St. Gerard's Senior School Winter Newsletter 2022

Oíche Nollag

Máire Mhac an tSaoi (1922-2021)

Le coinnle na n-aingeal tá an spéir amuigh breachta, Tá fiacail an tseaca sa ghaoith ón gcnoc, Adaigh an tine is téir chun na leapan, Luífidh Mac Dé ins an tigh seo anocht.

The Sky tonight is lit with the candles of Angels, The bite of the frost is in the wind from the hill, Raise the fire and get yee to bed, The son of God will lie in this house tonight.

GERAGHTY Headmaster

The Board of Directors, the management of the school and all of the staff wish to convey our sincere congratulations to the Class of 2022 on another remarkable set of Leaving Certificate results.

The Class of 2022 exceeded all expectations through their resilience and hard work, and I am extremely proud of their achievements despite the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic over the last two years. The teaching staff deserve enormous credit for their dedication to their students with six years in a row of an academic average of 486 points, highlighting the consistence of educational excellence throughout both the Senior and Junior School.

The class average CAO 2022 Points is another new cord of 510 points per student. Previous 6 year records are of 496 points in 2021, 467 points in 2020, 470 points in 2019, 477 points in 2018, 489 points in 2017.

• 17% attained in excess of 600 points

• 31% attained in excess of 550 points

• 55% attained in excess of 500 points

• 80% attained over 450 points

• 96% attained over 400 points

• 100% attained over 382 points

• 14 students attained in excess of 600 points, including 3 students attaining 7 H1 grades (725 points!) and 4 students attaining 6 H1 gradesb (625 points!)

St. Gerard’s School are proud of our mixed ability ethos and we are delighted to celebrate the success of all our students. The holistic development of our students is equally important to their academic progress, so that we can continue to produce young men and women who are educated, thinking and caring individuals.

We wish the students of the Class of 2022 every success in their journey in life. We wish them well in the knowledge that the spirit of St. Gerard’s School will remain with them forever as they strive to be the best that they can be, and that “Memor”, to be mindful of others, will be forever present in their hearts.

Aaron Corry Head Boy Aisling Lyons Head Girl

TOM

Junior Certificate Results 2022

Congratulations to the Junior Certificate Class 2022 on their excellent Junior Certificate Results. This is the first year of the full Junior Cycle curriculum examinations.

• 40% of all grades were attained at Distinction or Higher Merit (75%+)

• 49% of the grades were attained at Merit level

• 89% of all grades attained were at Honours level (over 55%)

• 33% of the students attained a maximum of ten honours

• 66% of the students attained nine honours

• 76% of the students attained eight honours

• 86% attained seven honours

• 92% attained six honours or more.

This set of results augers extremely well for the group with their chosen Leaving Certificate subjects. The average honour for students in the year group was an excellent 8.47 honours per student.

This is a most capable Transition Year group who have the ability of continuing their academic success to Leaving Certificate level with excellence in attainment.

We are a mixed ability school and are extremely proud of the achievements of ALL our students. I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank all of my colleagues on the teaching staff who have worked tirelessly to ensure that the continued excellence of academic standards and repeated quality attainments of the students under their care are both cultivated and enhanced annually.

Many thanks to our parents for your ongoing support and encouragement in all things academic and congratulations once again to the Junior Certificate Class of 2022.

Merry Christmas HAPPY NEW YEAR

Head Boy and Deputies

Head Girl and Deputies

SCT Hockey Captain and Vice Captain

SCT Rugby Captain and Vice Captain

Student Council

Things have been busy since our return to school in September.

We held our elections online at the end of September and after a tightly fought battle, we have our newly elected reps. There was a lot of interest in joining the council this year, especially in Fifth year.

The student council have been very active this term. They have been meeting with Mr Geraghty and the liaison teacher, Ms Fanning on a monthly basis to discuss school matters. At the end of October, they organised a nonuniform day in aid of Ms Buckley’s son Alex who has a rare condition and the community raised 3570 euro, a huge sum which will go towards adapting his home to meet his needs. Thank you all for supporting us.

Recently a group of our reps attended a youth summit named Comhairle na n-Óg in the Parkview hotel in Newtown. This was a brilliant event with young people from all over Wicklow in attendance. We intend on creating some fun in the school in mid-December with a Christmas-themed non-uniform day.

Science Week

The theme of 2022’s Science Week was ‘Infinite Possibilities’. Our First Year pupils presented posters illustrating what ‘Infinite Possibilities’ means to them. They are on display in the Science corridor - make sure to go and take a look. Each year group took part in the space lander challenge during lunchtime. There were lots of creative thinking and problem-solving skills on display. Well done to everyone who participated. The whole school accepted the final challenge, a space-themed quiz, where everyone showed off their knowledge of all things celestial.

ISTA Senior Science Quiz

St. Gerard’s school had two Sixth Year teams participating in the ISTA Senior Science quiz, which took place in Trinity College, Dublin during Science Week. Team A comprised Alex Barcoe, Max Mooney and Neil Finn and Team B included Ben Barrett, Millie Nowlan and Anna Reynolds. Both teams did very well, competing against 59 teams from schools across Dublin. Team A came 10th overall and Team B came 22nd. Well done to all involved.

Past Pupil Visit

Past Pupil Kevin Olohan’s Visit

Past pupil Kevin Olohan came in to speak to the Third Years. It was a great workshop and certainly beneficial. It is always lovely to see a past pupil’s face!

Father Gabriel Conor Daly OSA and George Byrne who met with members of the Student Council in October.

