And King Brian ‘The Benign’ Nolan and Holy Conlethian Emperor Tony ‘The Terrible’ (in a good way) Kilcommons did decideth to hold a tournament to testeth the mettle of the young knights (and ladies) of the Junior School. Entry to the the tournament was open to all, and many rounds were fought with a multitude of noble deeds being done under the sun (and fluorescent lights at break time). With St. Bridget’s Day came the true winnowing and soon the fruyt was clear of the chaff. Steppeth forth one young challenger, vanquisher of many: Marty Davitt. Steppeth forth one other, equal in noble qualities and skill at the joust: Rohan Flynn. And gather round the young ones in the fair field (or sports hall) so all may witness this worthy contest. And the battle did begin with courage and daring, and with the righteous blade being wielded well by both black and white: soon the field was littered with bishops and rooks and even queens, so that the final confrontation was left mostly to the pawns (embodying the Conlethian progressive concept of social justice). Sir Marty did prevaileth in the end, but Sir Rohan joined his noble opponent as a knightly paragon, equally displaying the skill, gallantry and sportsmanship which are hallmarks of all Conlethian competition and endeavour!

The Senior basketballers have justly grabbed much of our attention this week but how about another of our characteristic sports? Yes, Chess! The Seniors are still dining out on their victory over Gonzaga and now the Juniors have joined the party, welcoming Willow Park for a mini chess tournament. After 25 games, St. Conleth’s came out as 19-4 winners (with 2 draws). And this was despite several of the players carrying minor training ground injuries. It looks like Yubo and the gang in the Senior School will soon have some worthy teammates… and tough competition!

More news and sparkling photos from Junior School parent Cahir Davitt: our combined Fifth and Sixth Form Rugby Team beat Willow Park, 5 tries to 4. That’s some reflection on the great job Louis Magee and the other Junior School rugby coaches are doing, but it is also great news for Senior School Rugby: more talent is obviously on the way! And, although we usually close with a line of ‘Well done, boys!’, careful perusal of the photos below will let reveal why we will now simply say, ‘Well done, Junior School rugby players!’

Head of Junior School Sport Louis Magee keeps a variety of sporting adventures on tap for the younger Conlethians. Of course, rugby is still important: Louis reports of wins for 4th and 5/6th Form over Willow last weekend and, previously, 5th Form took part in a mini-blitz where they beat both St. Mary’s and St. Michael’s. Rugby has long been at the heart of St. Conleth’s sports but one change for us though is the variety of participants: apparently 5th Form girls Isabelle and Clodagh stole the show with their electric pace! The icy conditions do not even stop our tennis players (but do leave a frosty racket imprint behind). And when the cold and dark get to be just too much, more activity awaits indoors: Maître David Couper is back for another fencing campaign; Cecilia gets the Juniors moving in the Sports Hall; and Pat Howe sportingly readies the Prepsters for a Speech and Drama exam!

After their beautiful carols concert on Tuesday, it was Christmas Party time on Wednesday for the Junior School. We Senior Teachers are always a little jealous of our Junior colleagues at this time of year. The younger Conlethian students naturally seem to get the most excited about Christmastime and their teachers, in turn, get to enjoy a whole host of activities of which we only get a taste: the maintenance of a learning environment despite seasonal hysteria setting in on Nov. 1 at 12:01 a.m.; the decoration of the classroom with all the students’ Christmas art, which somehow all seem exactly perfect and equally deserving of prominent display; the relatively easy peasy clean-up after all that cutting, pasting and ‘accidental’ stabbing; the refereeing of class-wide ‘discussions’ over whether to watch Home Alone 1 or 2 (never 3); the annual argument over the suitability of Die Hard for eight-year-olds; the practising of carols with a class whose vocal talents somehow all seem exactly perfect and equally deserving of prominent display; the attempted slow release of various forms of sugar over the last few days; the even easier, peasier clean-up of said various forms of sugar when they reappear unexpectedly… no wonder they get more wine than us! In truth, we are relieved at our lighter yuletide workload but also a little bit jealous. Look at the smiles on those Junior School students, below!

Above, we also see the Junior Hockey girls down at the astro for their traditional Santa Hockey Tournament (with OLG). Good-natured, but competitive, fun was had by all and then the girls received their just rewards for braving the elements: a Christmas Hot Chocolate, courtesy of Coach Ms. Leary!

We are not sure where Junior parent Cahir Davitt found the snippet of sunshine to snap this vibrant photos, but we do appreciate them! It was another Juniors rugby match vs. Willow Park, and these highlights capture perfectly the boys’ skill, spirit and sheer joy in playing ball on the grass on a weekend morning. We are not sure if ‘sheer joy’ was the feeling experienced by Louis Magee, the coaches, and the parents when they awoke earlier that day, but we are sure it spread, eventually, from the players to the sidelines!

