outstanding impression left on all of us. The diversity of Quinlo’s phe-nomenal impact was articulated so well a few minutes ago and he continues to influence us.

We are a year with an abundance of talent. In the last 12 months alone, we’ve had a League of Ireland Man of the Match, a supporting role in a multi-million euro box office success, and one of the Irish Independent’s top Irish illus-trators. Similarly, we have a crowd of musicians and artists, whose talents never cease to astonish us, on top of master sportsmen and sportswomen and an endless list of all sorts of virtuosos of different kinds.

I know for certain that many of my predecessors’ graduation speeches have made reference to the three words on the school crest - something we tend to forget about unless it is pointed out, in the past most probably by Mr Peter Gallagher. As Sixth Year’s favourite Latin student, I feel obligated to mention our motto fide et fortitudine, with faith and fortitude.

St. Conleth’s has given us a faith in our own abilities and potential, trust in each other and belief in the future. At the same time we depart with strength in our character, in our capabilities, in our principles and in our confidence as indi-viduals and as a year. There are few better ways to conceptualize St. Conleth’s than with those few words. As we go in our own separate ways next month, the ability to have such a mind-set will continue way beyond the Conlethian chapter of our lives.

To leave in such a way demonstrates the profound outcome of our collective time here – whether it be two, six or even 13 years.

I will miss Ireland’s cheapest tuck shop. I will miss attempting to make shockingly bad jokes about the lateness of classmates living a literally few doors down. But most importantly, I will miss all of the amazing people here.

I’d like to thank everyone who has made our incredible time in St. Conleth’s possible - our terrific teachers and dedi-cated staff, all of our five form teachers over the years, and our parents who remain our constant champions. Finally,

thank you to all my classmates; friends who have always been so kind, entertaining, and brave and have been an overwhelming delight to know. It has been a pleasure to be your school captain and even more of a pleasure to have spent six extraordinary years in a dynamic little school on Clyde Road with such incredible company.

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6th Years at the opera accompanied by Mr Peter Gallagher,

Ms Sheppard, Mr Carvill, Ms Dolores MacMahon

Thirds Years’ Drama

The show doesn’t stop there for St. Conleth's, in that same week the third years had an afternoon of drama when they attend The Gate theatre production of Romeo and Juliet.

Sixth Years at the Opera

Continuing an time honoured tradition started many years ago by Mrs. Kelleher, Ms. Sheppard invited Sixth Years along to see Madama Butterfly at the Bórd Gáis Theatre in May.

Puccini’s Madama Butterfly is a hugely popular opera staged by the Moscow State Opera and the star attraction, was the Cio-Cio San performed by soprano Celine Byrne, who com-mands a vocal heft and tonal allure.

Our beloved former principal Mr. Peter Gallagher also attend-ed in addition to Mr Carvill and Ms Dolores MacMahon. The boys and girls, of course, were in their finery, perhaps having been inspired by the recent fashion show at the '40 Years of Girls' Night. It was a perfect evening, well-enjoyed and well-behaved by all, and the perfect last hurrah for our Sixth Years before the stretch run into the Leaving Certificate.

A Night at the Opera is a long standing tradition

in St. Conleth's. Pictured are pupils at the Opera

in the Gaiety in the mid 1950's !

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Sports Day Photos

St. Conleth's Senior School Sports day was held in Old Belvedere RFC on Wednesday 13th May. The track in the

usual venue of Irishtown Stadium is being redeveloped so the move was needed. Mr. Keenan as usual was

Commander of Chief for the event; Gavin Maguire with his megaphone was the Master of Ceremonies; with the

teachers tending to their various athletic stations. The stars of the show were of course the students who ran,

walked, threw, hopped their way to glory.

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TY Musical and Graduation Evening

Ogre-sized fun for everyone—what an talented bunch they turned out to be!

Mr. Bolger 's Transition Year wowed parents, siblings and teachers with their

superb production of Shrek the Musical—donning green paint, animal

costumes and lots of comely frocks. Many teachers pitched in to help with

music, slideshows, awards, background, costumes and props. Of course, the

boys were the real stars with Oscar Harley-Monks, Eoin Collins, Cian

O'Connor, Matthew Hassett, Dara Casey, Jamie Lawless, Sean Pettitt, Harry

Swords and the Mati Remi amongst the leads. Everyone, however, played

their part whether in the chorus or in production. Also well done to Ishan

Prasai's for his lovely rendition of Hallelujah and Mati Remi, winner of both the

