ST. JOSEPH OF CLUNY SECONDARY SCHOOL
Winter Newsletter December 2016
From The Principal’s Desk : Nov/Dec 2016
Welcome everyone to our end of year 2016 Newsletter. As you can see it is shorter than usual as we wish to
give you just a flavour of the many events that have taken place this term in this print format.
The photo’s alone in this edition will give a flavour of the many events that the girls and the staff have been
engaged in this term. We had the very successful “booked-out-every-night” TY Musical ‘Hairspray’ in October!
There was a special day in early October when 21 present Sixth Years with 3 of last year’s Sixth Years took
on the European Parliament in Strasbourg in very successful committee sessions including an address to the
Parliament chamber itself. Fifth Years were on school tour to Rome and Sixth Year were on an Art tour to
Paris at mid-term. Our young Scientists have had a team success for the big January RDS BT Young Scientist
Ms. Mary White
Event and we had BOI Art Competition success. There was great senior and junior participation and success for
the girls in debating and public speaking competitions we also had success in debating as Gaeilge, in French and in Spanish no less. This
is all in the true spirit of holistic education which is a great hallmark of a Cluny education for our girls.
Well done to all the girls this term who have put themselves forward to enter the above events and to the staff who have prepared and
encouraged the girls along the way. Special thanks to the staff who organised and accompanied students on school tour.
Equally successful were the recipients of the Entrance Scholars Award this month ie 5 student Entrance Awards in UCD and one Scholars
Entrance Award in both Trinity and DCU respectively. This was a great tally of awards from last years’ LC class of 2016.
Many thanks also to the Parents Association
Committee who had another very successful
Debs Reception in the school on 27 September
and a great turnout for the PA AGM on 05
October with a very lively presentation from
Brendan Guildea, former DES Maths Examiner
on undertaking the Maths journey at Second
Level!
Looking forward to seeing you all at the
Annual Carol Service on Monday 19 Dec @
8.00pm in the school hall followed by the PA
Mince Pie Reception. Donations will be given
to the annual St. Vincent de Paul Society collection.
Every good wish to all our Cluny students,
parents and staff for your generosity to our
causes in 2016, for the forthcoming Christmas
season and for a very happy and prosperous
New Year.
Student Successes & Events
TY Musical Success ‘Hairspray’
Art & French 5th Year
students Tour of Paris photo
at Sacre Couer full article on
website
TY Musical—Hairspray—Oct 2016
Our Hairspray journey
began mid-August when
we received a text from
the school announcing
the show we would be
performing. We had all
been looking forward to
the musical for months,
so when we got the text
it was all over Snapchat
in minutes.
The excitement built within our year as the auditions approached. We all wondered who would get what part and a week
later our questions were answered when the roles were given
out.
Rehearsals began immediately and quickly went into overdrive.
We spent every Tuesday and Friday morning singing and dancing, while the principles meet on Wednesday and Sunday evenings to rehearse their lines.
Our musical couldn’t have been complete without the boys who
brought their talents to the show and added plenty of fun to the
rehearsals. However, despite their best efforts they never quite
got the knack for dancing!
Once the show started to come together the next thing to organise was the costumes and hair. Hair of course was a big part of
our musical as it was set in the 1960s when the beehive was at
the height of fashion. We spent hours perfecting the art of backcombing and went through cans and cans of hairspray all to
achieve the perfect quiff.
Our costumes consisted of big skirts and lots of colour. Though it
was challenging to gather costumes for every girl in the year, it
was worth it as they looked fantastic on stage. There is a group
of dedicated volunteers who come in each year and help with
costumes and make-up, their efforts were greatly appreciated.
Our show would have been nothing without the fabulous moves
of our Choreographer, Denise, who put us through our
paces. Mr. Moriarty also played a big part in getting us
ready for the stage by making sure we hit every high note
and lyric perfectly all while having fun. Of course, the
show wouldn’t have happened without the endless hard
work of Mrs Burke, our Director.
