St. Gerard's Senior School Winter Newsletter 2017

Winter News 2017 Edition

Leaving Certificate 2017 • 48% attained in excess of 500 points • 56% attained in excess of 495 points • 72% attained over 450 points • 87% attained over 400 points • 96% attained over 300 points • 8 students attained in excess of 600 points • 1 student attained 8 H1’s – one of only 13 in Ireland to do so • 63% of all HL grades attained were at H1 and H2 • 16% of all grades were at H1 • 47% of all grades attained were at H2 (80% or higher)

Oíche Nollag

Le coinnle na n-aingeal tá an spéir amuigh breachta, Tá fiacail an tseaca sa ghaoith ón gcnoc, Adaigh an tine is téir chun na leapan, Luífidh Mac Dé ins an tigh seo anocht.

Máire Mhac an tSaoi The Sky tonight is lit with the candles of Angels, The bite of the frost is in the wind from the hill, Raise the fire and get yee to bed, The son of God will lie in this house tonight.

Tom Geraghty Headmaster

Recognition should be given to the students, the teachers and the parents for achieving such high standards.

Junior Certificate 2017 Congratulations to the Junior Certificate Class of 2017. The average number of higher honours attained is 7.6 per student.

• 28% attained 10 or 11 higher honours • 54% attained 9, 10 or 11 higher honours • 66% attained 8, 9, 10, 11 higher honours 390 A & B grades were attained at higher level – an average of 4.5 A/B’s per student. We are a mixed-ability school and are extremely proud of the achievements of all our students.

Junior Certificate 2017 High Achievers Congratulations to Michael Flynn (Transition Year) who was presented with the ‘High Achievers Award’ in the Science and Maths Junior Certificate examination.

He got the opportunity to compete at the National Junior Science Olympiad in November but did not qualify as a finalist.

Trinity Entrance Exhibition Award 2017 Well done to Alannah Crowley, Gavin Dowd, Isabelle O’Brien, Killian Beashel, Max Freeney and Susan McParland of the class of 2017 on receiving Entrance Awards from TCD. These awards are given to first year university students who have obtained 560 points or higher in the Leaving Certificate Examinations. The school is very proud of them for attaining these accolades.

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UCD Entrance Exhibition Award 2017 Congratulations to Christopher Finnegan, Conor Furlong, Isabelle Marsh, William Moore and James Peters (Class of 2017) and Sadhbh McCarthy (Class of 2016), who have been awarded an Entrance Scholarship to UCD. These students have been given this award in recognition of their academic achievement in the Leaving Certificate exams, having received at least 560 points.

Senior Debating and Public Speaking Our senior debaters have been busy this term preparing speeches and perfecting their delivery. Harry Curley (Sixth Year), Ciaran Soden (Sixth Year), Emma Beashel (Fifth Year) and Anabel Sweeney (Fifth Year) represented the school in a series of Concern Debates. They debated issues ranging from gender quotas to China’s influence in Africa. Both informative and entertaining, these national debates are among the highlights of the debating calendar.

The team secured two wins and a draw before being put out at the knock-out stages. Congratulations to all students involved!

The Soroptimists Public Speaking competition is an annual competition open to senior-cycle girls. Several schools from the South Dublin and Wicklow region participate with only one girl being chosen to go forward to represent Leinster. Sophie O’Riordan (Fifth Year) secured her place as the Leinster representative. This is a tremendous achievement and testament to Sophie’s hard work and excellent oration skills. She will be competing in the next round of the competition in January, delivering a speech on democracy.

McKinsey Leadership Academy 2017 Terenure and Rathdown Model United Nations Fifth year students are keeping the Model United Nations tradition alive in St. Gerard’s and have taken part in Terenure and Rathdown conferences. With more conferences after Christmas, no doubt these students will continue to flourish in their committees. After finding her feet in TERMUN, Carla Connolly was awarded a well-deserved Distinguished Delegate award in RADMUN. Well-done Carla!

Well done to Hillary Gallagher and Michael Noonan (Class of 2017) who were successful in their application to the McKinsey Leadership Academy at Wellington College, England. Hillary and Michael were two of 100 successful students from across the UK and Ireland. The challenging two-day programme introduced the students to practical leadership and helped them develop the work skills needed for a career in management consulting.

