HAPPY CHRISTMAS FROM ST PAUL’S
Dear Parents / Guardians,
Happy Christmas and a very Happy New Year. I hope that you and your family manage some rest and relaxation during this Christmas period.
This newsletter, as always, will give you a sense of all that happens in St Paul’s. Not everything that happened since last August is captured here, but there is a very good flavour of all that is available to the girls. St Paul’s is a busy school community where much happens every single day. There really is something for everyone if they choose to get involved in one or more of the activities. We encourage every girl to join at least one group or club, as busy students are happy students, in our experience. Extracurricular activities are a great way to avoid stress overload.
The next highlight on our calendar is the production of ‘Matilda, the Musical’, the TY musical for this school year. It will take place on 21st, 22nd, 23rd, and 24th January 2025. Tickets will go on sale shortly after we reopen to students on 7th January 2025. Looking forward to seeing you there with your daughter, and we can guarantee a wonderful evening.
St Paul’s, Greenhills will be 60 years in existence in 2025, and we have some celebrations planned to mark this significant anniversary.
In the meantime, my very best wishes for a happy and peaceful 2025.
Geraldine Troy (Principal)
Read all about some of the great charitable works by the St
School Community this term.
TOP SCHOOL
We are delighted to announce that St Paul’s Secondary School has been, again, named as top ranked ‘feeder-school’ in the Feeder Schools League Tables for our high progression rates to Third Level. We wish all our past pupils the very best in their studies.
TRADE FAIR
The Annual Christmas Trade Fair returned with great entrepreneurship and creativity on display!
Paul’s
TEAMHOPE SHOEBOX APPEAL - FILLING BOXES WITH LOVE AND HOPE
The St. Paul’s Community led by the RE department is proud to have collected Christmas Shoeboxes for donation to vulnerable children for over 20 years.
Since 2010 we have worked with Team Hope a charity that is based in Ireland and is committed to a world where children are able to fulfil their holistic potential, free from the injustice of poverty, discrimination and inequality.
Team Hope distribute donated shoeboxes to communities less fortunate than our own. They focus on Africa and Eastern Europe, where children’s lives are still heavily impacted by poverty and inequality.
Rang Bríd (6th Year) have helped to coordinate the appeal in our school over the last three years. As a school community, we collected 43 filled shoeboxes for the 2024 campaign. A big thank to all of those students and staff who so willingly get involved with this worthwhile campaign every year.
The cost is:
EVENING STUDY
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SUPERVISED STUDY IS FOR YOU!!
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GET ALL YOUR HOMEWORK DONE BEFORE YOU EVEN LEAVE SCHOOL!
APPLICATION FORMS AVAILABLE FROM MS KING
CLASS OF 2024 - TOP PROGRESSION RATES!
Congratulations to the Class of 2024! 104% of the Class of 2024 are now engaged in Further and Higher Education. You might say that 104% is a mathematical impossibility (and our Maths teachers would agree!) but these figures incorporate those who attended St Paul’s and have begun their Higher Education this year.
These courses in a range of Universities and Colleges include studies in Animation, Accounting & Finance, Advertising & Marketing, Animal Care, Animal Physiology, Architecture, Arts, Biological Science, Business Studies, Chemical Science, Communications Studies, Computer Science, Culinary Arts, Design & Visual Communication, Early Childhood Education, English with Creative Writing, General Nursing, Geography & Human Development, Interior Design, International Business & Languages, Law, Law & Accounting, Legal Studies, Media Production & Digital Arts, Media Studies, Medical Administration, Medical Science, Mental Health Nursing, Pharmaceutical Science, Primary Teaching, Psychology, Science, and TV & Film Production.
We are immensely proud of each and everyone of you and your superb achievements. We wish you the very best in your studies and future careers!
GREEN SCHOOLS TEAM UPDATE
At St. Paul’s, we are committed to making our school greener, and this term, the Green Schools committee has been hard at work bringing that vision to life!
