Colaiste Mhuire, Johnstown, Co. Kilkenny

Due to popular demand, Coláiste Mhuire Johnstown are running extra Night Classes in Welding this Spring.

The ARC Welding night class will commence on Wednesday 17th April for a 9 week period.  The cost of this course is €100 (Concessions are available for Social Welfare recipients)

All courses are Certified by the Tutor (Mr Bart Cash).  Anyone interested in attending these classes should contact the Night Class Co-ordinator on 087-9057118 or the School Office on 056-8831135 in advance of the above start dates.

Coláiste Mhuire Welding Class receive their Certificates from Tutor Mr Bart Cash & Principal Mr Michael Killeen on 12th March 2013. (Photo: Mr J. Dunne)

MIG Welding

Check out the latest edition of the Coláiste Mhuire Johnstown Newsletter by clicking on the link below.

Coláiste Mhuire Spring 2013 Newsletter (PDF)

Past issues of our Newsletter can also be viewed by clicking on the link below.  Why not take a trip down “Memory Lane” ?!  We hope you enjoy it.

www.colaistemhuirekk.ie/news-events/newsletter/

Users will require a recent version of Adobe Reader to open the .PDF file, which can be downloaded for Free from www.adobe.com

Congratulations to all who the local primary school children who entered the recent INTERNET SAFETY ART COMPETITION here at Coláiste Mhuire Johnstown.  Our resident Art teacher, Ms Anne-Marie Ryan went through the many entries and had the difficult task of selecting a shortlist for each of the two categories, 3rd - 4th and 5th – 6th.  The top three in each category were then ranked 1st, 2nd and 3rd with each position receiving a cash prize sponsored by Coláiste Mhuire.  The results are as follows:

3^rd & 4^th class category:

1^st prize:               Sarah Curran, 4^th class, St. Kieran’s N.S., Johnstown.

2^nd prize:              Louise Wellwood, 4^th class, Urlingford N.S.

3^rd prize:              Niamh Ahonen-Smith, 4^th class, Gortnahoe N.S.

5^th & 6^th class category:

1^st prize:               Rachel Burke, Urlingford N.S.

2^nd prize:              Rebecca Cuddihy, Scoil Ruadháin, Tullaroan

3^rd prize:              Caoimhe Holland, Scoil Ruadháin, Tullaroan

The above winners will be contacted through their schools in due course and a short event will take place after the Easter Holidays where the winners will receive their well earned prizes.

The management and staff would like to take this opportunity to thank all the schools and their teachers for taking the time to enter this competition.  More importantly, we would like to thank everyone for helping us promote the area of Internet Safety.

Any further information on this matter can be obtained by contacting the School Office on 056-8831135 where a member of our Local Education Committee (namely Mr John Dunne or Ms Patricia Costello) would be happy to report back to you.

3^rd & 4^th class category:

1st) Sarah Curran, 4th class, St. Kieran’s N.S., Johnstown

2nd) Louise Wellwood, 4th class, Urlingford N.S.

3rd) Niamh Ahonen-Smith, 4th class, Gortnahoe N.S.

5^th & 6^th class category:

1st) Rachel Burke, Urlingford N.S

2nd) Rebecca Cuddihy, Scoil Ruadháin, Tullaroan

3rd) Caoimhe Holland, Scoil Ruadháin, Tullaroan

The Coláiste Mhuire Johnstown Junior Hurling Team contested the MASITA GAA All-Ireland Vocational Schools semi-final in Claughan GAA club, Limerick on Saturday.  Their opponents were Causeway Comprehensive from North Kerry, a school with a proud hurling tradition who recently won their fifth Munster title at this grade.

Coláiste Mhuire lead by the minimum on a 1.05:0.07 scoreline at the interval, with Shane Madden (Rathdowney-Errill) scoring the major.  However, a combination of excellent score taking and the awarding of a number of soft frees saw the Munster men progress to the final on a 0.18:1.13 scoreline.  See http://pp.gaa.ie/match-results for further Schools Results.

Copies of the match DVD are available from Ms Sheehan or Mr Dunne, with photos available to view on the Student Shared folder.

Full match report & photos to follow.

