TAYLOR’S SAYS THANK YOU TO PAUL LENNON

A special function was held on Thursday 21st November to celebrate the contribution of Paul Lennon to the school over the past 21 years. Paul recently stood down as Chairperson of the Board of Management after carrying out that role for three terms. In total Paul was a member of the Board for 21 years and played a significant role in the life and development of the school. On the night, previous Principals Mrs. Keaveney and Sr. Joan spoke of Paul’s commitment to the school and how he willingly gave of his time and talents for the benefit of the school. Entertainment on the night was provided by the Chamber Choir, Claire Quinn and the school Traditional Music Group.

NEW SCHOOL WEBSITEThe new Taylor’s Hill website went live over the past few months. This provides a wide variety of information about the school and will be updated frequently. We hope that parents and students will check it frequently to keep up to date with all that is going on in the school.The address is www.taylorshill.ie

WIZARD OF OZThe 5th Year musical this year will be the Wizard of Oz. A cast of over 100 will take part in this production and all the 5th Year students will be involved either back stage or on the stage! The show will be on from 30th January – 2nd February so come along to see Dorothy, the Wicked Witch and the Wizard!

TY CHOIR SINGS IN CONCERT FOR MANUELA RIEDO

In October a TY choir was formed specifically to perform with the Galway Sings Gospel Combined Secondary Schools’ Choir for the Mauela Riedo Foundation. The choir consisted of 18 TY students and their Choral Director, Ms. Kerrigan. As a school community we saw this as an opportunity to acknowledge the great work done by the Manuela Riedo Foundation, as well as commemorating and celebrating the life of another young person. It was with heartfelt solidarity and enthusiasm that we participated in this very worthwhile event.

TRANSITION YEAR ACTIVITIES

The year so far has been very busy for the TY students. Some of the activities undertaken included two weeks of work experience, mock interviews, a rugby blitz, a retreat in Knock, performing at the Manuela Riedo concert, taking part in the Yann Studio/Western Alzeimer’s Association Photography competition, a song writing workshop, an Italian language workshop, a hockey coaching course, Science & Technology Roadshow and Christmas fair.

ASTRO-TURF HOCKEY PITCH

The new astro-turf hockey pitch has been a fantastic addition to the school this year. This state of the art full-size pitch has already hosted many hockey matches, soccer matches and a rugby blitz as well as being used for training in all those sports along with Gaelic football and Camogie. It is a huge boost for all teams to finally be able to stay on site and train and we hope to see an increase in participation levels in all sports in the long run. The hockey teams are already  reaping the benefits of  having their home turf  with the numbers attending training sessions  more than double that of last year for the senior group.

STUDENT COUNCIL REPORT The members of the Student Council were elected by their peers to represent the student body in the school. They work together, coming up with new ideas to make the school a better place for the students. Already this year they have run the school library at lunchtimes, are organising the Christmas hamper appeal for the Simon Community, are looking to see how seating can be improved in the school and even ensured that there is enough soap in the toilets! Two Student Council members also represented the school at the Dominican Youth Forum in Dublin. They are looking forward to the rest of the year and hope to continue as they have started in making the school a better place for everyone.

Fitness by Design

Two �tness instructors from the Fitness by Design company, came out to the school to give the students in Transition Year a crash course on �tness. The course involved taking part in a range of activities including: rowing, reaction tests, measuring lung capacity, cycling and the bleep test amongst others.

Once each activity was completed, each student’s score was recorded. The scores from all the activities were then added together to get a �nal result. Each student’s height and weight was recorded and a graph was created comparing their score to the expected score of someone of that height, weight and gender. The students came away from the workshop with a clear sense of what they should do to achieve their ideal �tness

Music Workshop

On the day of the music workshop, Transition Year students traveled into Dublin City Centre to the Walton’s School of Music on George’s Street where they were greeted by their instructor Matt. He showed the group various ways music can be recorded and asked each student about their backrounds in music and recording – although most had not attempted anything like this before.

Each student was assigned a computer and was taught how to make their own song using computer software and keyboard tools. They recorded various samples using noises and their own voices. These were then used throughout the songs. They gained experience in creating music, recording, editing and mixing. Everyone enjoyed composing their own songs and everyone brought their own songs back on a USB stick. The day was a great success and everyone enjoyed the experience.

Dominican CollegeTaylor's Hill

Winter Newsletter - 2013

Well done to our Senior A hockey team who won the Connacht Senior A Hockey League (Costello Cup). They won all of their games and conceded only one goal in the whole competition. Along the way they beat Sligo Grammar, Colaiste Iognaid, Salerno and The Bower. The final match was against Ursuline Convent, Sligo whom they beat 9-0.

