Contents
PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
ELECTRICAL RECYCLING TIME TO SAY GOODBYE
SPORTS NEWS
SPORTS DAY AT MERCY
Ferrycarraig
London's Calling
Art Fantastic
TRANSITION YEAR NEWS
HOME SCHOOL COMMUNITY LIAISON NEWS
Hard Days Work
5TH YEAR TRIP TO LIMERICK
SEACHTAIN NA GAEILGE
MORE NEWS
Biodiversity all around us
Carlingford
Homework Club
Past Times
Trumpet Lessons
Drama Club
Where are they Now?
End of Year Awards
An extremely short term was filled with many activities as the traditional May madness descended. Our first year basketball squad was narrowly beaten in the All-Ireland play-offs, hosted in Mercy College. CEIST schools were to the fore in the play- offs, with Mercy Coolock winning two matches against St. Mary's Nenagh and Presentation, Ballyphehane, but losing out to a high quality team from Eureka, Kells. We commend the girls for their wonderful efforts and congratulate coaches, P.E. teacher Elaine Fitzgerald and 6th year students Laura Ryan and Carly Tyrrell for bringing the girls to such a high point this year. There was great excitement and pride when our YSI entry, 'Let's Get Greener' won the environmental award at the national showcase in Citywest. Mercy was the only Dublin school to come away with a prize on the day. Congratulations to the girls from TY and in particular, Ms. Mary Scully, who has encouraged and organised the whole school community to get greener through numerous projects this year. We enjoyed sporting endeavour mixed with dance and fun during sports day, where the staff record of winning the challenge match against Leaving Certificates continued. Our sport this year was rounders as the staff soccer team was depleted by injuries, not to mention old age!! Our annual awards ceremony, one of the highlights of any academic year, saw the entire school community gather together on May 23rd to mark achievements in a wealth of creative, community and academic disciplines. Our keynote speaker was Niamh McEvoy, past pupil and member of the All-Ireland winning Dublin Gaelic Football team. In addition, Lloyd Bracken of CEIST offered words of encouragement to all. Two lovely Masses were celebrated to mark 6th Year graduation and the Transition Year completion ceremony. We are very grateful to Fr. John Hand and the team in St. Brendan's for their continued support of the school. In spite of recessionary times, the girls continue to think of others. Many thousands of euro have been raised for various charities throughout the year. We continued to make improvements to our building and the facilities available to our students. Each classroom is now equipped with a digital projector and laptop. We have added to the number of interactive whiteboards, which now totals 13 and have also purchased four visualisers and four Alphasmart machines, all of which aid teaching and learning throughout the school. Our Accelerated Reader programme, which ran for one first year class group, was a wonderful success thanks to the huge efforts of Ms. Moran and Ms. O'Hanlon. We plan to extend the programme to all incoming first year students. We also refurbished the outside basketball courts and purchased more PE equipment. The holidays will see another major refurbishment take place in Mercy College with the entire building being rewired, while the sewing room will also be refurbished. Funding for much of this work came from the Department of Education and Skills but we greatly appreciate the efforts of the Student Council, Parents' Association and subject departments A very successful school walk organised by Ms. Conneely and the Students Council raised just under €1000 on Friday 15th April. Our Parents' Association was to the fore for two key events this term. The Easter Raffle brought in over €900. This funding was used to organise the lovely graduation ceremony we had for our Leaving Certificate students. The balance of these two events and funds raised by the Transition Year min-company will be put towards the purchase of new lockers for senior students. Of course, a school community is an ever-changing place and we said goodbye to our 6th years with a wish for their continued success in life. We bade a fond farewell to Mrs. Deirdre Teeling, whose 32 years in Mercy College have had such a lasting impact on generations of girls. Her belief in the power of education and the value of lifelong learning has encouraged so many of our students to undertake Third level education. As we go to print we are celebrating the birth of Ms. Mary Boyle's baby boy, Jacob. None of what we do in the school would be possible without the motivating force and caring attitude of all staff members and many volunteers, who work so hard to allow the girls to become well- rounded young women, able to face the challenges of the world. I thank each one of them for all that they do. I wish you a happy and healthy summer, interspersed with sunshine, and look forward to your continued support and to working with you in the next academic year.