Halloween Swap Shop
In October, we hosted a Halloween Swap Shop where students could drop off old costumes and pick up new ones. This fun event encouraged recycling and helped reduce waste during Halloween. It was great to see so many students get involved and embrace the spirit of sustainability!
Christmas Door Decorating
For the festive season, we organised a Christmas Door Decorating Competition with a green twist. Form classes were challenged to use only recyclable or sustainable materials for their designs.
The creativity and effort shown by students and staff were amazing! Members of the Green Schools committee promoted the event, created posters, and judged the competition. Pictured below are the three finalists. Well done to all and a special congratulations to Rang Déarbhla who were overall winners.
Litter and Waste Focus
We are currently focusing on the Litter and Waste theme as part of the Green Schools program. Our goal is to reduce waste, encourage recycling, and promote a cleaner environment. These events are just the beginning of our efforts to make St. Paul’s a more eco-friendly place.
We’re proud of the enthusiasm and dedication shown by everyone, and we look forward to continuing our green efforts in the New Year!
Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!– The Green Schools Committee
CAREER GUIDANCE UPDATE - COLLEGE AWARENESS WEEK
· All Mentoring programmes have gotten off to a great start - these include our Teacher-Sixth Year Mentoring, 6th-3rd Year Mentoring, 5th-2nd Year Mentoring and our TY Buddies working with our First Years. Our mentoring programmes promote pathways to college for all students, as well as study skills, quizzes and a weekly Homework Club.
· All Transition Year students completed Aptitude Testing. The results of these will help them in January to choose their subjects for senior cycle.
· We held our CAO presentation to 6th year parents/guardians on the 19th November via Zoom. We hope you all found it an informative evening.
· CAO: The majority of 6th year students have now completed their CAO applications. Just a reminder the early closing date is the 20th January for a reduced fee.
· PLC: Post Leaving Certificate course applications are now open in most colleges. It is important to apply early to these as they are in high demand.
· 6th Year students have had speakers from NUI Maynooth, Trinity College Dublin, TU Dublin, UCD, St Patrick’s Pontifical University, DCU and Crumlin CFE. We hope these presentations have given students an insight to the many courses and options available to them.
· We had a successful College Awareness Week from 18th to 22nd November with events for students in all year groups.
· Four TY students, Summer Ryan, Halla Elsibaei, Anna Furman and Amelia Salapatek took part in the CuriosiTY Programme, a work experience week at UCD Conway Institute of Biomolecular and Biomedical Research and Systems Biology Ireland in UCD. They found it a very informative and enjoyable experience.
· Applications are open for 5th year students to apply for the Future You Mentoring Programme with UCD starting in January 2025. We would encourage all students to apply.
CHINESE CLUB - THE TY TAKEOVER!
It has been a great first term for Chinese Language and Culture in St. Paul’s. As a first for the Chinese Club, each event that took place was organised and run by a group of Transition Year students. It started outs as a trial run for the first couple of weeks, however off the back of the success of each event, it has been established as a key component of their 10-week Chinese modules.
How does the TY Takeover work? They begin their Thursday morning Chinese classes by forming groups and filling out an event planner. Once they are satisfied with their ideas in class, they are assigned one Tuesday lunchtime slot. Students waste no time designing posters to promote their events and advertisements continue until the event takes place.
Following their Chinese Club event, they evaluate their projects in class, and the baton is passed on to the next group for the process to be repeated. Transition Year students have benefitted from this. Several students were delighted to develop their leadership and organisational skills, while working within time frames. To quote, ‘This has helped me a lot for when I do Work Experience’. From karaoke to video game showcases, and from fortune cookie making to dancing, the Transition Year students are clearly not the only students who have benefited from the Chinese Club takeovers this term. Each event has drawn consistently larger crowds among younger students than Chinese Club events in previous years. When asked about their favourite events, some 1st years replied, ‘I think karaoke or dancing, they were all really fun’.