By the time the week of the show arrived we were all
feeling nervous and excited, but most importantly prepared. Each night backstage was crazy and full of adrenaline but we made it on stage for each scene every night
at the right moment and in the right costume thanks to
the fantastic work of the backstage crew led by Ms.
McAleer and Ms. Grehan.
Ms. Doyle, our TY coordinator, ensured that we got all the
rehearsal time we needed which we greatly appreciated.
We would like to thank Ms. Seymour who kept things
running smoothly at front of house, Annette, for cheerfully coping with the endless stream of tasks behind the
scenes, Martin for help with any problem big or small,
and the school management led by Ms White and Ms.
Lambert, for giving us this brilliant opportunity.
The show was a great success and we have come away
from this experience with amazing memories and friendships. We would jump at the opportunity to strut our stuff
on the stage again.
Caoimhe McManus & Dani Carr
L.C. 2016 Recipients of UCD Entrance Scholars Awards
A proud moment for the school in November.
Photo L-R: Emma Duggan, Isabel Lawlor-Plazas, Ms. White, Pricnipal, Megan O’Toole and Niamh McCarthy.
Page 2
Fifth Year School Tour - Italy 2016
Photos: A view of Positano
Pompeii Ruins
5th Years 2016 outside the Colosseum
We began our trip with a very early – 3 a.m. start. We were
all so excited but once we took off, everyone conked out for
a solid 3 hours. Straight away when we left the airport, we
drove to Pompeii.
I didn’t realise but this is an actual town, along with the ancient ruins. We were given about 1 ½ hours to have lunch
and wander around for a bit before we entered the ancient
part. Some of us went to a small pizzeria where we got pizzas for €5! It was the nicest pizza I had ever eaten. Our tour
guide met us at the entrance to the old town. We got a tour
through the ancient amphitheatre that had been partly restored, and we walked the streets of the ancient town. This
was amazing as you could imagine what the town would
have been like before the eruption.
When we left Pompeii, we drove to Sorrento along the beginning of the Amalfi Coast. When we had nearly arrived, there
was the most amazing sunset over the bay of Naples. We
arrived at the hotel at around 7 and after dinner we went for
a walk down to the very windy marina.
Breakfast was at 7 the next morning and after that we started our drive along the Amalfi Coast. It was so stunning and
people definitely got some good instaworthy pictures along
the drive! We stopped at a viewpoint above the small town of
Positano so we could have a proper look.
St. Joseph of Cluny Secondary School
We then drove on to the town of Amalfi. The weather was
perfect which made me fall in love with this place even
more. We wandered around all the Italian shops and cafes. It
was a typical Italian village with lots of small streets and
alley-ways. Some people went for a swim in the Mediterranean Sea at Amalfi while others relaxed in the warm sun on the
beach. For me, Amalfi was my highlight. (by Ruby Wall)
On the second day of our trip we made our way from the
Amalfi coast to our hike up Mt. Vesuvius. We had a 2 hour
bus journey to mentally prepare ourselves for the steep walk
ahead of us. After a 40 minute walk up a volcano, we got our
rest on our 5 hour bus journey to Rome.
The next day in Rome, we began our guided tour at the Colosseum. We all embraced the beauty of the building and
were also given information and historical stories about it
from our tour guide.
After the Colosseum we visited other famous buildings and
landmarks like the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish steps.
After sightseeing around more tourist destinations we ambled our way through the streets of Rome and got to shop
and get lunch.
As a year we all extremely loved the trip and despite being
delayed on the Sunday and having to rush through the airport on the way home we all thoroughly enjoyed it. (by Ana
Deevy)
Page 3
Art & French Students Tour of Paris in Autumn
We left for Paris on Halloween night and arrived at the air-
We said our pray-
port for 4am. After a small delay on our flight, we were off.