CONTENTS
Winner of the TYO Mini Company Draw - Election of new head gir and deputy head girl
EXCERPTS FROM DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND SKILLS SUBJECT INSPECTIONS "A very high standard of teaching and learning." "A sensitive and caring interaction between students and their teachers in a very positive learning environment." "A recognition of the needs of students with different learning abilities." GEOGRAPHY
AT MERCY COLLEGE
Green Committee Members collecting small electrical items for WEEE Ireland. Well done Green Committee for bringing awareness about electrical recycling. We filled two large blue skips in one week. NATIONAL SPRING CLEAN National Spring Clean at Mercy College Coolock carried out by our Green Committee on Friday May 6th 2011 at our school and around our community
The words of Andrea Bocelli's song "Time to Say Goodbye" seem very apt to describe where I am on my career/life journey just now. It is with fond memories that I leave Mercy College after a connection of 32 years. It is hard to believe that I have been a Guidance Counsellor here for so long. Yet it only seems in many ways, a very short time since I started in 1979 as a newly qualified Guidance Counsellor. I am a very lucky person, I feel, to have discovered a job that I really enjoyed and which suited my personality. Such a fit is what I have always wished for my pupils in their subject and career choices. To find an area of study and work which you love is in my estimation the ultimate achievement. Guidance Counselling is still my first love and although I have to retire, my plan is to continue my studies in this area and eventually complete my (level 10 qualification) which is a Doctorate in Education. I will miss more than anything my pupils and my colleagues. To borrow a Sinead O'Connor song ..... "Nothing compares to you", Mercy College! Thank you for the kindness, support and generosity of everyone over the years. Deirdre Teeling
EXCERPTS FROM DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND SKILLS SUBJECT INSPECTIONS "Strong atmosphere of learning." "Music is thriving in Mercy College, Coolock and the enthusiasm of the teachers has been instrumental in this." "An atmosphere of mutual respect existed." MUSIC
The sports year has been jam packed with huge success across the years. For the first time this year it was decided to make after school activities compulsory for 1st year up. This has resulted in a huge increase in the numbers of 1st years playing sport. Over 30 1st year girls trained for basketball and volleyball every week this year. I could not train these girls without the help of the 4th years who stay back every Wednesday to coach volleyball and the 6th and 4th year girls who help coach basketball on Tuesdays and Fridays. As a result of all this hard work the girls have silverware to show at the end of the season.
Senior Volleyball Senior Volleyball started training early September and made it through to the semi finals, losing to Dungarvan in a thrilling match. We are losing some super players in 6th year Naomi, Shauna, Nicole and Laura K. The 5th years didn't perform on the day to qualify for the playoffs but with some hard work next season they should do well. Cadette & Junior Volleyball The cadette girls in 3rd year made it through to the quarter finals. With a small panel of girls they did well. The 1st and 2nd years trained together for a lot of the year and made huge progress in playing 3 touch volleyball. We had 2, teams one 1st and one 2nd year, make it to the All-Ireland finals in spike ball in UCD. They made it to the last eight in the country. Well done girls. I would like to thank all those girls who helped coach, referee and do table official duties throughout the year. I would like to thank the 1st year sports girls for such an enjoyable and funny year. Have a great summer and see you all for some serious training in September. Elaine Fitzgerald
It was a very successful year for the Mercy school basketball teams. The u19 team went through the Dublin group winning all their 8 games and progressing to the Dublin final in Inchicore where our team defeated Loreto College, St Stephen's Green in a very tight game. Winning the Dublin title was a great achievement this year considering our Captain, Carly Tyrrell got injured at the start of the year. Laura Ryan took over the captaincy and lead a very young Mercy team to the Dublin title achieving "Evening Herald" sports star of the week for her displays. The team also had a great run in the National Cup defeating Carlow and the traditional powerhouse Pres Listowel in the quarter finals away from home. Unfortunately, we lost to a strong Carlow team in the semi finals who went on to win the National Cup. There were great performances all year from Ciara and Aoife Redmond, Nayla Abdulla, Holly Hatton, Becky Prendergast, Laura Kirby,Christina Olwill, Gemma and Laura Ryan and our 4 cadettes Ilham Abdulla, Sarah Fitzpatrick, Antonia Cummins and Lynn Ryan. EXCERPTS FROM DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND SKILLS SUBJECT INSPECTIONS "Clear and well-structured lessons." "A good rapport was seen to exist between students and their teachers." "Enthusiastic teaching." SCIENCE 1st Year Basketball Although we are saying goodbye to some of our basketball stars in 6th Year the future is very bright with the current 1st year team. The panel is made up of 22 girls whose attitude and approach to the training and playing matches is something else. Laura and Carly in 6th Year coached these girls all year and hence they were crowned East Leinster winners beat Loreto on the Green comfortably in the Oblates. Mercy then hosted the 1st year All-Ireland playoffs and were unlucky not to qualify. The match of the day was Mercy versus Ballphehane from Cork whom they beat by 1 basket. I plan to enter two teams next year as all 22 girls are so keen.
