Horton Hears a Who - Seussical

Rugby Trip to Belfast by Alec Ahern, Luke Armstong and Patrick O’Donnell

Hi, Alec Ahern is my name. Recently my rugby group ,Old Crescent R.F.C, went up to Belfast to participate in one or two tournaments. On the first night we watched the Ulster and Leinster game live, in Ravenhill, and the atmosphere was electric. It my first time watching a rugby game live and it lived up to my expectations. The next morning, we headed down to get breakfast. After breakfast we got on the Paddywagon bus and went to the tournament. It was very well organised and we played very well in the tournament,which hosted over 1200 people! We won some we lost some but overall it was a great day. The next day we travelled to Dublin and we had to get up early to get there on time . We played very well again and after lunch we set off on our journey home. The bus was full of smiley faces and some sleepy ones too. We were greeted by our parents at the clubhouse, returning solders of a battle. Overall it was a fantastic experience for me.

Hi, this is Luke Armstrong and Patrick O’Donnell. We also went to Belfast to play with Old

Crescent R.F.C. We stayed in a nice hotel in Belfast after watching the Ulster and

Leinster game live in Ravenhill. The following morning we went to play laser tag and it

was great fun. Then we went back to the hotel and got changed into our rugby gear and

went to Ballyclare to play the matches. At the club, there were tons of fun games and

bouncing castles. When all of the matches were over we had a barbeque after which we

went back to the hotel and our beds. The next morning we woke up early and drove to

Seapoint, Dublin to play a tournament before heading back to Limerick. It was a great

weekend and we had a brilliant time. We were all exhausted coming home!

Swimming Lessons at Askeaton Pool

The boys went to Askeaton Pool and Leisure Centre for a series of 8 swimming lessons.

They thoroughly enjoyed the lessons and improved their swimming skills under the expert

guidance of the instructors at the centre.

School Tour 2015

My name is Gavin Normoyle. This year Scoil Naomh Iósaf had another good school tour.

We went to the “Aqua Dome” and a brand new activity centre in Tralee. The Aqua Dome

has a swimming pool with lots of activities e.g. the rapid river, the slides and the wave

pool. The new activity centre has various bouncing castles, zorg balls and team building

exercises. We were given a Carambola lunch, a healthy lunch of a piece of fruit, a

sandwich and an oatmeal cookie. We went shopping at Crag Cave gift shop on the way

home. We all thoroughly enjoyed our day in Tralee.

The West Hurling Final

This year our very strong hurling team won the West Cup after a long, hard battle against

our arch-enemies, Shountrade. As we made our way to Mick Neville Park, Rathkeale, our

nerves had gotten to us again. This was the third year in a row that we had gotten into

the final, but the past two years we didn’t win it. After the first half of the game we were

losing and we knew we had to step up our game, which we did about half way into the

second half. Cathal O’Neill popped the ball to Mark Twomey who neatly put it into the

back of the net. We were now beating them by 2 points but the our team did not get

cocky. With 5 minutes left in the game, Cathal O’Neill put another one in the back of the

net and sadly for Shountrade, that was the end of the game! After parading around Adare

for 20 minutes, we went home with the “smell of victory shining off our shoes”. We were

then waiting for the Leader Cup semi-final against Doon C.B.S.

Primary Games and Mackey Cup

Hi, I’m Cathal O’Neill and I was selected to play in the Primary Games during the Limerick

and Clare match. I was chosen on the basis of my performance in the Mackey Cup

competition. In the semi-final of the Mackey Cup we played the East and even though we

scored 3 – 7 we still lost. It was a very high scoring game and there were 6 goals and 20

points scored in 40 minutes. It was a great honour to put on the West jersey and an even

bigger one to wear the green and white of Limerick for the Primary Games.

The Visit to my Farm

My name is Mark O’Brien and this is my story. 5th and 6th class came on a school trip to

our farm to see the Robotic Milking Machine in action. It all started in October when my

family and I were on a TV programme called the “Science Squad”. The following day, I

told my teacher about the programme and our robotic machine. He was very interested

and wanted to organise a tour for the class to visit the farm. This was arranged with my

day for a day in April.

Parents brought the boys to our farm and my dad gave them a tour starting with the robot.

They saw how it worked and how cows came in to be milked of their own accord. Dad

explained how his milk production had increased since he bought it and that the cows

were more content. Dad also showed them how the gates diverted cows to the different

fields after each milking. They also saw the calves which they were very fond of and

some kids even named the calves. The whole tour took about an hour and a half and I

think everybody really enjoyed it. I’m very proud of my dad and hope to follow in his foot-

steps and to produce top-quality milk for Golden Vale.

