Ficheall 2008
52 pupils took part in this year’s chess competition which was organised by Mr. McSweeney. The games were held in the school hall, at lunch time during the last term. We had some great games again this year. This year’s Grand Master is Shane Marshall with Owen Michel in second place. The two third places went to Anthony McCarthy & Cian Horgan. Well done to all who took part.
Here are some pictures taken during the tournament.
Green Schools News
We are presently working on the Water Module of the Green Schools Programme. This term Mr. Barry and the Committee decided to hold a Water Week in the school. We wanted to focus everyone’s attention on how precious and important water is, where it comes from and how often we waste it. At our meetings we measured water flow from the classroom taps. We built a model of a toilet cistern and learned how water could be saved by inserting a Hippo Bag. We found out about the Pressure Break Tank which is located right beside our school. This tank is directly connected to the new Water Tower and it ensures that water reaching the middle of Cobh comes at a safe pressure.
The Committee showed all this information in the Green Room using charts and a model of the school and water works. Water Week was held on June 3rd—6th. Each class visited the presentation and learned about types of water, water usage and the Cobh water supply. We also saw first hand how much water can be wasted while brushing teeth. We will soon have Hippo Bags inserted in each toilet in our school and when we do we will be able to calculate how much water we will save every year.
Enjoy the summer and remember:
Water is Precious!
Book Fair
Our annual book fair was held from the 19th – 22nd May and was a great success once again. Organised by Mrs. O Connell it gave a chance to parents and pupils to buy books for the appropriate age groups. As €3,155.02 spent during the week the school was entitled to a 60% commission which meant we were able to get €1,893 worth of books for the school! Our theme this year was ‘Multiculturalism’ and classes did some fantastic artwork and displays that celebrated the many different nationalities that we have in our school. Many thanks to the following parents for helping out during the week– Paula Courtney, Aine Farrell, Helen Hayes, Marie O’Flynn, Nora Flanagan, Patricia Keating, Teresa Greaney, Sharon Furmedge, Eileen Aherne & Sinead Hackett. your help is always appreciated. Thanks also to the following members of staff who helped in the preparation of the Book Fair – Ms. Scriven, Mrs. Lucey, Ms. Doherty & Mr. O’Driscoll. Winners of the competition ‘Guess the amount of stamps in the jar’ (1,351) were Geoffrey Ryan & Jack Courtney who received a choice of books from the fair! Well done!
First Holy Communion
Congratulations to the pupils of Rang a Do who made their First Holy Communion on Saturday 10th May in the Cathedral. The Mass was celebrated by Fr. Coleman. We would like to thank their parents and their teachers, Ms. Twomey & Ms. Harte for all their work in preparing them for the sacrament. Thanks also to Ms. Doherty, Mrs. McMahon, Mrs. Lucey, Adrian Gebreurs and the choir from Rang a Se, which was conducted by Mr. Farrell.
Ms Twomey and Mrs Mc Mahon with Communion class
Ms N Harte and Ms Doherty with Communion class
Green School News
The new Green School Committee consists of Davin Whelan, Niall Spriggs, Matthew McCarthy, Seán Kelly, Steven Burke, Kevin O’Callaghan, Anthony Madden, Lucas Keating & Emmet Ahern. In October the committee was very busy working outdoors. We dug the vegetable beds and laid fresh manure. We emptied and refilled the compost bin. We also weeded and tidied the flower beds and planted 50 spring bulbs. Water is the next module in our Green School Programme. With this in mind the committee visited all classes in early November to explain the water theme and to remind everyone about the need to keep up our policies on water/waste and energy. Classes were invited to fill in sheets about different ways we use water. The results were put together on two large posters alphabetically and were displayed in each class and on the Green School notice board. As Christmas draws near it is expected the Green Santa will visit the school with his elves to remind everyone about recycling and saving energy over the holidays! Mr. Barry, Green School Coordinator.
Fire Prevention Week
As part of Fire Prevention Week three members of our local Fire Brigade visited the school and gave a demonstration of what happens and how quickly a fire can spread if we are not all careful. They stressed a number of very important safety rules—Install a smoke alarm at each landing level; Check them once a week and clean every 6 months; Get your chimney cleaned at least once a year; Do a night time check—switch off all appliances, close all doors, extinguish all candles, use a spark guard, keep keys to doors and windows handy, have your phone nearby, switch off all portable heaters; and have an escape plan ready. Many thanks to firemen John Meade, Liam Greaney & Gus Tennant for calling to the school.