ers and headed off
We had a relatively smooth flight and arrived at Charles de
for some lunch and
Galle airport in the afternoon. After getting our passport pho-
a bit of light shop-
tos taken for our metro cards, we had a spot of lunch and
ping. After that we
then got on the train to Gare Du’ Nord. We arrived at the
went to the most
hostel and were pleasantly surprised by how nice our rooms
beautiful public
were. We then set out to try and find something to eat in the
park ‘Jardin des
city centre. After some dinner we set off to the Eiffel tower. It
Tuileries where we had hot chocolates and chats. We
was a quick dash from the restaurant where it ended up
then went right next door to the Musée L’Orangerie
being 11 students chasing their teachers through Paris to
where we finally got to laid eyes on the masterpieces
make it on time through the crowds in the citry. This time all
themselves. I never thought I'd experience a feeling like
eyes really were on us. We made it to the Eiffel tower just in
it, the emotions that ran through us were immense. After
time. Half way up and I was almost paralysed with fear be-
seeing the Arc de Triomphe from afar, we started mak-
cause of how high up we are when Ms McAleer turned to us
ing our way to dinner.
and asked if we were ready to go all the way to the top! My-
Before the final day even started there was a feeling of
self and one other girl begged to wait for them where we
sadness among us. We set out early to the Musée d'Or-
were, which if you ask me, was high enough! Afterwards,
say where we finally saw the paintings we have been
we went to the river seine for a beautiful night time cruise
studying for the past year. It was the most surreal thing
which was tres romantic. While looking back at the city, the
discussing the paintings when they were there right be-
Eiffel Tower was lit. It was magical. We then made our way
fore our eyes. After the museum, we went to do some
back to the hostel, delirious with lack of sleep, but had a
shopping and then headed for the airport. After chang-
great day.
ing our last tram about 7 times through the metro sys-
Breakfast was at 8 and then we set off at about 9 for the
tem, we finally made it. There was a true feeling of
Sacre Couer. We went inside and started having a lovely
gloom as we sat waiting to board. It was definitely a trip
look around when suddenly, mass began for All Soul's Day.
we will never forget.
The Moulin Rouge
Left: Musee L’Orangerie
View of the Seine from
the Eiffel Tower
Page 4
Tara attends Texaco Art Exhibition Opening in
The Highlanes Gallery, Drogheda and The
Ulster Museum, Belfast
th
On the 6 of September I was invited to the Highlane Gallery in
Drogheda where the Texaco Children’s Art Competition’s winner’s
pieces were being displayed. Ms. McAleer drove my friend Grace
Power and I to the exhibition in Drogheda. When we arrived we
went into a big room and were able to look at all of the winning
pieces that were hung up on the walls and display boards. We
looked around for a while and then they asked all the artists that
were there to talk about their pieces they had entered in the
competition. This took me by surprise a little bit but it was a great
experience to talk in front of people like that. Once that was over
everyone got their picture taken beside their artwork.
On the 17th of November I was invited to another exhibition in
Belfast in the Ulster Museum. We left Dublin very early but still
managed to get stuck in traffic on the way down. Once we got to
the Museum we went into another room that displayed everyone’s artwork. The artists were asked to talk about their work
again but this time it was a lot of different winners who were
there. It was a great day and all together a really good experience. After the exhibition we looked around the Museum and
there were a few really interesting pieces. I have loved this whole
experience.
Written by Tara Watson, Second Year
Cluny Art Students’ Work Features in the Texaco Art
Exhibition in the Ulster Museum, Belfast.
Below: Winning Texaco Art Competition entries by L-R Tara Watson 2nd Yr, Hannah O’Toole 3rd Yr and Carla Irwin 6th Yr. Their work
is currently on exhibition in the Ulster Museum Belfast until Sunday 8th Jan 2017.
STEM CAMP!!
Four Cluny students Molly Burke, Caoimhe Mc Manus,
Lucy Gammell and myself Sahar UlHaque were invited to
participate in a STEM CAMP run by the Dun Laoghaire
Local Enterprise Office in the Dun Laoghaire Lexicon
Building.
STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and
Maths. Twenty six student from locate schools are
participating in this project.
We started off slowly STEM by learning the basics of
programming and coding by using Scratch, but as the
weeks progressed we were introduced into more
advanced programming and coding like the ‘Raspberry
Pi’. My favourite part of STEM was when we used the 3D
Printing machines to create our own small nametags
using a programme called 123Design, it was difficult at
first but we managed to finish off our nametags to take
home with us.
