leaving certificate and junior certificate christmas … marys newsletter 201516.pdf · st....

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Newsletter St. Mary’s Holy Faith Secondary School Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate Results Well done to all our students who achieved excellent results in the Junior and Leaving Certificate Examinations. We were very proud of all those students who are continuing their studies at Further and Higher Education with record numbers transferring to 3rd Level courses in 2015. Our Catholic Heritage and Ethos We continue to celebrate our Catholic heritage and ethos with the Opening of the School Year Mass and annual Carol Service. Both of these occasions were a joyful reflection and celebration of our school community here in St Mary’s. We are grateful as always to the parents who attended, and to Monsignor Stenson, Parish Priest of Killester Parish. Retreats Retreats for all year groups are taking place on an on-going basis with the wonderful support of Monsignor Alex Stenson. The 3rd years had a lovely afternoon of reflection and quiet in November, with Fr Alex, and their RE teachers, Ms Ryan and Ms Dreeling, finishing with Mass in the Oratory. Christmas Hampers and Shoebox Appeal We would like to thank all the families who contributed items to the Christmas Hamper and Shoe Box appeal. We appreciate your ongoing support. Development Education Workshop Students also undertook a workshop in Development Education at the Irish Aid Centre in Clonmel Street. Past Pupil Talk We had a wonderful visit in November from some of our past pupils speaking about the ‘The Edmund Rice Holiday Scheme’, in which young people give of their time and talent to help give other young people, less fortunate than themselves, a holiday, or a break from a stressful home situation. These students had heard the talk last year, been inspired to get involved in the summer of 2015, and so came back to encourage the present 6th years to volunteer! From small seeds......

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Page 1: Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate Christmas … Marys Newsletter 201516.pdf · St. Mary’s Holy Faith Secondary SchoolNewsletter Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate

NewsletterSt. Mary’s Holy Faith Secondary School

Leaving Certificateand Junior Certificate ResultsWell done to all our students who achieved excellent results in the Junior and Leaving Certificate Examinations.  We were very proud of all those students who are continuing their studies at Further and Higher Education with record numbers transferring to 3rd Level courses in 2015. 

Our Catholic Heritageand EthosWe continue to celebrate our Catholic heritage and ethos with the Opening of the School Year Mass and annual Carol Service.  Both of these occasions were a joyful reflection and celebration of our school community here in St Mary’s.  We are grateful as always to the parents who attended, and to Monsignor Stenson, Parish Priest of Killester Parish.

RetreatsRetreats for all year groups are taking place on an on-going basis with the wonderful support of Monsignor Alex Stenson. The 3rd years had a lovely afternoon of reflection and quiet in November, with Fr Alex, and their RE teachers, Ms Ryan and Ms Dreeling, finishingwith Mass in the Oratory.

Christmas Hampersand Shoebox AppealWe would like to thank all the families who contributed items to the Christmas Hamper and Shoe Box appeal. We appreciate your ongoing support.

DevelopmentEducation WorkshopStudents also undertook a workshop in Development Education at the Irish Aid Centre in Clonmel Street.

Past Pupil TalkWe had a wonderful visit in November from some of our past pupils speaking about the ‘The Edmund Rice Holiday Scheme’, in which young people give of their time and talent to help give other young people, less fortunate than themselves, a holiday, or a break from a stressful home situation. These students had heard the talk last year, been inspired to get involved in the summer of 2015, and so came back to encourage the present 6th years to volunteer! From small seeds......! 

Page 2: Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate Christmas … Marys Newsletter 201516.pdf · St. Mary’s Holy Faith Secondary SchoolNewsletter Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate

Careers NewsStudents from all 6th year classes in Walton, Boyle and Tyndall have had their Careers Interview with the Guidance Counsellor Ms Gormley. As usual students are busy applying for Third Level courses through the Central Applications Office (CAO). Others wish to apply for Further Education or Fetac Level 5 or 6 Courses in the Post Leaving Cert / Further Education sector.

CAO information sessions are taking place this month in various colleges and HEAR and DARE Advice Clinics also. If applying for HEAR or Dare it is important to attend with your daughter.