Conern Fast
Our annual fast for Concern was again a great success! €2018 was collected altogether so we would like to thank all who sponsored us and especially the pupils and staff members who took part in the fast. The money has been sent to Concern.
Salt & Light Workshops
Education for Sustainable Development
After having done a workshop project on food in autumn the 5th & 6th classes received workshops on ‘Water – Source of Life’ in January/February 2008. The workshops were closely linked to the curriculum and An Taisce’s catalogue for Green Schools.
Each workshop involved a broad variety of interesting and challenging activities ranging from a quiz on four topics to the experiment ‘Water Analysis’ where pupils were called to test and to identify the origin of a number of water samples. Working with art, story writing and a heated debate on the pros and cons of water conservation and water care rounded up each of the 3-hour workshops.
The workshops were delivered by Hagen Pelzel who has been running the project ‘Salt & Light Education for Sustainable Development’ since 2005. Hagen, who lived in Cobh from 2004 – 2005, originally comes from Germany. He worked as a consultant with ECO-UNESCO in Dublin and had been involved in planning, setting up and delivering educational workshops on sustainability to both primary and secondary schools. He has worked with a number of schools in County Cork since.
‘Salt & Light is based on the Gospel, the foundation of Christianity’, Hagen explains. ‘It is important that we do practical work with hands-on projects but it is also vital to know whom we are accountable and responsible to for our actions. Reverence and gratitude to God will affect the way we live and give us a sense of appreciation for the things we tend to take for granted’.
Hagen has been working with Scoil Iosaef Naofa since 2005. ‘It’s a very special place. I’ve always found a very warm, welcoming and caring atmosphere in the school. And I was thrilled to see Scoil Iosaef Naofa becoming the first Green School in Cobh and on Great Island in 2005!’
‘A big ‘Thank You’ to all the students, staff and parents and we are already looking forward to seeing the outcome from the workshops in practical terms: The new school garden is making progress and ‘Water – Source of Life’ may lead us to a water conservation project that will be a good example to be followed by others and might save us a lot of money on water charges.
But first and foremost: The students enjoyed the activities and – God willing – they will have gained something from it that will help them and their families in appreciating the precious and finite resource ‘water’.’
First Confession
The pupils of Rang a Dó made their First Confession in the Cathedral on Wednesday night 20th February. It was celebrated by Fr. Coleman who was helped by Fr. Leamy, Fr. Morrissey & Fr. McCarthy. A great crowd of parents, grandparents and family members attended the ceremony. Many thanks to their teachers Ms. Twomey & Ms. Harte. Many thanks also to Mrs. McMahon, Ms. Doherty, Mr. Farrell, Mr. O’Loingsigh and Mr. McSweeney who helped out on the night. The pupils will be receiving their First Holy Communion on Saturday 10th May.
Live Entertainment!
On Tuesday 19th February the pupils and staff of the school were treated a fantastic hour of live entertainment by the McCormack Family, a travelling group of entertainers. The show was a mixture of music, comedy and acrobatics. They put on two shows so all the pupils would be able to see it more easily in the school hall. There was also an educational part to this as well as they played a whole range of different musical instruments. Everybody enjoyed the show. It was a great chance to see live entertainment, something that is not as common nowadays as it was before. Here is what a number of pupils thought of the show: ‘I liked the show because of the instruments we saw. They played the Irish National Anthem at the end.’ - David Gardiner. ‘The McCormack show was a brilliant variety show. The seventeen year old was really entertaining. He juggled five hoops at once. It looked really hard.’ - Karl Conroy. ‘They had instruments like a guitar, trumpet, clarinet and much more. Even the teachers were entertained! They were outstanding.’ - Emmet Burns. ‘There were three people performing altogether. One was playing a very rare metal guitar and some drums. I found them very entertaining.’ -Sam Hade. ‘They could do great gymnastics. Watching live shows is much better than seeing acts on television.’ - Páidí Kearney.
‘Spuds!’
Two seed potatoes, some growing bags and compost were given to all primary schools during the term by Agri-Aware. Mr. Fleming’s Rang a Sé have taken up the challenge of growing these, keeping a diary of their progress and entering in the nationwide competition organised by Agri-Aware and Bord Bia.
They also visited the farm of Mr. Liam Coffey who has two sons in the school. It was a chance to see the ‘expert’ in action! The boys were warmly welcomed and shown around the potato shed with its cold storage room, grading machine, washing and bagging machine and of course many, many tonnes of potatoes! Mr. Coffey gave the pupils a great insight into the potato growing process and each boy left with a bag of Roosters for his family! Many thanks to Liam for his time and generosity
Here are some photos from the visit:
