October Newsletter, 2009

Welcome to the new-look St. Columba's College newsletter.  We intend to issue a newsletter twice a term which will include noteworthy events that have already happened, and also look forward to events to take place later in the term.  Needless to say, the events chronicled in each issue reflect just a small part of what goes on daily in St. Columba's.  Your attention is therefore drawn to our website , which is updated regularly and will provide much useful information on the College and all its associated activities, inside and outside the classroom.

If you have any difficulty reading this email, or wish to change your email address, please contact us here.

The College Website

The College website has, over the past year, been overhauled and redesigned by Adam Green (OC) of Bristlebird Media Works . A couple of minutes browsing the site will be well worthwhile whether you're a pupil, a parent, an Old Columban, a member of staff, or a visitor. Many subject departments have their own website or blog which can be accessed from the site and there is an extensive gallery of pictures in many sections. Visitors and prospective parents are referred to the ‘useful information’ section under Contacts, which hopefully will answer any queries. Further enquiries can be made through the College Office, whose contact details are in the right-hand sidebar.

The Senior Play

This year’s Senior Play continues our engagement with some of the giants of world drama with a production of The Acharnians by Aristophanes. Set against the backdrop of prolonged war between Athens and Sparta and to be performed during Remembrance Week this play contains a strong anti-war theme. When Dikaiopolis forges a private peace treaty with Sparta he is branded a traitor before he can properly explain his motives. Along the way he must plead the case for peace to the Athenian assembly, some cranky country folk and Euripides the tragic poet.

Our performances will be in the ancient Greek theatre shape, and the company of young actors will be playing multiple roles. The actors are striving to bring their modern sense of comedy to bear on this ancient masterpiece…with some humorous outcomes. With plenty of satirical swipes at corrupt politicians and self-important generals, this two and a half thousand year old play might well provide food for thought for us today.

Leaving and Junior Certificate results 2009

The Leaving and Junior Certificate results for 2009 were among the best ever recorded by the College, with the leavers achieving a remarkable average of 445 points per candidate, the highest yet. Two members of Form VI achieved the maximum 600 points and two members of Form III gained nine A grades. The vast majority have reached their first choice courses in universities and colleges in Ireland and the UK. You can read further analyses of these results here.

Cricket Pavilion and Hollypark House

Hollypark House, the main school building which houses the Drawing Room, the staff Common Room and the Warden’s Study, has been undergoing substantial renovation during the summer. The roof, untouched for over one hundred years, has been completely overhauled after the discovery of dry rot and leakages.

The iconic cricket pavilion, the scene of many a delicious afternoon tea in times gone by when the summers were dry and warm, has also undergone a thorough renovation, funded largely through donations organised by Mr. Liam Canning, the master-in-charge of cricket. The roofing, flooring and kitchen areas have been completed but there is still work to be done. Donations may be sent to Liam Canning at St. Columba's College.

The Reverend Nigel Crossey

The Michaelmas Term opened on September 3rd 2009. We welcomed one new member of staff, the Rev. Nigel Crossey, who has succeeded Rev. Michael Heaney as Chaplain. After graduating from Cambridge University, Nigel served in two parishes in Northern Ireland and subsequently joined the Chaplains’ Department of the British Armed Forces. With the army he has visited many areas of conflict, most recently in Afghanistan earlier this year. We welcome him and his wife Yvonne, who is the assistant housemistress in Beresford House.

The Prefects

The fourteen prefects for the year 2009-2010 were invested in Chapel on the second full day of the term. The prefects, who are nominated for prefectships by the Warden in the previous Trinity Term, carry out specific duties in Chapel and throughout the College.

Back row (left to right): Henry Hatton, Jamie Lyttle, Fred Mann, Leonie Mueller-Methling
Middle row: Poppy Kirwan Browne, Sarah O’Mahony, Sophie Kyd-Rebenburg, Fiona Boyd, Mark Kavanagh
Front row: Ian Fraser, Alec Cherry (Senior Prefect), Anna Traill (Second Prefect), Tom Guinness, Christopher Faerber
 

The English Department website

The English Department website, SCC English, continues to make a considerable impression in the educational world. An article by Kim Bielenberg (OC) in which he interviewed Julian Girdham, the head of the department, appeared in the Irish Independent on October 14th 2009. Information technology is becoming an increasingly important component in the education process and this article highlights how teaching can connect with the young people of the Facebook age.