Michael Smurfit School of Business Scholarship Award for Masters of Finance Congratulations to Claire Foley (Class 2013) who has been awarded one of only two scholarships for her Masters in Finance at the Michael Smurfit School of Business.

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International Royal Russell Model United Nations Winners This year a seven strong team of sixth years represented St. Gerard’s School at the International Model United Nations Conference in the Royal Russell School in Croydon. The students represented the delegation of Libya. Harry Curley (Ambassador) made some controversial statements in his opening speech and it certainly set the ball rolling to ensure Libya was regularly recognised in committees and in the general assembly. Continuing with our winning ways at the conference, our delegation received five Distinguished Delegate awards and an overall Highly Commended Delegation award. Congratulations to the team which consisted of Harry Curley, Anna Byrne, Max Baxter, Joshua Dargan Hayes, Cian Kelly-Lyth, Isaac Philips and Mia McCarthy.

PRISM 2017 This year the organisers of the PRISM competition (NUI Galway) set the test for the 19th October. A dozen of our top senior-cycle mathematical problem-solvers sat both papers. Well done to all of our contestants and particular congratulations to Nicholas Pochinkov in Sixth Year who was one of four students (from a total entry of 1,438) who achieved 100%.

ISTA Senior Science Quiz, T.C.D., Third in Ireland

Science week

Two teams from St. Gerard’s represented the school in the regional final of the ISTA Senior Science quiz, which took place in Trinity College, Dublin. Team A comprised Nicholas Pochinkov, John Gleeson and Evelyn Clinton, while Team B comprised Conor Newsome, Mark Burke and Shane Malone Murphy (Sixth Years).

Excellent performances saw both teams qualifying for the national finals, which took place in November. In these National finals, Team A came an impressive third place out of the 50 teams.

Science Week took place in November with students participating in project work, quizzes and even a challenging zip-wire construction competition. The innovative designs generated lots of excitement and, when tested, some of the designs proved more successful than others! Second year students also visited the Dunsink Observatory where Ireland’s greatest mathematician William Rowan Hamilton worked as Astronomer Royal in the late 19th century.

Irish EU Science Olympiad Congratulations to Emma Beashel (Fifth Year) who received the Bronze Medal at the Irish EU Science Olympiad in November and is one of twelve medallists nationally. The top six will be selected to represent Ireland at the EU Olympiad in Ljubljana, Slovenia, after Easter, following a further selection process.

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Junior Debating

French Debating

Junior debaters and public speakers have been extremely active so far this year. Every Wednesday morning First, Second and Third Year students have met in the library to discuss and argue the key ideas of the day. Debates have ranged from Ireland’s taxation system to the morality of zoos, and even whether or not homework should be abolished. Newcomers are always welcome: Wednesday before school in the library.

Pour commencer notre campagne dans les Joutes Oratoires cette année, nous avons gagné contre Avondale Community College, une autre école à Wicklow. La thèse de cette première manche était qu’il faut interdire les zoos’’ et nous étions contre la thèse. Nous avons fait de nos mieux et nous avons pris la victoire. Le deuxième étape était plus difficile et malgré les vedettes dans l’équipe de Muckross, nous avons gagné encore.

La thèse était ‘‘La commercialisation a détruit l’esprit sportif’’ et nous étions pour la thèse. Heureusement, notre argument était très fort et nous avons pris la victoire. Merci beaucoup aux profs Madame Finane et Madame Carrigy parce que nos victoires n’étaient pas possibles sans leur aide. Nous hâtons de la troisième manche !

Rachel Whitten L’équipe : Sabine O’Connell, Jane Loughman, Nicholas Pochinkov et Rachel Whitten.

On a competitive front, our Juniors have represented St. Gerard’s in a number of events so far this year. Three teams have competed in the opening rounds of the UCD Debating Competition. Each team has won a round and as a consequence are in a strong position to progress to the next stage of the competition. The teams consist of Jenn Swan and Bernard Byrne, Mike Gleeson and Jake Wooton and finally Dylan and Murray Sheehan. In the MACE Junior Debating Competition our Juniors were given their topic 20 minutes before the debate itself.

Mike Gleeson and Matthew Thornton spoke excellently at this with Mike finishing a mere seven points off first place.