The TY Takeovers will continue into the new year, but with Chinese Week just around the corner, TY students will shift their focus from being leaders to mentors. While younger students volunteer for Chinatown; TYs will be on hand to make sure they are reaching their potential, so that they too can host Chinese Club events in the
NUACHT Ó ROINN NA GAEILGE
Ag deireadh mhí na Samhna, d’fhreastail an chúigiú agus an séú bliain ar Amharclann Cathartha i dTamhlacht chun léiriú de chuid ‘Caith Amach É’ a fheiceáil. Baineann Caith Amach É le Sraith Phictiúr na hArdteistiméarachta, agus déantar taispeántas grinn de ghach sraith. D’éirigh le roinnt scoláire ón gcúigiú bliain dul ar an stáitse. Bhain na scoláirí an-taitneamh as an léiriú, agus ba léir go chabhraigh sé leo lena gcuid Gaeilge!
MATHS WEEK 2024
This year's Maths Week was a resounding success, brimming with enthusiasm and engagement across the entire school! Students and teachers alike participated in a variety of exciting activities designed to celebrate the beauty of mathematics. Each day kicked off with a brain-teasing daily riddle that had everyone buzzing with excitement. Form classes transformed into hubs of creativity with vibrant Maths Walls showcasing student projects and Real-life maths links. The TShirt design competition displayed a range of inspirational math quotes and maths jokes, choosing a winner was quite the feat. The Math Challenges brought out the competitive spirit, as students worked together to solve complex problems, fostering teamwork and critical thinking. To top it all off, a math-themed movie provided a fun and inspiring look at how mathematics shapes our world. This week long initiative captured the hearts and minds of the whole school community, sparking a newfound appreciation for the subject and leaving everyone looking forward to next year’s Maths Week!
THE MOLLY MALONER’S HISTORY CLUB - SURE IT’D WARM THE COCKLES (AND MUSSELS) OF YOUR HEART!
Last Friday the Molly Maloners Senior History Club met for a Christmas special. We took a trip down memory lane exploring how Dubliners have celebrated Christmas over the past century.
It was an eye-opener to discover how historic events such as the 1913 Lock Out, The Rising, The War of Independence and The Emergency impacted on Dubliners’ Christmas traditions. Perhaps even more interesting though was the fact that, in the face of these seismic political and social shifts, Christmas traditions endured, and Dubliners in 2024 will find themselves doing things that wouldn’t have seemed unfamiliar to Dubliners in 1924.
Despite the novelty of Christmas cards boldly proclaiming “Sinn Fein Aboo!” or the disconcerting images of armed RIC Auxiliary men wishing Dubliners “season’s greetings”, there were relatable aspects. Curfews imposed in 1920 restricted Dubliners’ ability to Christmas shop and sent them shopping by post (in much the same way that Covid restrictions/curfews has us shopping online 100 years on).
Of course, there are certain Dublin traditions that not even war could impede such as the Gaiety Panto which ran December 1916, even as the city was being rebuilt from the ruins of 1916. (I know what you’re thinking, but… “Oh yes they DID!”) Another heartwarming Christmas staple was the sight of children, rich and poor, with their snotty little noses pressed to the glass of the legendary Christmas display in Switzer’s window. (Next time you’re walking past the Chanel display window of Browne Thomas, look up and you’ll see the ornate nameplate of the shop that, for decades, was synonymous with Christmas dreaming for Dublin children). The Mollies had a good giggle at the archival footage of Santa’s televised arrival to Switzer’s in 1983 on his glittery disco roller-skate boot. Yes indeed, Dublin children love a visit to Santa (although only the really lucky ones have the “I saw Santy at Switzers’” badges (now collectors’ items) to prove it.
THE MOLLY MALONER’S HISTORY CLUB continued…
But cities everywhere have pantos and Santa I hear you say. This may well be true, but where other than Dublin could you see an IFA protest blocking Kildare Street with their farmers’ tractors in November, and then returning a week later to set up the Live Crib on Dawson Street the following week?!