Coláiste Mhuire’s U14 girls were involved in a blitz competition in O’Loughlin Gael’s G.A.A. grounds, Kilkenny on Wednesday, 6^th March 2013.  The Johnstown girls took on city schools Loreto College and Presentation Convent, as well as Grennan College Thomastown, with the top team progressing into the next stage of the competition.

In their first game, the girls played Loreto College and it was clear from the off that the city side held the advantage. Despite the awful weather conditions which made life difficult for both sides, Coláiste Mhuire tried their best, with goalkeeper Jacqueline Boyd in particularly outstanding form.

Losing the first match meant the team needed a positive result against Presentation Convent in the second round. This game was a much tighter affair. Shona Connelly was strong at fullback, while Danielle Martin led the charge from midfield. Ciara Tobin also caused the Presentation defence a lot of problems. Nonetheless, the Johnstown girls suffered a second defeat.

In their final match Coláiste Mhuire tackled Grennan College. Laura O’Sullivan really impressed with her running, and Zoe Crosby (captain) tried hard to rally her troops for a final assault on the Thomastown goal. Despite their best efforts, however, a win wasn’t forthcoming.

While positive results eluded the Coláiste Mhuire girls on the day, it wasn’t for the lack of effort on their part. Of some consolation was the announcement that star goalkeeper Jacqueline Boyd was named player of the tournament, so well done Jacqueline!  A good day out was had by all and with training and dedication a win is surely around the corner, so keep it up girls!

Panel: Zoe Crosby, (captain), Jennifer Saunders, Rebecca Walsh, Alise Rozalinska, Shannon Cleere, Leah Burke, Ailbhe Maddock, Caitriona Henderson, Ciara Maloney, Danielle Martin, Nisieah Dalton, Tori Brophy, Billie-Mae Geoghegan, Juliet Garrett, Chloe Mullins, Edel Dowd, Sarah Jane McCormack, Mairead Kennedy, Laura O’Sullivan, Shona Connolly, Roisin Colclough, Aideen Dawson Neary, Jacqueline Boyd, Ciara Tobin, Emma McEvoy, Siobhan Burke, Faye Condon, Rebecca Beehan & Sinead Clear.

The Internet Safety & Cyber-bullying Initiative at Coláiste Mhuire Johnstown will continue this term with a number of activities.  Firstly, we commence with an Internet Safety Course for Parents/Guardians in conjunction with our Home, School & Community Liaison co-ordinator, Ms Patricia Costello.  The course will begin on Friday 8th March at 10.00am in the Old School in Urlingford (across from Texaco).  It will run from 10.00am to 12.00pm for three consectutive Fridays, concluding on the 22nd March (the day of the Easter holidays).  This course has been designed by ICS Skills as part of the Get Ireland On-Line programme and will be certified by their facilitator.  It will take parents through many relevant topics and cover a range of practical on-line activities, including FaceBook, Twitter and YouTube.    Anyone interested in participating should contact the school office on 056-8831135 or TEXT 086-2430372 as soon as possible as there are only a limited number of places for this course.

Internet Safety Course for Parents @ Coláiste Mhuire Johnstown

The management and staff at Coláiste Mhuire would like to extend an invitation to all Parents/Guardians and members of the community to attend an Information Evening with a Guest Speaker on the area of Internet Safety & Cyber-bullying in the School Gym on Tuesday, 12th March @ 7.30pm.  The speaker is Mr John Collins, creator of the website www.safersurfer.net.  John has taught both at primary and secondary level, with over 20 years experience of teaching computers to children.  He has trained with the National Centre for Technology in Education and is registered with the Teaching Council.  He specialises in speaking to schools and communities in the areas of Internet Safety & Cyberbullying.  He has been an Irish representative at many international conferences on technology in education.  He is also a parent of four teenagers!  Therefore, John’s presentations are both informative and practical in nature.  More information on John, including many testimonials from schools and communities, can be viewed on his SaferSurfer site.

Further details about the Course for Parents/Guardians or the Information Evening can be obtained through contacting the school office on 056-8831135 or TEXT 086-2430372.

