Newsletter June 2019

A MESSAGE FROM OUR PRINCIPAL

A chairde,

We are coming to the end of another at St. Joseph’s C.B.S.  From the 30th of August to the 28th of June we have worked, we have played, we have learned and we have grown. I thank each and every one of you for your help and support throughout the year. It was my first year in the role of principal and relied on the support of the pupils, staff and parents as well as the Board of Management and Parent’s Association to help me learn, grow and develop.  It was a year of great change here at St. Joseph’s when history was made as we welcomed junior infants to our school for the very first time. It is with great pride that we watch those junior infants progress to senior infants after such a successful year.

June is always a very busy month in schools and St. Joseph’s is no exception. As the end of the month draws near it is a good idea to reflect and draw breath and think about our achievements throughout the year, our achievements as individuals, as classes and as a school community. Some of the achievements are academic, some are sporting, or musical or artistic, some about how represent our school, how we conduct ourselves and how we treat each other.  All of this learning is important and some of the best lessons we learn cannot be found in our copies and in our school books.

This week we said goodbye to a wonderful group of sixth class students and we were happy in the knowledge that they were ready and prepared to move on to the next stage of their education.  Every year we say goodbye to some students and staff who will start next year in new schools in the Drogheda area and beyond. To those of you who are leaving us we thank you for your company, your service and your friendship and we know that wherever you are next year you bring something special with you.

We will welcome new students to the St Joseph’s family in August in junior infants and third class and in other classes throughout the school and I know that our boys will help them to feel at home.

During the Summer holidays I ask pupils and their families to remember three things:

  1. Read – Read for pleasure and for fun, read what you like, read to others and listen to others read to you.
  2. Be Safe- at home, with others, on-line, on bikes or near water, take care of yourselves and others
  3. Have Fun- Summer is a time to make glorious memories. Come back in on August 29th and tell us all about it.

 

Míle buíochas agus beannacht Dé oraibh go léir

 

SPORT

The Peter O’Reilly Memorial Cup

 A great day was had in United Park this June in memory of our dear former colleague Mr. O’Reilly. Over 100 pupils from 12 local primary schools took to the soccer field in the 3rd Annual Peter O’Reilly Memorial Cup. A brilliant St. Joseph’s team topped their group, only to be defeated in the semi-final by the eventual winners St. Mary’s who, in an epic final, beat a fantastic St. Patrick’s NS, Harestown team to lift the trophy for a second consecutive year. The tournament was played in a great spirit befitting of Mr. O’Reilly’s name.

A huge thank you to all our school staff who made the event possible and a special word of thanks to Drogheda United for the venue and Moneymore F.C. for the use of their goalposts.

soccer

 

GAA

The Under 13s Gaelic Football team finished off the year on a high by reaching the final of An Corn Bhrian Mac Craith. Unfortunately our boys came up just short against a very strong and skillful St. Paul’s N.S. team. The 22 strong panel, led by joint captains, Eoin McCoy and Joe Clarke, showed the hallmarks of all St. Joseph’s teams – determination,  teamwork and sportsmanship. We loose alot of fantastic footballers this year but the future is bright with some very talented players emerging from both 4th and 5th class. Well done to all the boys who worked so hard all year!

 

CLASS NEWS

R9 Google Visit and Easter Rising Walk

The boys in R9 were treated to a trip to the European Headquarters of Google in Dublin this June. They received a guided tour of the offices, took part in a virtual reality experience and listened to a fascinating career talk from a number of the Google staff. The trip was truly inspirational and many, if not all the lads, came back with aspirations of working in Google or a similar company.

In addition to this, R9 who read the novel ‘The Guns of Easter’ this year went on a 1916 Rising history walk, taking in many of the sites from the book, including: Beggar’s Bush Barracks, the houses on Northumberland Road which were occupied by the Irish volunteers and Mount Street Bridge, where over a four day period during the Rising, 28 British soldiers were killed and over 200 badly injured – two thirds of the total British casualties of the Rising!