It seems that Christmas in Dublin has a civic facet that can even bring the “culchies” and the “Jackeens” together for a few weeks. (And they say there’s no such thing as Christmas miracles!!) Not to be outdone by the Living Crib, the Dublin Northsiders have their own unique tradition - the Moving Crib on Parnell Square, and in true Dublin fashion-there’s a nutty tradition. “Trixie” a well-loved Dublin dog (who was famed as having rescued three drowning people from The R. Liffey) was stuffed and displayed each year amidst the mechanical figures in the Moving Crib as mark of the high esteem in which he was held by Dubliners North of the Liffey. Where else would you get it?!
It would seem that, despite whatever the world threw at them- labour disputes, revolutions, world wars or pandemics, Dubliners rallied. A wartime shortage of wax may have seen the candles disappear from the windows, but measures like the Lord Mayor’s Coal Fund saw to it that the fires still burned in Dublin homes at Christmas. It’s touching to see that such Christmas civic mindedness continues in the shape of The Capuchin Christmas food parcels (and perhaps sobering to read in last week’s “Irish Times” that “We have never run out this early”).
So, this Christmas get out and visit the Live Crib, The Moving Crib and the brilliant Winter Lights organised by The Dublin City Council and, when the bells ring out from Christchurch on New Year’s Eve, pause and marvel at the fact that one of those very bells has been heard by Dubliners since 1738! Us Dubs are quite the traditionalists! To learn more about Christmas traditions in Dublin, check out Three Castles Burning by D. Fallon, “Dear Dirty Dublin” by J. O’ Brien and the oral histories gathered by Kevin Kearns.
The Molly Maloners meet at lunchtimes on Fridays with Ms J O’ Neill in room12. All 4th-6th years are welcome.
STUDENT COUNCIL
The Student Council led the school Christmas Hamper appeal this year. Thank you to every student who brought in an item for their class Christmas Hamper. We collected twenty Christmas Hampers this year. The Student Council delivered these to elderly people who live close by the school. This is such a truly
This is such a special tradition in our school and we are very proud of it. Thank you to all who contribute to keep this special tradition alive.
SENIOR PREFECTS - STEPS TO SUCCESS
Four of our Senior Prefects delivered a lunchtime presentation to 5th years. Their talk was all titled, advice for 5th Years about how to get off to a good start for Leaving Cert. This was an example of Student Leadership, Student Voice and Peer Education, and it was a huge success. Romy, Ava D, Abbie and Ava M spoke so well about their experience in 5th Year and gave great advice. The 5th Years were delighted to receive these pearls of wisdom from the 6th Years and it was a great success.
NOVEMBER, WE REMEMBER
The Ember Team hosted November We Remember this year. Our theme was ‘A Sky Full of Stars’. We had a beautiful poster of the night sky and all students and staff were invited to write the names of their deceased loved ones on a bright yellow star and place it on our night sky poster. This was a very special and poignant way to remember those in our community who have died.
VISIT FROM THE ST. ANDREW’S CLUB
The St. Andrew’s Club came to visit us on Wednesday 4th December. We had the most magical afternoon together. The Ember Team organised this event and hosted our guests on the day.
The Folk Group entertained us with Christmas Songs and some golden oldies. We had a few sing alongs, a bit of dancing and some solo performances from our guests. We absolutely loved this afternoon and it certainly got us
A ST PAUL’S SPOOKTACULAR
HALLOWEEN
Our active school flag student team organised and hosted our 3rd annual Halloween Spooktacular event. It was a whole school event for all students and teacher to enjoy. There was a mixture of traditional Halloween games and more active activities. The active school joined with the P.E. department to raise money to buy new equipment for the P.E. department.
The students and Ms. Farrell worked really hard to organise this event. There was prizes for best dressed form class and teacher. Everyone enjoyed the day and was in a spooky mood.
ST PAUL’S - THE SCARIEST SCHOOL COMMUNITY
WHO DO YOU RECOGNISE?
ST PAUL’S LAUNCHES NEW DIVERSE MINDS TEAM
This year we are launching our very first Diverse Minds Team. We have had two planning meetings so far and will be launching officially in January. The Diverse Minds Team is a team of Neurodiverse and Neurotypical Students.
