March Edition Nessan’s Newsletter

Just What Happened

Staff ZoneHappy Patrick’s Day

2nd MarchWorld Book Day

Sinead Hourigan from Watch House Cross Community Libraryvisited the school.

2nd MarchHelena Close author of

Pinhead Duffy, The Clever One, was welcomed to St Nessans

Community College 5th March

Transition Year Students in the Limerick City Enterprise Final in

Strand Hotel.6th March

Mayor of Limerick launching Seachtain na Gaeilge

in St. Nessan’s13th March

Ty and third year history class trip to Dublin

13th March Basketball tournament

Rugby blitz.14 March 2012

Second year Girls basketball

St. Nessan’s students and staff take part in Rith 2012

15th Marchu17’s Soccer Vs. Newport

Girl’s Basketball Tornament22nd March

Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate

results posted 26th March

LCA 2 Orienteering Module Ty Fresh

Film Festival27th March

U17 Soccer Vs. Endas2DE visit UL28th March

LCA 1 Soccer Tournament

Once again this year St Nessan’s Community College celebrated Seachtain na Gaeilge .The Art department in the very capable hands of Ms. Murphy (Mile Bhuiochas duit) helped to put the finishing touches on our banner. Junior classes enjoyed the annual ‘bingo’ event and reaped the rewards as they dug deep into the ‘Cisean airgid’.5th Year students enjoyed ‘trath na Gceist’(Quiz) session.

Rith 2012 took off on March 15th and was a great runner. ST Nessan’s was the first group in Limerick to kick off the event and we certainly could be heard singing and chanting our ‘ Amhrain 2012 ’ as we left Thomand Park .We did our school proud with our ‘Oige, Oige , Oige and our ‘Nessan’s Abu’. It was a fantastic morning and we received great support, beeping and cheering from passers-by .Thanks to Mr O’ Brien for sponsoring us and well done to all who ran and supported us .

Those who took part: Ms Patton, Ms Ware & Ms AyresKelly Angley, Christine Canihan, Rachel Cully, Kelsey Duhig, Jade Griffin, Sally Minihan, Emma Roche, Lisa Roche, Angelique Coughlan, Jasmine Davis, Nicole Dundan, Liam Gavin, Dylan Graham, Kelly Grimes, Grainne Hackett, Josephine Hannon, Amber Higgins, Alan Kelly, Sean Kelly, Liam Kennedy, Katie Lowe, Danielle Mee-han, Nicola Murray, Kieran Mc Namara, Shannon O ’Neil, Danielle Quinn, Daniel Ryan, Ellen Tobin HoganMaith thu gach duine….Ms S.Ware (Ri na Gaeilge).

Seachtain na Gaeilge

An example of the many posters designed by the Art Department for Seachtain Na Gaeilge.

Design by Christian Rosenburg

Design by Aaron O Keeffe

Design by Lisa Daly

Design by Nicole Hogan

Staff ZoneCongratulations to

Ms. Carew who recently got married - we wish her all the

best for the future.

We were in Rainbows to help each other and support each other through loss we have experienced in our lives. We talked to each other and to Ms. O’Sullivan who did the Rainbows programme with us for twelve weeks. Over the twelve weeks she helped us to talk about our losses and worries. We all signed a contract at the first meeting in the Meditation room where we prom-ised not to tell anyone what we talked about in Rainbows. We all trusted each other, took turns lighting the special Rainbows candle every week and we got along very well. We thought Rainbows was good because Ms. O’Sullivan helped us with our problems and losses. We got our certificates at the last meeting.At the end of it we had a nice time on our Celebrate Me day in Delta Leisure Centre. The taxi picked us up at the school. When we got to Delta we played following and went rock-climbing and bungee jumping. We had something to eat after that and got back to school and went home. It was a very fun day with our group members – Tyrone, Sophia and the four of us.By Shannon, Rebecca, Michaela and Clodagh (1DA)

RAINBOWS

Green Schools CornerFirstly St. Nessans are the proud owners of the much sought after Green Flag. This is an international flag and it is recognised across all the nations. The huge work and effort put into action by the green schools committee has really paid off. The students within the committee had to also go through a tough interview, with lots of questions and answers. They did themselves and the school very proud. Well done you!!!