Swimming

My name is Oliver Corbett and I am a member of the Limerick Swimming Club. I have

been swimming here since January. We train 3 times a week on a Monday, Friday and

Saturday. I have been to five galas so far and I have won 2 gold medals, 2 silver medals

and a bronze. It’s great fun and I have made lots of friends and swimming keeps me fit.

Barra Coffey also swims with me. I am so lucky to be able to participate in these amazing

galas. I hope to swim in Olympic 2024.

Sports Week

This year our Sports Week took place from Monday 15 th to Friday 19th June and once

again we were blessed with the weather. There were lots of different activities, including

River Walks, Teddy Bear Picnics, tennis, tag rugby, orienteering, pitch and putt and a

street handball blitz took place with mixed teams from our school and Our Lady’s Abbey.

It was a very busy and enjoyable week and a welcome break after all the study and tests

of recent weeks. Thanks to all of the teachers for organising and leading the activities.

Front Line Stage School

Hello, my name is Cian Hanrahan and I started front Line Stage School in September and

have really enjoyed it. Every Tuesday, me and my brother Óran, Michael and Ronan

Murphy, Michael O’Mahony, Jack O’Connor, Barra Coffey, Aaron and Oisín O’Sullivan,

Sam Hickey, David Moore and Zach O’Connor go along to the Village Hall. There are

also boys from the younger classes in the school at an earlier time. Boys and girls from

other schools in the village also attend and it’s nice to make new friends. We do different

activities each week for example singing, dancing and acting. Stage school is run by

Pamela an Jean McGlynn and sometimes their mom, Gerdie, helps out. We all know

Gerdie from our school shows! On the 15 th March this year we performed in the Limetree

Theatre in Limerick City. There were several different acts in the show and our main act

was from the well-known movie, Bugsy Malone. We had great fun and really enjoyed

rehearsals. There are definitely some budding actors in our class! We all hope to sign

up for another year of stage school in September.

Table Tennis

My name is Hugh Lawler and I am part of the table tennis team with David Howard, Aaron

O’Sullivan, Michael O’Mahony and Mark Twomey. Earlier this term, 5 th and 6th Class held

a table tennis competition to determine who would be on the team and the five of us were

chosen. In early April, we played Caherdavin in the school hall and we beat them. A few

weeks later, we went ot Shanagolden for the Limerick Community Games Table Tennis

competition. After beating all the teams, we had to play the school B-team in the final and

we won against them.

Ever since then, we have been practising every Saturday morning in the school hall, being

coached by my dad. The Munster Finals will be held on the 4 th July in UL so hopefully we

can win that too.

Desmond Soccer

I’m Jack O’Connor and I play soccer with the Limerick Desmond U12 team. We train

every Monday night for the Munster Championship against North and South Tipperary,

Cork, Clare, Kerry and Waterford, The training is intense so you have to fight for your

place on the team. A couple of weeks ago, we played in the Quadriangular Tournament.

We played against Athlone, North Tipp and Kerry. We won all our games and at the end

of the day, there was an award for the player of the tournament, which I won!

Music

Hi, my name is Michael Murphy and I play traditional Irish music. I play the tin whistle, the

button accordion, the drums and the bodhrán. I attend music class every Friday night.

We start in September and have a break for Christmas, then we start up again after

Christmas until summer. The music class on Friday is for solos and then we have group

practices on Sundays after Christmas. This year I was in the age group 12-15. My

teacher has two 12-15 groups, one for people like me who are just 12 or 13 and one for

people who are 14 or 15. My teacher has her own competition called the Féile. The

Féile was a preparation for the Limerick Fleadh. On Sundays we would practice for an

hour and a half. Our group came second in the Féile to my sister’s group. 4 weeks later,

we entered the Fleadh in Glin. Our group came 4 th out of five groups and my sisters

group came 3rd so they are in the Munster Fleadh. I love Irish music and I will definitely

keep it up in the future.

Juniors and Seniors School Tour

This year our Juniors and Seniors had a very exciting tour to Bunratty Folk and Heritage

Park. The boys got to see a blacksmith working on a horseshoe and some of them even

got a chance to help him out. The highlight of the day was a visit to Fossett’s Circus

where they got to see jugglers, trapeze artists, fire-eaters and other amazing acts in the

circus ring. Everyone’s favourite was the clown who kept the crowd entertained during set

changes and who also showed himself to be a master at bubble-making. The boys

arrived back at the school at 3.00 p.m. tired but very happy after their day out.

Tennis

Our names are Ronan Griffin, Louis Morrissey and Liam Harty. We are in 5 th and 6th

class. We play tennis during the week. After school on Mondays we join Stephanie’s

tennis club. Then we practise with our companion’s during break time in the tennis court.