Our aim is to shine a light on the different ways in which we all learn, so that we will have more of an insight into the Neurodiverse experience. Over the coming months we will highlight one Neurodiversity each month and this will culminate in April with our Neurodiversity Celebration Week.
ACTIVE SCHOOL FLAG UPDATE
Earning our flag!
This year St. Paul’s was awarded the active school flag. We are so proud to be part of this elite club of secondary schools around Ireland that are all involved in staying active. We are currently awaiting our flags arrival and as we are in stage 4 of our active school flag, we will need to work very hard this year in order to retain our active schools flag.
Active school flag- student voice
Last week our active schools flag class joined a zoom call with our Active schools flag mentor, Carol. She asked us about our progress and achievements, along with our future plans for our active schools flag. After our call with Carrol we were awarded with 500 euro for our PE department as part of the ‘Student Voice’ funding programme. We can’t wait to buy different equipment for our school!
THE ARTISTS’ ANGLE - ART DEPARTMENT UPDATE
Preparing for our 60th Anniversary Celebrations
To celebrate 60’s Years since the establishment of St. Paul’s Secondary school, 15 TY students participated in a ‘The Legacy Tree Project” with sculpture artist Glenn Gibson. Students were skilfully guided by Glenn, through a step by step process, learning how to manipulate wire to create individual tree forms on the first day.
Day two saw the group work collaboratively to design and produce a large scale tree, which now hangs proudly at reception. We would like to thank Glenn for his time, knowledge and expertise and to ‘NAPD Creative Engagement” for their funding.
Art Competitions
Congratulations to past pupil Michaela Sombilla & 6th year art student Alanah McKenzie on receiving a highly commended certificate from the Texaco Art Competition 2024 for their fantastic portrait and imaginative compositions.
School Musical - ‘Matilda’
Once again, the stage has been transformed by our incredible TY Art students who have been working hard on the set for our production of ‘Matilda’. Students have been designing and creating several props to be used on the night too. Ticket are on sale now (on line) and in person in the New Year! We look forward to seeing you there!
EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES IN ST PAUL’S - SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE TO ENJOY!
Clubs and Societies Day
Clubs and Societies Day was held on September 5th and proved to be another resounding success, continuing the tradition at St. Paul’s that has flourished over the past few years. Students and club members had the opportunity to showcase the various clubs and sports available at St. Paul’s for the academic year. The
contributing to its success. We are all excited for a year filled with enjoyable activities!
and on the respective year group Teams page,
congratulations to Emily Dolan, Maedbh McGee, and Katie Smyth, three of our 6th-year students who have dedicated themselves to the school team for the past 6 years. Wishing them all the best in their future endeavours.
Basketball
It was wonderful to see the U19 team return to St. Paul’s after a few years, demonstrating the impressive dedication of the students as they progress through the school. Our U19 Basketball squad kicked off the season with an exciting victory against Stratford College in their
In their next matches against St. Conleth’s College, the results flipped. The U16 team emerged victorious in a fiercely contested game, while the U19 team faced a setback against a strong St. Conleth’s squad. This marked the end of the season for our U19 team, but the U16 team advanced to the quarter-finals.
In the quarter-finals, our U16 team achieved a significant victory over De La Salle Churchtown, earning a spot in the semi-finals. Although they were ultimately defeated by Sandford Park, reaching that level of competition was a remarkable accomplishment. Congratulations to all students for their tremendous commitment during the first term while proudly representing the school.
Badminton
The Badminton Club has become very popular on Tuesday mornings from 8:00 to 8:30 AM. The students enjoy the opportunity to engage in a new sport, making it an excellent way to start the day. They are looking forward to arranging an in-school competition in the new year to demonstrate the skills they have developed throughout the year. Thank you to Maedbh and Erin, two of our dedicated sports prefects, for helping with the running of this club every Tuesday morning.
experience in volleyball, all students are welcome to join and participate. Come and have fun while making new friends and improving your volleyball skills!
Volleyball Club
The Volleyball Club meets every second Monday after school in the PE Hall. This club is a wonderful opportunity for students to engage in physical activity, build teamwork skills, and enjoy the sport of volleyball. It is run by students and operates under the supervision of Mr. McLoughlin, who provides guidance and support to ensure a positive and fun environment for everyone involved.
