The Prince of Monaco, His Serene Highness Prince Albert II meets St Josephs Bloom team
St. Joseph’s win at Bloom
St. Joseph’s Secondary School won the top prize, the Certificate of Distinction, in the postcard garden category on the opening day at the Bloom Festival in the Phoenix Park, Dublin. Entitled “Drogheda on the Boyne” the garden is a portrayal of a bright vibrant town where the image of yesterday is very different to the one of today. It was designed by Leaving Cert student Thomas Finnegan with assistance from Transition Year student Michael Traynor. It features well known historical landmarks in Drogheda; the Viaduct, Millmount and St. Laurence’s gate. To construct his design in four weeks, Thomas assembled a team which consisted of Niall Leonard (Caretaker and Horticulturalist), Mr Bernard Sharkey (History teacher), Ms Tracy Murray (Art teacher), Ms Karen Murphy (Technology/Woodwork teacher), Mr Damien McDonagh (Science teacher), Mr Cian O’Neill (Woodwork teacher), Mr Declan Farrell (Woodwork teacher) and Bryan Gardiner.
The garden was officially opened by Alison Cowzer, co-founder and marketing/innovation director of East Coast Bakehouse, a biscuit manufacturing business in Drogheda. People that visited the garden on the opening day included President Michael D. Higgins, Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin and RTE’s Marty Morrissey. The Bloom team would like to thank all their sponsors and Mr David Madden (Principal), Mr Paul Savage (Deputy Principal) and the Board of Management of St. Joseph’s for all their support.
Group Photo - Left to Right:
Thomas Finnegan, Bryan Gardiner, Ms Murray, Mr O’Neill, Ms Murphy, Mr McDonagh, Mr Farrell, Niall Leonard
St. Josephs goes to Bloom
St. Josephs Secondary school is proud to announce, that it has an entry accepted for the Bloom festival in Dublin. Entitled “Drogheda on the Boyne” and designed by LCA student Thomas Finnegan, it will compete in the Postcard Garden competition. Thomas’s design was selected from thousands of entrants and features well known historical landmarks in Drogheda: the Viaduct, Millmount and St. Laurence’s gate. Thomas and his family have always had a keen interest in gardening and have attended the Bloom festival for the past number of years. At Bloom, Thomas was inspired by the creativity and hard work that the designers put into their gardens and hoped that one day he could also display a design at Bloom. In late February this year Thomas was browsing the Bloom website where he came across the Postcard Garden competition. He thought it would be the ideal competition to enter on behalf of the Green School Committee in the school, of which he is president. Having consulted with Michael Traynor (Vice President of the Green School committee,) Mr. Sharkey and Ms. Murphy, Thomas completed the design and application form for the competition. Across his Easter holidays from school Thomas found out his design had been accepted.
With his dream now realised, Thomas put together a team to assist him with the construction of his design, which includes Michael Traynor (Vice President of the Green Schools Committee), Niall Leonard (Caretaker and Horticulturalist), Mr Sharkey (History teacher), Ms. Murray (Art teacher), Ms. Murphy (Technology teacher) and Mr. McDonagh (Science teacher). The design will be constructed in school and then assembled on site in the Phoenix Park. All plants for the design were purchased locally.
The Bloom festival runs from the 1st to the 5th of June 2017 in the Phoenix Park, Dublin. Further information and photographs will be available in the coming weeks on the school website www.droghedacbs.ie
St Josephs Junior Rugby team take the Duff Shield !
The Junior Rugby team won the Duff Shield in Donnybrook on March 15th defeating Naas CBS 25 points to 11. Captain Harry Lipscomb seen here lifting the trophy.