Soroptimist

This year Pippa Bellows entered the Soroptimist Public Speaking Competition for young women. The local heat was held in Loreto, Bray, with eleven students from local schools. Pippa’s speech was on ‘Peace and Democracy’ which was influenced by one of her TY goals which is to meet as many politicians as possible. Unfortunately, she did not progress to the next round but we look forward to entering the competition again next year!

Rotary Youth Leadership Competition

Two of our 5th Year students, Charlotte Ballagh and Isabelle Rhatigan, took part in the Rotary Youth Leadership competition this year. Rotary is a global organisation that works to unite people, problem solve and create positive change. The leadership competition offers students the opportunity to develop their leadership skills and become involved in Rotary International. Both girls were interviewed by a panel of judges and had to make a presentation on an aspect of school life that they would change or improve. Charlotte Ballagh was chosen to represent the local Rotary group in the regional and national finals of the competition which is a great achievement. Well done to both girls.

Concern Debates

Our Senior Concern Debate team of Eva Harbourne, Ruby Geelon, Charlotte Finnegan Quirke, Kate Freney, Florence Clopin and Katelyn Glass returned for a second year. The six girls are competing excellently and have been unfortunate with split results so far. All of them are eligible for the competition next year and with the experience they have gained over the past two years, they will be a thoroughly formidable team again next year.

Debate Club

Debate Club has continued to run this term in the Library. Every Friday morning between 8.15 and 8.45 the hot topics of the day are examined in great detail. The most impressive argument this term was about which style of cooking potato was best to eat! This is a great way to argue and discuss the things that are vital in our lives and get to hear the opinions of others. Everyone is welcome to attend, all you need to do is show up with an opinion!

Luca Gheta Memorial Senior Debating Cup

The opening round of the Luca Gheta Memorial Senior Debating Cup took place this term. This internal competition, arranged by the Sixth Years, was open to all senior students. The standard was high, setting a very high bar for the later round. The first-round winners were: George Daniel, Laura Hogan and Florence Clopin; Pippa Bellows, Charlotte Finnegan Quirke, Aaron Corry; Timothy Langan, Ruby Geelon, Scarlett Glynn and Eva Harbourne, Orla Long, Christian Higgins.

UCD Junior Debates

Eight students have represented St. Gerard’s in the UCD Debates this year. The students, Charlie Geelon, Lucy Curran, Amber O’ Donohoe, Isabelle O’ Donovan, Matthew Burke, Michael O’ Cuinn, Alice O’ Leary and Isabelle Lynch have competed excellently. With one more round to go in the group stages, each team is in a strong position to qualify for the next round.

Chess

Congratulations

St. Gerard’s School Chess Competition

Well

to Kavin Venkatesan (Second Year) on his success at the U14 World Chess Championships in Romania, coming 26th overall and winning seven of his eleven games.

done to First Year student Fionn Stroh who won the St. Gerard’s School Chess Competition during Wellbeing Week.

Kavin Venkatesan

Music Festival 2022

Congratulations to all of the acts on their tremendous performances. Each student worked extremely hard and is a credit to the school and their families.

Winners on the night were:

Junior Vocal Soloist Category Winner ~ Daria Bokovenko

Runner-Up ~ Alice O’Leary

Junior Instrumental Category Winner ~ Olivia Vondrys

Runner-Up ~ Hannah Duffy

Groups

1st Place ~ Aoife Ní Chuinn, Micheal O Cuinn

2nd Place ~ Uliana Nedilko, Colm Kavanagh, Chloe Holohan, Olivia Vondrys

Senior Vocal Category Winner ~ Eva Harbourne

2nd Place ~ Katie Callan

3rd Place ~ Laura Hogan

4th Place ~ Peter Catterson

Highly Commended ~ Kevin Day

Senior Instrumental Category Winner ~ Leo McNally

2nd Place ~ Patrick Chen

3rd Place ~ Charlotte Ballagh

Thank you to our MCs Aaron Corry and Peter Catterson for a most entertaining evening. Many thanks to our Judges on the evening; Ms Annaliesa Evans and Mr Chris Currid. A special word of thanks and gratitude to Ms Jackie Olohan, Ms Diane Owens and Roisin Currid for producing, directing and choreographing our Music Festival.

TY SOCIAL AWARENESS

The Transition Year Social Awareness group had a busy term as always. The students organized a wonderful Bake Sale for THE MAKE A WISH Foundation. The school community baked or donated an array of stunning and delicious cakes, cookies and buns. The Bake Sale made over €2,400 for this extremely worthy charity. The students organized a speaker from THE MAKE A WISH FOUNDATION to address their group. The students then presented the cheque. The students organized a compelling presentation by the inspiring and wonderful JACK KAVANAGH. Jack shared his life story with the Fifth year and some of the transition year students. Jack suffered a catastrophic spinal - cord injury aged 20 which left him with just 15% muscle function. He spoke about his remarkable journey and the importance of well-being and health as drivers for resilience and performance. Jack was the subject of the award-winning documentary Breaking Boundaries (2016).

The Social Awareness group organized the annual Team Hope Shoe Box Appeal. They encouraged the whole community to participate in this wonderful appeal and over 300 boxes were donated. These boxes will be distributed to children of Eastern Europe this Christmas.

During the Christmas Bazaar week, the Social Awareness team organized a Bake Sale for the whole school, in order to raise funds for local charities. The transition year students visited the local nursing home in Enniskerry. They entertained the residents and spread some Christmas spirit.

