The Spanish Wedding

A Spanish Wedding (Una boda espaňola)

   On Sunday 14-4-13, my Mam, Dad, little sister, uncle and I went to Salou in Spain. We met our family over there!! We were all there to attend the wedding of my cousin-in-law Amaya. The weather over in Salou was lovely and hot.

   On Tuesday morning, we all met up to go on a bus up to the north of Spain which is where Amaya and her fiancé live. The name of the village that they live in is Marcilla. It was very cold there compared to Salou.

  On Wednesday morning, we all got up really early to get ready for the wedding and the house was buzzing with excitement. At first, we had breakfast and then we all got washed and dressed. Then we were all waiting downstairs for the bride and the bridesmaids to come down the stairs.

  After they came down, we walked down the road to the church (with the bride-to-be!!) and all the neighbours and all the people from the pubs came out to look. There was a lot of cheering and screaming.

 When we got there, there were a lot of pictures taken and then the mass had started. I can’t really tell you anything about the Mass because it was all in Spanish!! The only part I understood was the part where they kissed!!

  After the Mass, we all went outside the church. I didn’t know what this was about when someone handed me four hard sweets. Apparently the custom in Spain is to throw sweets at the happy couple.....so we threw them at the happy couple when they came out of the church.

  When that was finished, we went to a big fancy hotel and we had dinner. There were ten small courses. The courses were small but they filled me for the night! We had food like chicken croquettes, spicy Spanish sausages that my mam said were called chorizo and a lot of weird food that was delicious. At the end, we all had a slice of chocolate wedding cake. It was delicious!!

  Then we all got up on the dance floor and danced the night away.

  On Thursday, we were all wrecked after the wedding!! We got on a bus back to Salou. When we got back, we all got our stuff ready to go home because we were going home on Friday. When everything was ready to go, we went to lie down by the pool!!!

  Then Friday came and we all had to go home back to cold, rainy Ireland!!

HT

Rackard League Mini-7 Camogie Shield Champions - 2013

The Faythe school Camogie Team were playing in a Final in Oulart on the 22nd of April . We were playing Kilmyshall and Oulart.

 First we played Kilmyshall and we won by four goals . Then Kilmyshall played Oulart. Oulart beat Kilmyshall by fifteen goals.

 Finally the Faythe school and Oulart were playing for the shield . We all tried our hardest . Everyone was playing brilliantly .

 Aishling , Oliwia and I were subs but we enjoyed looking at the match . He blew the whistles three times, we knew we had won the match. Everyone went wild. We were so happy.

            The Oulart teacher presented our Shield to Niamh ( captain ) and Mary ( vice captain ). Niamh madea speech that she hadn't prepared..... ¨ Oh it was a real hard game , everyone tried their hardest but we won !!¨.

 

 

 

Room 5, First Class’s Trip to the new Wexford Library

On Wednesday, March 20^th, the boys and girls in room 5 made a trip to Wexford Library.   Mr. Turner organised a bus to transport everyone. The purpose of the visit was to introduce the facilities, resources and location of the library to the children and to encourage those who hadn’t already done so to become a member.

Upon arrival, we were greeted by Ms. Kelly, one of the librarians. She spoke to the class and showed us how to borrow and return books using the scanning machines.We then went upstairs to assemble for story time. The children sat and listened to a reading of the story of “Winnie the Witch”, which they reported to really enjoy.

Next, the librarian showed the children the relevant aisles of books for their age group. The children were introduced to new vocabulary such as fiction, non- fiction and author. They completed tasks to locate books using either the title or author of a book. This really was a beneficial learning opportunity in accessing books in the library.

 

Children were given some free time to explore and read books.

A special word of thanks is extended to the parents of the children who attended the library visit and engaged with the children in locating and reading the books. A big thank you also to Wexford Library for facilitating the visit and especially to Ms. O’Loughlin, for accompanying us.