JP McGilligan award (best all round TY student) and the Neil Quinlan TY

award (distinguished character in TY). You can see the full video of the night here: https://youtu.be/9x5MmPfldUg

Neil

Quinlan’s

mother,

Brenda,

presenting

the new TY

Award to

Mati Remi

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TY 2014/2015—oh! what a year

In 1992, St Conleth’s was one of the first schools to introduce a Transition Year which affords students a unique opportunity for personal, social, educational and vocational development which could not otherwise be facilitated through the normal academic channels. It gives the students a chance to reflect, learn and consider subjects and career options for the future. TY students gain work experience with various companies and organisations for a period of two weeks during the year. Students are also permitted to spend a term abroad in a recognised school to improve their language skills in either French or Spanish. The programme aims to develop the following aspects:

Personal - to develop, mature, and discover more about one’s per-sonal strengths

Social - to become more aware of society and the contribution one can make

Educational - to sample and explore the various subjects available on the Leaving Certificate Programme in order to make more informed choices in the future

Vocational - to experience the workplace and to explore and identify possible career options.

Overnight trip to Carlingford Adventure Centre In early September the TY’s spent two days and a night in Carlingford Adventure Centre. Here they kayaked, laser tagged, high-roped and hiked. They also began to bond as a group.

Sailing in Dún Laoghaire (INSS) The first Friday afternoon module that the TY’s did this year was a certified sailing course with Irish National Sailing School in Dún Laoghaire. This lasted for four weeks. Certified First Aid Course The second Friday afternoon module the TY’s did was a certified first aid course. This was delivered by a trained instructor over an eight week period. Participation in Christmas Fair. The TY’s donated their time during the School Christmas fair , help-ing out with various tasks, which included delivering trees, designing and selling Christmas cards etc. Reached the final eight in AIB Build a Bank programme. The TY Build a Bank team reached the final eight in the regional finals this year. They set-up and ran their own bank branch in the school for a period of the school year. Storytelling with students of St. Bridget’s National School

A number of TY students took part in this unique project over a nine week period. These students would visit and then read for small groups of baby infants in St. Bridget's Primary school on Haddington Road.

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TY 2014/2015—oh! what a year (continued)

Photography Course (9 weeks) A number of students learned the art of photography during their final Friday afternoon module. This course was delivered by a trained instructor. Photos taken by the students will be on display on graduation night. Self Defence Course (9 weeks) A number of students learned the art of self defence during their final Friday afternoon module. This course was delivered by a trained instructor in TNT gym in Blackrock. Thursday trips During the year, the TY students were taken out on alternate Thursday afternoons to learn about and explore many educational attractions that are on their doorstep. Trips included;

Kilmainham jail

The Guinness Storehouse

Skyline tour of Croke Park

The National Gallery

A hike up the Sugarloaf

Dublin Castle

The Wax Museum

The Book of Kells But to name a few!!

Gaisce Throughout the year the boys have been working hard to qualify for a Gaisce medal. They have been learning a new skill, helping out in their community, being physically active, as well as completing a 26k hike in the Wicklow mountains. Over half of the TY group have now quali-fied to be awarded with the medal on

graduation night.

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Parents’ Social Event @ RIYC

On March 20th both Parents' Associations held a joint Parents' Social

Evening in the magnificent Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dún Laoghaire. This

event held in the school’s 75th anniversary year was the first all-school

parents’ social night and it was hugely successful with the sold-out sign

having to be posted before the event. It was a great night, with parents

from across all classes catching up with old friends and making some new

ones.

Page 22

Congratulation to the PPU who held the very successful annual dinner in the school hall in March

The St. Conleth’s College Past Pupils’ Union (PPU) celebrated its 65th Anniversary this year while the school

celebrated its 75th Anniversary. A huge number of Past Pupils, Past School Captains and Past Presidents of the

Union attended the very successful and enjoyable 75th Anniversary School Banquet Dinner in September.

The Past Pupils’ Union held their Annual Dinner on Friday 6th March. Over 190 Past Pupils attended the 65

th

Annual Dinner with the guest speaker, a Past President of the Union, Barry Ward, sharing his reminiscences of

his school days in the 1990’s. The Annual PPU Dinner always takes place in the school on the last Friday in

February or the first Friday in March – depending on the lie of Irish Rugby Internationals.

Whilst all years and their partners are welcome, it is tradition that the

latest graduates from St. Conleth’s attend the dinner for their First

Year Reunion along with the graduating classes that are two and five

years out, as well as milestone graduating years every five years

thereafter up to 60 Year Reunions. As part of the tradition, the PPU

always invites the teachers from both the Junior & Senior School as

their guests and upwards of 20 teachers help make the night a unique

one.