EXCERPTS FROM DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND SKILLS SUBJECT INSPECTIONS "Well ordered and structured teaching approach" "There is a positive, favourable attitude towards Irish in Mercy College." "Diligence and enthusiasm of the Irish teachers." GAEILGE
EXCERPTS FROM DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND SKILLS SUBJECT INSPECTIONS "The lessons observed were very well planned and all lessons proceeded smoothly so that the learning objectives were achieved." "The range of teaching methodologies used in the lessons observed provided students with opportunities for active, participatory and experiential learning." " A warm, respectful atmosphere had been established in all the classrooms observed." RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
Courtney Adams 1st year students went to Ferrycarraig on our school History trip. It took a two hour drive to reach Ferrycarraig. We had a bit to eat and then we were split into two groups. One group went to watch a documentary, while the other group went to see the great Viking King Ship. It was really great to see this and a very nice man showed us around and told us everything about the ship and the Vikings that sailed in it. We were then taken to the fulacht fia which is a hole in the ground with boiling water in it. There they cooked meat for us to eat. This took a lot of persuasion as we are used to more conventional methods of cooking! We were pleasantly surprised. We then visited a tomb where bodies were buried. We had a fabulous day. Many thanks to the teachers who organised it.
This year our school trip went to London. We had an early 6am start at Dublin airport, but at least this year, we had no disruptions from a volcano in Iceland. The coach picked us up at Stanstead and we got a sneak preview of the 2012 Olympic Village on our way into London city. After an historic tour of the city which was preparing for the royal wedding, we visited the science museum. Another early start on Saturday and two tubes, a train and a bus ride brought us to Thorpe Park. The sun beat down on the thrill seekers queuing for the rides and the scaredy cats eating ice-cream. Thanks to Ms. Byrne's factor 50 we only had a few lobster casualties (who will remain nameless). Sunday was our day for hanging around with the rich and famous although they were made of wax!! Madame Tussaud's provided great photo opportunities and the dungeon almost gave Ms. Byrne a heart attack. After a well earned shopping trip at the giant Westfield Mall we were back on the road to the airport. We arrived back in Dublin exhausted but delighted with our trip. A big thanks to all the students and teachers.
Ms. Kearns & Ms. Cassidy
5th year students visited IMMA (Irish Museum of Modern Art) to look at paintings by Frida Kahlo, Diega Rivera and visual artist Romuald Mazoume. The aim of this visit was to create a debate about the nature and function of Art. In the photograph you will see the installation by Romuald Mazoume one of Africa's leading visual artists. He has worked with a wide variety of media from discarded petrol canisters (photograph), oil paints and canvas to large scale installation. It was really interesting for 5th year students to see art in action, bringing together various methods and techniques. Hopefully, this will inspire them in their future artistic ventures.
EXCERPTS FROM DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND SKILLS SUBJECT INSPECTIONS "High quality teaching and learning were evident in the lessons observed" "Very good relationships exist between students and their teachers." "Students enjoyed and engaged enthusiastically with the Mathematics involved." MATHS
Congratulations to our transition year students from Mercy College on their recent achievement this year on winning the Young Social Innovators' (YSI) Award for 'Making Our World Greener' on Wednesday at City West 11th May 2011. We entered the competition against 5,000 other schools throughout the country. We won the Leinster Speakout in March and made it through to the Final Showcase where 3,000 students attended on Wednesday 11th May 2011. We were the only school in Dublin to win a YSI award against 200 other schools. Well done transition years for your efforts and achievements this year in making our school and community a better and greener environment. The girls carried out:
Miss Scully
This was a day where we started learning about how to appreciate ourselves. It introduced the concept of self esteem in teenagers. We were introduced to many areas of teenage life. We looked at the pressure that was put on teenagers to drink alcohol and take drugs. It showed us the effect that drink and drugs had on our decision making. We were introduced to teenagers who had children in their teens, they told us about the effect that it had on their lives. We all found this a very rewarding and illuminating experience.
Lauren Graham We named our Mini Company Mini-Cobras. Due to the economic downturn, we had difficulty in raising money for shares to buy our product. We decided to run a raffle and have cake sale. This raised enough finance to purchase wrist bands from America. They sold like hot cakes and all profits raised went towards the purchase of lockers for 5th and 6th year students.
As part of their Art and crafts course, 4th year students designed hats that were in part inspired by Philip Treacy hat designer to the stars.