It was an educational experience that fully embraced the joy and pleasure of books and reading, which the children really enjoyed.

 

Daffodil Day 2013

Congratulations, and well done, to Mr. Whelan's 6th Class who co-ordinated this year's Daffodil Day Annual Fundraiser which raised €173 for this very worthwhile cause.

 

Story Activities in Room 3

For a few weeks before Easter, Ms. Roche organised story activities for her class. Parents / guardians together with Ms. Duggan came into the classroom and worked with the children on a weekly basis. Ms. Fitzgerald's Class brought the children up to their class and read for them and they really enjoyed this.

Check out the video.

Seachtain na Gaeilge ~ 2013

"Gníomhaíochtaí ar fud na scoile"

SnaG ~ 2013 ~ Seomraí 3, 4 & 5.

Seomra 3


Seomra 4


Seomra 5

Seachtain na Gaeilge~201 ~Céilí, Seomraí 1 & 2

Fé threoir Ms. O’Loughlin bhí a lán rud ar siúl ‘san Fhaiche’ í rith Seachtain na Gaeilge. Rinne gach duine iarracht Gaeilge a labhairt i rith an lae…"Dia duit", nó "slán abhaile" nó "an bhfuil cead agam?". Bhí spórt mór againn mar bhí a lán dramaí beaga agus gníomhaíochtaí ealaíne ar siúl sna ranganna. Bhí comórtas póstaer (bunaithe ar na seanfhocail) and tráth na gceist againn freisin.

Ar an Deardaoin bhíomar ag tnúth le Céilí Mór a chuir ar siúl sa chlós. Thugamar cuireadh do na tuismitheoirí, do na sean tuismitheoirí agus dár gcairde teacht ar a haon a chlog ach loitigh an aimsir an plean sin.... mar plean B, bhí an Céilí sa Halla. Tháinig beirt ceoltóir agus shein siad ceol do na páistí. Ba í Ms. Duggan an 'MC' agus bhain gach duine sult as. Ba mhaith linn buíochas a ghabháil le Tom and John don cheol agus leis na múinteoirí as ucht a gcabhar ar fad !


Ar an Aoine, cuireadh na drámaí do na ranganna naíonán ar siúl sa Halla agus in ainneoin an aimsir, bhaineamar go léir taitneamh as Seachtain na Gaeilge.

Seomra 1

Seomra 2

Tráth na gCeist (SnaG ~ 2013)

Inné bhí tráth na gceist ar siúl ar scoil mar is é an seachtain seo ‘Seactain na Gaeilge.’ Chuaigh Seomra 15 suas go dtí Seomra 12.

B’í Ms. Fitzgerald ‘an Quizmistress’ ach bhí Mr. Doyle ag obair go dian mar ‘scorekeeper.’ Bhí na ceisteanna eolas ginerálta deacair go leor agus bhí sé ceist sa bhabhta.

Bhí a lán craic againn ach nuair a bhuail an chlog ní raibh an tráth na gceist críocnaithe agis bhí orainn fanacht don Aoine chun é a chríochnú.

Sa deireadh bhí buaiteoirí soiléir agus fuair siad feisteáin peile mar dhuaiseanna.

Buíochas le CLG Naomh Mhuire, Baile Maidlin, as ucht urraíocht na duaiseanna.  

Lá den scoth a bhí ann agus tá súil againn go mbeidh tráth na gceist ar siúl aris an bhlian seo chugainn.

Spring Term 2013

Below find some of the wonderful work completed since January 2013 and proudly displayed throughout the school.

Science Room 15

Please check back later for a written account of our experiments.

School Garden

An 'award winning' school garden does not just 'spring up over night' and while the labours of all those involved are usually seen in the late Spring to early Summer the work is year round.

Recently the girls in Mr. Whelan's class have rolled their sleeves up and done a lot of the 'donkey work' outside under Ms. Mullin's direction. Meantime, in doors, Ms. Dempsey's class were planting loads of herbs that will be a great addition to the vegetables already planted outside.

