St. Pius X Boys' National School
JUNE 2008 NEWSLETTER
Here we are again at the end of another year wondering where the time went. I would like to express my gratitude to the parents for their support throughout the year. I would also like to commend the children for their attitude and application and for their impeccable behaviour.NEW SCHOOL HOURS
Please note that from the 1st September, 2008 our new school opening hours will be 8.45 a.m. to 1.30 p.m. for Junior and Senior Infants and 8.45 a.m. to 2.30 p.m. for 1st Class to 6th Class boys.
STAFF
A special ‘thank you’ to our wonderful staff whose dedication, application, commitment and cooperation has been exceptional.
GRADUATION
I would like to wish the boys of sixth class well as they progress to second level in the Autumn. They have been a credit to themselves and to their parents. We hope they continue to maintain the high standards they achieved while at St. Pius.
SACRAMENTS
First Holy Communion and Confirmation were among the highlights of the school year. The teachers of the 2nd and 6th classes did trojan work in preparing the boys and this was very evident on both occasions. I would like to thank Ms. Mooney, Mr Matthews, Mr Coyle and Ms. Corcoran sincerely for making both days very special for the boys and their families. Both 6th classes donated a considerable sum of money to charity (Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children).
CHOIR
The choir is taking a well earned break for the summer following their hectic schedule this year. The choir has grown in strength and numbers from year to year. There were 56 boys from 3rd to 6th class in the choir this year. The Choir travelled to Bangor in Belfast to participate in the Bangor International Choral Festival. The choir also competed in the Wesley Inter School Music Festival where they came 3rd. The choir was invited to sing at the official opening of Cór Fheile na Scoileanna. We will be very sorry to lose our 6th class boys but we are looking forward to welcoming new members from our 3rd classes in September. The annual end of year choir BBQ was organised for the last week in June.
OLIVER PLAYS TO A PACKED HOUSE
Tickets for the St. Pius production were scarcer than hens' teeth last month. Both nights were completely sold out with the St. Pius Hall full to the rafters. The audiences were not disappointed and gave standing ovations to the budding thespians. Dazzling displays were provided by Oliver (Darren Tormey), Dodger (Joe McCabe) and the entire cast. Some teachers also played parts in the performances: Ian Matthews (Fagin), Sheila Devenney (Bet), Gearóid O'Fatharta (Sykes) and of course our in-house pro, Anne-Marie Elliott (Nancy). All of the boys in fifth class took part.
The spectacle was orchestrated by Anne Purcell who pulled out all the stops in ensuring that the performances were entertaining and memorable. The acting and dancing were terrific and the set, thanks to Celine Crehan and her troop of painters and decorators, and Ronan McCabe (props) looked magnificent. The set thanks to Celine Crehan and her team of painters and decorators looked magnificent. We would like to thank all our advertisers and sponsors and those who helped out in any way. A special word or thanks to Ronan McCabe (props), Alan Finn (Pearl Vision & Sound) and Ronan McLoughliln (Snap Printing) whose generosity was extraordinary. We have DVD of the show on sale at the moment.
SCIENCE
AWARD OF SCIENCE EXCELLENCE 2008 – Second year in a row.
St. Pius X BNS won the Discovery Primary Science Award of Excellence for the second year running. Third and fourth classes were the driving force behind this year’s win. They worked hard throughout the year carrying out experiments, attending and taking part in events such as the BT Young Scientists’ Exhibition, the K’Nex challenge and the ‘Nature in the Park’ project. Brody, Stephen, Darragh and Decland attended the ceremony in Croke Park on Wednesday 4th June to collect the award. Because we have won the award for the second time, we were rewarded with a 100 euro voucher to purchase science equipment.
GOLF
After a very successful year with our golf we are delighted to say that a parent has very kindly donated nine set of children’s golf clubs to the school and has extended an invitation to interested children to be coached in the K-CLUB next year!! We look forward to a very exciting year in golf!
AN POST AWARD:
Well done to the boys in Mr Gough’s 4th class who were runners up in the ‘An Post’ National Story Writing Competition. They won a generous cash prize for the school for their story titled ‘The Mysterious Fog’ . The story can be accessed on our website www.piusxbns.ie.
BOOKLISTS
The booklists have been distributed to each class. If heaven forbid you misplace your copy over the holidays you can retrieve another copy on our website. (as above)
PIUS X BAGS FOR SALE
The latest in Pius accessories are now available from the school office for next term…..these snappy O’Neill’s bags carry the Pius crest and an assortment of zips and pockets. They are simply a “must have” for the new school year!