Focus Ireland Sleep Out

In October, a group of ten TY students took part in a Sleep Out to “Shine a Light” on homelessness in Ireland. The team (Tara Carey, Aoibhe Hoey, Isabella Wilkinson, Eleanore Bourke, Orla Long, Isabelle Smith, Isabella Stewart, Holly Danaher, Katie Coleman and Pippa Bellows) raised over €10,000 for Focus Ireland. When I signed up to do the ‘sleep-out’ I didn’t expect to find it so difficult. I knew it would be uncomfortable, but it was not until the next day that I fully realised the effects of sleeping rough. I was exhausted. I cannot imagine that being the reality of everyday life for so many people. I feel that this sleepout has humbled me and allowed me to empathise with those sleeping rough. I hope to be able to help Focus Ireland end homelessness again in the future.

By Bella Wilkinson

SVP Junior Conference - Letter Drop and Hamper Packing

Our annual tradition of helping the Dean’s Grange SVP letter drop continued this year. Twenty-six TY students braved a very cold and wet morning volunteering to deliver over two thousand five hundred letters to homes in the area to appeal for additional funds to help families in crisis at this time of year.

St. Gerard’s students have willingly participated in this event over the last three years and have raised large sums of money each time, our expectations were surpassed last year when we discovered that we raised €23,500 from a few short hours of work. We were delighted to support Ms Geraldine Bramwell again this year and I would like to thank Mr Danny Dent for helping to organise this event with me.

Christmas hampers packing also took place with TY students, under the tutelage of experienced 5th-year students. In total, over four hundred Christmas hampers were packed and distributed throughout Wicklow. We were most appreciative to the many parents and students who volunteered to help with the delivery of these hampers. Without their help this would not have been possible. A huge thanks to Ms Ciara O’Connell for organising both the Hamper Packing and Letter Drop.

Our annual Christmas Hampers packing event took place on the 16th of December, I would like to acknowledge the hard work of all the TY students and the Fifth-year students who ensured the day ran smoothly and efficiently. This is a time of year when we often suffer from donation fatigue so it is a wonderful opportunity for the students to see how by giving their time freely they can do wonderful work for charity and for those less fortunate. A total of over four hundred and fifty Christmas Hampers were packed and distributed throughout Wicklow. We were most appreciative to the many parents and students who volunteered to help with the delivery of these hampers. Without their help, this would not have been possible. My thanks also to my colleagues for their help with deliveries too.

Our Transition Year

Our Transition Year experience has been so enriching and exciting so far. With the pandemic, our Transition Year experience has been different to what we could have ever expected, but we really appreciate all the accommodations that have been made by our Year Head, Ms Ciara Ní Mháirtín and the Co-ordinators, Ms Jill Roy and Ms Niamh Scallan, to give us the best possible year.

Photography Course

In September, a group from our year completed a super Photography Course. A professional photographer, called Una, showed us all the skills around working with a professional camera and the overall art of photography. We each got a camera for the day, and found it entirely different from being on our phones! We developed a variety of skills throughout this course and we all really loved getting to express our interest in photography with our friends.

By Kate Loughran

Film Workshop

Over the week of the 26th of September, our year took part in a fantastic film workshop. In this workshop, we developed a much greater understanding of cinematography, sound, and lighting. I found it really interesting how each small component of the production can make such an impact on the appearance and mood of the scene; whether it changes the time of day or the importance of a particular part of the set. Each form group had to create a short film, and each student had a role to play in the production. This workshop was a great opportunity to gel with our new classmates. Overall, we all thoroughly enjoyed this workshop as it was an opportunity to express ourselves and work together to achieve our common goal of creating the best short film we could while laughing and joking the whole way through the workshop!

By Charlotte Coffey

Film Workshop

Self-Defence

Our year participated in a self-defence course over three days. The physical part of the self-defence course was very enjoyable We learned how to block punches, avoid grabs and even dodge knives! We had a competition on who could pin someone to the ground - which was hilarious. On the last day, we completed our assessment which was very tiring. Overall, this course was very helpful for real-life events but also fun at the same time.

By Ruby Tuthill

Self-Defence

Develop Me

In September, our year group participated in the Develop Me workshop. This fun workshop focuses on two critical areas for students; project management and understanding effective teamwork. The whole workshop is based around a board game, which is a really interesting way of working on teamwork. We got split up into groups depending on our form classes. I loved this bit of competition and it brought out the rivalry between groups. While most teams planned to bring back a fortune of gold, this was certainly not the outcome! Afterwards in the debrief, everyone realised how a different approach to the challenge would have yielded far higher results. They showed we didn’t need any more resources, time or ‘luck’ to do this. We learned that everything we did in the game to find the goal was really just lessons that can be applied to daily life. The principles of successful project management that emerge are seen to be just as relevant to real projects or situations in the real world.

By Laura and Maya Hammond

Difference Day

Difference Day is a really special part of TY. This year, fifteen of us travelled to Peamount Hospital to help build three new garden areas for the residents. The day was organised by LexisNexis and there were around forty other volunteers helping as well. We were split into three groups and each group had to build a garden. A professional builder was assigned to each of the teams, and was there to guide us in everything we did. We got to work straight away, shovelling out gravel to use as the base of our garden and raking the stones to make it even. We definitely strengthened our teamwork skills and also communication skills. The most amazing part of the Difference Day was that we got to meet the residents that we were building the gardens for. It kept us working hard all day as we wanted to get the job done properly for these lovely people. It was an incredible experience seeing the before and after of our hard work. By far the best part of the day was seeing the residents come out and use the gardens that we had built for them. We look forward to the opportunity to volunteer for things like this in the future and would highly recommend this to anyone of any age.