A local entrepreneur spoke about how he used to work
alongside Bill Gates from Microsoft and has since created
his own company.
In groups we create a product using either Programming
or Coding which we presented in front of the Local
Enterprise Office and TD Mary Mitchell O’Connor on the
30th November 2016. We were given two days to create a
product using either coding or programming, a
promotional video, a PowerPoint presentation and a
prototype of our product. Some of our products include a
USB Wristwatch, a Smart Fridge, an app that can monitor
the lights in your house and a Medicine Dispenser. We
would like to thank our year head Ms. Doyle for giving us
this opportunity to participate in STEM and allowing us to
meet and interact with students from different schools. It
was a great experience for us for and I would highly
recommend other years to
participate too.
Sahar Ul Haque, 4N
Hannah O’Toole’s Painting Makes Texaco Art Calendar
Hannah’s study entitled 'Bird on a Branch’ was one of 13 pictures
chosen to illustrate the publication. Her piece features on the
month of June page in the calendar. It will be seen in thousands
of homes throughout Ireland in 2017. Hannah also won a special
merit award in the 14-15 year old age category of the 2016 competition.
Congratulations Hannah!
Kids Art Classes
for Primary School students
available Thursday afternoon
3.45-4.45. New students
accepted throughout term.
St. Joseph of Cluny Secondary School
Page 5
Dun Laoghaire Bank of Ireland ‘Design a
Window’ Art Competition Success
1st & 2nd Yrs SkyDome Planetarium
visit
Two Second and Fifth Year Art classes entered the Dun Laoghaire
Bank of Ireland ‘Design a Window’ Art Competition. We were
Teddies’ Ice Cream, The Harbour or People’s Park. I decided to
On Monday, the 10th October, Cluny First and Second Years
visited the SkyDome Planetarium in school. The Skydome is a
tent-like dome with a high-tech projector inside. We entered
the dome and sat around in a semi-circle. The projector then
projected images of the night sky, constellations, the solar
system and the planets onto the inner ceiling of the dome.
Ollie, the owner of the SkyDome, explained the different
images to us. It was really cool and we learned lots of new
information for our new strand of science “Earth and Space
Science”. I would highly recommend the SKyDome Planetarium to other class.
paint Dun Laoghaire Pier overlooking the sun set in watercolour.
Written by Robyn Dowling 1Y
asked to paint or draw a picture of something that represented
Dun Laoghaire to us. The winners would have their designs blown
up to scale to fit in a series of empty shop windows in Dun
Laoghaire.
Before starting out, the class brainstormed some ideas of what to
draw, we all had our own idea of what to draw such as; The Pier,
The painting consisted of contrasting colours that stood out
against the black silhouettes of the boats in the pier. We sent it
off to the BOI and two weeks later, we got news saying that I had
won first place along with Laura Mc Govern. Lauren came in second place with a great drawing as well. The BOI representatives
came to the school the next week to award us the prizes and
congratulate us. They took a picture of the winners with our prizes alongside our Principal and Deputy Principal, Ms. White and
Ms. Lambert. I really enjoyed entering this competition with the
rest of my art class.
We all thoroughly
enjoyed it and we
are very pleased
with our achievements. Written by
Emma McGuire 2Y
Page 6
BT Young Scientist
Exhibition 2017 entry
In September this year, 25 of students from First, Second and Fourth Year entered the BT Young Scientist and
Technology Exhibition 2017. Well done to all 10 groups
and big congratulations to two of our first year students, Cara McCrystal and Daisy Gavigan, who have
been invited to exhibit their project. Their project entails comparing shop-bought bottled water and regular
tap water in relation to their mineral content, pH and
taste. Be sure to pop by their stand at the RDS from the
11th-14th of January to say hello and wish them good
luck.
Poetry Aloud
Annual Class Mass
The annual class masses began this term. Each mass focuses on a
particular theme, chosen by the students, such as friendship, selfcare, self-acceptance, self-image and charity to name just a few.
