SCHOOL NEWSLETTER - NOVEMBER 2013
A Thuiste, a chara,
We welcome back all our students after the mid-term break. We are looking forward to a productive and focused term up to the Christmas holidays. We ask all our parents to read this letter and to make note of the important dates and events coming up.
Road Race 2013! Success!
We congratulate Sam Allen 6th year student who won our Annual Road Race on Thursday 24th October. This fantastic event was again extremely well organised by our PE and Sports Department and we thank all teachers and students who collated the results and times. 460 students took part this year and the overall finishing and completion time of the whole event was the fastest on our records, with all students back at the school within 40 minutes. We congratulate Oisín Fitzgibbon who claimed 2nd place and David Beggy who came 3rd. It was clear to see in the hall afterwards that Mr. Allen, Mr. and Mrs. Fitzgibbon and Ms. Beggy were extremely proud and delighted parents. At our presentation ceremony the school also acknowledged the great contribution to the organisation of the Road Race and his participation in the race by Mr. Patrick Mc Govern. Mr. Mc Govern has completed this race for 30 years in a row and we were very happy to recognise this great record. This event is not possible without the cooperation of the local Garda Síochána who ensure this event is supervised and is safe for all involved. We are very grateful for their assistance.
Student fitness
It is clear from the finishing times of the students that the overall standard of fitness of our students is very high. Quite often students are said to be unfit and not as active as in the past. We are very glad to report that going on the finishing times of the students that this is clearly not the case in Salesian College. We commend and thank all our students for their fantastic cooperation and involvement in the event and look forward to more record breaking times next year.
National University of Ireland Maynooth
We congratulate Salesian College graduates Enrico Murugliano, Matthew Butler and Seán Brady who will be presented with NUIM Entrance Scholarships to the value of €1000 at a special ceremony this week in Maynooth. This scholarship is awarded based on their excellent Leaving Certificate results. All these students received over 525 points. An additional aspect of the scholarship scheme is that a campus apartment is also reserved for the scholar. We hope our former students and their parents enjoy this presentation and ceremony. Comhghairdeas libh go léir.
Robert Clampett & Engineering Technology Teachers Association Award (ETTA)
We are delighted to congratulate Robert Clampett who will receive a National Award from the ETTA for the exceptional standard of his 2013 Junior Certificate Metalwork exam. Robert has been chosen from the thousands of students in Ireland who completed the Junior Certificate Metalwork exam in June 2013 for this exceptional award. It is a wonderful achievement and we are very proud of this acknowledgement and we hope Mr. and Mrs. Clampett enjoy the presentation ceremony on Saturday 16thNovember. We also commend and congratulate Mr.Niall O’Connor who was Robert’s teacher for the Junior Certificate. This award highlights the consistent high results Salesian College has achieved over the years. Well done to all concerned.
Afterschool Study & Evening Study
We encourage all our students, but in particular our exam year students to attend afterschool study. An analysis of our students who have achieved very high academic results over the last 2 years since we have extended our study sessions has clearly shown that the students who attend supervised study achieve high results. We strongly believe this is because the organised and supervised environment helps students focus on their studies, but also allows them to enjoy other hobbies and extra-curricular activities once the study sessions are completed. Forms are available from the Deputy Principals’ office.
Parents' Association Meeting AGM & National Parents Council Post-Primary Annual Conference.
The Parents Association committee for 2013-2014 has been appointed. We wish Ms. Audrey Shelley, Chairperson, Ms. Anne Clarke, Secretary and Ms. Sineád Goss Treasurer all the best in their work this year. We thank all parents who attended the Parents Association AGM on 1st October. Dr. Fergus Heffernan gave a presentation on mental well being for parents and children. There was a fantastic response to this presentation. The Parents Association will attend the Annual Conference of the National Association of Parents Associations in Kilkenny this month. New members are still welcome. The committee meets on the second Tuesday of each month. Parents may also contact the association through the email on the web-site. Members of the Parents Association will also attend the National Parents Council Post-Primary Annual Conference on the 9th of November in Kilkenny. We thank these parents for their commitment to this event.