National tree week happened 4 -10 March this year. St. Nessans was chosen out of all the schools in Limerick to receive a tree. The Deputy Lord Mayor Mr. Diarmuid Scully presented the tree to the school. A beautiful Rowan tree otherwise known as a Mountain Ash now stands proudly tall in our school court yard. The Rowan tree will produce lovely red berries later in the season which will in turn feed the bird life. We are really lucky!!

After the Easter Holiday the Green Schools Committee will be putting the first of their action days into action. April will see the students of St. Nessans take responsibility and action for their chewing gum habits. Isn’t that a delightful thought! All will be revealed!!

Happy Easter to all the staff and students of St. Nessan’s from the Green Schools Committee

Ms. M. Dennison.

• A house without books is like a room without windows. ~Heinrich Mann• A good book on your shelf is a friend that turns its back on you and remains a friend. ~Author Unknown• Reading is medicine for the soul.• To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life. ~W. Somerset Maugham• Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body. ~Richard Steele, Tatler, 1710• No entertainment is so cheap as reading, nor any pleasure so lasting. ~Mary Wortley Montagu• Books support us in our solitude and keep us from being a burden to ourselves. ~Jeremy Collier • The time to read is any time: no apparatus, no appointment of time and place, is necessary. It is the only art which can be practised at

any hour of the day or night, whenever the time and inclination comes, that is your time for reading; in joy or sorrow, health or illness. ~Holbrook Jackson Happy reading to all Ms.Ware, English Depatrment

A few sayings I came upon for all those book lovers amongst us :

Ms. O’Sullivan asked the class to help organise the February mid-term break Colours’ Day in aid of Self Help Africa, a charity which supports local farming in Africa. She invited Maghnus Collins-Smyth to give a talk to students about his new adventure to support this charity. His website is called sand2snowadventures.com which is a good title because his first big trip was through Africa and he is now heading to the Himalayas and other places.Both myself and Jodi Ryan jumped at the chance to help organise this event. We started by printing nice colour posters which we posted them around the school to promote it. We announced the event over the intercom and reminded everyone to bring in their €2 for a good cause. On the day of the break we went around to all the classes and managed to collect €385 and with the €20 from the school we presented Maghnus with a cheque for €405. He was delighted and said we gave more than any other school he had visited. He gave a great talk on his previous adventures in Africa from Egypt to South Africa and home through Europe via Turkey on a bike with his friends. They overcame

many obstacles and difficulties along the way. They got sick, lost weight, had visa problems and so on but they overcame all these problems to achieve their dream. He and his friends ran 6 marathons in the desert and despite being sick and having injuries they all kept going and achieved a major goal in their lives. He told all of us that we should have our own dreams and goals and not use excuses or let anything stop us from achieving them. We were very impressed with Maghnus because he is a very nice person who gives inspiring talks to young people. We wish him well on his next adventure which starts at the end of March. By Ryan O’Dwyer.

Transition Years show off their event management skills:

On Monday the 27th of March the L.C.A.2 and T.Y. class along with MS. Beaumont and Ms. Ingerton went to U.L. to take part in an orienteering event that was set up by the 4th year P.E. students. It was a really enjoy-able day and there were prizes for the winning teams. All groups came back well before time and we needed entertaining before it was time for lunch. After numerous failed attempts at trying to get drop goals we decided to play a game of rounders. The students really enjoyed this day out especially became it was one of the few hot days we have got this year. They got their lunch in the Sports Arena and then they headed back to school. It was another worthwhile trip and the students were as always a credit to their school. Ms. Beaumont

L.C.A.2 Orienteering

On Tuesday the 13th of March, TY students and 3rd year History students set off on a trip to Dublin. It was going to be a long day but we were all really looking forward to it! The bus was full and we were accompanied by Ms O Brien, Ms.Guinane, Ms Patton and Mademoiselle Despois.Emile from leaving cert also came with us. Our first stop was to Trinity College were we saw the Book of Kells and visited the old library. Exam fever was in the air and we saw all the third level students making their way to the library to study. Our next stop was to the National History Museum were we seen Limericks own Ardagh chalice! We were due at Leinster House at 2:30 where we were met by Dan Neville TD from Limerick who brought us through security. On our way to the Senate we were met by Senator David Norris who recited poetry for us. In the Dáil we saw the Taoiseach Enda Kenny TD debating with Joe Costello .Deputy Kieran O Donnell who organised the visit brought us into the Dáil bar and treated us to minerals and snacks. Our final stop of the day was in Dundrum shopping centre . We had a lovely day out and learned a lot.Jodi Ryan, TY

