April Edition Nessans Newsletter

Just What Happened30th April

Junior Cert Art ExamLCVP Work Experience

26th AprilLeaving Cert French

Orals begin26th April

National Finals of the Formula 1

Competition, Dublin25th April

LCA1 Enterprise23rd April

3rd Year Parent Information Night withTutors and Year head

23rd AprilLaunch of Anti-Bullying

Week (ISPCC)20th April

Launch of Word of the Week19th AprilFire Drill19th April

Rachel Joynt Sculpture Apple Words Finalised

18th April5th Year trip to National

Print MuseumTY Kilfinane Activity trip

16th AprilHome Economics

Practical Exam16th April

School Reopens after Easter Holidays

Team Mustang are F1 Champs

Three students from our school beat 25 other teams to the chequered flag at the recent F1 in Schools Technology Challenge in Dublin. Team Mustang made up of fifth year students Dylan Graham, Liam Gavin and Rafat Zakrzewski won the Best Sponsorship and Marketing Award at the national finals in Griffith College Dublin.The competition is run by the Irish Computer Society (ICS) in partnership with Discover Science and Engineering and requires students to design and manufacture 250mm long air-powered F1 racing car and then compete against each other. Over 600 students representing 120 second-level schools from across the country battled their way through the various stages of the compe-tition to reach the finals. In addition to racing head to head, the competing teams were judged on the quality of engineering, portfolio, resource management, marketing, graphic design and sponsorship activities and on a verbal presentation of their work.Team Mustang won their award based on the business expertise they displayed in their presentation, which was considered as important as the engineering aspect.Irish Computer CEO Jim Friars said the standard among entries was exceptionally high.Team Mustang would like this opportunity to thank their main sponsor, Modular Automation from Shannon, who gave generously of their time and resources, as well as financially. We would also like to thank Mr Doyle, Mr Doody and Mike OConnor for help and guidance throughout the entire process. By Liam Gavin (Team Manager)

The date was April 28th. The venue Ennis Cathedral. The early morning sunshine helped to create a beautiful atmosphere when our esteemed colleague and student-popular teacher, Mr. Michael OConnor married the lovely Clare Fitzsimons. From beginning to end this was a joyous occasion and an unforgettable day. The sweet voice of Kate Purcell in the church started the proceedings for a ceremony that was spiritual, joyful and sprinkled with grains of humour by the celebrant, Fr. ONeill. The Armada Hotel in Spanish Point was splendidly bedecked for the reception. The music was great and lively! Many staff members took part in the Siege of Ennis and River-dance was spectacular but alas there were no Michael Flatleys or Jean Butlers.

It was a late night by all accounts (I came home early). A walk on the beach the next morning was the perfect detox to get rid of the cobwebs and clear the head. On behalf of St. Nessans staff and students, I would like to wish Mike & Clare a happy future together. Ms. Anne Kennedy

Wedding Bells!

Staff ZoneGraduation will take place on

Friday May 25th

Summer Staff Lunch 2012

Contact Claire Kierce Ayers

The First of April, some do say, Is set apart

for All Fools Day;But why the people call it

so, Not I, nor they themselves do know.

Business in the Community 2012 (5th years)

Well done to the 3rd Years who selected the latest spate of Board Games for the library. Word games such as Boggle, Upwords and Hangman can be a fun way of developing and reinforcing literacy skills, particularly spelling ability and vocabulary development. Hasbro sponsored this ini-tiative and offered every school that participated in National Board Game Playing Day a voucher for 6 free board games.All the students really enjoyed the day and it is an initiative that we hope to repeat here in the school. Ms M Toomey.

Game On

On the 20th of January Mrs Eleanor Walsh (Schools Liaison Officer BITC) came in to have a talk with a selected group of students from 5DE and 5DI. She came in to talk about a program called business in the Community which is a programme designed to help 2nd level stu-dents to prepare for the world of work. She gave us a short presenta-tion in the demo room and a timetable that we would follow over the next few months. Our first session was on the 24th of January and is was a basic introduction to the program and the people running it. We met Ms Anna Murphy (Access LIT) - Anna was the main woman in charge, she told us about her job, what was to come in the programme and she then brought in a group of LIT students for us to do a short interview with. They came from all parts of the building such as the sports, hospitality, computers/IT and administration departments. On our 2nd visit (24th February) we did CV preparation with Ms Joanne Holland, she showed us how to make an impressive CV and a cover letter and how to improve the one we did in class. At our next session (12th of March) we prepared for the mock interviews by being asked a variety of questions we were told how to act and how not to act in a real interview. Our next visit (28th March) we went and did our mock interviews. There were four different jobs to choose from (sports officer, computing technician, hospitality worker and administration/secretarial. We were marked on how well we did out of 100. Our last session was on the 9th of May. We got back out results of our interviews and got awarded Certificates of Achievement. Four of us got a little extra present for getting the (mock) jobs - Daniel Ryan, Jasmine Davis, Rafal and Ellen Tobin Hogan were all awarded 20 euro gift cards. Mr OBrien came over then and we all had a small lunch to finish everything up. We would like to say a special thanks to Ms Eleanor Walsh, Ms Anna Murphy, Ms Joanne Holland, Ms Linda Barry and Ms O Sullivan for getting us involved in this wonderful programme and last but not least to all our teachers and Ms Patton for letting us participate! Ellen Tobin Hogan.