By Robyn Nowlan

Camping

In September, all of the fourth-year students had the opportunity to go camping. This was a trip that had been boasted about by former TY students and we were all ready to go. During the two-day trip, we went on two hikes which were by far the highlights of the trip. Though they were long the pain we endured was worth it for the breathtaking views. We returned freezing and famished and had to make do with our own cooking and catering skills (some, we learned, were better than others!) We all woke up freezing in the middle of the night, our teeth were chattering and our fingers were numb. We concluded our hard day’s work by congregating around the hot campfire and roasting marshmallows. Overall, it was an amazing trip; we got to talk to new people and experience many new things. Everyone returned home exhausted but happy.

By Isabelle Smith

Barista Course

Music Mondays

Library

Debbie Thomas Workshop and Honor Mullion’s Bronze Word Millionaire Badge

Author Debbie Thomas conducted a series of immensely enjoyable workshops for First Years. Debbie also presented a copy of her latest book “Chameleon Dad” to Honor Mullion, the first student to earn her Bronze Word Millionaire Badge for reading and reviewing five novels, a fantastic achievement! Her silver medal beckons!

Book Club

We have been holding book clubs every week in the library this year. With themes ranging from the author Derek Landy to Halloween, we had a good turnout for our Halloween-themed Book Club meeting on the 27th of October!

Poetry Aloud

This year the school was represented by Timothy Langan (TY) and Abaigeal Flynn (First Year) in the Poetry Aloud competition. Both students performed excellently despite the difficulty of recording and submitting online. With results pending we are optimistic about success!

Wellbeing Week

26th – 30th September 2022

Congratulations to both students & colleagues on the success of our 6th Wellbeing Week. The week was full of uplifting experiences.

A special word of thanks to the Student Leadership team, the Wellbeing Committee and colleagues for organising such a wide range of different presenters and fun events throughout the week which all contributed to the success of the Wellbeing Week. Well done to our Prefects and Ambassadors for developing the initiative of the various coloured ribbons to promote the week and show solidarity amongst the students and staff.

St. Gerard’s Day

Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist

Congratulations to the following students on their commissioning as Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist: I wish all of the Ministers of the Eucharist every success with their ministering here in the school and in particular in their own parishes.

Ava Stanley Aisling Lyons

School Liturgies

With the Covid restrictions behind us, it was wonderful to bring the school community together to celebrate with the Mass for the opening of the School Year.

Fr. John O’Connor was back with us as we welcomed our new First Year students and saw our older students branch out from the bubbles they’d been kept in, to rekindle old friendships and form new ones. Our theme was ‘Celebrating Togetherness’ and the energy produced from having the entire student body together was palpable.

The St. Gerard’s Day celebrations were another tradition we were delighted to see renewed. After the fun and excitement of the quiz and the trek over the breathtaking Wicklow hills, we came together at our St. Gerard’s Day Mass to praise God and ask for his blessing. It was a special day for marking all that makes St. Gerard’s unique as a school community.

There has perhaps never been a year when we have needed to be held in the loving arms of Christ more than this year. We are a family and losing precious members of our family has been almost impossible to bear. At each Mass and indeed at every moment of the day, we have kept Grace, Luca and Akbar in our hearts.

Isabelle Kidd

Sarah India O’Donohoe

Peter Catterson

Aaron Corry

Fionan Denver Finn O’Connell

Joshua Butler Adah Lynch

Victor Cullen Louise O’Riordan

International Students

This year we have welcomed a wonderful cohort of International students who have come to experience our amazing school community. The students began their St. Gerard’s journey with a special Commissioning Celebration hosted by our student Ambassadors and Prefects. The international students embarked on a ‘Wild Wicklow Way’ tour, several team-building activities and a Christmas Activities Week. With their diverse set of talents, they have been participating in the choir, crosscountry races, the music festival, soccer, rugby and hockey. We are looking forward to the new year with a fun tour of Dublin, a trip to Howth and a host of other exciting opportunities.

Retreats

In the first term, retreats took place for the First, Third and Sixth Year students. In January the Fifth Years will travel to Limerick for their annual retreat, whereas the Second Years will have an in-house retreat in February. The Transition Year students will travel to Dromantine in May. The First Year retreat was run by the Mustard Seed team and was full of energy and excitement, the perfect ending to a long week of Christmas exams. The Third Years visited the Dominican Priory in Tallaght. Sixth Years visited Glenstal Abbey in Limerick. The purpose of this retreat was to give the students an opportunity to come together as a community of friends to help them to work through the difficult summer that they had with the loss of their dear classmate Luca Ghetta. It also gave them the opportunity to take stock as they looked ahead to their Leaving Certificate year

Feis Ceoil

Congratulations

Turas ó ThuaidhTrip to Belfast

Some of the Fifth and Sixth Year students went on a day trip to Belfast in September. The aim of the trip was to get an insight into the North’s troubled history, to see some of the iconic sights and to get an appreciation of our culture and identity.

