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.

Santa Visits the Infant Classrooms

On Friday 21st December all the Junior and Senior Infants in the school got a lovely surprise when Santa knocked on the door and visited their classrooms. All the children got to talk to him and some of them even got to ring his bell.
At the end of his visit to each classroom Santa gave all the children a gift that was organised by the Parents' Association.

The Magnificent Forty Seven!!

On the last day before the Christmas Holidays, Deputy Principal, Ms. Griffin-Jones hosted an 'Attedance Awards Ceremony' in the Sports Hall. Children who had missed no days at all in the first two terms, 77 days in total, were presented with beautiful laminated certificates to mark this achievement. All connected with the school are delighted that 47....yes forty-seven...children have been in every day so far this year. HSCL Teacher, Ms. Duggan, was also thrilled to present eight other boys and girls with certificates for hugely improving their attendance since this time last year.

WELL DONE TO ALL CONCERNED

 

 

6th Class Presentations

Full details of girls' hard work to follow.....

Christmas 2012

We hope you enjoy the video montage

 

and Christmas greetings from all in the school!

 

 

MUGA Gaelic Football Final 2012-13

Congratulations to all the children who took part in this year's Gaelic Football League and hopefully some of you will go on to join your local club and enjoy Gaelic Football.

The sponsorship and support of the St. Mary's GAA Club Maudlintown is very welcome and huge thanks are extended to Mr. Whelan and Mr. Doyle for organising the running of the League and refereeing all the matches.

A full account of the MUGA Gaelic Football League and Final will be posted shortly.

Until them sit back and enjoy the video record of this year's final.