Anti-bullying workshop
The national programme to introduce the new Anti-Bullying Policy as published by the Department of Education and Skills will begin next week in Celbridge. This information meeting is open to all parents of all schools in Celbridge. It will be held in Scoil na Mainistreach at 7.30pm.
Homework Blitz & In-house exams
During November and December we will conduct a “Homework blitz” where we will ask all parents to check their son’s homework journals every night. To assist us with this initiative all junior students must have their journals signed every night for the next 3 weeks. Our in-house exams are scheduled to take place on Thursday 28th, Friday 29th November and Monday 2nd &Tuesday 3rd December. A full timetable will be posted on the web-site. All junior classes have attended study skills workshops with Ms. Harris and we hope the recommended practices will be put in place to ensure students get in to a good studying routine.
Resource Department- Halloween Social Night& First Year Night -In
Well done to all students and teachers who enjoyed the Halloween Social Night organised by the Resource department. We also commend our wonderful Ceangail and Cinnirí teams who organised a wonderful series of games, activities and entertainment for all our new first year students. These social evenings are very important events which help foster good social interactions and friendships amongst our students.
Droichead
Salesian College is one of the pilot schools for the new National Induction Programme for teachers. The aim of this programme is to support newly qualified teachers during their first few years and to ensure they build on the skills, teaching strategies and methodologies they acquired during their post-graduate teaching course. We hope our involvement in this programme will ensure all new teachers are well prepared and supported as they start out in their teaching careers.
6th year guest speakers from 3rd level institutions.
The Career Guidance department has arranged a series of guest speakers from different 3rd level institutions during the next two terms. These presentations will take place on Mondays. This is a great opportunity for students to ask any questions they may have about that particular educational institution. We thank all parents who attended the CAO information evening and we remind students and parents that it is crucial that they prepare their CAO forms and gather as much information as possible on their potential courses.
Maths Week
Well done to all our students who participated in Maths week. The aim of Maths week in Salesian College was to promote a love and appreciation of all things mathematical. Highlights of the week included the daily puzzles and quizzes set for students, the “Maths is Magic” workshop in Intel and the various examples of how we use maths every day from Facebook to setting telephone numbers.
Projects & Orals exams for Junior and Leaving Certificate exams.
For the following subjects:
Design and Communication Graphics, Engineering, Construction Studies, Metalwork, Geography, History, CSPE, Science and Modern Languages and Irish, all students must complete project work or an oral exam.
This project work forms part of their state examination assessment and it must be completed following strict Department of Education and Skills and State Examination Commission guidelines. For some of these subjects students have already been given the project brief and description along with the deadline for completion and submission of work. Each teacher must confirm for the Department that this work is the student’s own work. We ask all students to make sure they follow their teacher’s time schedule for the production of this work and ensure they adhere to the deadlines they set. The practical element of these subjects gives students a great opportunity to prepare their piece with the view of maximising their results. Please contact your son’s teacher if you have any further queries in relation to their practical course work.
New School in Celbridge & Future Planning
As part of the planning for the building of a new post-primary school in Celbridge, the Trustees and Board of Management will distribute a survey to all primary schools in Celbridge. This will be a fact-finding exercise to look at what are the influencing factors when parents will be looking at what school to send their children to in the future when there will be an option of 3 schools to choose from. A copy of this survey will be distributed by the end of the month.
Literacy & Numeracy
We will begin our DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) Programme this month with our first year students. This will be extended to 2nd years as well.
3rd Year CIMA Business Studies Quiz
Best of luck to twelve 3rd year students who have been competing in an inter-class Business quiz since September. 3 teams of 4 members will now go forward to represent Salesian College in the Leinster heat on November 13th in Tallaght IT. They are: Evin Mc Govern , Patrick Mortell , Daire Power, Conall Ó Foghlú ,Conor Rowland ,Daniel Boyle, Jack Cassidy, James Griffen ,Tom Hannan , Taslim Agbontaen , Brian da Costa , Eoin O’Dwyer.
Transition Year News.