SENIOR A HOCKEY TEAM COMPETE IN

BELGIUMNineteen Senior A hockey players from Dominican College competed in the Top Flight tournament in Belgium during the October mid-term.Teams competing in the tournament travelled from Ireland, England and Belgium.Our Senior A hockey players played five matches in their pool and won all of them, putting them through to the final.In the final they played Mount Sackville, Dublin. This match was played at an extremely fast pace and was very tense at times. We narrowly missed out on winning the match and the competition by just one goal. Overall Taylor’s came second in the tournament which was a great achievement.

On November 13th Taylor’s Hill Camogie team made history when they won the Connacht Senior D Perpetual Cup for the first time.The final was held in Kilreekil and the team played the Mercy Convent, Roscommon in a thriller of a game. The Mercy Convent led 2-1 to 0-1 at half time after playing in very miserable conditions.However Taylor’s Hill came fighting back in the second half and they dominated the game in all areas.At full time they had won the match 5-4

to 3-3.They were presented with the cup and will now progress to the All-Ireland semi-final which is due to be held in January.This great team is managed by Ms. Steede with assistance from Marian Minihan and Nicki Flanagan.This achievement is all the more impressive as it has been more than 40 years since a team has represented Taylor’s in Camogie so very well done to all involved.

TAYLOR’S SENIOR A HOCKEY TEAM WIN LEAGUE

CAMOGIE TEAM WINS CONNACHT FINAL

MS. KING WINS AWARDS FOR SCIENCE

TEACHINGCongratulations to Ms. King who won the GMIT SciFest award for Best Chemistry Teacher and also received an award for promoting science at the Galway Science Fair in NUIG.

Maths and Science weeks took place in October and November in the School. For Maths Week, over 100 students took part in the PRISM Maths Competition organised by NUI Galway. The junior winner for the school was Maggie Cairns from 3rd Year and the senior winner was Monica Loughnane from 6th Year. Science Week ran for two weeks in Taylor’s this year! This was run in conjunction with the Galway Science and Technology Forum who organise the excellent Galway Science and Technology Festival in NUI Galway. Four groups displayed their science projects in NUI Galway’s Bailey Allen Hall on the final day, Sunday November 24th and had an exciting, but tiring, day. 6th Year students took part in the Irish Science Teachers’ Association Senior Science Quiz in GMIT’s Galway Campus in Theatre 1000. Two teams were allowed to enter from each school and representing Dominican College were Maeve Garrity, Sorcha Ni Fhoighil and Fiona O’Kelly, and Monica Loughnane, Alison McDonagh and Moya Vallely. Both teams had a great time and learned a few things on the night. One team was even lucky

enough to finish with a top five prize!Also as part of Science Week activities, TY students attended two careers talks. The first was organised by Enterprise Ireland and showcased their work with STEM projects and was followed by presentations by

students of GMIT. The second was the Smart Futures Career Talk in NUI Galway showcasing careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. Finally, the excellent “True Physics Show” by Declan Holmes was run for all 1st and 2nd year students on November 20th. This was a hands-on science show with plenty of audience participation, with activities and demonstrations on flight, pressure, sound, light and electricity. The students really enjoyed this show and showed great enthusiasm for all the activities.

SCIENCE WEEKSUCCESS &

SCHOLARSHIPS FOR 2013 LEAVING CERTS

Our Leaving Cert class of 2013 performed particularly impressively in their exams. One student, Maura Morrison, achieved A1 grades in all 8 subjects, placing her in in a very select band of just 8 students in the entire country who achieved such remarkable results. This is the second time in recent years that one of our students has achieved 8 A1 grades. 20% of all the grades at Leaving Cert higher level were A grades – 66% above the national average, 3 students achieved over 600 points, an outstanding 28% of students achieved over 500 points and 80% achieved over 400 points.The hard work and ability of our students has been duly rewarded. The girls have been offered places in a range of universities including NUIG, Trinity College, UCD, UCC, UL, GMIT, Mary Immaculate College and Cambridge University.A number of students have also won entrance scholarships as a result of the high points they achieved in their Leaving Cert. These include: Diana Alrumhi (All-Ireland Scholarship & NUIG Scholarship), Saoirse McDonagh (NUIG Scholarship), Erin Naughton (UCD Entrants Scholar Award), Ellen McKenna & Eve Brooke (Trinity College Entrance Exhibition Award) and Stefanie Brennan (UCC Entrance Scholarship).

BALLET PERFORMANCESRecently two of our students, Caitriona Wood and Gabrielle Markov, got the incredible opportunity of performing with the Tchaikovsky Perm State Ballet in their production of ‘Giselle’ in Galway.The girls so impressed the artistic director that they were invited to appear in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ in The Board Gais Energy Theatre in Dublin, a once in a lifetime opportunity which Caitriona took. This was a great experience and a huge honour for Caitriona - an amazing experience which she will no doubt treasure forever.