FRIENDSHIP WEEK @ COLAISTE MHUIRE JOHNSTOWN

Coláiste Mhuire Johnstown will run a Friendship Week from Monday 4th to Friday 8th of March 2013.  There will be a range of Whole School Activities, including a number of displays, lunchtime events and the introduction of a “Buddy System“.

The week will be co-ordinated by our resident Guidance Counsellor, Ms Valerie Dempsey, who will be happy to discuss the matter further with any interested parties.  Enquiries can be made through the school office on 056-8831135.  More to follow on the school website so watch this space.

The management, staff and students at Coláiste Mhuire Johnstown will actively participate in Safer Internet Day (S.I.D.) tomorrow – Tuesday, 5th February 2013.  This is an international initiative which is currently in it’s tenth year.  The theme of this year’s programme is “Connect With Respect“.

CONNECT WITH RESPECT – “PROMISE” Video (click to view)

Over the course of the day, teachers will play the Irish YouTube video titled “PROMISE” (click to view).  This has been developed especially for S.I.D. by the PDST Technology in Education.  Formerly known as the NCTE, they are responsible for Internet Safety in schools and filter out all unsuitable websites and social networking sites, such as Facebook.  They host a number of websites dedicated to the area of Internet Safety.  Most notably, www.webwise.ie for parents & teachers and www.watchyourspace.ie for young persons.

The Office for Internet Safety (O.I.S.) in the Dept. of Justice & Equality also endorse the work of the PDST.   The O.I.S. have their own website www.internetsafety.ie which is also a valuable site for parents, teachers and students.

During the day, Transition Year students who were recently involved in the Coláiste Mhuire Cyberbullying Initiative will talk to first & second year students about their research findings.  Information Leaflets have been prepared and will be distributed to the students. Tomorrow evening will see parents of our second year students attend a Parent-Teacher Meeting, where an area will be designated for further distribution and discussion of information in this area.

The aim of this initiative is to promote the “Connect With Respect” message and to get the by-standers who witness but fail to report unacceptable acts on-line, such as cyber-bullying.  The hope is to change the current culture of indifference from by-standers who may witness such acts but do little or nothing to flag this negative behaviour.  The younger this message can be learned, the better the chances of eliminating the current  culture.  Why not watch the Connect With Respect video aimed at the primary school sector.

Connect With Respect (Primary School video)

Should you require any further information, please feel free to contact the school office on 056-8831135 where a member of our Local Education Committee will be happy to address you.

Congratualtions to the Boys U14 Football team who won the South Leinster U14 Football title on Thursday, 21st January 2013.  The Johnstown lads had topped their group with victories over Grennan College (Thomastown), Scoil Aireagal (Ballyhale) and Abbey (Ferrybank).  This set-up a semi-final meeting away to St. Mary’s Secondary School, Castledermot (Kildare).  A comprehensive victory was recorded to book a place in the South Leinster final against Avondale Community College, Rathdrum (Wicklow).

Coláiste Mhuire Johnstown U14 Football Team with Mr J. Dunne (Coach) & Mr J. O’Grady (Manager) South Leinster Champions 2012-13

The final was played in the plush surroundings of Dr. Cullen Park, Carlow on a perfect day for football.  Both sides displayed early nerves but Coláiste Mhuire settled the quiker with a neat point from Keane Hayes  (Gortnahoe-Glengoole) after five minutes.  Points were exchanged between Hayes and his Avondale counterpart before some good build up play by Brian Kavanagh (Lisdowney) set-up Hayes for the games first goal.  The Gortnahoe man showed no shortage of confidence when one-on-one, coolly slotting it passed the Avondale keeper.

The Coláiste Mhuire lads seized the initiative by winning the resulting kick-out and Ciarán Dawson (Emeralds) reacted quickest to a through ball, which he blasted to the net.  This saw the Johnstown school lead 2.02 : 0.01 mid-way through the half.  However, they failed to raise another flag before the break as the Avondale players rallied and narrowed the gap to a major with four unanswered points.  This left the half-time score at 2.02 : 0.05.