Transition Year students are currently preparing for their Work Experience placements, which take place from November 25th for a two week period. We wish to thank parents and employers for their help in securing and facilitating these placements and have no doubt that for our students the experience will prove to be very valuable.
Some of the activities which the Transition Year students have been involved in so far include the following: Bowling in Palmerstown, visits to Castletown House, Croke Park and Dublin Zoo, French film and French theatre for schools. They will have a presentation on Road safety shortly and a hands-on cookery day in Fairyhouse Cookery School before the end of the month. Deadlines have been given by all teachers for projects and all assignments due in Term 1.
ACRE Christmas Fair 14th & 15th December
The ACRE Project’s Christmas Fair takes place on Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th December 2013 in the Salesian College, Celbridge, Co Kildare. Doors open at 12:00 and close at 17:00 each day. Entry is free.
Items include Christmas plants, jewellery, seasonal gifts, knitwear, crafts and a lot more. There will also be a special Christmas grotto. For further information please contact [email protected] or 01 6272200. The ACRE Project is building a resource area on the Maynooth Road adjacent to Salesian College for the use of the whole local community. This area will focus on gardening, general horticulture, crafts and personal development. It will run courses, including courses for those who are trying to find employment.
Enrolement in Salesian College 2014-2015
On Saturday 16th November, we invite parents/guardians whose sons are interested in enrolling in Salesian College in September 2014 to come to the school to collect a Salesian College Information pack. The Principal, Ms. Kearns and Deputy Principal, Mr. Mc Evoy will be available to present you with this pack. It will include the following forms and policy documents:
Please note that application forms must be fully completed and returned by 6th December 2013. Information packs will not be sent to schools. The school will organise for all applicants to attend the school for a full school tour at a later date. At this meeting students will be given a guided tour of the school and will be able to get an insight into the various subject areas on offer. They will also gain an overview of the many extra-curricular activities in the school. All applicants will be notified of this in advance.
Is mise, le meas,
Ms. B. Kearns, Príomhoide
A Thuiste, a chara,
We welcome back all our students after the mid-term break. We are looking forward to a productive and focused term up to the Christmas holidays. We ask all our parents to read this letter and to make note of the important dates and events coming up.
Road Race 2013! Success!
We congratulate Sam Allen 6th year student who won our Annual Road Race on Thursday 24th October. This fantastic event was again extremely well organised by our PE and Sports Department and we thank all teachers and students who collated the results and times. 460 students took part this year and the overall finishing and completion time of the whole event was the fastest on our records, with all students back at the school within 40 minutes. We congratulate Oisín Fitzgibbon who claimed 2nd place and David Beggy who came 3rd. It was clear to see in the hall afterwards that Mr. Allen, Mr. and Mrs. Fitzgibbon and Ms. Beggy were extremely proud and delighted parents. At our presentation ceremony the school also acknowledged the great contribution to the organisation of the Road Race and his participation in the race by Mr. Patrick Mc Govern. Mr. Mc Govern has completed this race for 30 years in a row and we were very happy to recognise this great record. This event is not possible without the cooperation of the local Garda Síochána who ensure this event is supervised and is safe for all involved. We are very grateful for their assistance.
Student fitness
It is clear from the finishing times of the students that the overall standard of fitness of our students is very high. Quite often students are said to be unfit and not as active as in the past. We are very glad to report that going on the finishing times of the students that this is clearly not the case in Salesian College. We commend and thank all our students for their fantastic cooperation and involvement in the event and look forward to more record breaking times next year.
National University of Ireland Maynooth
We congratulate Salesian College graduates Enrico Murugliano, Matthew Butler and Seán Brady who will be presented with NUIM Entrance Scholarships to the value of €1000 at a special ceremony this week in Maynooth. This scholarship is awarded based on their excellent Leaving Certificate results. All these students received over 525 points. An additional aspect of the scholarship scheme is that a campus apartment is also reserved for the scholar. We hope our former students and their parents enjoy this presentation and ceremony. Comhghairdeas libh go léir.