Our first stop was at Stormont. Due to the current political situation, the Assembly is not sitting but the consequences and the impact of Brexit was explained to the students. Ar aghaidh linn to City Hall where we visited the exhibition highlighting Belfast’s history and also the many cultural figures who have contributed to the sporting, musical and literary world in the North. We did a City Tour bus trip around the various parts of the city, from the Titanic Quarter, the Cathedral district to the Peace Wall and the Falls Road. Bhí deis again cuairt a thabhairt ar Chultúrlann Mc Adam Ó Fiaich. D’éisteamar le léacht ón Stiúrthóir. Mhínigh sí faoin ról lárnach atá ag an Ghaeilge in Iarthar Bhéal Feirste. Tá ionad Oidhreachta beomhar maraon le Gael Scoileanna i gcroílár na cathrach. Tá muintir Bhéal Feirste fíor bhródúil as tradisiúin agus a dteanga dúchais.

Chríochnaíomar an turas le roinnt siopadóireachta i Victoria Square. Turas suimiúil a bhí ann agus bhain gach duine sult agus tairbhe as.

Fuair na daltaí léargas ar stair na hEireann agus ar ár n-oidhreacht ársa.

to Charlotte Finnegan Quirke, who won the Kay O’Cuilleanáin Cup for U16 solo singing at the Feis Ceoil. There were 22 girls in the competition with Charlotte wowing the judges with her personal choice ‘A Stóirin Bán’ by Larchet

Second-Year Home Economics Trip

In October, we checked in for our Aer Lingus flight to Rome. Our lovely Irish friend Judy met us at the airport and organised our transfer to Rome Central. We had a pizza lunch in Campo di Fiori and some free time in Rome’s famous food market. In the afternoon we visited the Vatican Museums, had dinner in Hard Rock Cafe and then took a train to Naples with a bus transfer to Sorrento. Friday was filled with lots of activities; a coffee roasting and tasting presentation, a visit to a bee farm with a presentation from the resident apurist. This was followed by a visit to an olive plantation where we saw how olive oil is made, with lots of flavoured oils available for tasting. At lunchtime we visited a farm which produces homemade mozzarella and ricotta cheese, we stayed there for lunch and enjoyed delicious fresh mozzarella and ricotta lemon cake. We returned to Sorrento for an ice cream-making demonstration and a tasting session before we went for a gnocchi-making demonstration and dinner. Saturday morning was spent touring Pompeii and in the afternoon we spent time exploring Sorrento. Saturday evening we learned how to make pizza and enjoyed participating in some traditional Italian folk dancing. On our final day, we returned to Rome and visited the historical highlights of the city, including the Coliseum, the Pantheon and the Spanish Steps. Legend dictates that you must throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain to secure a future trip back to the ‘Eternal City’ so we all elbowed our way through the crowds to secure our return. A wonderful four days with a great group of Second Year students and colleagues.

Ciara O’Connell

Representative Sports Honours

HOCKEY

Leinster U18 and U16

Congratulations to Indie O’Donohoe (U18), Hannah Duffy (U16) and Eva Doyle (U16) who all represented Leinster this past weekend.

Both the U16 and U18 squad faced Connaught in their first interprovincial game of the season. U16 girls won 7-0 and the U18 girls won 5-1.

Congratulations to all three students and best of luck with the rest of the tournament.

Well done to both Lucy Willoughby who is a member of the Leinster South U18 development panel and Juliette Duffy who is a member of the Leinster U16 development panel.

Irish Women’s U19 UEFA Euro Qualifiers

Congratulations to our Senior Hockey Captain Abby Tuthill on her continued presence at the UEFA Euro Qualifiers with the Irish U19 Team. The team has drawn with Poland, beat Northern Ireland and lost to France, and will now move to Phase 2 of UEFA Euro Qualifiers. We wish you every success Abby in the next stage of this major competition!

SWIMMING

National Swimming Championships

Congratulations to Molly O’Bric (Fifth Year) who won Bronze Medal in the National Swimming Championships and set the Junior Irish record in the relay in the Schools Inter-provincials.

NETBALL

A huge congratulations to Alannah Whitelaw who was selected for the U17 Ireland Netball team. The team travelled to Gibraltar to compete in the U17 Euro Netball Championships. The team had huge success winning the silver medal. Huge congratulations to Alannah and the team.

GAA

GAA U14 and U16 Wicklow

County Finals

Congratulations to Siofra O Farrell (1st Year) and Ciara O Farrell (2nd Year) on becoming U14 Wicklow County Champions after beating Annacurra in the U14 Wicklow County Final with their team, Éire Óg.

Congratulations to Grace Rush (R.I.P) and Ciara O’Farrell (2nd Year) on becoming U16 Wicklow County Champions after beating Ballinacor in the U16 Wicklow County Final also with Éire Óg.

This is a great achievement for the team, well done.

There has been a huge number of fixtures, training, competitions and more throughout this very busy term. We have fielded teams in hockey, rugby, golf, tennis, soccer, cross-country and equestrian. Our students have all represented the school really well in various sports. It has been fantastic to see the campus so busy every Wednesday and Saturday with fixtures and training sessions. Well done to all the teams so far this season and best of luck with the rest of the year!

Equestrian

We have had some good results in various events so far this season. Well done to all students who have been competing and representing the school so well. Our St. Gerards Show Jumping event was postponed due to bad weather but we are really looking forward to the event which will now be held in December.

Some of our notable results from the season so far include Cocobelle Manning winning the 1.10 individual competition in Barnadown. Ali Condren finished 2nd in the 80cm individual competition in Coilog Equestrian. Our open team won Best Turnout at the same event. Our Green Novice team finished 5th out of 28 schools and won the Best Turnout prize in Barnadown. A huge ‘well done’ to all the students who have represented our school so far this season and all the best for the rest of the year!