EXCERPTS FROM DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND SKILLS SUBJECT INSPECTIONS "Exceptionally attractive displays of both students' work and appropriate exemplars are provided in the rooms to both stimulate and inspire students." "Communication of information in the lessons observed was of a very high quality." ART
Janine O'Connor The 4th year musical in collaboration with Chanel College was "All Shook Up". We had five weeks of rehearsals before we took to the stage in mid February. To publicise the show, our school had T-shirts printed with the logo and Chanel had sweat shirts which we wore around the place. We enjoyed every minute of the show and most of us enjoyed our minute of fame. We would like to thank everybody who helped us and thanks to the audience that supported us with their clapping and cheering.
Four students represented Mercy College at the 'Young Environmentalist Awards 2011' and Eco Unesco Den 2011 on Friday, April 1st 2011. Transition year students Amy McGrath, Michelle Poole, Geraldine Mahady and first year Sophie Scally. Transition Year Students make our school more aware of environmentally friendly items through learning & fun We introduced an Irish made, handcrafted wooden puzzle. These puzzles were made available to students at lunchtime to solve. The demand for the wooden puzzle called the 'Mercy Challenge' increased every day. Students really enjoyed the challenge of using their problem solving skills and the fun and satisfaction of completing it successfully. At the same time it allowed us to make the students aware of renewable environmentally friendly resources.
Maedhbh Daltun , HSCL Coordinator
It has been a busy second year for the Mercy College Book Club. We took part in the One City, One Book project in April choosing Joseph O'Connor's Ghost Light as our book of the month. Reviews of the book itself were mixed, but the debate, as always, was lively. The book is only the starting point of our discussions! We completed the year with a leisurely lunch (and a delicious Pavlova - thanks Úna!) and are looking forward to sampling more literary delights including Barbara Kingsolver's Lacuna next year. The book club meets on the last Wednesday of every month at 11.30am in the Parents' Room.
Some new activities in the HSCL area include a drop-in hour on Tuesday mornings from 9am -10am in the Parents' Room. If you would like any information about the school or just want a chance for a coffee and a chat, please feel free to pop in to the Parents' Room. Our computer class for parents ran on Friday afternoons and was enjoyed by all. We also ran a Maths class for parents with Emer Byrne. This class will run again in September.
As part of our local committee this year, we set up a walking group for parents from our four local schools - Chanel College, Mercy College, Scoil Chaitríona and St. Brendan's BNS. As we got fitter, we got a little braver and are now walking from Mercy College to Bull Island and back every Wednesday morning at 9.15am. Thanks to the dedicated walkers who came out rain or shine, especially to Brenda, Claudia, Eddie and Eileen! We hope to run this group again in September. Please feel free to join us. If you would like to take part in any of the free courses available for parents in the school, suggest any new courses, help out in the first year paired reading programme or arrange for a visit to your home, please call or text 087 6550995.
This has been a hectic year for the Mercy Art Group. Much of the year's hard work was viewed at the annual Art Exhibition, which was launched on May 24th. Thanks to all who provided the excellent artwork on display and to those came out to support the event in large numbers. I would like to say a special word of thanks to Mrs. Monica Heade who provided delicious refreshments on the night. Some of our resident artists, Monica Adams, Mark McDonagh, Laura Slein and Yvonne O'Brien, are displaying some of their beautiful work in the Parents' Room at the moment. All are welcome to drop by to see some their beautiful paintings.
As part of the School and Business Partnership Programme with Office Depot, eleven students from our L.C.V.P. class were picked to take part in the mentor programme. This programme gave us an insight into the world of work. We were each assigned a mentor who was there to help us throughout the year in such areas as business, CV preparation and possible career choices. At the end of the school year, we were brought to a Beauty Training School, on Grafton Street where future beauticians gave us facials, manicures and make up lessons. We would love to do this again and will volunteer any time!!
In April the 5th year music class took a trip to Limerick to hear the Bach Cantata which is one of the set works we have been studying. We travelled by train to Limerick accompanied by our music teacher Ms Doherty and Ms Daltun. The performance was being held in Limerick Cathedral. The cathedral was beautiful and was an excellent setting for the Bach Cantata. The concert started with an analysis of the work which was very interesting. It was amazing to hear the work live. All the performers were excellent. One of the soloists was the same age as us. A thoroughly enjoyable day that will be very beneficial for our Leaving cert.