All details will be given to the students at Assembly and in careers classes. 

European Food Day with TY Students

The Transition Year students study a “European Union” Module in Geography to make the students familiar with the culture, food and traditions of each country. We therefore celebrate a European Food Day to end these modules.Each student is asked to research and complete a written project on a particular country. They select a popular dish of their chosen country and research how the dish is made.

In a joint venture the Geography Department team up with the Home Economics Department to display the dishes of each country made by the students. The room is decorated with the European Union flags and the tables display food from each country. Both Transition Year classes displayed the culinary delights of each country.

On the 17th December as part of the Celebration we invited two 5th class pupils from St Bridget’s Primary School to sample the delightful foods. The young students took great pleasure and delight in sampling the array of dishes on display.

Geography ActivitiesThe 6th year students went on their annually Geography fieldtrip, on the 17th September 2015, as part of their Leaving Certificate. This year they went to Balscadden Bay, Howth. It was a glorious day, the sun came out and fun was had by all as we worked on our Geography Leaving Cert projects.

Well done to all the students who participated in Geography Awareness week .

Page 3: Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate Christmas … Marys Newsletter 201516.pdf · St. Mary’s Holy Faith Secondary SchoolNewsletter Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate

LCVP Enterprise ActivitiesThis year the 6th Year LCVP students organised two enterprise activities as part of the Enterprise Education Link Module. One LCVP group carried out a Talent Show which took place on November 6th which involved performances from a variety of singers and dancers as well as a few very entertaining comedy acts. Two shows took place and there was a very positive response from everyone who participated in the event. Thank you girls for all your hard work.

The second LCVP class came up with the idea of making personalised keyrings for students and teachers. This involved taking orders from any student or teacher who wished to purchase a keyring and then

arranging a day to take all the photographs needed. The photos were then printed off and placed in each keyring and sold to the customer. A sum of €1000 profit was made between the two enterprises.6th Year LCVP students also went on a field trip to Butlers Chocolate Factory!

The future looks good for these entrepreneurs!

Music NewsAs usual, the Music Department here in St. Mary’s has been really busy. The school choir performed beautifully at the Opening Mass of the year and really added to the occasion. Congratulations to the students who performed at the LCVP Talent Show, their singing was amazing! We also had a number of students who auditioned for the Emmanuel Concert which will be held in the Helix Theatre in March. Second year students will be taking part in this concert and preparations are underway. Congrats also to the T.Y. students who went carol singing in the run-up to Christmas with Ms. Harrington.

Finally, well done to the school choir who performed at the Carol Service in December. Junior students performed two songs on the Recorder and were brilliant! Senior students who performed solos and played at the service deserve a special mention as they did themselves and their school proud.

Well done girls!

Page 4: Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate Christmas … Marys Newsletter 201516.pdf · St. Mary’s Holy Faith Secondary SchoolNewsletter Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate

English Department It’s been a busy year so far and lots of events have been taking place in St. Mary’s English Department. 1st years have been busy with their 10-Week Spelling Programme, as well as taking part in the 5-Week Reading Challenge. 2nd years took part in a Word Scramble Tournament and also staged scenes from “The Merchant of Venice” in the school hall. They also took part in the 5-Week Reading Challenge and their teachers were delighted with their participation. At Senior Cycle, 5th years attended a screening of the film “Juno” at the Irish Film Institute, as part of their Leaving Certificate studies.

Also, a trip is planned to see a performance of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, in the coming few weeks which students are looking forward to. 6th year students also attended a performance of Shakespeare’s “King Lear” and the girls really enjoyed seeing the play live on stage. Finally, we had a fantastic Literacy Week recently which saw the entire school community embrace D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything and Read). This proved to be a very successful and enjoyable initiative and will hopefully be repeated in the future.

The Science ClubThe Science club is going from strength to strength and we have new members from First Year. On Tuesday 24th of November, our experiments took us out to the car park, to make “Elephant Toothpaste”. We had hoped it would be

a bit more explosive! I’m sure we will revisit it in the New Year.  New members are always welcome and the club is on Tuesdays from 3.40 to 4.30pm.