Over the holidays, the men from the SEFRC are due to deliver 'vegetable boxes' that will allow our green fingered pupils plant an even greater selection of plants. Roll on 'harvest time.'

5th Class visit Selskar Abbey

On Tuesday 5th February Ms. Griffin-Jones' 5th Class visited Selskar Abbey as part of the Wexford Lions Club initiative that saw them work with the Wexford Tidy Towns Committee to ensure safe access to this historic site on a daily basis.

People can now avail of walking tours at 3pm each day. As part of the project, every tombstone in the Abbey grounds has been logged and these details can be accessed from the Wexford Lions Club website.

Our 'tour guide' on the day was none other than Monica Crofton. Monica was for many years Deputy Principal in the Faythe School and had the unique distinction of attending the Faythe for all of her schooling from Junior Infants to Leaving Certificate before returning to work all her teaching career there !!

Not content with this, Monica also penned the history of the school -  'Memories of the Faythe School' -  a specially bound copy of which was presented to President Michael D.Higgins, on the occasion of his visit to the school last year.

Despite the poor weather the class were treated to a thoroughly enjoyable tour delivered in Monica's inimitable style. When the girls returned to school, and thawed out, they wrote an account of their trip and several weeks later Caitlin Clowery was thrilled to be picked as the Faythe School's best essayist and even more thrilled with her 'cash' prize.

Well done Caitlin!

St. John of God Day 2013

A full week's preparation nearly came to 'nought' with the arrival of rain that signalled the end of a beautiful fortnight's weather. But despite the inclement weather, St. John of God Day was celebrated by the school community on Friday 8th March. Plans to walk all the classes down to Bride Street Church were scuppered by the rain but 'plan B' kicked into action and two busloads of pupils were carried to Bride Street to ensure the presence of the School Choir and a representation of the pupil body.

Former staff members and Sisters from the St. John of God Order mingled with the general congregation who enjoyed the wonderful singing of the School Choir conducted by Ms. Griffin-Jones accompanied on the organ by Ms. Amanda Kehoe.

In his homily Fr. Brian referenced the long legacy of the St. John of God Order dating back to 1871 and wished all the nuns well and hoped they enjoyed a great day. He thanked particularly Mr. Whelan's class who prepared the readings and bidding prayers.

At the end of Mass, the Choir sang the St. John of God song, the finish of which was greeted by a well deserved round of applause. Later that morning former Principal, Sr. Marie Jones, former Deputy Principal, Bernadette Parle and some BOM members returned to the school to catch up with former colleagues over a 'cuppa.'

All the teachers got a great response from the children during the week and the whole school had assembled on Thursday in the Hall to finalise preparations. There was great rejoicing when the 'No Homework' tokens to celebrate this feast day were distributed on Thursday evening. Depicting the date and the school crest of 'a cross atop a pomegranate' the tokens were specially designed to fit in the Homework Journal as a small momento of the day.

However responses weren't as positive from the same classes when pomegranates had been distributed before being cut up, examined and tasted!!! The pomegranate is not a well known fruit in Ireland but is abundant in  the city of Granada in Spain where our patron, St. John of God, lived. Also known as the 'wine apple' the juicy fruit is full of seeds and was chosen by the Order because the multitude of seeds in the fruit is a reminder of God's endless love for all.

A View from the Steps....outside Room 10

The video below shows Art and Project Work produced by Ms. Griffin-Jones' 5th Class in the first two months of 2013. An account will follow later.



Tidiest Class of the Month

The shock waves of the January 'shared awards' had barely subsided when the schoolwas hit with the incredible February results that saw many classes taken by surprise when the complete rank outsiders (based on previous form anyway...) rooms 4 and 15 blindsid the opposition to take the February accolade for the tidiest class.