We want to extend a huge thank you to Ava and Abbie, two of our dedicated sports prefects, for their invaluable assistance with the club. Their commitment and leadership help create an enjoyable experience for all participants. Whether you are a beginner or have prior
Athletics
St. Paul’s Athletics team has begun their training sessions, and it's encouraging to see the
HSCL / PARENTS’ ASSOCIATION UPDATE FROM MRS LINDA LESLIE
FUNDRAISING ACTIVITIES
The Parents’ Association have had a very productive year so far running three highly successful fundraising events! The term kicked off with our annual Liberty Clothes Recycling Collection. A huge thank you to the students, staff, our caretaker Fergus and parents who dropped bags to the school. Thank you to Ms. Weldon and her class for helping to load the truck with all the clothes. This fundraiser raised over €500, and we hope to run this event again after Easter.
In our second event, which took place on the weekend of the 13th and 14th December in Dunnes Stores in the Ash Leaf shopping centre, our Parents Association raised an amazing €1784! Over 50 students, parents, teachers, and members of the Board of Management volunteered so generously with their time to participate in our bag packing weekend. The students managed to take a picture with Brian Dowling which was a lovely surprise!
Our school community and Parents’ Association came together with generosity and festive spirit in our annual Christmas Raffle. The event was a resounding success and created such excitement in our school. The raffle featured 40 incredible prizes, including festive filled hampers, gift vouchers and other fantastic gifts generously donated by local business. Special thanks go to our wonderful families, school community and local businesses who supported our raffle. An impressive €1556 was raised!
The success of our raffle would not have been possible without the dedication and good will of our Parents' Association, who gave of their free time to gather gifts, organize and wrap the hampers, sell tickets and conduct the raffle. To everyone who bought a ticket and volunteered their time, thank you for your continued support.
HSCL / PARENTS’ ASSOCIATION UPDATE continued
CLASSES FOR PARENTS
We have had a variety of classes available to our parents in St. Paul’s. Our Makeup Master class proved to be hugely popular, and Emma shared all her tips on how to maintain healthy skin and apply products to achieve impressive results!
We also ran a six-week cooking course with parents dishing up strawberry meringue roulade, shortbread biscuits, butternut squash soup, brown bread, Christmas yule logs and fruity pancakes. Our chef, Jennifer from Crumlin college connected so well with our group of parents. Our fantastic home economics teacher Ms. Kemple ran a Christmas Cookie Workshop on 26th November. We invited the students of the parents to help make and decorate delicious cookies and caramelised festive sausage rolls. This was such an enjoyable and rewarding experience to see parents and their children working together. A huge thank you to Ms. Kemple for giving her time, humour and culinary expertise to our parents and students.
We were delighted that one of our parents, Anne Hynes, volunteered to run a candle design workshop for parents. We produced beautiful Christmas themed candles that went down a treat! Parents were invited to participate in knitting classes, and they created beautiful hats.
We ran our hugely popular Friday fitness classes with Sean Behan. Recently we were able to offer parents fitness classes with DC Personal Training in Greenhills Football club. We are hoping to run yoga classes in the new year, and we will also be inviting parents to a talk from MABS (Money Advice and Budgeting Service) in January to inform parents about budgeting, mortgages, and credit card debt.
ST PAUL’S CONTINUES TO DEVELOP NEW AND ESTABLISHED BUSINESS
PARTNERSHIPS - THANKS TO BUSINESS IN THE COMMUNITY
BANK OF IRELAND MENTORING
Nine of our 5th Years have been selected to join the Business in the Community Mentoring programme for Senior Cycle Students. This year we are delighted to have been partnered with Bank of Ireland. We held our introduction session in Bank of Ireland, Baggot Plaza on Wed 27th November. Ms Gallagher introduced Bank of Ireland to St Paul’s Secondary School so that the Bank of Ireland mentors had an insight into our school. Then the nine students were introduced to their mentor. They had a getting to know you session. Throughout this year the girls will have six mentoring sessions with their mentor. All of these will take place in Bank of Ireland, Baggot Plaza. The girls will cover CV design, interview skills, career and college pathways, skills for the workplace etc. It is an amazing opportunity for these students. We are very excited about the year ahead.