Bhí Seachtain na Gaeilge againn i Mí Márta agus bhaineamar go léir taitneamh as. Mar chuid de cheiliúradh Seachtain na Gaeilge bhí comórtas postaer ar siúl sa chéad bhliain. Bhain lucht na céad agus dara bliana sult as céilí a cuireadh ar siúl dóibh i halla na scoile.
Our first year class "Liffey" took part in a reading Programme called "Accelerated Reader". The girls took a computerised test and then a range of suitable reading material was suggested. The girls read every day and when they finished a book they took a quiz on line. The results of the quiz were given immediately and the girls liked working on line and getting immediate feedback. The activity was a great success and we hope to run it again next year with a larger number of students.
The Coolock SCP summer project will run from 13th to 17th June in Mercy College. 30 students from 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th year have registered to take part. Activities include a trip to the National Aquatic Centre, a picnic in Stephen's Green, a Viking Splash Tour, a day in the Carlingford Adventure Centre, sports, cinema, bowling and q-zar. We are hopeful the weather will be as accommodating as last year.
Almost every edition of the news letter carries a word of thanks to all our volunteers who make the "Paired Reading" programme possible. This year is no exception. A heartfelt word of thanks to all who help out and an open invitation to anyone out there who might have some time to spare and would like to volunteer. Please contact Paula Moran at 8480888 for details.
Our Breakfast Club is going very well this year. The Breakfast Club is open to all students. It runs everyday from 8.00 to 8.45 in the parent's room. Students can have toast, cereal, apple juice, orange juice, milk, fruit, yogurts etc. We would like to thank the volunteers who come in each morning (including the cold, frosty mornings in December) to help prepare and serve breakfast to the students. A big thank you to: Una Byrne, Frances Campbell, Iris Graham and Monica Heade.
Biology students studied all the flora and fauna in our immediate surroundings this year with a visit to St. Anne's Park. While many students visit the park regularly to play sport and visit the playground, we hope this year's trip has opened their eyes to all of the different forms of life that are to be found in the park.
Josceline Flanagan & Anne Malone During May we went to Carlingford Adventure centre. We had an amazing time, filled with outdoor activities both on and off water. We would like to thank Ms. Rooney and Ms. Harrison for bringing us and we would like to wish Ms. Harrison the best of luck on her maternity leave.
Homework Club takes place Monday to Thursday from 3.50 to 4.50 in the Hall. It is open to all first and second year students. Students can have a sandwich and drink before starting their homework. If a student is having difficulty with her homework the teacher can help. It also means that students can leave the books they are finished with in their lockers so the school bag is lighter. Homework club will be enrolling new members in September.
Aoife Martin, Matisse During May second year History students went to Russborough House in Co. Wicklow. The journey took about an hour and a quarter. We were met by a tour guide and were shown a short film about the history of the house and its owners. Our tour guide took us around many of the rooms. They were very impressive with paintings and furniture from around the world. In the basement, there was a theatre where we were shown a 3D film and 3D photographs. When the tour was finished we went outside for our lunch. The grounds were huge and there were a lot of cows grazing in the fields. We then went to a maze that was very difficult to get out off, even Mr O' Mahony got lost!! We had a brilliant time.
SCP are sponsoring trumpet lessons for first and fourth years organised by Ms Doherty. These take place after school on Monday. It has proved a great success and it is a delight to hear the sounds of the trumpet throughout the school.
The Drama Club's production of X-FACTOR meant Mercy College had a visit from Mr Simon Cowell. Students from 1st, 2nd and 3rd year took part in the drama club this year and it was a great success. Drama Club will be starting up in September and is open to all interested students. Coolock SCP also supported two 6th year students, Niamh McManamly and Leanne Walsh to take part in World Youth Day in Madrid in 2011. We have sponsored a number of students to take part in school trips and events. If you interested in taking part in these lessons or any of the activities mentioned just pop into Linda, Co-ordinator Coolock SCP, her office is beside the Language lab.
Deirdre McCall. She qualified recently with B.Sc. in Multimedia. She has now undertaken further studies. EXCERPTS FROM DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND SKILLS SUBJECT INSPECTIONS "It is clear from the prizes awarded for student achievement, the whole school celebration of Maths Week, and the Mathematics articles in the school newsletter that great pride is taken in the work done in Mathematics in the school and that Mathematics enjoys a high profile position." MATHS
EXCERPTS FROM DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND SKILLS SUBJECT INSPECTIONS "The atmosphere in the lessons observed was very positive and characterised by mutual respect for all. The rapport between teachers and students was very good. At all times students' behaviour was pleasant and courteous" "It is clear from the behaviour of students that they feel secure and affirmed whilst engaged in their learning." ART