Musical Celebration of Modern Drogheda
On Friday next 10th February in the St. Peter’s Church of Ireland Hall, Peter St, Drogheda at 7pm the Drogheda Civic Trust in conjunction with Irish Public Bodies Insurance Community Engagement Fund present the pupils of Sacred Heart School, and St. Joseph’s CBS, in an evening celebration of their musical cultural heritage. The concert will involve students from both schools celebrating their own musical heritage from a range of cultures and traditions culminating in a joint piece highlighting their shared Irish experiences here in Drogheda. The Drogheda Civic Trust welcomed the support of I.P.B. Insurance Community Engagement Fund. The purpose of the fund is to support projects rooted in the local area, led by local people and to improve the quality of life for those living in their community.
‘The involvement of the IPB has allowed us to further explore the issue of integration in our town which we first examined through our History of Religions in Drogheda project' said Civic Trust Chair Denis Cummins.
All Welcome
Friday 10th February 7pm, St.Peter’s Hall CoI, Peter St, Drogheda
National Ploughing Championships 2016
On Thursday 22nd September, 5th and 6th year Agricultural Science students, along with teachers Mr. McDonagh and Ms. McManus travelled to Screggan, Tullamore, Co. Offaly to the National Ploughing Championships. It was another year of record breaking attendances for the championships, with 283,000 people in attendance over the three days. The students visited the many exhibitors present on the day and gained valuable knowledge on the numerous companies involved both directly and indirectly with modern agriculture.
Philipe Saint André joins students at training camp
Philipe Saint André recently joined students from St Josephs at a pre Alps training day at The Curragh. Saint André is a former rugby union footballer who earned 69 test caps for France. After retiring, Saint-André found success as a rugby coach in both England and France. He was serving as director of rugby at Toulon before being announced as the successful candidate for head coach of France from 2011 to 2015. 25 students will travel to Tignes in the Alps on Sep 6th for 6 days for some pre season training at the PSA academy. Pictured above are L-R: Evan McGinn, Conor Sweeney, Maeve Hackett, Philipe Saint André, Niall McDonnell and Aaron Kierans.
Tricolour now proudly flies at St. Joseph's
The Tricolour now proudly flies at St. Joseph's Secondary School. Well done to teachers Mr Sharkey, Mr O Suilleabhain and TY student Ryan Sands for delivering a moving oration of the Proclamation in English and Irish and a short biography of Eamonn Ceannt.
New Rugby Kit Revealed for St Josephs
Masterchef Cookery Compeition
We recently had a parents’ council fundraiser night at the school. It was a Masterchef Cookery Competition which incorporated a raffle for parents. Check out all the winners!
1. Nora Devin 2. Elaine Lennon 3. Niall McGinnity 4. Luke Mitchell 5. Jason Kavanagh 6. Nicola Reynolds 7. Lisa Dolan 8. Niall & Michelle Dunne 9. Aisling Coleman 10. Anne McClean
You can also download the winning-recipies here!!
6th Yr Ag. Science Field Trip
Poster Competition Winner
Congratulations to 1st year student George Perry who won the art competition to design a poster to remind students not to use their mobile phones in school. George was presented with a €50 voucher by Deputy Principal Mr Savage in the presence of his art class and Art teacher Mr Kington. The poster will now be printed professionally and displayed in strategic locations arond the school.
Official Opening of the new school facilities
The Official Opening of our new school facilities took place on the 2nd of October, 2015. It was a momentous occasion in the157 year history of the school. Formally a Christian Brothers School we are now a member school of the Edmund Rice Schools Trust, ERST. Mr Gerry Bennett, CEO of ERST, performed the Official Opening and the building has been named after one of our most esteemed past pupils, Dr. T.K. Whitaker. The existing school building and grounds have undergone major refurbishment over the past 18 months together with the construction of the single storey and two storey extension. The school continued to operate during the 18 months construction stage and credit is due to both the entire staff of St. Joseph’s and the main building contractor JJ Rhatigan for ensuring that the construction work had a minimum impact of the education of our students.
The refurbishment work included the demolition of the school offices, corrections room, demonstration room, the stage / classroom 6 and the dressing rooms in the PE hall. This allowed for the construction of modern and spacious offices, a larger student canteen, additional art room, PE hall and staff room.