DIGITAL AWARD
On Friday, 20th June, Minister of State, Conor Lenihan TD made an official visit to BNS to confer our 'Digital School' award. St. Pius X BNS were awarded this for excellence in the use of technology in Education. The award was granted by the National Centre of Technology & Education (NCTE) after a thorough inspection by a NCTE Validator. Everyone was represented at the do - boys from the senior classes, staff, members of Board of Management, Parents' Association and Blackrock Education Centre. A photographer from 'The Echo' was on site so keep an eye on the papers. We were especially delighted to welcome back some of the people who made this award possible. Michael Garvey, whose contacts in HP resulted in the original computer room, Fr. Colleran former chairperson of the BoM who was a great supporter of IT in the school and members of the parents IT support group, Colm O'Keeffe and Sarah Hogan. Also present was Fintan Mahon, designer of our website.
GAELIC FOOTBALL
3rd and 4th Class Tournament
Another successful 3rd and 4th Class Tournament was held this June, the finals being held on Thursday 26th. This inter-class competition attracted the largest number of players to date with a record total of 8 teams taking part. Well done to all players and particularly our 5th Class referees (Joe McCabe, Patrick Cooke, Séan Mahon and Seamus Owens) who did such professional job.
TSS Tournament
Three St. Pius X B.N.S. teams took part in the annual “Templeogue Synge St. G.A.A.” Blitz on 18th June in Bushy Park. The usual stiff competition of St. Joseph’s N.S. were beaten comprehensively in two nail-biting finals, allowing two of our teams to return with impressive silver-ware.
Plans for next year
Next season promises to be an exciting one with two Junior and two Senior teams entering the Cumann na mBunscol (Primary Schools’ League) this September. This is the first time a second Senior team will be compete for St. Pius X B.N.S. This fantastic development is due in no small part to the hard work of the Gaelic Coaching team of Mr. Kerins, Mr. Coyle, Mr. Gough and Ms. Breathnach. Their tireless efforts with training, tournaments and skills development have increased both interest and involvement throughout the school. Together with the support of Templeogue Synge St G.A.A. and their G.P.O. Ciarán Deely, the future of Gaelic Football looks exciting for St. Pius X B.N.S..
HURLING
This year was exceptional for Hurling in St. Pius X B.N.S.. Training began last November with between 70 to 80 kid turning out for each session. It seem that our success last year had sparked a little bit of interest amongst the pupils.
With numbers so high, a second Junior team was entered. The Junior Navy team won two out of their four games and narrowly missed out on qualifying for the semi-finals.
Our Junior Green team stole the limelight once again this year, winning the Corn Uí Mhaoláin. This was our second year in a row to win our Junior division. Two weeks after our win, we had our presentation night for the successful tema. Stephen Hiney presented the medals to the boys and a great evening was had by all.
Our senior team also had a fine year. They finished sencon in the group stages which put us through to the semi-finals. Unfortunately we came up against a very strong St. Pats. Team and were beaten. The boys can certainly hold their heads high as they represented the school brilliantly all year.
Our 1st and 2nd class blitz was played off in early June. A super day out was had by all of the 76 kids who took par. Some super hurling was on view throughout the day. We also ran a 3rd and 4th class same week. This proved equally successful as about 65 boys took part. Unfortunately the weather didn’t hold up. However, the boys played on through the lashing rain.
Two of our 6th class boy, Éanna Burke and Fionn Malin made it onto the Dublin schools team which was managed by Mr Robinson. Both of the boys played extremely well and represented their county with pride.
A big Thank You to all staff for the support at games all year roung. Also thanks to the four coaches this year, Gearóid Ó Fátharta, Brian Dillon, Gráinne Corcoran and Pat Robinson.
We would also like to acknowledge the support of all parents, especially Jim Power who sponsored the jerseys, Fintan Mahon who too photos on the big day and Martin Hayes who supplied us with sliothers and also gave us the use of the Astra field in Tymon over the winter.
St. Pius X B.N.S. would like to express their appreciation to Faugh’s GAA club for their ongoing support of the development of hurling in the school. We are very sorry to see David Needham leaving and would like to thank him for his effort with all classes ranging from Senior Infants right up to sixth classes. We would also like to welcome our new coach, Seán who took over from Dave this year. Faugh’s club are always generous to our school and this year is no exception as they are supplying the school with a new set of jerseys.
Finally, thank you everybody involved in the Hurling this year. It has been our most successful year to date and one can only look forward to even better things to come in the future.