For a school the size of St. Conleth’s, it is remarkable that EVERY

year the PPU Dinner attracts in and around 200 Past Pupils.

Comic: Aidan Dowling

Past Pupils’ Union 65th Anniversary

Page 23

The PPU

St Conleth's Past Pupils Union

website www.stconlethsppu.com

PPU active Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/

stconleths.ppu

PPU Twitter: https://twitter.com/

stconlethsppu

PPU Activities

The 5th Annual Past Pupils’ Rugby Tournament and

inaugural Tag Rugby Tournament took place on the front

pitch in Donnybrook on Easter Saturday and the 40 plus participants

(some) showed their rugby skills off to the crowd.

Lots of other informal events took place throughout the year, with over

20 Classes having catch ups at Christmas. The PPU is very active on

both Facebook and Twitter (see links above). Both are “closed groups”

to keep postings relatively private. The PPU Facebook profile has over

1,250 Past Pupils which is a huge number for a small school especially

as it is a “closed group”. There is also a St Conleth’s Network on

LinkedIn too.

A couple of other events that Past Pupils will be able to enjoy in the

coming months will be the 75th Anniversary Golf Classic in Milltown GC

and there will be a Business Lunch in the Autumn too.

Ronan O’Kelly, president of the PPU, spoke at

the Sixth Years graduation ceremony and invited

them to continue their association with the

school after they graduate by attending the PPU

Annual Dinner next year where they will be most

welcome.

© Aidan Dowling

Page 24

40 years of Girls’ celebration

As part of the 75th Anniversary celebrations and in particular to recognise the contribution that

the girls have made to the school in the last 40 Years (the first graduates were from the Class of

1975), a very special "girls only" evening celebrating these 40 Years was held in the drawing

room and the school on Friday 17th April. event.

Dervilla Austin OBE was guest of honour, a member of the first graduating class from 1975. Dervilla spoke on

how her education in St. Conleth’s provided her a solid basis in life and set her up for her career, not only

academically but most importantly learning how to manage in a predominantly male environment. She paid

special tribute to her maths and physics

teach Michael Manning* (in attendance)

who was highly influential in her choice of

career.

The 5th Year girls modelled fashions of the

last 40 years on a catwalk between the

tables of the over 40 female graduates

from St. Conleth’s. Guests included

virtually every female graduate from the

1970s.

“St. Conleth’s wouldn’t be St. Conleth’s without the girls!” - Isabelle Connolly, Girl’s Captain, Graduation speech May 2015

* Michael Manning can boast that four of his pupils are now professors of Maths – Colm Mulcahy – Spellman University, Maurice O’Reilly St Pats Drumcondra, Duncan Temple Lang – University of California, Adrian Rafftery – University of Washington plus one CBE not bad going!.

Ann

Sheppard

addresses

the group

Page 25

PPU Inaugural Alumni London Dinner

As part of our 75th Anniversary Celebrations the Past Pupil’s Union held an inaugural

London dinner at the magnificent setting of the Cavalry & Guards Club on Saturday 21st February

2015. The club located in Piccadilly (a stone’s throw from Buckingham Palace) has a connection to

Ireland being the club of the Irish Guards Regiment. Ann Sheppard, Peter Gallagher, Pat McGrath,

Seamus Keenan and John Carvill were joined by over forty alumni of St. Conleth’s who are living in

or close to London.

The guest of honour was Major General Richard Cripwell, who graduated in 1979 and is the uncle of

5th Year student Robert and he provided the attendees with many humorous reminiscences of St.

Conleth’s in the 1970’s. In March General Cripwell took up the role as British Defence Attaché to

the United States of America. Also at the dinner was Dr. Brian Beveridge, who attended St.

Conleth’s in the early 1940’s and presented the ‘Galileo Thermometer’, the prize given to the top

Leaving Certificate Science student each

year.

The dinner

was such an

enjoyable

event that it is

likely to

become a

regular

occurrence.

Major General Richard Cripwell

Ann Sheppard addressing the attendees, with Pater Gallagher and

Richard Cripwell

Inaugural PPU

London dinner

attendees

Page 26

Healthy Eating Survey

In conjunction with the school, both Parents’ Associations issued a survey

in May to get parents’ views on our children’s’ eating habits and the cater-

ing facilities available within the school. The survey was made available

via e-mail and the Parents’ Facebook Closed Group. The (free) survey

tool was limited

to 100 responses

which was

reached in a

matter of days.