The behaviour of the lads was exemplary and this was mentioned to teachers by many of the Google employees. They were blown away by the maturity, respect and excellent questions directed to them from our pupils.

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R11

The boys from R11 in  sixth class recently had a cooking lesson from Tara Walker who appears frequently on Ireland am. They learned how to cook quesadillas, sticky chicken drumsticks and a delicious chocolate biscuit cake.

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R11 and R12
Recently our sixth classes R11 and R12 took part in an art programmer in conjunction with the Highlanes Art Gallery. The boys had to make mini chairs which will be on display in the gallery throughout the summer and were also treated to some traditional and classical Music as part of the project. It was thoroughly enjoyed by all the boys.
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 R6

Sebastian in R6 took part in the local Art competition for the Community Games.He won first prize in his category and represented Louth in the finals of the Under 12 Art in Limerick.

Well done Seb, we are very proud of your achievements!

 

 

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R6 and R7

R6 and R7 visited Oldbridge House in May.

They got a bus to Tullyallen School and from there walked through the new walkway, Belnumber Wood Way, to King William’s Glen, part of the site of the Battle of the Boyne 1690.

After spending some time at Oldbridge House, they walked along the Boardwalk to the ramparts and Dominic’s Park.

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Junior Entrepreneur Programme

R7 took part in the Junior Entrepreneur Programme this year and they produced a stationery kit which proved very popular.They were invited the JEP All Island Showcase Day at the RDS Simmonscourt on 20th May 2019, which was a huge showcase of the projects created by the JEP entrepreneurs. The boys had a great day out and ,as usual, were excellently behaved and can be very proud of themselves and their efforts. Check out the link below for more information about the day and the JEP programme.

 JEP programme

6th CLASSES

Our 6th classes brought the curtain down on their time in St. Joseph’s at their Graduation Ceremony on Monday evening 24th of June in Our Lady of Lourdes Church. The event was wonderfully attended by parents and families of our boys and brought a real sense of occasion to the event. Each class performed a musical piece on the evening while presentations were made by Ms. Bradley for Best Attendance, Sportsman of the Year and Student of the Year. The evening culminated in an emotional medley from the Greatest Showman after which there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Congratulations to all our 6th class boys on their graduation and we wish them every success in the future!

CONFIRMATION

Our Confirmation Ceremony took place on  Thursday 13th of June at which many of our 6th class boys received the blessed sacrament. The ceremony was conducted by Cannon Sweeney and our school Chaplin Fr. Barry Matthews. As always our boys exceeded all expectations with their efforts and made it a very memorable occasion for their families, themselves and our whole school community.

GREEN SCHOOL NEWS

This year we received our 6th Green Flag, for Global Citizenship Litter and Waste. We have all been learning to become better Global Citizens. All classes in the school researched, completed and displayed projects based on the 17 Global Goals.

In June Tom and Jamie from the Green Schools’ Committee accepted the new Green Flag at a ceremony in the City North hotel.

We raised our new flag on 18th June.

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FAREWELL TO OUR 6th CLASSES

 

No matter which road you choose,

No matter how long it may seem,

Let your heart be your guide along the way,

If you want to fulfil your dreams.

 

No matter the detours, road blocks or dark nights,

Continue your hearts desire,

Lift up your torch,

Do not be afraid to set the world on fire.

 

You are the light of a new day,

Shine for all to see,

Carry your knowledge from this day forward,

Blaze a trail for history.

 

No one will ever be quite like you,

Remember this important truth,

We all have a purpose in this life,

One that begins in youth.

 

Who you are now and who you will become,

Is determined by your soul,

With your dreams in your heart to lead the way,

You can conquer any goal!

A SPECIAL GOOD BYE AND GOOD LUCK TO OUR 6THCLASS PUPILS AS THEY LEAVE FOR SECONDARY SCHOOL.

GO NÉIRÍ LIBH!

 HAVE A GREAT SUMMER!

School's out for the Summer!

Posted in St. Joseph's News.