European Languages Week European Languages Week celebrations got off to a bumpy start this year as Storm Ophelia raged outside. Ideas were put on hold, plans were moved around but we didn’t let the gusty winds blow away our spirits.

On Wednesday 18th October the school came alive with sounds of French and Spanish music and the appetising aroma of European cuisine. Highlights included the popular French and Spanish meals in the dining hall, the First Year French and Spanish quizzes, the traditional French and Spanish breakfasts, pen-pal exchange with our twin school in France, cultural presentations and poster-making. It was a more modest affair than in previous years as we lost two days to La Madame Ophelia but we will be back next year in all our glory, if the forces of nature will allow it.

French Debating Team

Student Council In September, 26 Students were elected to the Student Council. The representatives for each year group meet with the Headmaster once a month to discuss their ideas and current issues within the student body. This term the Council organised the non-uniform day, raising €2,560 in aid of ‘Straight Ahead Ireland’ (a charity which supports those with scoliosis). Preparation for the Christmas Bazaar is the current focus of attention, and council members are busy organising the stalls as well as spreading the word for our crazy-jumper day, both of which are in aid of local charities.

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Overseas Students 2017/18

Sixth Year Irish ú l a n t í , Tí r a l a i n n t r í n a c h é i l e , Our sixth year students enjoyed attending a vibrant a n ó g ar ch á tír n T production of the Irish play “ An Triail”. It was an excellent production by the drama group “Fibín”. It certainly helped the students gain a good understanding of the 1960s in Ireland and how society has changed.

Tá tír na nóg ar chúl an tí, Tír álainn trína chéile, Lucht cheithre chos ag Siúl na slí, Gan bróga orthu ná léine Gan Béarla, acu ná Gaeilge

...

...W hy, the beans he had thrown out of the window into the garden had sprung up into a big beanstalk which went up and up and up until it reached the sky

...

The Literary Magazine launched in October Pa ge 6

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Music Festival

This year’s musical festival was held on the 26th October and once again our students’ musical talent was showcased throughout the evening. Organised by Ms. Owens and Mrs. Olohan, the event comprised of a wide variety of acts, with performances ranging from classical to pop and from jazz to rock. The judges had a difficult job, as we were entertained with an exceptionally high standard.

The atmosphere came to a crescendo as the winners were being announced.

These were, Sani McNally (Sixth Year), Leo McNally (First Year), Conor Balmaine (First Year), Anabel Sweeney (Fifth Year), Jack Joyce (Fifth Year) and Rachel Cullen (Fifth year).

National Poetry Aloud Competition

International Film Festival

This year St. Gerard’s entered a number of students in the National Poetry Aloud competition. This competition is based on a participant’s ability to deliver a moving recital of a poem. The brave students who represented St. Gerard’s, were Jennifer Swan, Murray Sheehan, Ruanne Whitelaw, Aaron Corry and Laura Harmon. The experience of this competition will stand them in good stead for future competitions.

Congratulations to Sean Treacy (Second Year) whose short film entitled “Blood, Sweat and Tears” has been accepted into the International Film Festival in Greece which will take place in December.

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Hospice Coffee Fundraising Morning Congratulations to all of the student body, staff and parents who helped ensure the success of the Irish Hospice Coffee Morning in September. The event raised an impressive €2,133 for the charity, which was the largest sum collected at the annual coffee morning to date.

First Year buddies

Society of St. Vincent de Paul

- Congratulations to the Transition Year students who carried out a bag-packing service in Dunne’s Stores, Cornelscourt, in aid of St. Vincent de Paul, in December. The monies raised will be donated to charities local to the area.

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St. Gerard’s Liturgy To celebrate the opening of the new school year we were delighted to be joined by Fr. Michael Irwin. The theme of our mass was “The Light of Christ”. Our sixth year students took the lead as Ministers of the Word and Ministers of the Eucharist and the Senior School choir ensured we had an uplifting start to the new academic year.

On September sixth, our sixth year students celebrated their commissioning as Ministers of the Eucharist. We are grateful to Ms Elaine Hogan from Shankill parish for working with the students and preparing them for their ministry. To all of the family members who attended this celebration, thank you.