Also, Louis and Ronan go to Limerick Lawn Tennis Club. Sadly Liam doesn’t join us here.

Louis and Ronan’s coaches are called Jack and Sinéad.

Louis is in Green Go and Ronan is in Orange Pro. These are different levels of tennis

lessons. These run from Red Smasher all the way up to Yellow Excellence Squad. We

all enjoy and play tennis because it is fun, quick, enjoyable and it keeps us fit as a fiddle.

We are planning to continue playing tennis for years to come and turn out like Novak

Djokovic! We are looking forward to Wimbledon this year. Bye everybody!

Juniors and Seniors Matches

The highlight of our sporting year are always the Juniors and Seniors Hurling matches.

This year was another cracker with intensely fought competitions held on Friday 19 th June.

The boys were all eager to show off the skills that they had learned during the year under

the expert coaching of Tony Dunne with the help of class teachers Áine Toomey and

Deirdre O’Riordan. Every ball was hotly contested and every score was hard won. The

parents and extended families who turned out to cheer the boys on were not disappointed

with the level of skill and determination on display. After the matches the boys were

presented with their medals. We had an Ice Cream Funday in aid of Down Syndrome

Ireland after the matches and we raised €383 so a big thank you to everyone who

organised and supported this fund-raiser.

First Holy Communion and Confirmation

The Communion took place on Saturday 9 th May and once again the Parent’s Council

hosted the Communion breakfast for the three schools in the school hall and marquee.

The hall was beautifully decorated for the day thanks to their Trojan work and the catering

was first class. Thanks to all who helped out on the day.

The Confirmation took place on Thursday 28th May with Bishop Brendan Leahy performing

the ceremony.

Sixth Class Graduation

The graduation of our 16 sixth class boys took place on Wednesday 24 th June. There was

a mass in Holy Trinity Abbey for all of the school in the morning. Then the graduation

ceremony took place and refreshments were provided afterwards in the school for the

boys and their guests. We would like to wish Alec, David, Liam, Barra, Hugh, Darragh,

Johan, Michael O’Mahoney, Cathal, Cian, Gavin, Scott, Mark, Aaron, Michael Murphy and

Jack all the best in their new schools. They will be missed and will always be welcome to

drop in and see us any time.

Sixth Class students helped to decorate the school hall with self-portraits in the “Pop Art”

style for their graduation. Well done artists one and all!

Cratloe Woods Walk

Fifth and Sixth Class together with Barry O’Riordan and some of the parents went walking

in Cratloe Woods on Tuesday 23rd June. After a trek to the top, there were fine views to

be savoured of the surrounding countryside and the Shannon Estuary. It was a lovely, dry

day and they were able to have a barbeque beside the lake and also to enjoy the lovely

playground with zip wires and other amusements. It was a lovely day away from the

books and classroom and all of the boys enjoyed the trip.

School Play

This year the boys performed in “Horton Hears a Who, Seussical” in the Village Hall on

25th and 26th March. Once again it was a very professional production and all of the boys

were superb. Thanks to Gerdie McGlynn for producing the show and to Bart Kiely and

Aidan Boland for the music. Our teachers and SNAs, as always, put in a lot of hard work

in getting the show on the road. The Hall Committee were very helpful and

accommodating to us and we would like to thank them for letting us stage the show in the

hall. The costumes and sets were amazing and we would like to thank the Parent’s

Council for making the sets and decorating the hall.

Quizzes

Well done to all of the boys involved in the various quizzes during the year, particularly to

the team who came third in the recent Credit Union Quiz. Thanks to Sadie Neville for

taking the teams after school and preparing them for the competitions.

Talent Competition

My name is David Moore and I am in 3rd Class. I entered a talent competition with my

local stage school. Some people did magic tricks, sport skills and singing. It was all for

fun. I decided to sing and I was so nervous when I got up on stage. I sang “Uptown

Funk” and I was so happy to come in 3rd place. It was great fun!

Seapoint Rugby Trip

On the last day of the rugby season, Sunday 26 th April, James Keating, Michael Keating,

Luke Armstrong, Alec Ahern, Aaron Flynn and myself Óran Hanrahan all travelled to

Seapoint, Dublin with Old Crescent R.F.C. The rugby tournament consisted of teams

from all over Europe. We had two teams in the U10 category and we played 4 matches

each. Overall every team played well and there wasn’t one player standing off the ball.

Everyone had great fun and at the end of the day we all got a T-shirt as a memento.