Robert Clampett & Engineering Technology Teachers Association Award (ETTA)
We are delighted to congratulate Robert Clampett who will receive a National Award from the ETTA for the exceptional standard of his 2013 Junior Certificate Metalwork exam. Robert has been chosen from the thousands of students in Ireland who completed the Junior Certificate Metalwork exam in June 2013 for this exceptional award. It is a wonderful achievement and we are very proud of this acknowledgement and we hope Mr. and Mrs. Clampett enjoy the presentation ceremony on Saturday 16thNovember. We also commend and congratulate Mr.Niall O’Connor who was Robert’s teacher for the Junior Certificate. This award highlights the consistent high results Salesian College has achieved over the years. Well done to all concerned.
Afterschool Study & Evening Study
We encourage all our students, but in particular our exam year students to attend afterschool study. An analysis of our students who have achieved very high academic results over the last 2 years since we have extended our study sessions has clearly shown that the students who attend supervised study achieve high results. We strongly believe this is because the organised and supervised environment helps students focus on their studies, but also allows them to enjoy other hobbies and extra-curricular activities once the study sessions are completed. Forms are available from the Deputy Principals’ office.
Parents' Association Meeting AGM & National Parents Council Post-Primary Annual Conference.
The Parents Association committee for 2013-2014 has been appointed. We wish Ms. Audrey Shelley, Chairperson, Ms. Anne Clarke, Secretary and Ms. Sineád Goss Treasurer all the best in their work this year. We thank all parents who attended the Parents Association AGM on 1st October. Dr. Fergus Heffernan gave a presentation on mental well being for parents and children. There was a fantastic response to this presentation. The Parents Association will attend the Annual Conference of the National Association of Parents Associations in Kilkenny this month. New members are still welcome. The committee meets on the second Tuesday of each month. Parents may also contact the association through the email on the web-site. Members of the Parents Association will also attend the National Parents Council Post-Primary Annual Conference on the 9th of November in Kilkenny. We thank these parents for their commitment to this event.
Anti-bullying workshop
The national programme to introduce the new Anti-Bullying Policy as published by the Department of Education and Skills will begin next week in Celbridge. This information meeting is open to all parents of all schools in Celbridge. It will be held in Scoil na Mainistreach at 7.30pm.
Homework Blitz & In-house exams
During November and December we will conduct a “Homework blitz” where we will ask all parents to check their son’s homework journals every night. To assist us with this initiative all junior students must have their journals signed every night for the next 3 weeks. Our in-house exams are scheduled to take place on Thursday 28th, Friday 29th November and Monday 2nd &Tuesday 3rd December. A full timetable will be posted on the web-site. All junior classes have attended study skills workshops with Ms. Harris and we hope the recommended practices will be put in place to ensure students get in to a good studying routine.
Resource Department- Halloween Social Night& First Year Night -In
Well done to all students and teachers who enjoyed the Halloween Social Night organised by the Resource department. We also commend our wonderful Ceangail and Cinnirí teams who organised a wonderful series of games, activities and entertainment for all our new first year students. These social evenings are very important events which help foster good social interactions and friendships amongst our students.
Droichead
Salesian College is one of the pilot schools for the new National Induction Programme for teachers. The aim of this programme is to support newly qualified teachers during their first few years and to ensure they build on the skills, teaching strategies and methodologies they acquired during their post-graduate teaching course. We hope our involvement in this programme will ensure all new teachers are well prepared and supported as they start out in their teaching careers.
6th year guest speakers from 3rd level institutions.
The Career Guidance department has arranged a series of guest speakers from different 3rd level institutions during the next two terms. These presentations will take place on Mondays. This is a great opportunity for students to ask any questions they may have about that particular educational institution. We thank all parents who attended the CAO information evening and we remind students and parents that it is crucial that they prepare their CAO forms and gather as much information as possible on their potential courses.
Maths Week
Well done to all our students who participated in Maths week. The aim of Maths week in Salesian College was to promote a love and appreciation of all things mathematical. Highlights of the week included the daily puzzles and quizzes set for students, the “Maths is Magic” workshop in Intel and the various examples of how we use maths every day from Facebook to setting telephone numbers.