CNP SANTANDER
Ella Connaughton, a 6th Year Student, had participated in this mentoring programme last year with CNP Santander. At a recent Business in the Community event, Ella delivered a speech on the impact that the mentoring programme had on her. Well done to Ella for her wonderful speech. She represented St Paul’s with distinction. This was a very significant event as the speech was delivered to the companies that fund the mentoring programme, so having the authentic student experience reflected was very valuable. Thank you to our Head Girl Tanya who also wrote a speech for this event,
AMAZON WEB SERVICES – THE WORLD OF WORK PROGRAMME
We are delighted to continue this partnership with AWS. This will be our 5th Year with AWS. Twenty five 2nd Year students are in this programme, They are introduced to AWS, and the type of careers that are available. The AWS employess come in to school and talk to the girls about their career pathways and their college journeys. The girls have had two sessions already. The second session was on sustainability and was a great way to get the girls to see how sustainability is such a huge issue for us. We look forward to visiting AWS Head Office on a day trip in February.
ST PAUL’S ‘SPORTS’ NEW SPORTING PARTNERSHIPS!
ROWING IRELAND
Transition year students once again had a 6 week programme with Rowing Ireland. The girls learned the basics of rowing and engaged in class competitions and games. The students gained loads of knowledge and will be hoping to use it in the new year when participating in competitions both indoor and outdoor.
TENNIS IRELAND
Rang Dearbhla got the opportunity to take part in Lunchtime Leaders course over two weeks. The girls learned how to teach and coach primary school kids. The girls will be putting their knowledge to use in new year when coaching local primary school kids. Big thanks to Coach Enzo for all his help and guidance.
FLYEFIT
6th year students were given the chance to engage in a workshop with Flyefit coaches. Students were put through their paces in a circuit class. All students got a goodie bag and a free pass to Flyefit gyms. A massive thank you to Flyefit for giving the girls to oppourinity to participate in this workshop.
PADDLEBOARDING
14 TY students had the chance to try out paddle boarding in Dun Laoighaire as part of European Week of Sport in September. Big thanks to Active South Dublin for getting our girls involved.
GIRLS SQUAD / HER MOVES
Transition year students began a six week girls squad programme as part of PE this year. This is a new initiative from Athletics Ireland and we are delighted to be part of it. The girls got to be part of the promotion video and got a visit from Jodie McCann, Irish Olympian which the girls loved. Rang Deirdre (TY) were selected to film and promote a new intuitive from HER MOVES. The girls took part in various challenges as part of Her Moves Holiday bingo. These videos were then shared on social media to get other schools involved. Watch the videos on Instagram and Tik Tok @Hermoves.
TY BUDDIES GET
FIRST YEARS OFF TO A GREAT FIRST TERM
Congratulations to all the 1st years on completing your first term in St Paul’s. You have settled in so well and have got off to a great start. Starting secondary school and all the changes it brings is one of the biggest events in life. And you have all worked so well together, getting to know each other, all your new teachers and all the ways and workings of St Paul’s Secondary School! You really have been terrific.
I would like to say a huge thank you to the TY buddies for all the work, help and friendship they have given the 1st years. You are a wonderful bunch of girls and should be very proud of yourselves. You have shown great leadership and are wonderful role models for the younger students.
Back in September the buddies met with the 1st years and gave them tips on starting school and told them about their own experiences starting secondary school. They gave them welcome cards and a few treats too!
In October, they all got together and did a quiz called “What we know about St Paul's”. They were all amazing, they knew so much about the school, the teachers, the rooms and the different subjects. There were 50 questions and none of the 1st years would have known any of these questions at the start of September and only a few weeks later they knew them all!! They are so clever; the buddies and I were so impressed!