The St Gerard’s Day Mass, and indeed all of our traditional activities, fell victim to storm Ophelia in October. It did however allow Fr. John O’Connor time to return from abroad to celebrate the feast of our school’s patron saint. Our school community was represented by the students who read the Prayers of the Faithful in their native languages: Portuguese, Russian, French, German, Spanish and Polish.

On November 13th we came together to remember our family and friends who have died. Fr. John led the congregation as we celebrated mass and lit candles in the beautiful surroundings of our own chapel.

Thank you to Fr. John, to our teachers, students and parents who have participated so meaningfully in all our liturgies

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Transition Year Report

Fourth Year students began their Transition Year programme with the camping trip to Lough Dan. The cold and wet September weather did not dampen anyone’s spirits and the students returned after three days looking forward to adventures new. Students have embraced the year, immersing themselves in new activities and are developing their TY blogs to showcase what they have done.

Many students are undertaking Gaisce this year, where they learn new skills and volunteer in their community on a weekly basis.

The activities have included a barista coffee-making course, an e-learning Office programme, Steer-Clear and boxing. Our future barristers and solicitors have also signed up for the Public access to Law course, while many others took a five-week tag rugby course culminating in a competition in UCD.

First Aid

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Kairos Day trips have included those to Kairos where they got to develop their media skills in the communications centre, as well as the Open Days to DCU and DIT. Many of our TY students participated in the scuba diving course in the National Aquatic Centre and experienced what it was like to breathe underwater! Our ‘mini companies’ are developing nicely, and some budding entrepreneurs are looking forward to their ‘launch’ at the Christmas Bazaar.

This group of students are showing great social awareness and are keen to give something back to the community. This is evident from the large numbers volunteering to work with local charities through their Gaisce programme and the Young Social Innovators programme. Our YSI group has been busy raising awareness on the issue of homelessness. This year TY students will promote and develop ‘Dignity Bags’, on behalf of Tiglin charity. All students from St. Gerard’s will be encouraged to bring in various toiletries and the TY students will organise the products into packs that can be distributed to those most in need. Students have also collected money for the St. Vincent de Paul through bag-packing activities and completed a letter-drop for the charity, to raise awareness about their Christmas fundraising initiatives.

Students have spent a week on work experience or on community service, and many of them have extended this with extra work during the term. The news that that this year’s TY musical will be “Legally Blonde” was greeted with great excitement. With final casting completed and key roles distributed, with rehearsals beginning in earnest in January, we look forward to an exciting term after Christmas.

kshop

Eagles Flight Wor

Winners of the Christmas Charity Bookmark Design Competition Sarah Murphy & Ella Malone (TY)

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Debutantes 2017

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S p ort s O vervi ew

Representat ive Spor ts Honours: Irish U19 Rugby Congratulations to Cormac Foley who has retained his position as the starting No. 9 on the Irish U19 training squad. Cormac will continue to prepare for the international series, which will take place after the Schools Cup in 2018.

Irish U18 Rugby Well done to Max O’Reilly and Ben Watson who have secured a place on the Irish U18 training squad. They will also prepare for the international matches, which are scheduled for after Easter, 2018..

U19 Leinster Rugby Congratulations to Cormac Foley for his selection to represent Leinster in the U19 interprovincial competition, which took place in September. Cormac helped the squad win the competition having remained undefeated throughout.

U18 Leinster Rugby Max O’Reilly, Ben Watson, and Ethan Baxter all represented Leinster in the U18 interprovincial competition, which took place in September. In addition, Charlie Byrne also made it onto the panel having performed well in the pre-competition friendlies. The boys secured comprehensive wins over Munster, but lost by an agonising one point, in both their meetings with competition winners, Ulster!

SIAB Intermediate 1,500m Steeplechase Congratuations to Roisin Treacy (Third Year) and Aaron Donnelly (Fifth year), who both represented Ireland in the SIAB 1,500 m Steeplechase in Santry, in August. Competing against England, Scotland and Wales, Roisin secured third place and Aaron took fifth place.

U16 Leinster Cross-Country Congratulations to Roisin Treacy (Third Year) who placed second in the U16 Leinster Cross-Country 4,000 meters event in October.

Roisin will now represent Leinster in the All-Ireland Cross-Country competition in December.

