2016 Board of Management Awards
St. Mary’s College annual Awards Night hosted by the Board of Management, was held on Friday, February 26th. Tribute was paid to the award winners from Sixth Year, class of 2014/2015. The overriding criteria for consideration for these awards were the girls’ exceptional academic achievement and their overall contribution to school life. At an enjoyable ceremony held in the school assembly hall, Board of Management Chairperson, Dr. Moling Ryan and Principal, Rita McCabe, spoke of the honour these girls brought to themselves, to their families and to the school. They are to be heartily congratulated and are living proof of the school’s ethos, which encourages both talent and effort.
In St. Mary’s Leaving Certificate class of 2015, 1 in 4 pupils received 500 points or more in their exams. Well done to the following pupils.
The girls receiving awards were: Amy Barton, Claire Bergin, Mairéad Byrne, Lynn Carter, Fionla Cassidy, Aisling Clancy, Amie Creaton, Gillian Donohue, Ellen Fay, Laura Fleming, Caoimhe Jameson, Janeen Laabei, Aoife Lanigan, Caren Lee, Blanaid Lowry, Claire Malone, Aoife Mather, Lisa Mulvey, Jenna Murphy, Louise Murray, Jennifer O’Donovan, Orlaith Rice, Aisling Sharkey, Emily Sheehan,, Katie Valentine, Sulla Vivia Montes, Leah White and Hanan Woods –
Special awards were given to:
Niamh Herbert, Shauna Keevans, Ellen O’ Donoghue and Kiva Sammon for promoting and exampling the school’s ethos.
Emily Sheehan received the Marie O’Neill award for excellence in Maths and Science.
Orlaigh Behan received the Past Pupils’ Association award.
Aisling Clancy, Emer McCabe, Claire Malone, Muireann Ní Raghallaigh, Hayley Nolan were awarded for their outstanding achievements in an extra-curricular activity.
Anna Fay received an award for achieving 10 A grades, with excellence in Maths and Science, in her Junior Certificate examination 2015.
Doireann Nic Dhonncha (Leaving Cert. 2014) received an award in recognition of her Gold Gaisce achievement.
The Ceremony was attended by the recipients of awards and their guests, by members of the Board of Management, Parent Council, Past Pupils’ Association, Student Council and present and retired staff.
Gaisce 2014-2015
Gaisce was a challenge,
To say the very least,
Activities, skills, involvement in the community,
For either 13 or 26 weeks.
This time last year,
Chrimbo 2014,
We were close to finishing,
Two out of our three.
Like a new years resolution
That we actually had to keep,
Dodgey guitar lessons, the gym or zumba,
We got our cards signed every week.
A test of commitment,
To get involved in new things,
To sit at a table of new people,
And see what we could bring.
The gaisce hike was a two day workout,
More than I've ever done before,
Huffs and puffs and hysterical cries
"Go on without me! I cant take it anymore!"
"Sure it's only a hike, it'll be on flat ground"
Ah but we were naive
Who could forget KPs iconic selfie
With Aine in the muck, knee deep.
Up a hill, down a hill,
"Only one more" Langton lied,
Not to be trusted, "Silly me there's another one!"
They said, acting surprised.
We brought grub to the faraway hostel,
To see what home ec students could muster up,
Licking plates clean in a matter of seconds,
Then a scrap for the golden top bunks.
Early rise to set off again,
"I've never walked so much in my life"
Ploughing ahead, built like machines
With Langton and Wallis trailing slowly behind.
Home in one, blistered piece,
Two stone lighter in weight,
A two day unforgettable trip,
Then we slept for three days straight.
Gaisce was no walk in the park,
Especially not for silver medaller SBC,
We bit the bullet and stuck it out,
And now we've got something to put on our CVs.
We've accomplished something,
Something that we've had to earn,
Well done women, we got what we came for,
Medals, that are well deserved. (by Ruan Gormley)
St Mary's Scholarship Winners
Entrance Scholarships to Universities and Awards to our 2015 Leaving Cert. Students
Well done to all – Go n-éirí an t-ádh libh go léir
Diary of a First Year 2015-2016
The Primary Planet
is a primary school magazine . Róisín McNamee in 1Madagascar, was contacted by the editor of the children’s newspaper, The Primary Planet, in August of 2015. He was looking for a columnist to write about their experiences in first year, as they see it. Apparently, it is a really popular section with sixth class students. The diary would provide an idea of what to expect when pupils go into first year and inform them of a lot of the positives rather than negatives.. The diary was to give an account of all that happens in first year and provide a feeling of excitement and encouragement about the transition to secondary school.
Róisín was asked to write one column for each of the ten months of the school year. Each column has to be approximately 300 words and is written in a diary form. The following some of the columns that Róisín has written.
September 2015 October 2015 November 2015 December 2015
January 2016 February 2016 June 2016
You can subscribe to the newspaper at www.theprimaryplanet.com
All Ireland Quarter Final Basketball
Senior Basketball All-Ireland Cup Quarter Final.
The senior basketball team played Crosshaven from Cork. Crosshaven were to be a tough challenge for the Naas girls as they had a strong team. After a hard tight first quarter the Naas girls changed their defence set-up and this helped hugely. St. Mary's played excellently well together as a team and show great composure on the court, turning over numerous balls in their favour. The girls fought hard and turned the game around in a very strong second quarter. The Naas girls fought until the final whistle and really put on a brilliant display of basketball. Strong performances were seen by all on the Naas team. The game was an exciting one and St. Mary's girls girls came out victorious on a scoreline of 63-36. This enables the girls to progress to the All-Ireland Cup Semi Final which is a big achievement in itself. Well done girls!