Trip to Dublin

Congratulations to 1DI on their fantastic entry in this years’ Make a Book Exhibition in City Hall Cork on 28th March last. Their book entitled “Thoughts of a First Year” consisted of a number of Irish and English poems, raps and rhymes. Isabel Baker from the JCSP was very impressed with St. Nessan’s high standard of entries each year, adding that they love to see just how proud and involved the students are in their own entries. The class were awarded with certificates as Make a Book Authors , well done we are very proud of you all and your wonderful behaviour in Cork on the day. A special word of thanks to Ms Brennan for accompanying the class with Ms Kierce-Ayers to the exhibition. Ms. Beaumont

Make a Book Exhibition 2012

LCA 2 with Ms. Beaumont

Spotlight on a StudentHealthy Eating Recipes

Jenny O Connor being presented with her award for recieving the best Junior Certificate results in St. Nessan’s. She is pictured with yearhead Ms. Patton, Guidance Counsellor Ms. O’Sullivan and princpal Mr. O’Brien.

Newsletter Design and Layout: Michael O Connor Newsletter Editor: Marie Toomey ‘Be Cool - Stay in School’ SMILE School Completion Programme

Crab Sweetcorn Fish cakes :serves :: 300g mashed potatoes200g crab meat115g sweetcorn2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley50g breadcrumbsSeasoningPlace mashed potato, fish, corn seasoning& parsley in a bowl & mix well. Shape into 8 cakes, pass through crumbs. Cook under grill or Seal in pan for 1 minute each side & finish in the oven for 15 mins.203kcals, fat 4.62g, saturated fat 0.81g, cholesterol 21.25gmg, fibre 1.82gMs. O Brien

The second year girls’ basketball team did very well this month. They saw off Colaiste Chiarain to make it to the plate final in the University of Limerick on Thursday the 29th of March. Unfortunately they were beaten but they played very well and were a credit to their school. I also have to say a special word about the two first year girls that were part of this team. Thelma Connors and Chloe Kelly were outstanding on both days and showed a maturity beyond their years. I was very proud of all the team and delighted they made it that far. I would also like to take this op-portunity to praise the team captain Kayleigh Barrette for her determination and her ability to never give up. She is always willing to give 110% and like the rest of her teammates, is a pleasure to take on any outings. Finally I would like to thank Nicola Griffin L.C.A.2 for all the help she has given me over the past two years with this team as I would not have managed with out her.Ms. Beaumont.

Second year girls’ basketball.

On Wednesday the 28th of March we held our soccer tournament in the school hall. We started it at 9:45 and it went on until 2:20 there were eight teams involved. Every match that we played was six minutes a side. We did not have a small lunch we played through it but for big lunch we gave the kids an extra ten minutes. I think that the soccer tournament went extremely well there was no messing from any of the kids they all took the soccer tournament very seriously. I kept the score on the school scoreboard while Anthony Quinn wrote the scores on paper incase it went to goal differences at the end of the day. Anthony and I took scores Christopher was the referee, John took pictures and stood at the school sports hall entrance to stop any unwelcome students from entering. The final was between the two teams with the most points. We then gave gold medals to the winners and silver medals to the runners up. The winning team were “the baby blue crew” (who were actually in green) and the runners up were the orange team. The baby blue crew was made up of: Anthony McInerney, Ross Bowen, Michael O’Donoghue, Cian Kileen, Aaron Power and Develyn Young. The Orange team was made up of: Calvin Prendergast, Keith Meade, Christian Rosenburg, Jonathan Roche, Stephen Hannon and Jack Walters.Jody King LCA 1

L.C.A. Soccer tournament.

On Thursday the 29th of March the L.C.A.2 class held a quiz for first year students to raise money for their chosen charity “The Make A Wish Foundation”. This is part of the enterprise module that the L.C.A. 2 have to take part in this session. They have to do a number of different fundraising events and at the end of the year the money raised will be given to the charity. The quiz went very well and the L.C.A.2 class got Easter eggs that they could give to the winning teams. They also come up with all the questions that would be asked during the quiz. The day went very well and they raised a lot of money for the charity. L.C.A. 2 will be holding a number of different fundraising events from now until the end of the year. Ms. Beaumont

L.C.A. 2 Quiz