Projects & Orals exams for Junior and Leaving Certificate exams.
For the following subjects:
Design and Communication Graphics, Engineering, Construction Studies, Metalwork, Geography, History, CSPE, Science and Modern Languages and Irish, all students must complete project work or an oral exam.
This project work forms part of their state examination assessment and it must be completed following strict Department of Education and Skills and State Examination Commission guidelines. For some of these subjects students have already been given the project brief and description along with the deadline for completion and submission of work. Each teacher must confirm for the Department that this work is the student’s own work. We ask all students to make sure they follow their teacher’s time schedule for the production of this work and ensure they adhere to the deadlines they set. The practical element of these subjects gives students a great opportunity to prepare their piece with the view of maximising their results. Please contact your son’s teacher if you have any further queries in relation to their practical course work.
New School in Celbridge & Future Planning
As part of the planning for the building of a new post-primary school in Celbridge, the Trustees and Board of Management will distribute a survey to all primary schools in Celbridge. This will be a fact-finding exercise to look at what are the influencing factors when parents will be looking at what school to send their children to in the future when there will be an option of 3 schools to choose from. A copy of this survey will be distributed by the end of the month.
Literacy & Numeracy
We will begin our DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) Programme this month with our first year students. This will be extended to 2nd years as well.
3rd Year CIMA Business Studies Quiz
Best of luck to twelve 3rd year students who have been competing in an inter-class Business quiz since September. 3 teams of 4 members will now go forward to represent Salesian College in the Leinster heat on November 13th in Tallaght IT. They are: Evin Mc Govern , Patrick Mortell , Daire Power, Conall Ó Foghlú ,Conor Rowland ,Daniel Boyle, Jack Cassidy, James Griffen ,Tom Hannan , Taslim Agbontaen , Brian da Costa , Eoin O’Dwyer.
Transition Year News.
Transition Year students are currently preparing for their Work Experience placements, which take place from November 25th for a two week period. We wish to thank parents and employers for their help in securing and facilitating these placements and have no doubt that for our students the experience will prove to be very valuable.
Some of the activities which the Transition Year students have been involved in so far include the following: Bowling in Palmerstown, visits to Castletown House, Croke Park and Dublin Zoo, French film and French theatre for schools. They will have a presentation on Road safety shortly and a hands-on cookery day in Fairyhouse Cookery School before the end of the month. Deadlines have been given by all teachers for projects and all assignments due in Term 1.
ACRE Christmas Fair 14th & 15th December
The ACRE Project’s Christmas Fair takes place on Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th December 2013 in the Salesian College, Celbridge, Co Kildare. Doors open at 12:00 and close at 17:00 each day. Entry is free.
Items include Christmas plants, jewellery, seasonal gifts, knitwear, crafts and a lot more. There will also be a special Christmas grotto. For further information please contact [email protected] or 01 6272200. The ACRE Project is building a resource area on the Maynooth Road adjacent to Salesian College for the use of the whole local community. This area will focus on gardening, general horticulture, crafts and personal development. It will run courses, including courses for those who are trying to find employment.
Enrolement in Salesian College 2014-2015
On Saturday 16th November, we invite parents/guardians whose sons are interested in enrolling in Salesian College in September 2014 to come to the school to collect a Salesian College Information pack. The Principal, Ms. Kearns and Deputy Principal, Mr. Mc Evoy will be available to present you with this pack. It will include the following forms and policy documents:
- Application Form 2014-2015
- Admissions Policy
- Code of Behaviour
- Anti Bullying Code
- School Brochure & Salesian Wheel Diagram
Please note that application forms must be fully completed and returned by 6th December 2013. Information packs will not be sent to schools. The school will organise for all applicants to attend the school for a full school tour at a later date. At this meeting students will be given a guided tour of the school and will be able to get an insight into the various subject areas on offer. They will also gain an overview of the many extra-curricular activities in the school. All applicants will be notified of this in advance.
Is mise, le meas,
Ms. B. Kearns, Príomhoide