News - December 2007

HEADLINES:

* CHRISTMAS BAZAAR
* STUDENT STAFF SOCCER MATCH
* ROCK OF JOY CD
* DIOSPOIREACHTAI GAEL LINN
* CO. WICKL0W SECONDARY SCHOOLS CHESS COMPETITION 2007
* ST. GERARD'S WILD GARDEN
* JUNIOR RUGBY CUP TEAM

CHRISTMAS BAZAAR (10th December 2007)

The Christmas Bazaar on Thursday last was, once again, an outstanding success due to the great support it received from the whole school community. In excess of €28,000 was raised for the various charities.

A special word of thanks to Ms. Joan Dobbyn for co-ordinating the Bazaar and to the 5th Year students in particular for their work at the stalls and events.

A special word of thanks also to the Senior School Staff for giving their time, energy and experience to the project and to the Transition Year and 6th Year students who ran stalls and activities for everyone.

Another great success – Well done

Student – Staff Soccer Match (18th December 2007)

Many congratulations to all involved in this wonderful event on Friday last. While the Staff Team were successful and won 1-0, this in no way reflected the efforts of the student body.

May I take this opportunity to sincerely congratulate the 6th Year body on the spirit of the occasion last Friday. They embodied all that is positive in the school and showed a true spirit of inclusiveness and enjoyment which did not go unnoticed.

Well done to all of the students who gave such noteworthy support on Friday.This was a great occasion and well done to all of the 6th Years for their approach to the event and the colour and joy they brought to it.

Rock Of Joy CD (6th December 2007)

Some of the 6th Year students in St. Gerard’s are planning to visit the Rock Of Joy Centre in Uganda this summer and their aim is to raise €15,000, which will be divided between the two schools there.

To help raise this money a group of dedicated 6th years led by Aoife Ní Chuilleanáin has organised the production of a charity Christmas CD in conjunction with the school. The CD features a variety of vocalists of all ages throughout the senior school and with your support we hope to raise the necessary funds.

The CD will be released at the St. Gerard’s Christmas Bazaar on the 6th December and will also be available between 8.15 and 8.45 every morning from the front office from then until the Christmas break. In addition the CD will be available at the Carol Service on the 21st December and if you wish to place an order please email aoife@vocavi.com.

Please visit our “Social Awareness Programme” in the Activites Section of our school website for the background and more information on the Rock of Joy Childrens’ Centre in Uganda.

Díospoireachtaí Gael Linn (21st Nov 2007)

Many congratulations to our Senior Irish Debating Team of Andrew Hozier Byrne, Rebecca Fitzgerald and Dearbhail O’Crowley who successfully won the 1st Round of the Irish Senior Debating Competition in Loreto Dalkey last Thursday evening.

Congratulations and hard luck to the Junior Irish Debating Team of Killian O’Crowley, Rufus O’Brien and Milo Delaney who were most unlucky not to proceed in the Competition following their excellent performance. This was their first time to debate in Irish – well done.

Many thanks to Ms. Ní Mháirtín, Ms. Nic Cana and Ms. Fair for all their work in preparing the students for these debates.

We look forward to the Senior Team’s progress.

CO. WICKL0W SECONDARY SCHOOLS CHESS COMPETITION 2007 (27th November 2007)

Congratulations and well done to Chess team on coming 3rd in the Bray Chess Competition held on November 21st in the Hotel Esplanade.

Congratulations also to Ronan McCarthy – 5th Year – on receiving the “Brilliance Award” the same evening.

St. Gerard’s Wild Garden (29th November 2007)

Congratulations and well done to Form 2A who have planted a Wild Plant Garden adjacent to the wooded area at the rear of the school. The aim of this project is to encourage the promotion of bio-diversity and in doing so, protect our natural environment.

This Wild Plant Garden will provide a very useful and practical resource for students of Science moving forward.

Well done to all involved and to Mr. Reidy for promoting the concept in the school.

JUNIOR RUGBY CUP TEAM (3rd December 2007)

Newbridge 8 St. Gerard’s 7

In a game played in atrocious weather conditions, our Junior Cup Team were most unfortunate to lose by a single point from a late Newbridge penalty in one of the most spirited and heroic performances by any St. Gerard’s Junior Cup Team.

The team now enter the Father Godfrey Cup in January and we wish them every success. The ability is there to win this competition and to qualify for the Junior Cup proper in February.