The Young Scientist ExhibitionThe First and Second years attended the Young Scientist Exhibition in January. This year our school was represented by two Fifth years: Alina Lucia Ciobana and Liza Istoc. We congratulate them on all the hard work they did on their project:

“Immersion in a second language can improve problem solving skills”.

The whole School is very proud of their hard work and dedication to the competition.

Page 5: Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate Christmas … Marys Newsletter 201516.pdf · St. Mary’s Holy Faith Secondary SchoolNewsletter Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate

SciFest 2016Our first year students will be involved in SciFest in the New Year. This will help students to develop scientific, investigative, communication and presentation skills. An internal Science fair will be held in the school on the 4th of March for all first years, with judges selecting certain projects to go on and compete against other schools in the regional event. Parents/Guardians are welcome to come in and see the girls’ fantastic projects on the day. More information will be given closer to the date. Keep working hard on those project ideas girls!

Gaeilge- Scrúdú CainteAll students in 1st, 2nd, 5th and 6th year students sat an oral Irish exam during the week of the 18th January. 4th years will have their oral Irish exam in May. This is a fabulous opportunity for our students to experience what it is like to sit an oral exam. It will help prepare them for this aspect of the Junior and Leaving Certificate exams as well as fostering a love of spoken Irish. External examiners will visit the school to test the students. Go n-éirí go geal libh! Beatha teanga í a labhairt!

Turas go Conamara The Irish Department are looking forward immensely to our annual trip to the Connemara Gaeltacht in early May. First and Second year students will experience a fun filled learning experience for 3 days. They will stay in local houses and enjoy lots of activities all carried out using the Irish language. They will also enjoy an exciting day trip to Inis Oirr, one of the Aran Islands and learn at first hand, Irish culture at its purest.

Success in IrishA number of our students who are very interested in the Irish language applied to do a course in Marino College, Griffith Ave, to help improve both oral and written skills in Irish. Places were limited and were allocated on an interview basis. Well done, girls, on being successful obtaining course places! Maith sibh!

History TripsTY students received the Certificate in Tour-Guiding Studies in Glasnevin Cemetery.  Over the course of two visits they learned how to give a guided tour, and on their return visit they conducted the historical tour of the graveyard themselves. This was a most enjoyable experience for the students. Students also received a guided tour of Dublin Castle and the State Apartments. It was a great opportunity to see these historical places and learn about them. This was a cross-curricular trip with the PE Dept.  Students completed a 5 km hike around the grounds of Malahide Castle and followed that with a guided tour of the Castle. It is planned to

take the TY students on a guided walking tour of Dublin as part of our 1916 commemorations. They will play a leading role in these celebrations in the school.

Page 6: Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate Christmas … Marys Newsletter 201516.pdf · St. Mary’s Holy Faith Secondary SchoolNewsletter Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate

Maths Department NewsHuishan Wang and Ruth Lyons have been involved in a coding course in DCU on Wednesday afternoons. This is a fantastic opportunity for them to learn some coding skills and they are designing an app. This year all first years took part in Google’s Call to Code Competition. Learning to code involves developing logical thought processes and problem solving skills. Well done to all students involved. The bicentenary of George Boole was celebrated on November 2nd 2015. He was a very famous mathematician from Cork. Classes solved problems in Boolean algebra and learned about the life of this famous mathematician.

NumeracyWe continue to promote Numeracy in the school and are implementing a whole school plan to improve attitudes and competencies in all things numbers related. An aim of the initiative is to help students to see the importance of Maths in everyday life.

Links with DCU Access ProgrammeVery important links were maintained this past term between St. Mary’s and DCU by way of the DCU Outreach programme. We were invited to participate in a broad

number of Outreach initiatives. All of our students who participated enjoyed and benefited from the experience. These activities included: Discover DCU programme: This took place in October

when two separate groups of 5th year students were invited to spend a full day in DCU. They were shown around the college campus by DCU Access students and were spoken to by the DCU Outreach team. DCU Science workshops were organised for 1st and 2nd year Science classes and facilitated by DCU’s Dr. Nora Liegg from the Centre of Talented Youth to help maintain student focus on Science as a subject. Motivational talks were given to various classes by inspirational Sports people including Jonny Cooper and Sophie Spence.