The second half was a much more even affair than the first, with Avondale having much the better of the early exchanges.  In fact, they drew level at 2.02 : 0.08 before the introduction Stephen Delaney (Lisdowney) at wing back and the switching of Brian Kavanagh to midfield helped the Johnstown lads regain composure.  From here they went to kick six unanswered points, including a superb individual score from man-of-the-match Kavanagh and an insurance point from the industrious Niall Grehan-Carroll (Fenians).  Final Score Coláiste Mhuire Johnstown 2.08  : 0.08 Avondale C.C.

Coláiste Mhuire captain Brian Kavanagh receiving Sth Leinster Shield from Pat Henderson (GAA) with Mr J. O’Grady (Manager)

Coláiste Mhuire Johnstown now progress to play the Dublin champions, Chanel College (Crumlin) on Friday, 1st February in the All-Leinster Semi-Final.  Ballymahon Secondary School (Longford) await the winners in the U14 Leinster Final.  Best of Luck to the players and the team management, Mr Jim O’Grady and Mr John Dunne.

The management and staff at Coláiste Mhuire Johnstown launched a Cyber-bullying Awareness Initiative on Friday, 14th December 2012.  The event was a joint venture by the IT, Guidance Counselling & Home School Liaison Departments.  The teachers involved harnessed the topical and tragic events which had featured prominently in the media by linking up with the TY Enterprise Christmas Trade Show that took place in our school gym.

Ms Valerie Dempsey (Guidance Counselor) & Mr John Dunne (IT Dept) @ the Coláiste Mhuire Cyber Bullying Initiative 14th December 2012

TY students played a big part in the whole event, both in terms of the Christmas Stalls and the Cyber-bullying Information Stall.  Mr John Dunne (IT Department) had used the Primetime Investigates series aired on Tuesday 30th October titled “Drastic Need To Combat Cyberbullying” as the basis of a discussion with his TY students.  Furthermore, the series “Bullyproof” with Dr David Coleman from the same week touched on this area and provided an information page on the definition and types of cyber-bullying.  From there we dealt with a range of material on the issue, namely Dr Móna Moore’s “Top 10 Tips to Prevent & Deal with Cyber-bullying”.

Ms Valerie Dempsey (Guidance Counselor) & Mr John Dunne (IT Dept) with TY students @ the Coláiste Mhuire Cyber Bullying Initiative on 14th December 2012

Santa Clause (Cillian Hughes) with TY students @ the Coláiste Mhuire Cyber Bullying Initiative on 14th December 2012

Furthermore, we uncovered a range of images that powerfully depict the range of behaviours that constitute cyber-bullying and the damage it can cause.  Among the images we uncovered was a SafeBook poster designed by the Irish communications company FUZION (www.fuzion.ie).  The students deemed this to be the most useful and opted to distribute their guidelines in the form of a leaflet to all the students who attended the Trade Fair.  This worked well as it ensured every student took something home from the experience and feedback from parents/guardians on the matter was very positive.

SafeBook Tips from FUZION @ the Coláiste Mhuire Cyber Bullying Initiative on 14th December 2012

Having begun our Cyberbullying Awareness Initiative in earnest the team of teachers are now planning to follow up this term with a guest speaker on the matter in February which has yet to be confirmed.  Further to this, the Home School Community Liaison co-ordinator, Ms Patricia Costello, has arranged an Internet Security Course for Parents titled “Help Protect Your Child On-Line”.  This is a Digital Ireland Initiative from ICS Skills (see www.getirelandonline.ie/learn)  The course will be run here at Coláiste Mhuire for parents/guardians in March, preferably after the guest speaker.  It consists of three two-hour classes and requires no prior knowledge of using a computer.  This course will cover basics in using email, YouTube, social networking sites such as Facebook & Twitter, technology such as SKYPE and how to block inappropriate material / websites.  This will be followed by an ISPCC speaker in March in conjunction with the Guidance Counsellor Ms Valerie Dempsey.

“The worst thing any school/family can do is ignore the issue of Cyberbullying or try to ban internet activity,” says co-ordinator Mr John Dunne.  “The only way to deal with the issue is to educate young people on Netiquette or Internet Etiquette. This way we can prepare them for life on-line, make them more aware of potential harm and how to act should a situation arise.”

Further information on the Coláiste Mhuire Cyberbullying Awareness Initiative can be found on www.colaistemhuirekk.ie or by contacting the school office on 056-8831135.