Thank You to all our Friends and Sponsors

During the year we have had various events and we would like to thank all our parents and

friends for supporting them. You have been very generous with your donations of spot

prizes for raffles and cakes and buns for other events. We would also like to thank Mike

Canty of Crescent Veterinary Clinic for sponsoring our Animal Magic day on Monday 22nd

June, Liam Ruttle of Party Time for the bouncing castle and Tom and Ursula Howard of

Alfresco Marquees for our communion marquee.

Barry’s Retirement

After 21 years as Principal of Scoil Naomh Iósaf, Barry is retiring. The staff and students

will be forever indebted to him for his loyal and selfless service to the school. He has

enlightened, educated, engaged and endured. Barry, to the rest of the world you may just

be a teacher, but to all of us in Scoil Naomh Iósaf, you’re a HERO!

From the Staff and students of Scoil Naomh Iósaf

Parents Association – Scoil Naomh Iosaf

Summer holiday time has arrived and the boys are enjoying lots of fun events at school after a hard year’s work. Thanks to all the teachers and staff all their great work all year and for organising the end of year activities and games.

Since Christmas the Parents Association have enjoyed organising, helping and assisting the school in various events. Our annual Fun Pub Quiz took place in Pat Collins’ bar in February. The night was very enjoyable and the quiz was a great success in raising the funds needed to pay for the boys’ annual musical show. Thanks to all the parents for your fantastic support.

This year the show, Horton Hears a Who!, was a thoroughly enjoyable production for both the boys performing and the parents watching. A big thank you to all the parents who helped out with the set production under the guidance of Joan O’Halloran. Also thanks to all who contributed spot prizes for our Raffle over the two nights.

We hosted a lovely party to help celebrate First Holy Communion in the parish on the 9 th

May. A huge thank you to all parents who contributed in any way – be it baking cakes, decorating the hall, serving on the day etc. This really is a wonderful event to be involved in and every year huge appreciation is shown by the families who attend the party.

We welcomed our new 2015 Junior Infants to the school for their Induction day on 12 th

June. It was a lovely morning for the new students, a chance for the parents to meet other families and purchase their books over a cup of coffee in the school. The schoolbook sale took place on the same day and parents were able to get their booklists sorted for the start of the new school year.

Continuing what is now a very successful annual event we will hold our uniform recycling event on Thursday 25th June in the school hall.

We are sad to say goodbye to our retiring School Principal, Barry O’Riordan. Barry has been a wonderful principal and teacher. He has made Scoil Naomh Iosaf a fantastic school and a wonderful educational experience for all who have attended it. Barry has been a pleasure to work with always open to parents’ ideas and concerns and we are very sorry to see him go. We wish him the very best of luck in this retirement.

We would also like to congratulate Stephen Lavin who will take over the role of principal and we look forward to working with him in the years ahead. .

Hope you all have a happy, healthy and sunny summer! See you all next term!

Karina Byrne

Parents Association Chairperson

Thirty nine years ago when I began teaching in Scoil Naomh Iósaf, Adare Boys N.S., little

did I think my journey would be so enjoyable and rewarding. During this time, I have been

so privileged to teach so many great students and work with so many interested and

dedicated teachers. Together staff and parents have crossed so many bridges and

enjoyed so many special moments in the lives of our students – your sons.

I am so proud of Scoil Naomh Iósaf, where the staff of our school work so hard in creating

an environment that is inclusive, friendly and encouraging. All who visit our school

comment on the happy and energetic atmosphere they experience during their interaction

with our students. The support we receive from the parents in our school is outstanding.

Down through the years parents have met the different challenges – be it a building

project, a development program in technology or the provision of backdrops and props for

a show. All have been completed and achieved with enthusiasm and hard work,

accompanied by friendship and coffee breaks.

Our students are outstanding and have shone out in all aspects of life, from outstanding

tradesmen, high achieving academics, talented sportsmen and creative businessmen.

We have been blessed with many hard working Boards of Managements who at all times

supported the staff and the needs of the school.

The core value of our school has not altered through the years – we aim to give our pupils

the best primary education and develop their talents in whatever field they are gifted in.

We aim to give them a platform where they can express themselves in confidence and

without any inhibitions, learning at all times the true meaning of honesty and respect.

There is a certain sadness in ending such an enjoyable career but time waits for no man

and it is time to begin a new chapter for both the school and myself. I wish Stephen and

his staff well in the years ahead and I have no doubt that you the parents and students will

give him the same support you afforded me. Without your support my job would have

been so much more difficult. I thank you for your support – but remember in supporting

the school, you are playing a huge part in your son’s education.

The school has played such a big part in the life of my family and it so important to us. I

may not be in the school but we will not forget you. Thank you for everything!

Sir (Barry) and family