DCU Achievement AwardsThe DCU Achievement Awards were made to a number of 5th Year students on the 3rd December. They were invited to DCU along with their parents on the night. We were very proud of our students who received awards in the following categories: Academic, Community Spirit, Art and Culture, Sport and Exceptional. Jessica Hopkins 5th year, received a special award in the Art and Culture category. Well done to you all!

New Look St Mary’sThe school is looking fantastic since it has been painted. Painting and other ongoing work means the School is looking great and we are all delighted with the lovely bright school environment.

CanteenThe introduction of the school canteen has been a fantastic asset to the school. The healthy eating policy has encouraged so many students to try healthy options. Hot meals, soup, sandwiches, wraps, salads, freshly bakes scones and many other items are on sale daily. Well done to our Chef and assistant Maher and Tracey.

Page 7: Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate Christmas … Marys Newsletter 201516.pdf · St. Mary’s Holy Faith Secondary SchoolNewsletter Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate

After SchoolSupervised Study After school study takes place afterschool each day for 2 hours. This is an excellent opportunity for students from 1st to 6th year to keep up with school and homework. At the end of a week these students have 10 hours study done before they do their work at home or at the weekend. We strongly advise all students to avail of this opportunity. The cost is €60 for the next 5 months. It represents fantastic value and helps learning and study so well.

Radio SeriesThe English Department are delighted to participate in the Radio Series “Telling Tales” on NEAR FM in January 2016. We will submit stories and poems by students of all year groups. As a result, one student from the school will be given the opportunity to present their work on air, one each week in the 6 week series. We wish all our students Good Luck!

The Band ‘Taken’Back by student demand! The Band TAKEN gave an electrifying performance in the Gowan Hall to a captivated audience. Having performed for 45 minutes they then had a meet and greet session with their fans. We wish them the very best good luck in the future.

Student CouncilThe School’s Student Council has been meeting weekly to discuss topics such as improving facilities for students (through the sale of raffle tickets), ideas for improving aspects of school life such as extracurricular activities and also to decide on themes to be promoted within the school such as Inspiring Women and Environmental Awareness. So keep an eye on the Student Council information board as this will continue when we return in January.The overall aim of the student council is to strengthen the communication between students, management, staff and parents and to represent the ideas of the students in matters that affect them. A training day was held in the school in January for all members of the student council offered to us by the ISSU which was hugely beneficial to all members.

Transition Year CraftRang Friel, Transition Year had a lovely experience just before the Christmas holidays. They were invited to make little tactile teddies for senior citizens in Raheny Community Nursing Unit. The girls entered into the spirit of this endeavour wholeheartedly and made a wonderful array of colourful teddies in their craft class (They all looked like extra-terrestrial cousins of SpongeBob!!) It was decided that it would be nice to present the teddies in person and since it was Christmas week it would be a great opportunity to have a carol singing session. Ms. Harrington led the singing, played the guitar and accompanied our students, Ms Burke and Roisin, who sang all the well-known and much loved Christmas carols. The session was a great success. The girls presented the teddies and the whole experience was very emotional as the older people were very taken and grateful for the thoughtful gesture.

Page 8: Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate Christmas … Marys Newsletter 201516.pdf · St. Mary’s Holy Faith Secondary SchoolNewsletter Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate

The girls hoped the teddies would bring a smile, which we think it did after the initial few tears. Hopefully this will not be the last meeting between our girls and the senior citizens as we feel they have much to offer each other. Thanks to all who made this happen.

Variety ShowWe had our annual Christmas concert on December 9th, and the standard of the performing arts in our school was amazing, as always. We saw everything from Irish dancing to comedy sketches, a guest appearance by ‘Teresa Mannion’ reporting on Hurricane Desmond to the haunting strains of ‘Winter Song’. The grand finale will never be forgotten, when teachers took to the stage, and nearly brought the house down! A great night was had by all!!!

ScienceWell done to the Science Department on an excellent subject inspection carried out by the Department of Education in November. The inspectors were highly positive about their visit to the school and provided excellent feedback.