The new building accommodates four practical workshops, two computer rooms, three science labs, library, additional classrooms and pastoral care offices. The additional sporting facilities now include a mini gym, new dressing rooms, basketball courts and an all-weather pitch.
Current enrolment is 680 students in the 2015 – 2016 year and the increased accommodation increases capacity to 900 students. The new accommodation now allows us to now offer Construction Studies and Technology at Leaving Certificate level.
Have a look for yourself! Download the official opening brochure.
Erasmus Project Fri 9th
In the morning we started off working in our groups to put the finishing touches to our ideas. After this was completed each group had to present their idea to everybody present. There were a lot of new and good ideas during this presentation.After this we went to the computer room to fill out an evaluation form on the activities and events during the week. Then it was time to tidy up the room and put it back the way it was. All the posters were removed from the walls, the extra chairs and tables put back and all the students and teachers from the visiting countries carefully packed away all the materials they had brought. After lunch we had sports activities where Mr. Kent and Mr. O’ Suilleabhain brought all the students involved in the Erasmus project out onto the pitches and basketball court for sport. This was an enjoyable time as after a long week of work it was good to relax. That night we had a farewell dinner in the school for the teachers and students involved the project. There was dinner and desert and each student and teacher was presented with a certificate of participation. Mr. Madden, Ms. Clinton and Mr. McDonagh presented the certificates. After that everybody went home as all the visiting students had to be back at the school at 9am to be brought to the airport. The week passed very quickly and everybody was very busy. I really enjoyed it and I hope to travel to Germany in March next year.
Cillian Hickey TY 2
Smarter Surfaces - Student Report
The day started off with a presentation by Mr. McDonagh on behalf of a company called Smarter Surfaces. They are an Irish company based in Dublin and employ 22 people. They were only set up in 2012. In the presentation we learned what products the company sell and how to use them. The company gave lots of materials to the school for us to use. We started off by going outside and painting small timber boards with smart primer paint. These boards will be covered with smart paint in a week’s time and we will be able to use them in class as small whiteboards, and write on them using ordinary whiteboard markers. After this there was a logo contest, where each country had to design a new logo for the company. This was done using their smart whiteboard sheets which stick to surfaces and act as a whiteboard. After a vote the Italian design won and they received a full paint kit from smarter surfaces for their school. After lunch we were put into working groups. These groups were working on new ideas from what had been learned during the week or expanding on their original ideas that they brought to Ireland. On Thursday evening we had a free evening where no events were planned and we could rest. Joshua Reilly
Smarter Surfaces
Smarter Surfaces are an Irish company based in Dublin. Founded in 2012 they now employ 22 staff. They are a company that provide a range of smart products, from smart wall paint to smart whiteboard sheets. Mr McDonagh gave a presentation on behalf of the company to all the students and teachers involved in the Erasmus + science project. The company provided some samples of their products for the students to work with. The students first started to coat some small timber boards with smart wall primer paint. These boards were then left to dry and will be coated with smart wall paint in the coming days. Once this paint has dried, these timber boards will act as mini whiteboards, which can be written and drawn on using ordinary whiteboard markers. These will prove a useful learning tool for our students in St. Josephs.
A competition was then held and students were asked to design a new logo for smarter surfaces, using only the smart whiteboard sheets and whiteboard markers. Smart whiteboard sheets are sheets that stick by static electricity to surfaces and can be written and drawn on using whiteboard markers. A number of excellent logos were produced.
The winners of the competition were a group of Italian students. They were presented with a full Smarter Surfaces paint kit by the Irish project coordinator Mr. McDonagh. The kit included primer, paint, a roller and brushes. These students will bring this to their school (IIS Cavazzi in Italy) and can turn the walls of their science lab into smart walls. Thanks to Smarter Surfaces for kindly providing all these material for the students.