Sport

The season is well under way in all sports. The six girls’ basketball and hockey teams, four boys’ hockey teams and rugby teams and cross-country take a lot of organising and matches for each team are held most Wednesdays or Saturdays.

On the representative front four Columbans (pictured: left to right- Jasper Pickersgill, Alec Cherry, Matthew Browne and Dalton Tice) were selected for the Leinster A schools' rugby team to play against Munster and Connaught. This continues an encouraging trend of recent years with many players gaining much from the experience of playing interprovincial rugby. As regards boys’ hockey, Ross Canning has represented Leinster and Ireland at under-16 level, showing definite promise for the future.

Music

Music scholarships were awarded this term to Poppy Vernon (voice), Lingfan Gao, (pictured on piano), Kezia Wright (voice), Siobhan Brady (cello) and Emma Moore (violin). The standard was extremely high, reflecting the huge talent in this area. On the basis of their recording on CD, the choir qualified for the regional heat of the RTE Co-operation Ireland School choir competition 2009. The heat is to be televised on RTE on 25th October, during half-term, at 7.30pm.

Primary, Form I and Form II plays

The drama season at the College traditionally opens with junior form plays, this year on Sunday 18th October. Robert Louis Stephenson’s Treasure Island was the production by Primary and First Form. Under the direction of Mr. Michael Patterson mysterious maps, aaaargh-shouting pirates and only a few goodies took the audience through the story, leaving them breathless by the end. Members of the Second Form, directed by Mr. Peter McCarthy, performed The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe. The cast effectively got across the underlying tension, fear and anguish of the murderer, played superbly by Ben Traill.

Form I Science trip to Northern Ireland

The Form I Science trip is a well established feature in the Michaelmas Term calendar. A very busy few days from the 15th to 17th October were spent exploring the W5 museum in Belfast, the Scrabo Tower, Castle Espie, Grey Abbey, the seal sanctuary and aquarium at Exploris and, on the last morning the Ulster Transport Museum. Any trip like this involves a huge amount of organisation, and Ms. Karen Hennessey, Dr. Jeremy Stone and Mr. Humphrey Jones are to be congratulated on its enormous success.

OCS Centenary

The Old Columban Society is the organisation that brings together former pupils, and it was founded in 1909. It will be holding its Centenary Dinner on the evening of Friday 6th November to mark this event, at the Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire. At this the President of the Society, Mr John White, and the Warden, Dr Lindsay Haslett, will speak. The Society has about 2,600 members around the world and organises social and sporting events for them, as well as sending out its annual Bulletin in May each year. It has recently held parties in Galway, London and Berlin.

There are now 770 members who are 'Friends' on the Old Columbans Facebook page: Society members can join here, or by clicking on the image to the right.

And finally....

A round-up of news:-

Congratulations to Poppy Vernon, who won the Youth category in the 2009 Heritage Week Photography Competition for her picture 'Books of Common Prayer' taken at St Audeon's Church (right); the judges praised  "The light, the stillness, the atmosphere and the representation of education and archives" ....  and to Oliver Glenn-Craigie, whose poem 'Teapot ' was commended in the 2009 Teaching English Magazine competition, along with Thomas Emmet for 'The Old Guitarist' .... Good luck to Miriam Poulton, Robbie Hollis, Susannah Cooke, Lorcan Maule and Patrick McGonagle, who this weekend take part in the European Youth Parliament .... Jack Cherry, Shannen Keogan, Robin Fitzpatrick from Transition Year took part in the annual Compass Peace Education course at the Glencree Reconciliation Centre ... The Chapel Emergency Fund sent €500 to the Irish Red Cross following the recent Asian disasters ...  The Shakespeare Society went to see a live cinema broadcast in Dundrum of All's Well That Ends Well from London's National Theatre ... The Blue Rose Theatre Company performed in the BSR during Bullying Awareness Day ... Leaving Certificate pupils went on a day-long visit to Derry as part of their studies ... The Annual House Speech competition for Transition Year was won by Thomas Gibbs (talking about dogs), with Bronwyn Mallon ('The Average Person') and Lorcan Maule ('The Special Olympics and Paralympics') joint second ... Thanks to the Parents' Association for another very pleasant barbeque on September 19th ... Transition Year pupils collected €5603 for the charity Aware at Nutgrove Shopping Centre ... A minibus-full of VI formers went to the Open Day at Queen's University, Belfast ... Senior art pupils visited the Edvard Munch exhibition at the National Gallery ... Life is busy!