Here are some comments from the report:

‘The quality of teaching and learning was very good’

‘Lessons were well managed in a respectful and cooperative manner’

‘Team teaching was used effectively’

‘Student progress was assessed effectively’

‘The quality of whole-school support and provision is very good’

New School UniformWe are very excited to announce that our uniform will be changing over the next six years to coincide with our Golden Jubilee. Following a two-year consultation process a new uniform has been agreed. Junior Cycle: Green jumper, white shirt, Plaid skirt (Navy, green, grey, white and red), green socks, black shoesSenior Cycle: Navy jumper, white shirt, Plaid skirt (Navy, green, grey, white and red), navy socks, black shoesIncoming first year girls will wear the new uniform from September 2016. There is no obligation on any existing student to change to the new uniform unless they wish to.

Page 9: Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate Christmas … Marys Newsletter 201516.pdf · St. Mary’s Holy Faith Secondary SchoolNewsletter Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate

Sports and Extra-curricular activitiesOur basketball teams have excelled with wins against Maryfield, St Mary’s Baldoyle, St Marys Glasnevin, Hartstown CS, St Dominic’s Cabra, St Dominic’s Ballyfermot and Presentation Terenure resulting in all teams making it through the qualifying rounds and into the Quarter Finals of the SSA Basketball League. Our junior teams are following suit with a clean sheet of wins against all opponents. Keep up the great work, girls.

Our 1st Year Rugby team did exceptionally well in a Leinster Tag Rugby blitz in DCU and came away victorious in the girls section. Congratulations to their coach Mr Duffy for bringing home a fantastic piece of silverware.

International Rugby superstar and nominee for World Player of the Year Sophie Spence visited our school and gave a motivational talk to our second years. The girls were so inspired by her work ethic and achievement.

Our GAA coaches have been busy training and competing against St Mary’s Baldoyle, GaelCholáiste Reachrann and Santa Sabina.  Congratulations to two of our senior students Nicole Burnett and Leona Corr who have been selected for the Dublin squads in camogie and Gaelic football respectively and Aoife Manning who has won player of the year for her club Parnell’s.

Our Soccer season has just started and although the seniors lost against St Mary’s College Naas, what spirit they showed in their match. It went to extra time and the winning goal happened in the last minute resulting in a score of 4:3. Lots of games to come in the New Year against Manor House, Mercy Beaumont, Mercy Coolock and GaelCholáiste Reachrann.

Our Transition Years have competed a coaching qualification in Ultimate Frisbee. They continue to embrace physical activity and trying something new with a three week block in Zumba. This was reinforced, when International athlete and winner of European medal, Brian Greegan visited transition years as part of Sky Sports for Living Programme. The Transition Years spent a day with

the International record holder and now start their training to complete a triathlon by March.

Health and Fitness is such an important part of life in St Marys and we have recently done up our fitness room and weights rooms and invested in new treadmills and cross trainers so as to maximise the health benefits to all our students.  The gym is open to all students free of charge every day so remember it is never too late to adopt a healthy more active lifestyle.We offer activities ranging from team sports to fitness concepts like Zumba and Bootcamp every day after school.

Please check the extracurricular timetable for upcoming clubs and activities. Gymnastics, circuit training and badminton are just a few of the activities due to start after Christmas.

Soccer and Gaelic FootballThe future of soccer in St. Mary’s is in safe hands. Yasmin McKeever Byrne (3rd Year)- who plays for Shelbourne FC, has captained the girl’s u-15’s team this season and has led by example by scoring 8 goals in the 3 matches played so far. 

Leona Corr (6th Year)- Leona has been called for Dublin trials as she helped her club Parnell’s to win their Championship this year. She also continues to be a key player for the school’s u-19 Gaelic and Soccer teams, regularly getting on the scoresheet. 

Chloe Flynn (6th Year) is the current captain of the u-19’s soccer team and the Shelbourne FC star has also represented her country internationally at underage level.