The fact that the award was shared again was shocking in itself but that Mr. Doyle's class and Ms. Kehoe's class came out tops was, in the minds of others, simply amazing. However the judges were not to be swayed and the proof was in the sparkling classes that were rooms 4 and 15.

Such unexpected results now poses challenges for the other classes.....namely

1. can rooms 4 and 15 ever come close to repeating this result?
2. can some of the other classes rise to the standards set by these very unexpected winners?
3. surely neither of these two classes could ever possibly win again........or could they?

They say 'lightening doesn't strike twice' but it did on the last day of January when the two judges unable to seperate Ms. O'Connor's Junior Infants in Room 1 and Mr. Whelan's 6th Class in Room 11 again. Both classes enjoyed a 'treat afternoon' that was so well deserved given the huge efforts both classes put into this novel scheme for Jnauary. Well done to all involved.....again!!

The eagerly anticipated winners of the December Award was announced on the day before the Christmas holidays. All the classes had put a huge effort into tidying and then decorating their classrooms. Ms. Griffin-Jones 5th Class were thrilled to receive the accolade but sensibly held off on their 'treat afternoon' until some dreary day in 2013!!! Well done girls!

The first 'joint-winners' of the Tidiest Class were announced on Friday 30th November with the two judges unable to separate Ms. O'Connor's Junior Infants in Room 1 and Mr. Whelan's 6th Class in Room 11. Both classes enjoyed a 'treat afternoon' and already some teachers are predicting that their classroom will be the Christmas Number 1. Time will tell!!

When Ms. Roche's Junior Infant Class was announced as the October winners there was much jubilation in her classroom....but very soon the questions started.....

How could Junior Infants keep their room so tidy???

What strategies / machinery / products were used???

Had outside help had been secretly used???? 

Despite intense pressure from other pupils (and teachers) Ms. Roche has, thus far, revealed none of her secrets and seems quietly confident of repeating her success.

Watch this space! 

Congratulations to Ms. Fitzgerald's 3rd & 4th Classes who were crowned "Tidiest Class" for the month of September 2012. Following on from 'Routines Week' where great emphasis was placed on each class keeping their own space in order, both John and Mary were keeping an eye on how each class left their rooms after school each day.

ROLL OF HONOUR 2012 - 13

September

October

November

December

 

January

 

February

 

 







"Rock Choir" - some lovely feedback !

On Sunday 10th February, the Rock Choir sang at 10.30am Mass in Bride Street Church. It was a dark, miserable, wet morning but despite the rotten day, 28 of the girls turned up and sang at this Mass which was part of the preparation for First Penance and First Eucharist. The congregation seemed to be very appreciative of the girls' efforts under the direction of Ian and Louise.

However on the Tuesday following the Mass all connected with the Choir were thrilled that one lady, who shall remain nameless, took the time 'to put pen to paper' and thank all concerned for their efforts.

Many thanks to the lady in question whose beautiful message is copied below.

 



Credit Union Quiz ~ 2013

After many years absence the school entered the Credit Union Table Quiz 2013. This was mainly due to Mr. Whelan and Ms. O'Connor who held trials to initially select the two teams to represent the school. Once the u-13 and u-11 teams were selected, preparations took place twice a week at lunchtime.

On Monday 11th February the girls were dropped at the Ferrycarrig Hotel for the 7.30pm start. Schools from all over the Wexford branch of the CU were there but the same quiz with the same questions were held in different venues throughout the county.

Unfortunately after 60 questions for the u11s and 72 for the u13s, neither team qualified for the next round but nevertheless aquitted themselves admirably. The girls had a great night's entertainment and were the envy of their classmated the following day when they arrived into school with their Credit Union 'goody bag.'