BASKETBALL

With the introduction of basketball into the multisports programme in St. Gerard’s this year, we are continuing to build the numbers of those participating. It is encouraging to see a nucleus of junior and senior cycle boys getting involved through the weekly games programme. With mixed basketball on a Thursday, the programme is open to all students wishing to get involved. The emphasis so far has been on creating a fun environment to work on fitness, teamwork and skill development through small-sided games. This provides the players with more opportunities to make decisions and develop game skills, by getting up more game shots and offering a more natural tendency to pass more often.

GOLF

The Junior Boys golf squad competed in the Leinster Regional qualifying round in Delgany in October. Conditions proved testing, but pupils scored very well and finished in the top ten. Unfortunately, it was not enough to progress through to the Leinster final. Our Senior squad had also played in their regional qualifier in Woodbrook GC, but, unfortunately, finished outside of the qualifying scores.

As part of our Extra Curricular Activity programme, our school golf winter lessons took place again in Dun Laoghaire Golf Club. Pupils, from both senior and junior schools, attended an eight-week programme under the tutorship of a professional. Another group of lessons will hopefully take place in the Spring, and details will be sent out in due course.

Annual Parent & Child Outing

Congratulations to Isabella Stewart and her father, Keith Stewart, in winning the claret jug this year. The event was again played in Powerscourt Golf Club on a very kind autumnal day. Played as a Scotch foursomes, Isabella and Keith shot a very consistent round of golf to fend off nineteen other teams on the East course.

Senior and Junior Girls Golf

A huge well done to both our Senior and Junior Girls’ Golf Teams who represented the school so well. Our Junior Team played in the Hermitage Golf Club before the midterm. Our senior girls’ team played at Greystones Golf Club where they narrowly missed out on qualification. It has been great to see an increase in the number of girls playing golf in the school so - well done to all! and keep it up!

BOYS SENIOR SOCCER

The squad started the season with virtually a new squad of players, with six returning from last year’s cup team. The first game of the season was a friendly against Rockbrook School. After a good start, we quickly went 1-0 up, but finished the half 3-1 down! A strong second half resulted in a well-earned 3-3 draw. With another win and a draw to follow, the squad were set up for their first cup match. The draw for the Senior Cup had been made, which had a massive 120 participating, and we were given a preliminary round game against Synge Street. After going a goal down early on, we ran out 12-1 winners. So on the Senior squad marched into the first round of the Leinster Senior Cup away to St John’s of Ballyfermot. A good 2-1 win sent the squad through to the second round. We were handed a tough draw next against Blackrock College who were Champions last year. Unfortunately, we were well beaten 4-0 by a very good side who play in Division 1 and boast a team that all play football for various teams outside of school. Following this, all attention turned to the league campaign in early December which saw the senior squad play beat St Killian’s, a side we beat in the Semi Final of the league last year, which now means progression into the knock-out stages of the league after Christmas.

CROSS-COUNTRY

It has been an exciting season so far for our cross-country squad. They have had a busy first term and it has been brilliant to see the numbers back up with so many students competing. We have had three events this year in Avondale Forest Park. We started the season off with a relaybased competition where we had over 50 students competing. We had great success on the day with our First year boys and girls winning gold as well as our Third year boys. Our Second year boys took home silver. Well done to all! We had some great individual results with Malachy Kenny taking home the 2km gold, Isabelle Smith and Isobel Lynch took home the 3km silver and gold respectively. We are very much looking forward to the rest of the season, particularly the East Leinster Championships in January. Well done to all of our athletes.

TENNIS

The Tennis Programme at St. Gerard’s has had a great start to the year. Participation is high and many of the players are developing a host of new skills. The players showed great focus in their first competitive fixture vs St. David’s CBS, winning 3-0. Our remaining eight subs also played one-set matches to ensure they got match play. Due to our extended player roster, we will be employing a rotational policy throughout the year. The rotational policy ensures every player gets the opportunity to excel in the competitive environment for Gerard’s. Following this, we will be holding trials in Spring for our league teams.

HOCKEY Senior Cup Team

Our Senior 1 squad have had a solid season so far with some great results. The squad has been training hard since August and they have shown great development across the board. With the return of fixtures, we have been able to really focus on our gameplay and match tactics. All the players on the squad have worked hard individually both in the gym and on the pitch. Our goalkeepers’ development has really benefited from continued positionspecific training with our goalkeeper coach Aoife Glennon whom we are extremely lucky to have.

Some notable results so far this season include victories over Alexandra College and Loreto, Dalkey. The team had a tough start to their league campaign suffering a loss to Newbridge College in the last two minutes of the game, but refocused and bounced back magnificently. The team faced St. Joseph of Cluny in the first round of the Leinster cup and it was a game where the Senior 1 squad showed their quality and came out on top with a 3-0 victory. After the victory in the Leinster Cup, we had to switch our focus back to the league to play Alexandra College in a must-win game. The team showed their quality with a 2-1 victory. We were then drawn against Holy Child, Killiney, who are the current champions, for the second round of the Leinster Cup. We were lucky to play at home and had tremendous support from everyone in the stands. Unfortunately, the match did not go our way, ending in a 2-1 loss but the Senior 1 squad did the school proud and gave the Leinster Champions a run for their money.

With the Leinster cup done now for the Senior team, all the focus has now shifted to the remaining League games to see if we can finish in the top four.

Senior 2

Our Senior 2 team has large numbers this season, which makes all training sessions and matches so enjoyable.