Page 10: Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate Christmas … Marys Newsletter 201516.pdf · St. Mary’s Holy Faith Secondary SchoolNewsletter Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate

Other star performers this season include Ciara Marshall (2nd Year), Leah Heatley (1st Year) and Bridget Ward (2nd Year) on the school’s soccer team. Standout performers on the Gaelic Football team include Nicole Burnett (5th Year), Aimee Clarke (5th Year), Aoife Manning (5th Year) and Laura Troy (3rd Year), all of whom have big futures ahead of them in the game.

BasketballFirst years were off to a great start this year by winning their first ever basketball win. The match could not have been more exciting with a draw at the end of the 4 quarters and therefore the match went into overtime. With Emily Byrne and Ruth Lyons defending well the entire match the ball fell to Niamh Griffin who had kept her cool through the game. With 10 seconds left Niamh shot under pressure and the ball fell with precision through the hoop for St Mary’s to win their first ever basketball match 22-20. Clodagh Boyce has shown great skill throughout the season also.

The second years have excelled under the tutelage and coaching prowess of Ms Thakarar this year. The team exemplifies that winners are not made match day but in the halls after school, training rigorously to perfect their skills. It is easy to see why players such as Roisin Maher, Chelsey Lyons and Ciara Marshall among many others could easily win the semi- final this year.

ArtThe year began with an exciting Art and Cultural school trip to Amsterdam, Brussels and Bruges. This included gallery trips to the Rijksmuseum to see the art of the Dutch Golden Age and the work of the surrealist artist, Magritte in Brussels. We were charmed by the medieval architecture and canals of Bruges and its chocolate, while the visit to Ann Franks House in Amsterdam is a memory that will long stay with us. The trip was rounded off with a visit to theme park. Closer to home the 5th years enjoyed their Pre-Christmas trip to the Hugh Lane Gallery to view the Impressionist art collection, Harry Clark’s stained glass and the work of Frances Bacon and Sean Scully.Student art work has been on display throughout the school during Friendship and Literacy weeks and students are currently working on their entries for the upcoming Texaco children’s art competition. We wish them all the best of luck

Page 11: Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate Christmas … Marys Newsletter 201516.pdf · St. Mary’s Holy Faith Secondary SchoolNewsletter Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate

Cycle Against SuicideThe school continues its involvement in Cycle Against Suicide and has achieved its Ambassador School status for a second year. A group of 11 5th year students have been chosen as student leaders to lead the programme throughout the school year. 60 students attended the Student Leaders Congress at the RDS on January 14th. Well done everyone and always remember

‘it’s ok not to feel okand it’s absolutely ok to ask for help’!

1916 Commemoration Planning is underway for the Commemoration of 1916 by St Mary’s, Holy Faith Killester. Transition Year students have taken part in a walking tour of 1916 Dublin and we are looking forward very much to marking this historical event in a special way in March.

Gaisce

The President’s Award is Ireland’s National Challenge Award for young people between the ages of 15 and 25. It is the country’s most prestigious and respected award programme.

St Mary’s has a long and successful history with Gaisce and our students have received awards for outstanding achievement since 1985.  We are very grateful to our in-school co-ordinator for Gaisce, Mrs Durkin, who does amazing work each year to promote Gaisce in the school to get our girls involved.

Currently, the programme is offered to Transition Year students though some girls continue with the programme to 6th year and beyond aiming for Silver and Gold Awards.We encourage all our girls to set goals and to strive to develop new skills

Page 12: Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate Christmas … Marys Newsletter 201516.pdf · St. Mary’s Holy Faith Secondary SchoolNewsletter Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate

Subject Options3rd and 4th Year Students are currently making decisions about Senior Cycle Options and are receiving information from teachers and programme co-ordinators to ensure they make the right choices – best of luck!

Trip to TemplemoreThe Transition Year students enjoyed an interesting trip to the Garda College in Templemore, Co. Tipperary as part of the TAG programme.

Dress up FridayWell done to all the students and teachers who joined in the fun for Halloween on October 23rd.

School RaffleThanks to all those who supported our school raffle throughout the year.

WelcomeA massive welcome to our 1st Year girlsand well done on making such a greatstart in St. Mary’s

Enrolling NowWe are currently accepting applications for prospective students from 2016-2025. Applications forms are available by calling

Tel: (01) 8310963Email: [email protected]