U - 13 Team 2012 - 13

U - 11 Team 2012 - 13



School Attendance Week 2012 - 13

Co-ordinated by Ms. Griffin-Jones, School Attendance Week was held from Monday 4th - Friday 8th February. Over the five days a whole host of activities and events were held. Each class was invited to compose a poem, a rap, a song or a rhyme or create a piece of Art to highlight the importance of punctual and regular school attendance and celebrate the efforts made by families and children alike in ensuring attendance continues to improve.

Ms. Dempsey had organised a special assembly for Wednesday 6th February, which was our 100th day of school so far this year (only 83 more until the Summer holidays !!!!) and Dolores had created, printed and laminated beautiful certificates for the 43 people who had reached this quirky milestone on that date.

On Friday, with Ms. Griffin-Jones acting as M.C., all the classes returned to the School Hall and performed and / or displayed their work for the rest of the school.




Ms. Kehoe's 2nd Class performed a newly composed song, aptly named 'Come to School.'  It was so good that it will be used by all classes next year to promote 'good attendance.'

Judge for yourselves how 'catchy' it is by playing the video below.

Scien-tastic with Michelle Maher

Please check later for an account of the four fantastic Scien-tastic Workshops held in the school with Michelle Maher (M.Sc)....until this is posted check out the video file of the day!!

Good Deed January

For many connected with schools January is an unbelievably drab month. There is a palpable down beat mood, following the highs of Christmas and the New Year that is not helped by the weather or the constant ads for summer holidays that seem like an eternity away.

However Ms. Mullins, decided to do something about it when introducing the simple yet brilliant idea of ‘Good Deed January.’ She challenged the pupils in the School to photograph ordinary people in their locality ‘doing something nice’ over a two week period. The photographs could be then sent to her in school via a dedicated e-mail address.

Ms. Mullins was amazed with the number, quality and range of photos submitted, from people cleaning dog litter from the Quay to teachers spinning a skipping rope in the school yard to pupils doing house work to motorists allowing pedestrians cross the road.

Altogether 49 pupils submitted photos which were printed off, mounted and displayed in the School Hall for pupils and parents alike to admire. A film montage of the photos was also made and pupils were thrilled to see their works displayed in glorious technicolour on the school’s computer network.

On Monday 28th January the entire school assembled in the Hall where Ms. Mullins presented ‘No Homework Vouchers’ to all 49 of our budding Ger Hores and Jim Campbell before announcing three special awards for the best photos at the Junior and Senior ends of the school. These six super snappers got a framed copy of their work, a small prize as well as the treasured ‘No Homework Voucher.’ Pupils and teachers are already looking forward to January 2014 which won’t be quiet as dreary as in years gone by!

Athbhliain Faoi Mhaise

At a special assembly in the Hall, the entire school were wished a 'Happy New Year' in the languages spoken in our wider school community before the 'Tidy-Up Review Week' was explained by Ms. Kelly.



The second week of school after the Christmas break was given over to the promotion of ownership and pride on what we do in the Faythe School and in our area. We had already done this at the start of the school year in September and it was decided to have a 're-fresher week.' All concerned with the school are encouraged to be tidy, punctual and responsible for all their possessions and to have a heightened awareness of litter.

Once again, Ms. Kelly co-ordinated the plan which focussed each day on stressing importance of walking through the school on the left hand side and lining up promptly at bell time and in a safe manner.

Each day was a also a ‘special focus day’……

MONDAY – ME

TUESDAY –TIDY UP  

WEDNESDAY – WALK

THURSDAY – TOILETS 

FRIDAY – IN CLASS REVIEW

To finish up, Ms. Kehoe’s class performed their song 'Clean Up' which has become a bit of a hit in the Faythe.

Better Late Than Never !!

Earlier this week while sorting out files on the shared folder, five small films made by last year's 6th Class were discovered.
Ms. Cronin and Ms. O'Loughlin had done cookery with the girls, who made powerpoint records complete with music of all their labours.

The films are shown below complete with (our now) past pupils and it is hoped you enjoy them as much as the girls obviously did when making them.