They find themselves in a very tough league group this year with the likes of Muckross College, Wesley College and Alexandra College. Although some results have not gone their way, they have remained determined. They have fought on the pitch for some really good results against strong opposition, drawing with Holy Child, Killiney on two occasions this season, coming back from behind in both fixtures.

All the members of the Senior 2 team have worked really hard throughout the term. They have made huge progress on the pitch, in the gym and as a collective group. There is always a very good atmosphere at team-training and on the sidelines during matches. The team has two more league games in the run-up to the Christmas holidays and we look forward to seeing how they continue to grow!

Senior 3

Our Senior 3 squad this year is mainly transition year students. The team had a slow start to the season but over recent weeks the girls have shown a much more competitive side. The girls have made huge personal and group improvements since the start of the season and are determined to learn new skills and progress. The team have had an unfortunate start to the season losing their first match to the always-strong opposition, Loreto Foxrock. Although the team had a 3-0 loss to Foxrock, they took the defeat and used it to motivate themselves as a group in their training sessions, determined to win their coming match against St. Columba’s College, which they did. The team travelled to St. Columba’s College on a rainy Wednesday afternoon, but they did not let the bad weather stop them from scoring two goals in the first half. St. Columba’s College kept the team under high pressure for the remainder of the game, but the girls worked together to hold them off, finishing the match with a 2-0 victory. Although the¬ Senior 3 team have had a tough start to their league campaign, they have shown resilience throughout every match and their motivation and determination to win again has shone through at each training session. The Senior 3 team will take on Loreto, Stephen’s Green for their final league match of 2023, which should be a great match.

Junior Cup Team

Our JCT squad have made huge strides. The squad has been working very hard since pre-season in August both on the pitch and in the gym. There is a great team atmosphere with both the Junior 1 and 2 teams.

With eleven fixtures played so far this season, the team has won five which is a good record. The squad has had notable results against Rathdown, Loreto, Dalkey, Alexandra College and The High School. The team has a tough league group where they have narrowly lost fixtures. They have had some brilliant team performances in the league but just fell short. They will face Loreto, Dalkey in the league come the new year.

The team faced St. Wolstan’s School in the first round of the Leinster Cup. This was an away fixture which built great excitement for the girls. The team had an extremely convincing 8-0 victory; they played fantastic team hockey, moved the ball very well and performed as a team. The next round of the Leinster Cup will be a home fixture against The High School.

The team still has a huge amount to play for this season. They are developing very well and have made huge progress since playing at the minor level. We are all really looking forward to the rest of the season.

Junior 2

This season, our Junior 2 hockey team has been off to a great start. The step up from Minors to Juniors is a significant one, and this year’s team has made the most of the challenge. All players participate in daily field training sessions as well as a strength and conditioning program in the gym with Cara, demonstrating the team’s motivation and passion. Our Junior 2 campaign began in September when we played Loreto, Foxrock. We lost narrowly with a score of 0-2, but it was a close loss. The girls were motivated by this outcome, ensuring our two games against Loreto, Dalkey and Alexandra College ended in a draw. Although games may not always go in our favour, this team always recovers, as shown by our most recent friendly victories over Holy Child, Killiney (6-0) and Rathdown School (1-0). These friendly games proved to be great testers before the competitive league.

Minor Squads

The Minor hockey teams have been developing as a group very well this term so far. They are making

huge progress both technically and tactically at their level as well as playing some very nice hockey with mixed results to date.

Minor A’s have had a win, a draw and a loss in the Leinster league to date. These were all hard-fought games dominating the majority of play just not being able to turn this into goals which they are working hard at training to rectify. They have also progressed to the second round of the Minor cup after beating Loreto, Balbriggan 2-1.

The Minor B’s have played several matches and have been very unlucky to come out on the wrong side of so many close games. They are progressing very well and this was shown in the great result against Mount Sackville which finished 5-0.

The Minor C’s have been playing really excellent hockey and creating lots of chances in their games so far only losing two of their games to date and scoring 13 goals in their seven matches so far this season which is a fantastic statistic.

All the teams have many more league games and are looking in good shape for the remainder of the season to progress in the leagues and the cup if they keep working hard and developing as much as they are. The second half of the season should be very exciting.

1st Year Hockey

First year hockey was back to normal this year with the return of the eight-v-eight league matches before Christmas. To prepare for the leagues, each team has played a number of friendlies which included wins over Rathdown and Loreto, Dalkey. We also had a great trip to Kilkenny which really put our girls to the test including a great sing-song where Taylor Swift’s hits were proven to be popular. With the league wrapping up we wait to see who our opponents will be for teams A2 and B1 who have progressed to the next stages. As a squad, we are currently preparing for our transition to 11-a-side matches with excitement looming about finally being able to do short corners.

RUGBY

Senior Cup Team

Pre-season training began for the group in August with three sessions a week and an emphasis on strength, fitness and core skills. As the players began to gel and get to know one another lots of of fun was had in the training sessions while at the same time the levels of effort were constantly reviewed.

The squad were on the road for their first four games of the pre-season. Games against Methody Collage and Wallace High School allowed the players time to bond on the bus journey up north. These games provided a draw and a win for St. Gerard’s SCT respectively. Matches against Belvedere College and Wesley College resulted in narrow defeats for St Gerard’s, but despite this the mood remained positive.

The final friendly fixture saw St. Gerard’s play Rockwell College from County Tipperary. This was the team’s first home fixture and the pitch was in great condition after the summer. A great performance was rewarded with a win, scoring 40 points in process.