U18 Leinster Rugby

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Sp o r t s Overview - Rugby

RUGBY Senior I

The SCT has had a very positive start to the year. The squad remain unbeaten in their league to finish at the top of their table. Notable victories included those against St. Fintan’s Sutton and Newbridge College In addition to gaining an automatic qualification for the Leinster Schools Senior Cup. After securing a comfortable quarterfinal victory over St. Andrew’s College (3013) the boys are now looking forward to their semi-final appearance in Donnybrook in mid-December.

Senior II

The Senior II’s rugby has had a very positive effect on the standard of senior level rugby, with a turnout of over 45 students helping to create a very competitive environment. In addition, fielding two teams at senior level has meant that all players are representing the school week in week out. The II’s have won several of their matches and among them were notable wins over Castleknock College and Newbridge College.

Transition Year

The Transition Year squad are currently fielding twenty-seven players and have won several of their league matches so far this season. They have qualified from their league and are now scheduled to meet Castleknock College in a quarterfinal before Christmas.

Development is positive here with all players responding to their new coach, George Naoupu, who brings a wealth of knowledge from playing with Harlequins and Connaught. The squad will begin their strength and conditioning programme after Christmas.

JCT I

The JCT’s have had a mixed start to the season facing some tough opposition.

Victories over The High School and The King’s Hospital set them up for a quarterfinal with Gonzaga College.

Unfortunately, this was the end of their league campaign; losing the away match 0-5. However, by finishing fourth in their group of the Leinster league they have secured automatic qualification for the Leinster Schools Junior Cup, and now look forward to the draw in early December.

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S p o r t s O vervi ew - R u g by

JCT II

The JCT’s have had a mixed start to the season facing some tough opposition. Victories over The High School and The King’s Hospital set them up for a quarterfinal with Gonzaga College. Unfortunately, this was the end of their league campaign; losing the away match 0-5.

However, by finishing fourth in their group of the Leinster league they have secured automatic qualification for the Leinster Schools Junior Cup, and now look forward to the draw in early December

U15

Both our U15 A and U15 B squads have had a good start to their season. The A’s have taken three from three in their league campaign and the B team has secured two wins from three. Both sides are now in a strong position to secure a place in their respective league finals after Christmas. In addition, their skills and game management are developing nicely in preparation for their JCT season next year.

Numbers at training are consistently high which helps make the training sessions competitive.

U14

The beginning of the year saw a large first year group coming together for the first time to form the U14 squad. With new faces and the demands of secondary school to contend with, it is taking time to get into the swing of things.

The squad, however, is making steady progress and has experienced both the joy of victory and the agony of close defeats. We look forward to getting into the winning mindset in the New Year and the boys look forward to giving you, all the supporting parents, something to shout about!.

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S p o r t s Overview

Cross Country

Rosin Treacy & Aaron Donnelly Schools International Athletics

It has been a very successful start to the cross-country season for St. Gerard’s. In October, St. Gerard’s girls and boys competed in the Clonliffe Harriers CrossCountry competition in Santry.

An outstanding performance was produced by Louise O’Riordan who secured a silver medal in the minor race. The senior athletes produced the performance of the day with Aaron Donnelly placing sixth and Roisin Tracey storming home in first place.

St Gerard’s hosted a very successful Wicklow CrossCountry meet. Our students performed well with the First Year girls, Second Year boys and TY boys’ teams winning best school in their respective age groups. In addition, the Second Year boys placed third overall.

Sailing The school entered two teams in the Inter-Schools Regatta in Sutton Dinghy Club, in September. Despite not winning the event the students gained valuable experience in competitive sailing. The St. Gerard’s School Regatta will take place in May, aiming for all pupils who sail, to enter the event. Pupils without a boat, but who have completed their sailing levels, can borrow a boat for the event by contacting Mr. Jolly directly.

Golf The senior golf team have reached the quarterfinal of the Leinster Schools Stroke play Championship.

The junior squad (Thomas McGovern, Brandon St. John, Marcus Pippet and Shay O’Keefe) had a great win in their section qualifier in Woodbrook Golf Club, and this saw them compete in the Leinster Final of the Irish Junior Championships in November, in Castlewarden Golf Club. Unfortunately, this is where their run ended, with the team finishing 11 points short of the winners. Nevertheless, the team must be commended for reaching the Leinster final, and no doubt, they will be back next year for another go for the Leinster title.