During College Awareness Week in November, the girls all got together and played games and interviewed each other about jobs and different careers. They were terrific and worked so well together. And had lots of fun!!
And then just before Christmas they all met again and played some Christmas games and had the chats! It is lovely to see them all getting so well and showing such respect and interest in each other.
Every Tuesday we have a homework club. The buddies help the 1st years with their homework and any other schoolwork they want a little help with. They have lunch together and a nice chat and everyone is welcome.
But for now, Christmas is here and a lovely break from schoolwork and homework. I wish all the 1st years and all the buddies a very happy Christmas and look forward to seeing you all again for the chats and fun in 2025.
CHRISTMAS TRADE FAIR - ST PAUL’S VERY OWN CHRISTMAS MARKET
St Paul’s Annual Christmas Trade Fair took place on Friday 13th December. 83 students from 1st, 2nd and 4th Year participated in the trade fair this year and there were 41 different stalls. In October students submitted a prototype of their product, some modified their product after getting advice from their mentor, all groups designed a poster /logo for their business, they cost their product and planned their display for selling their product on the day. We had a range of different products such as handmade Christmas decorations, jewellery, candles, lip gloss , numerous varieties of cakes/ treats and lots more.
The sports pavilion was transformed with fairy lights and into a market for the day, All students in the school had the opportunity to buy items in the trade fair during the course of the day. It was also great to welcome the parents of the students involved and they were entertained by the folk group on their arrival. It was a fantastic day that showcased the wonderful entrepreneurial talents of our students, at the end of the day when profits were calculated all students donated 10% of their profits to Our Lady’s Hospital in Crumlin and we raised 410. Many thanks to all those who made this day such a success.
ST PAUL’S STANDS UP FOR BELONGING THANKS TO TORTHAÍ CLUB
Stand-Up Week 2024 was celebrated from Monday 4th November until Friday 8th of November in St. Paul’s. Stand Up Awareness Week is a national LGBTQ+ anti-bullying week running in postprimary schools In Ireland.
Our Torthaí Club, for LGBTQ+ students and allies, meets every second Tuesday at lunchtime, and it is a welcoming and safe space for everyone. This year Torthaí planned our Stand Up Week activities and celebrations including a Rainbow Hunt, Spill Your Tea Party, Colourful Staff and Student Bake Off and our Rainbow colours non-uniform day linked to the Sustainable
AMAZON WEB SERVICES, CELTIC CONTRACTORS AND DANANN
We were most appreciative to be involved in a community investment programme from AWS. They partnered with two Companies, Celtic Contractors and Danann carry out voluntary work in St Pauls. A group of forty AWS, Celtic Contractors came into St Paul’s on Wednesday 27th November and set to work painting six classrooms on the 10’s corridor and the Sports Pavilion. We really appreciated this investment in our school. This came directly from our five years of partnership with AWS. We had a group of students who had participated in the AWS World of Work programme over the last five years, speak about their experience of the programme. The AWS staff were so impresses with how articulate, confident and capable the girls were. We were so proud of them all. Well done girls.
We are delighted that the work will continue in the New Year when Celtic Contractors will be helping us to finish off our second Autism classroom.
Rang Genevieve and Rang Philomena Trip to the Pantomime
On Tuesday 3rd December, Rang Genevieve and Rang Philomena had a trip into the Gaiety to watch Peter Pan. The Pantomine was superb and the girls really enjoyed it. We finished off the day with a visit to Burger King before making our way back to school. We were delighted to avail of the use of the Garda Community Bus for this trip, thank you to our community garda, Michael, for organising it!
CHRISTMAS CAROL SERVICE AND ST PAUL’S TALENT!
We were delighted to bring this term to a conclusion with our annual carol service. The Chamber Choir and the Folk Group had the whole school captivated with their performances. Thank you to the Senior Prefects who supported the RE Department in the service. This really was a memorable morning, where the true meaning of Christmas was reflected upon.
This was followed by some excellent performances from our sixth years and some ‘brave’ staff members who brought us all the gift of joy before departing for our Christmas break!