Blessington Community CollegeSummer Newsletter 2012

Volume 7 | Number 2“Our School, Our Future”

a guided tour of the city and met our bus driver, José. We made numerous stops at interesting sites around the city. The architecture in the city centre was beautiful and we found out that many of the buildings were designed by the famous architect Antonio Gaudí. One of the most impressive buildings was the Sagrada Familia, an un�nished basilica. It is one of the most famous sites in Spain and the detail in its

Lá na Gaeilge

Bhí ár Lá na Gaeilge ar siúl ar an 16ú Márta i mbliana. An-lá a bhí ann. I dtosach báire bhí Tráth na gCeist ar maidin. Bhí babhtaí cluichí chomh maith le babhtaí ceisteanna agus bhain gach éinne an-sult as! Rinne an Idirbhliain dráma gearr, Cinnín Óir agus bhí grúpa rinceoirí den scoth againn i bhfoirm Amy Walsh, Jennifer Broe agus Louise Hogan a thaispeáin a dtallann sa réimse hip-hop. Ina dhiaidh sin bhí Dean Dalton agus Dylan Siney ag déanamh rince nua-aimseartha.

Um thráthnóna d’fhilleamar ar rince traidisiúnta le Mr.Carley, a mhúin Ionsaí na hInise agus Fallaí Luimní dúinn uilig. An-chraic a bhí ann. I ndeireadh báire bhí dreas cheoil againn le Éanna O Reilly agus ceoltóirí na scoile, David Harris ar an bainseo, Claire O Flaherty ag canadh amhrán an-speisialta a scríobh sí féin agus Ciara Byrne a chan Teach Lego. Buíochas mór ag dul do na scoláirí ar fad a ghlac páirt agus a chabhraigh leis an cur le chéile ar an lá.

30/05/2012 12:31

AILISH & MICHAELA WIN BEST CHEMISTRY AWARD AT NATIONAL

SCIFEST FINALWell done to 5th Year students Ailish Breathnach and Michaela van der Walt whose project on Trihalomethanes in Irish Drinking Waters won the Special Chemistry Award at the SciFest finals in the Science Gallery, Trinity College on Friday Nov 22nd. Their project was sent forward as the winning Chemistry project from GMIT SciFest to compete against winning projects from 14 other SciFest competitions around the country. Their project looks at simple methods of removing Trihalomethane chemicals from drinking water. They won a beautiful trophy and chemistry equipment for the school. They will continue working on this project, along with Joanna Orlowska, for the BT Young Scientist and Technologist Exhibition in Dublin in January.Well done also to 3rd year students Etornam Glavee and Kila Vallely who won the 2013 Best Project Award at SciFest@GMIT and also took part in the SciFest finals with Anna Illyuk with their project Using Mussels as an Indicator of Water Quality.

NUALA WINS ROTARY YOUTH LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT COMPETITION

Well done to 5th Year student Nuala Murphy who is one of the national winners of the Rotary International Youth Leadership Development Competition. After advancing through the school, city and regional selection process she was chosen as one of the students to represent Ireland at the week-long Rotary International Leadership Development Programme. This will consist of visiting Dail Eireann and the Northern Ireland Assembly in Stormont before setting off for the European Parliament in Strasbourg early in 2014. The national winners will debate major EU issues in the European Parliament Building with other students from most countries across the European Union.

NEW BOARD OF MANAGEMENT

A new Board of Management recently began its three year term. There have been a number of changes to the Board. The new Chairperson is Andrew Keaveney who has taken over from Paul Lennon who recently retired from the Board. The new Board also consists of Mrs. Audrey Barrett (teacher), Mrs. Ann Flanagan (trustee), Sr. Eilis Ní Mhongáin (trustee), Mr. Oisin O’Conlain (parent), Mrs. Karina O’Grady (parent), Mrs. Nessa O’Regan(teacher) and Mr. Anthony Ryan (trustee).The Board plays a vital role in the running of the school. It has overall responsibility for the school and determines school policies and strategic management. We are very grateful to all the Board members for their willingness to give of their time and talents for the benefit of the school and its students.

Congratulations to 6th Year students Aoife Troxel and Sive Neary, whose statistics project entitled “Tracing the Roots of Irish Vegetables” won the 2013 John Hooper Medal for Statistics organised by the Central Statistics Office. Their poster represented Ireland in the International Statistical Literacy Program competition in Hong Kong in August. They came second overall in the ISLP competition which was a tremendous achievement. Sive and Aoife were presented with their prizes by Minister Brian Hayes at a ceremony in the Department of Education and Skills in Dublin in October as part of Maths Week.

In addition, Aoife and Sive were presented with a Special Achievement Award and an award for Outstanding Young Scientists at the Galway Science and Technology Festival in

NUI Galway in November. It’s been a busy year so far for the girls and we have no doubt that more great things lie ahead for them.

SIVE & AOIFE WIN JOHN HOOPERMEDAL FOR STATISTICS