Some excellent

feedback was

received and

there were some very positive views about the catering fa-

cilities. We are currently working with the school to assess

all of the results and produce an action plan to address any

of the suggestions or improvements.

Breakdown by form/year of the 100 responses received

Our Facebook Group is going from strength to strength—we now have 174 members in the group and people have

been posting about all the happenings, fun and excitement that is St. Conleth’s College. This newsletter is a small

summary of all these great things occurring —if you need a more regular news-fix on all things relevant to parents,

guardians and others

interested in the school, you

are very welcome to join our

Facebook Group. Just

click here (or type it into

your web browser) to join:

www.facebook.com/groups/

ConlethsPA/

Our Facebook Group is a

closed group, meaning that

only members can see the

content. So it is a safe

environment to make

comments and ask

questions and maybe a

good way for people to try

out the social media world.

You can participate in the

group or just see what

others have posted—your

choice. On the left is a

sample of some recent

posts over the past three

weeks.

Join our Facebook Group

Page 27

Supporting our Young Peoples’ mental health

Dr Gillian O’Brien, Director of Clinical

Governance in Headstrong gave an

excellent talk to parents on promoting

good mental health In young people.

Almost 70 junior and senior school

parents packed the conference room for

this really interesting and informative

discussion. Gillian shared with everyone

the concept of the five-a-day guide to

keeping mind and body happy and

healthy, that is equally applicable to all

ages.

Dr. O'Brien gave her services without

change and the parents' association

donated €300 to Headstrong. Thanks to

everyone for attending, we hope you

enjoyed the talk and the chat afterwards.

What is the 5 A Day For Your Mental Health?

1. Connect: Stay connected to people in your life. Talk. Put down the phone and start a conversation.

2. Get Active: Find ways of being physically active. Exer-cise makes you feel better. Walk, Jog, Cycle….

3. Notice: Notice what is going on around you. Take a moment in the day to notice how you feel.

4. Get Involved: Get involved in something new. Make a difference. Make a contribution. Have a say.

5. Give: Make time to help others. Give a compliment. Thank someone. Make someone smile. Volunteer.

The large group of parents who attended the talk

Dr Gillian O’Brien

presenting

Page 28

This is the beautiful new Neil Quinlan perpetual Award: this trophy is awarded for distinguished character in transition year - i.e. a student who has stood out as someone who goes out of their way to help and include others. It is presented in memory of Neil Quinlan RIP whose second anniversary was earlier this month. The trophy was commissioned by the Senior School Parents' Association and was made by a member of the Woods family. It is made of Ash and Purple Heart wood and is loosely based on the Claddagh Ring - the hands of friendship.

In this 75th Anniversary Year, the school commissioned Past Pupil, Stephen O'Dea (Class of 1984) to design this commemorative seat to honour our much loved deceased teachers. The seat is situated in the front garden.

Remembrances and Memories

Belated retirement wishes to Mr. Pat McGrath, a most popular and hugely respected teacher, who is still talked about on a daily basis by staff and students alike. The Parents’ Association recently presented Mr. McGrath with a small retirement gift on behalf of all parents.

As reported in our last newsletter, we were all very saddened to hear of the passing of our former much beloved French teacher and guidance councillor, Françoise Brotelande. Over 200 people from the St. Conleth's wider community - pupils, parents, staff, teachers and past pupils - attended her removal and funeral, showing the great love to which she was held in the school.

Mr. Kelleher taking a

rest on the new

commemorative seat

Pat McGrath and Paul

Allen, SSPA Chairperson

Page 29

Adventures of a Puppy Walker

We’re always interested in hearing about students’ interesting activities outside of school.

Aongus Hegarty told us about his work training Irish Guide Dogs.

Irish guide Dogs for the Blind is a charity dedicated to helping people who are blind and

families of children with autism to achieve improved mobility and independence. They rely on

donations and volunteers to raise and train their puppies until they are about fourteen months

old. Families throughout Ireland take trainee guide dogs into their homes and hearts and rear

them until they are ready for formal training. Once the dogs have been assessed in family and

social settings they go to ‘boot camp’ in Cork for full training as a guide dog or an assistance

dog. This is when the hard work starts for the dogs.

A volunteer puppy walker’s job is to rear the puppy and educate it so it becomes a well

mannered, well adjusted social animal. Daily walks with your own dog, getting used to wearing

a vest or harness, travelling on public transport and going into shops are all part of this initial

training .Volunteers can also provide holiday relief and have the puppy in their homes for a

weekend or longer periods. The upside is you have an adorable dog living with you and your

family. The downside is the dog has to leave your home eventually and return to training. But

they are leaving to become invaluable helpers and heroes in their new life. They go on to give

a better quality of life to their new owners. They improve their confidence and independence,

act as a safety aid and promote calmness. We could all benefit from a guide dog in our lives.