With regard to literacy here in St Nessans, we are going for the 3 Rs,Raising awareness, Repetition, Role Modelling.The idea is that a new word would go up every week in the GPA; students learn meaning, spelling and the word is used in all classes, by students and teachers alike. Again raising awareness, improving vocab, feeding our Literacy campaign. We have used high frequency words that occur across a variety of domains. These words strongly influence speaking, understanding and reading. Words have been chosen because the student will use them or need to understand them. A standard for choosing tier two words is usually via textbooks and following the next three points: Important for reading comprehension Increase descriptive vocabulary (words that allow students to describe concepts in a detailed manner) Usefulness (can it be used in a variety of different contexts) and is it relevant for the students/subjects

Words that have been used so far - DICTIONARY, EVALUATE, COMPARE, DESCRIBE, LANGUAGE.Ms Marie Toomey.

Word of the Week

Transition Years visit Kilfinane

Transition Year Students recently visited the Outdoor Adventure Centre in Kilfinane where they participated in a variety of activities. Good fun was had by all and the Ghost of Kilfinane even made a guest appearance! Well done to all the Students who took up the challenges set down by the Instructors - Rock climbing, Orienteering , kayaking etc. Thank you to Ms O Connor and Ms. O Brien for coming on the trip and to Mr. O Brien for subsidising it. Ms. OBrien

Green Flag Committee

Dont be a Litter BugGive our school a big Green Hug!

Amanda Barry 2DI

Green is Cool,So is our School!

Amanda Barry 2DI

We are the Clean, Green, Energy Saving machine

Jake Gilligan 1DE

Turn off the power switch,Dont be a power witch.

Adam Keane 1DE

Turn off the Power Save money by the Hour.

Adam Keane 1DE

We should have a Green Flag in school,As it would be so cool,

Recycling, reusing, reducing with haste,After lunch there wont be any waste!!

To be given this honour we would be so proud,

Teachers and pupils would cheer out loud!!

Mark Angley 1DE

Pick the litter off the ground,It has been that way since the

school was found,Put your rubbish in the bin,And help our school to win,

Put your rubbish in the correct bag,And help St. Nessans win the Green

Flag!!!Cillian Cassidy 1DE

Dont be bad,So we can get a Green

Flag,Something we never

had!!Zach Elkurdi 1DE

Spotlight on a Student

Newsletter Design and Layout: Michael O Connor Newsletter Editor: Marie Toomey

Be Cool - Stay in School SMILE School Completion Programme

Height; 5ft 3Weight: 54kgAchievement: Limerick/Banner Material art finalist. One of the youngest 2nd Dans since the club began. Evan began training with Master Gilligan at the age of 7. He has since been training with Master Gilligan for 9 years. Evan has also trained with Grandmaster Ho-Siu Pak who starred in Mortal Kombat. Evan gained his 1st Dan black belt at the age of 13 and recently gained his 2nd Dan Black Belt. He is now one of the youngest 2nd Dan Black Belts in the clubs history. He hopes that one day he will be able to teach his own class. Evan Kelly

St Nessans in Paris

Sore muscles, aching feet and extreme tiredness were the start of our trip to Paris but the beauties and grandeur of the French capital were so delightful that everyone found some-thing to forget the pain in their limbsGrainne loved the French beret style.. Rachel would have stayed a full day in Le Louvre museum. Robert couldnt get enough of Le Metro. Callum ordered baguettes sandwiches in French.. Aaron B. almost had an indigestion with Pains aux Chocolat.. We almost lost Aaron OK.. Nathan was the first one to buy an Eiffel Tower as a souvenir.. Megan and Jenny adored the continental breakfast in the hotel.. Jodi loved Montmartre.. Alyson discovered the world of Paris with her friends.. Tadgh and Adam could not get enough of Space Mountain Lorna did not want to leave Disneyland.. Ross would have stayed another 2 or 3 days.. Sean loved the French food.. Kelsey Rs camera was completely full.. Corina spoke French during the language classes.. Kelsey C. loved Disney-land so much that she almost lost her cousin Kate adored her bed at the end of the day!!! Madame Andre was delighted not to have lost anybody!! Great fun and Great experience for all!! Madame Andre