In preparation for their mass the class assign various roles and
complete activities focused on the theme. Some of the class
groups have decorated the oratory to reflect not only their class
group but also the theme of their mass. The Religion Department
are assisted by Fr. Powell who generously celebrates each mass
with the students. 1X chose to add their artwork to the oratory in
preparation for their mass and also made friendship bracelets to
hand out to one another to reflect their theme of friendship.
Ana, Isabelle & Ciara competed
as Semi-finalists in the Poetry
Aloud competition in the
National Library of Ireland
Soroptimist Women Public
Speaking Compeition
at Mansion House. Amber Marry,
National Fiji Day—House
Captain’s Event
This year myself and my vice captain, Catriona Duggan,
held a celebration for National Fiji Day. It was on the 12th
of October. We made a quiz, split the house members into
teams, brought in treats, and played
interesting Fijian music! Everyone
had a great time and the winning
team received a prize. It was a really
great way to get students from different years talking and getting to learn
more about their house's country!
Rebecca Clarke
St. Joseph of Cluny Secondary School
Eilidh Murphy & Alex O’Dwyer
Irish Senior Debating Team
Page 7
Our Experience in The European Parliament in
Strasburg
I was fortunate enough to be one of the girls chosen to go to Strasbourg for an unforgettable experience in the European Parliament. This was all thanks to a group of last
year’s 6th years who won a debate, securing a trip to the European Parliament to take
part in a programme called Euroscola - and luckily for us, they were allowed to bring
21 students with them.
This trip was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We flew in on Thursday October 6th, our
luggage full of our most stylish clothes and extensive research notes on our respective
topics of debate. We were ready to tackle French cuisine and international politics.
I never would have thought that I’d get the chance to sit in the real EU Parliament to
debate and vote like a real politician but, on that Friday, we did exactly that! We started off the day being driven by coach to the Parliament (much too early in the morning)
and were excited to get started. First on the agenda was a chance to question MEP
Norbert Lins about the goings-on of the EU. Then we got into the most important and
thrilling part of the day: the debates.
We were split into several Topic Groups in various chambers of the building, where we
were divided further into subgroups of mixed nationalities to share our opinions. My
Topic Group was Human Rights and Security; a very controversial topic indeed, which
led to fascinating discussions with the students from all over Europe. We were lucky it was decided by vote that all discussions were to be through English! I was the
spokesperson of my subgroup to debate within the Topic Group, and Cluny’s own
Ailbhe Mulhall was voted to become one of the two spokespeople from our Topic
Group to the whole EU Parliament’s main chamber. Alex O’Dwyer and Laura Loughlin
from Cluny were also voted to be spokespeople of their respective Topic Groups. After
each Topic Group had made a proposition to the main chamber, every single student
was able to vote to accept or reject the proposition with the EU’s real electronic voting
system. We were able to experience what it was like to be an MEP for the whole debate. We concluded the day with a quiz game in teams of four, each containing no
more than one student of a certain nationality. It was a great way to meet and chat
with the international students!
There was nothing about this experience that wasn’t beneficial to us. When we weren’t representing our country to the whole of Europe, we were speaking in French to
the locals of the area or just having a great time with the whole year - plus last year’s
6th years and all the new friends we made from around Europe. I can’t imagine a more
rewarding experience with the school, and I’m jealous of whichever lucky students get
to do this next year!
Emer Phelan
STRASBURG
24 Cluny students accompanied by
teachers Mr J. Byrne & Ms G McEvoy
represented Ireland at the Euroscola
Competition at the European
Parliament in Strasbourg, France.
The students got the experience of a
lifetime to act as MEPs for the day,
Notices:
Happy Holidays
St. Joseph of Cluny Secondary School
cordially invite you to the
Annual Christmas Carol Service
Monday 19th December at 8.00 p.m.
School Concert Hall
Parents Association are providing
refreshments following the performance. All Welcome.
Open Evening 2017
Invitation
1st February
5.00-7.30
New Format
All Welcome