Quigley is training for the guide dog programme and Norin will be going onto the autism

assistance programme.

Aongus Hegarty third year with Norin who is training to be as assistance dog for au-

Quigley after a long walk. Quigley is in training for

the guide dog programme. It's not all work for the puppies in training.

Page 30

The role of the Senior School Parents’ Association (SSPA) is to provide a forum for the interaction between pupils, parents and St. Conleth's College. The association seeks to "inform and consult parents regarding school policy, plans and activities and to organise and encourage parent participation in events of common interest”.

The following are your class representatives for 2014/15: -

1A Ceinwen Reilly

1A Mary Harnett

1B Gina Lenehan

2A Barbara Hughes

2B Rachel McKeown

3A Martina Kelly

3B Grainne Gilleran

4A Philo Hassett

4A Alan Collins

4B Tom O’Connor

5A Cathy Coll

5B Denise Kinsella

6A Paul Allen

6B Bernard Raftery

If you need to contact anyone on the committee the details are available here>>

Your Parents’ Association

You are the Parents’ Association!

Did you know that as the parent or guardian of a current St.

Conleth’s student you are automatically a member of the

Senior School Parents’ Association (SSPA)? Every year all

members of the SSPA are invited to attend the Annual

General Meeting in October. The SSPA committee (typically

2 representatives per class) meets every six weeks in the

school to exchange information and discuss matters of

concern and interest to both parents and the school and

plan event and activities. We plan fundraising and social

events, as well as other ways to support the school and its

students. These meetings are usually attended by the

principal and the school director.

Our Parents’ Association AGM is currently scheduled

for Tuesday 13th October. We will be looking for new

committee members for next year to replace those on

the current committee that retire (automatic after three

years of service) or step-down. There will be a number

of committee positions also to be filled, including a

proposed new Public Relations Officer position to

manage our Facebook group and this newsletter. If

you are interested in finding put more, please contact

your class rep who will be able to give you the details

on the committee.

We hope that members can see the value of the important

work at the committee does on your behalf during the year

and that this newsletter provides you with the information

about this work and our plans. Please do let us know if you

have any suggestions, questions, concerns or ideas or if

you can provide any assistance in any way ...we would love

to hear from you!

Back: Bernard, Rachel, Denise, Barbara, Cathy, Gina and Tom Front: Mary, Martina, Paul, Alan and Grainne. Absent: Ceinwen and Philo.

© 2015 St. Conleth’s College Senior School Parents’ Association Our postal address: Senior School Parents’ Association, St. Conleth’s College, Clyde Road, Dublin 4, Ireland

Page 31

If you have any feedback; would

like to update your details or

include an article in our next

edition then please contact us.

This Newsletter is also available

to read or download online at

stconleths.ie

Suggestion Box

There is lots of information on

the school website and it is

regularly updated. Do check it

regularly

Home page here>>

School News here>>

The School text messaging

service here>>

Useful School Links

Parent’s Queries

We love receiving

queries from

parents which we

look to answer or

address with the

school. Please contact your

class rep who will raise the issue

and provide you with the

response. If there is anything of

general interest we will publish it

here in the newsletter.

Next Newsletter This is our last newsletter of the year, the next one is in November. But if you have any articles, photos, or suggestions for content, please send to your class representative.

Relaunched

School Twitter School twitter feed is excellent

- lots of updates every day

covering both junior and sen-

ior school - click here to see

the feed https://twitter.com/Saintconleths

Girls’ Uniform Tartan “Westgate” has been cho-

sen for skirt /pinafore for new

girls in junior school from Sep-

tember. To date the school has

received over 30 applications

from girls for next few years and

a lot of very positive discussions.

And Finally...

India Expedition Bon voyage to the 10 students and two teach-ers travelling as part of the Expedition to India next week.

At our last committee

meeting two of the expe-

dition students, Sean

Pettit and Sean Keane,

gave the committee

members an update on

their plans and the prep-

arations that they had

completed.

THANK YOU: Thanks to everyone who provided content for this

newsletter, special thanks to the following teachers—John Carville,

Ronan Bolger, Gavin Maguire and Charlie Latvis. Also thanks to Elliot

Browne, 5th Year, who provided many of the student outing photos.