IAME X30 Junior Motorsport Ireland National Karting Championship Congratulations to Sean McCormack (Second Year) who has won the X30 Junior Championship which caters for drivers aged 11-15. The 2017 Championship went down to the wire with Sean clinching victory in the final race which took place at Tynagh track in Co. Galway. This is Sean’s second Irish title and he will now represent his country in the IAME World Finals in Le Mans, France.

Congratulations to Jim Cullen (Second Year) and his dad Des, who won the annual Parent and Child golf tournament. The event took place in Powerscourt Golf Club, and proved very popular again. The event is growing each year, with this year boasting a full time sheet with 26 pairs entered.

An eight-week lesson programme was organised in Dun Laoghaire Golf Club as one of the school’s extra-curricular activities. It proved to be very popular; with over 40 pupils from both senior and junior school attending. Another programme will commence after the February mid-term break.

Please contact Mr. Jolly, if interested.

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S p o r t s O ve r vi e w - E qu es t ri an

Inter-Schools Show Jumping St. Gerard’s has had a great start to the Inter-Schools Show Jumping league this year. Being able to enter teams on a consistent basis has resulted in a welldeserved third position (current standings). There has also been a number of highquality individual performances throughout the season. Special thanks go to Mrs. Bernon for organising the teams, and Lyn Clements for her knowledgeable input.

Millstreet Show Jumping Competition Many congratulations to Mark Finnerty on his winning performance at the Millstreet Show Jumping Competition where he attained first place in the 120cm Young Rider Category and Sixth Place in the 130cm Young Rider Category.

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S po rts Ov e rv i e w - H oc k e y

Hockey Senior I

In the early matches of the hockey season the Senior I’s enjoyed a number of confidencebuilding wins, including those against Alexandra College (3-0) and Loreto Stephen’s Green (4-0).

In the league itself they lost to The High School at the end of September but came back to beat them in the second leg in October. Since then, they have not bean able to secure a win in the face of some strong opposition. They start their Leinster Senior Cup campaign just before Christmas, playing Alexandra College on Wednesday 20th, December.

Senior II

The Senior II’s have played seven matches so far this year, winning three, drawing one and losing three. The most recent match resulted in a good win over Wesley College. The league is still in its early stages and the girls have only played one match, losing to Alexandra College. Despite this loss the II’s have all still to play for after Christmas in the league.

Senior III

The Senior III’s started their season in style with a 3-0 win over Wesley College in September and are one from two in their league so far. The girls saw off their Santa Sabina rivals but succumbed to the might of a strong Loreto, Dalkey team.

Their next match will be away to Rathdown; so the girls will have to be at the top of their game to keep their league campaign alive.

Junior I The Junior I’s had a challenging start to their league campaign, with several draws in the preleague friendlies, including those against Loreto, Foxrock and Loreto, Stephen’s Green. The league campaign is still in its early stages with lots more games to play after Christmas, but so far the girls have beaten Teresians (2-1), but lost to Loreto, Foxrock (0-2). The first round of the cup campaign saw Jennifer Corson lead her girls to victory against The King’s Hospital in a nailbiting decider. In the second round of the cup, the referees interrupted play, deeming the away pitch unsafe as a result of the winter conditions and the match will now be replayed in mid-December.

Junior II The Junior II’s started the season with a comprehensive win over St. Andrew’s College (31) in what was also the first match of their league campaign. They followed this up with another good win over The King’s Hospital before losing their next league match away to a very strong Muckross side. In all, the friendly results have reflected those in the league with three wins and three losses. The most recent result was a 3-0 victory against Rathdown, which hopefully shows the girls are back on form.

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Minor I

Minor lI

First Year

The Minor I’s have played nine matches, won three of them, drawn four, lost two and have a goal difference of plus six! In addition to a 6-1 win over Loreto, Stephens Green, the girls have also won their first league match against Teresians (3-1) and have had a comfortable victory over Mount Temple (3-0) in their regional cup. These results have left them in an excellent position for the remainder of the season!

The Minor II’s have had a challenging season thus far, winning two of their matches, drawing one and losing four.