Erasmus Field Trip - Crann Insititute & National Science Gallery
We travelled to Dublin to the Crann Institute and the National Science Gallery. In the Crann Institute we first got a talk about Nano Science and the research that is being carried out there. Nano Science is the science of very small things (one billionth of something). A lot of research is carried out on graphite (which is found in things like pencils) and graphene. Graphene is a very thin layer of carbon and is one million times thinner than paper. We learned how to separate out graphene into individual layers using washing up liquid and a blender. We were then taken around the labs and got to see some of the facilities there. After this we went to the National Science Gallery and looked at the exhibition there. We then got lunch and got some time to go shopping before we got back on the bus for Drogheda.That evening we went to St. Fechins GAA club where Mr. Ryan and Mr. Stephenson had organised an evening of sport. Our visiting students got to try hurling and trained with the U16s hurlers. After this we had food in the club house. It was a good day and we are bonding well as a group.
by Alan Connor TY2
Erasmus Field Trip - Report by Anthony Kent
The morning started off by finishing preparing the stands for the school open night later that evening. Then all the students visited Monasterboice Round Tower and the High Crosses. We learned about “Búite” a Monk from the 5th century and how he set up the Monastic Settlement. The trip was enjoyed by all.Next we went to Oldbridge House, the site of the Battle of the Boyne. We had lunch and after lunch we did the tour of Oldbridge house. We learned that in the year 1690 the largest land fought battle in Ireland’s history took place in Oldbridge and the surrounding area. There was a laser show, showing the events of the battle and to finish the experience off we took the OldBridge tree-trail. It was a great experience enjoyed by everyone. That evening it was back to the school for the school open night. All the projects had been set up earlier that day with only some minor adjustments needed before people started to arrive at 6 o clock. There was a huge crowd present and lots of people asked us about the project, the posters and the demonstrations we had on show on the night.
Written by Anthony Kent TY1
Matters of Matter: Future materials in Science Education
St. Josephs Secondary school is proud to be part of an Erasmus + KA2 project called Matters of Matter – Future Materials in Science Education. Mr. McDonagh and Ms. Clinton are the co-ordinator’s of the project, which will run for 3 years (September 2014 to September 2017) and is open to students who are in Transition Year. Our school will work with schools from three other European countries – Italy (IIS – Cavazzi Sorbelli) Germany (Gymnasium Papenburg) and Portugal (Escola Secundaria/3 de Barcelinhos). The project involves researching and working with new and innovative materials called smart materials
In March 2015, 10 Transition Year students from our school (Adam Connolly, Euan Reid, Eoin Reid, Dylan Floyd, Aaron Foley, John Holdcroft, Alan McGrane, Evan McGrane, Shane McQuillan and Liam Ryan) travelled to Portugal along with 10 students from Germany and Italy. It was a busy week packed with scientific work and cultural trips. Further information and photographs of our student’s time in Portugal can be found on the project website: www.mattersofmatter.eu From the 3rd to the 10th of October 2015 students from our partner schools in Portugal, Germany and Italy will travel to Ireland. An educational and cultural week is planned for their stay (details will be posted on the website shortly).
Both Transition Year science classes are working with these smart materials. Mr. McDonagh’s class are working on photoluminescent and thermochromic materials, while Ms. Clinton’s class are working on solar cells and smart houses.
Students have been busy over the past number of weeks researching ideas and transforming these into working prototypes. Students have also created small and large posters of their ideas. The small posters form part of the display on the project notice board, while the large posters will be on display in rooms 29 and 30 for our schools open night (Tuesday 6th October 2015 from 6- 8pm).
These photographs show some of the students in Mr. McDonaghs science class working on their ideas and developing prototypes. Photoluminescent powder and photochromic inks change their colour in response to light. Thermochromic inks change their colour when exposed to heat.
Peader McCann Awards 2015
Students who have achieved success in the academic, sporting, extra curricular and community arenas were all honoured at the Peadar Mc Cann Awards Evening. The awards date back to 1958, when they were first established by the school’s Past Pupils’ Union in honour of their beloved Irish, History and French teacher Peadar Mc Cann. You can find a list of the 2105 winners by clicking the link here: PEADAR MC CANN AWARD reciepients