Onto the Leinster league. We were dropped into the toughest group we can remember, starting with two difficult journeys, first to Kilkenny College and then to Cistercian College, Roscrea. The home games were against a very strong Presentation College, Bray and Newbridge College. Despite incurring losses, the effort and physicality were never in question and in every game, the players were in the fight right up to the whistle. Up to the last play of the game against Roscrea, we were still fighting and still in with a chance of getting through the group stages. The group simply never gave up. Unfortunately, this time around it was not enough and we finished outside the top four and did not make the quarter-finals. With many Fifth Years having made the team, they will be able to draw on their experiences in next year’s campaign.

The SCT is now entered into the Vinnie Murray Cup in early January. The draw has been made and St. Gerard’s will face St. Andrew’s College. The lads are continuing to work to improve and are looking forward

Senior 2

With a small squad this year the senior seconds are performing well. In the league, we have had two good wins against Presentation College, Bray and Killkenny College away. Following this, the team suffered narrow losses against a strong Newbridge College side, Clongowes Wood College, Terenure College and Roscrea College.

This leaves us mid-table going into the new year with still plenty to work on and the possibility of advancing to the next stage of the league. We are waiting for the results of the other team’s fixtures and are hopeful that we will progress to the next round The squad is made up of a mix of Sixth, Fifth and TY students. Many of the players will carry forward this experience into next year. With SCT matches coming up over the Christmas break many of our Senior 2 players are looking for their opportunity to impress in training and to secure a spot in one of these matches.

TY Squad

The Transition Years got off to a very promising start to the year, drawing their opening two games against very strong Wallace High School and Belvedere College sides. Playing some very exciting rugby, the TY squad were very unfortunate to not come away with victories in both games. Convincing wins against Wesley College and Cisterian College, Roscrea showed the potential within this group. Having linked up with the Senior 1 and Senior 2 squads over the past number of weeks, the TY were poised to start their Leinster League campaign in December.

Junior Cup Team

JCT rugby commenced pre-season back in June, during which time the foundations were slowly put in place for the season ahead. The playing group understand that this is a special year in their rugby careers and were determined to put their best foot forward from the start. Goals and standards of behaviour were agreed to by the players and they set to work. As well as on-field training, the boys have also had a structured and tailored strength and conditioning program delivered by Junior Cycle S&C Coach, Sam Carey. Preparations continued and training became more and more rugby specific towards the end of August as the beginning of the school year approached. After a few friendlies and looking at different combinations in the build-up to the League, the JCT then travelled away on a tough road trip to Newbridge College in the first League match of the campaign. Trailing 3-0 at halftime, the team eventually lost 27-10. Next up was another tough away trip to Presentation College, Bray in difficult conditions and a heavy pitch. Behind with ten minutes remaining, the team rallied to score two late tries to win and put their season back on track. This result also guaranteed qualification for the Leinster Schools Junior Cup. Back to the comforts of home, the JCT then followed this up with two brilliant victories against Kilkenny College and the previously undefeated Cistercian College, Roscrea to end up finishing second in their group. This secured a home quarter-final. The character and resilience of this group was obvious and the hard work was now starting to pay off. In front of a big crowd under lights on the main pitch, the JCT secured a fantastic 18-16 win v Wesley College in the quarter-final. In the League Semi-Final which followed, the team lost to a strong St. Vincent’s, Castleknock College.

Junior 2

JCT rugby commenced pre-season back The Junior 2nds have had a tough season so far, but there have been some solid performances with Daniel Hogan and Josh Byrne leading from the front. The pair have been a consistent force throughout the year, producing man-of-the-match performances on a regular basis. The Presentation College, Bray matches were a highlight of the year for both teams. The derby was played in Presentation College, where the locals relished the home advantage. At the final whistle, both the JCT and Junior 2nds celebrated their well-earned victories, both walking away with local bragging rights. With the way both squads are developing, we hope to see more of these performances in the near future.

U15 Rugby

So far it has been a really promising season for the U15 squad. We have seen improvements in skill development and performance from the guys this season.

The B team have been simply excellent, achieving an unbeaten record across seven games. They have shown a huge amount of character, skill and team spirit throughout the season so far, winning games in some tough-to-win venues such as Blackrock College and Newbridge College. The performance of the B team this season has been a huge driving force for the success of the overall squad. The A team struggled early on in the season losing the opening three games and seemed to lack an identity. This is no longer the case. Winning their last four matches the A team have finally sprung into life beating St. Andrew’s College, Presentation College, Bray, Newbridge College and CBC, Monkstown. Overall, it has been the attitude and commitment from the playing group that has made the difference this season. Every day at training we turnout over forty boys all striving to push themselves to get better every week. It’s a pleasure to work with a group like this and we’re all excited for the rest of the season.

U14 Rugby

With very little rugby played in Standard 6 by this group of players due to COVID restrictions the focus this year has been on the development of the players’ skill set and understanding of their roles during a game not only as individuals but as part of a team. After a slow start to the season that saw the side suffer heavy defeats to Gonzaga and St. Michael’s, the players’ dedication and commitment to training resulted in a string of impressive victories over Clongowes Wood College, Templecarrig, St. Andrew’s and Willow Park, as well as an undefeated run at The King’s Hospital Blitz. If the improvement shown by the U14 squad so far this season continues into the New Year then there is every reason to be excited by what the future holds for rugby in St. Gerard’s.