However, the goal difference is only minus one, reflecting some very tight matches.

The performance of the season to date was away to Mount Anville, where the girls found the back of the net four times while keeping a clean sheet. In their league, the girls have only played one match so far, losing 1-2 to St. Andrew’s, with all still to play for after Christmas.

The First Year squad has over 40 girls attending training, boding well for the future of the team! The focus is very much on development of skills and match technique and so an eight-a-side format is being utilised. This helps to maximise the number of touches on the ball as compared to the traditional eleven-aside format. Four teams (Black, Blue, Gold and Pink) are competing in their own respective leagues, with a total of eight league matches having been played so far. Of these the girls have won four, drawn two and lost two, and have a goal difference of plus 11, showing that they are more than holding their own!

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TERM 3 JANUARY 2018

Mon-Fri 20th-23rd Seachtain na Gaeilge

DATE

EVENT

Thurs 22nd 6th Year Parent-Teacher Meeting

Mon 8th

Term Commences - 8.50am

Easter Holidays

Thurs 11th

3rd Year Parent-Teacher Meeting - 4.15pm

Fri 12th

1st Year & TY visit B.T. Young Sc. Exbo. - 8.45am

Monday 26th March - Friday 6th April incl.

TERM 4

Mon-Tues 15th - 16th 5th Year Retreat to Glenstal Abbey

april 2018

Mon 15th

5th Year Parent-Teacher Meeting - 4.15pm

DATE

Tues 23rd

2nd Year Parent-Teacher Meeting - 4.15pm

Mon 9th

School re-opens - 8.50am

Mon-Fri 9th-13th

TY Work Exp/Community Service (Week 3)

Mon 16th

Incoming 1st Year Parents Evening - 7.00pm

Thurs 19th

Senior Rugby & Hockey BBQ - 7.00pm

Thurs 26th

Summer Concert - 7.00pm

Mon-Fri 29th - 2nd Catholic Schools Week FEBRUARY 2018 DATE Mon 5th

2nd Year Retreat

Wed 7th

Leaving Cert & Junior Cert Mock Exams commence

EVENT

MAY 2018

Tue-Thur 6th - 8th Transition Year Musical

DATE

EVENT

Fri 9th

School ends for Mid-Term - 3.45pm

Wed 2nd

Interschools Sailing Regatta - 2.00pm

Mid-Term Break

Monday 12th - Friday 16th Feb Incl.

Tues 15th

Senior School Family Tennis Tournament - 6.00pm

Mon 19th

School re-opens - 8.50am

Sun 20th

Prize & Sports Day - 12 noon

Mon-Fri 19th - 23rd LC & JC Mock Exams continue

Wed 23rd

6th Year Grad Mass & Valedictory Dinner - 7.00pm

Mon-Fri 19th - 23rd Transition Year Outdoor Pursuits

Thurs24th

TY Parents Presentation Evening - 7.00pm

Mon 26th

Mon 29th

TY Info Evening for 3rd year parents - 7.30pm

1st Year Parent-Teacher Meeting

Mon-Fri 26th - 2nd TY Work Experience / Comm. Service (Week 2)

Mon-Wed 28th-30st TY Retreat Mon-Fri 28th-1st Summer Exam Week for 1 / 2 / 5 Years

MARCH 2018 DATE

EVENT

June 2018

Sat 10th

Careers Interview Morning - 5th years

DATE

Mon 12th

3rd Year Parents Subject Options Evening

Fri 1st

School Year Ends

Wed 6th

State Exams Commence

Mon 19th School Closed - National Holiday for St. Patrick’s Day Tues 20th

Cyberbullying Awareness Day

Annual Winter Ball The St. Gerard’s School Winter Ball took place in November, in The Powerscourt Hotel. €40,000 was raised. Well done to all parents and friends of the school who donated items or sponsored the event. This tremendous effort will help ensure that the Laura Lynn Hospice and the Outreach Programme to Zambia will benefit from the proceeds of the Ball. A sincere word of thanks to the Ball Committee, for organising a special evening for everyone.

This year the Christmas Bazaar took place on the Thursday 14th December. The proceeds were donated to charities who help serve the local community. The activities were all manned by members of the school community.

Well done to all those who leant their support on the evening, giving generously of both their time and money.