Is bilocation still a qualification for sainthood?  In the hagiography of St. Conleth’s, it is!  In one day, Junior Sport Honcho Louis Magee visited Willow, St. Michael’s and St. Mary’s to get all the Junior Rugby matches in. Our very own large but cuddly Scarlet Pimpernel marshalled his forces of chivalric coaches and persistent parents to stage games all over the D4 hinterland of rugby. There were many memorable moments in all the matches but Mr. Sheridan’s Fifth Form grabbed the headlines with a great comeback against CBC Monkstown 4-1 down and drawing 4-4, and coming away, overall, with 2 draws and a win from 3 games. Super stuff! And, remember: if you want to arrange a sporting event with the Juniors, you must seek Louis Magee here… and everywhere!

With our Junior Certificate and Leaving Certificate students finally hitting the books with gusto, our un-undead TYs working on their ghastly pallor in the Herbo and the rest of the Senior School taking end-of-year exams, it has been the Junior School kids who have been doing all the interesting stuff these last few days. First of all, a momentous milestone was passed when the Junior contingent of girls reached a total of forty for the first time, and they all gathered for a celebratory breakfast. Mr. Kelleher was always fond of letting the girls go to the front of the Tuck Shoppe and canteen queues. (‘Here come the girls!’ was a saying as dear to him as ‘Make way for a naval officer!’) We think he would have been thrilled to see that, with full co-education, that is no longer necessary… or possible!

And you can forget about the return of Love Island, the viewer ratings topper this week will certainly be the latest rendition of St. Conleth’s Junior School Has Got Talent. Musicians, magicians, actors, storytellers, comedians, shy retiring kids…. you name it, we got it! (That last act was scrapped due to a shortage of performers.). Above, we also catch sight of a simple but beloved tradition: the Sixth Form School Hoodies. They look cozy and cool… just don’t try to get by Ms. Hopkins in September with it on!

Junior School Principal Brian Nolan has brought youth and energy to the role (not that the auld fella wasn’t half bad!) and part of his newfangledness, learned on the international stage, is the increased involvement of parents and the community in the learning experience.

The only problem is that since Brian took over, a little bug trailing the number 19 has put paid to many of his most exciting initiatives. But now the floodgates, and the front doors of the school, have been opened and a few weeks back the Junior School hosted its inaugural Celebration of Learning! Parents from Junior Infants to Sixth Form were invited to come into classrooms where students wowed them with their learning from across the year. Much more of this to come, going forward!

For years, St. Conelth’s Senior School has been simply da bomb in debating, dominating the Leinster and All-Ireland Championships and making the Irish Debating Team our personal fiefdom.  Well, judging by the talent in our Junior School, this dominance will surely continue. Our Senior School Debating Coach, Rory O’Sullivan, was very impressed by the in-house talent on show at the recent St. Conleth’s-hosted AIJS Debate.  Rory and Junior School Principal organised and ran an impressive show, with very enthusiastic and competitive teams from all the visiting schools involved but there was clearly no shortage of home-grown talent.  We look forward to an even bigger and better debate next year!

HOT OFF THE PRESS! Fourth Former Andrew O’Brien finally publishes and distributes his first edition of the all new St. Conleth’s Times, a monthly Junior School Publication. Andrew first presented his vision one month ago and has worked tirelessly since to gather a team of writers, editors, researchers and photographers.  We cannot wait for the next issue Andrew!

Covid did not halt the learning: the perseverance of our ‘class’ class teachers and the co-operation of parents saw to the continuity of the ‘three Rs’ and more. But that which No. 19 did muffle was the just-as-important communal life of the school. Now, with spring in the air, the once trickling thaw has become a torrent, with the biggest and best blast of all bursting on the scene last Friday evening: a Hartnett and Howe stage spectacular!

The Junior School Musical, ‘Alice in Wonderland’, premiered in our professionally kitted out School Hall, and by all accounts it was a smash hit, and a much-needed reminder of what this school can do when it pulls together… and enough tests turn up negative! Yes, Pat Howe, our drama and dance man, and music maestro Emer Hartnett have done it again: clever lines and lyrics, spectacular costumes, nifty dance moves and, of course, the show-stealing talent and cuteness of our student performers … all the hallmarks of our dynamic duo of theatrical delight! Broadway surely beckons but we hope to hang onto our talented two. And if those two do skedaddle down The Great White Way, we hope the don’t take Junior Art Teacher Ms. Mellon with her: so stunning were the backdrops and props, created in her swish chapel studio, with many little helping hands.  Check out the snaps above of the last dress rehearsal, professionally captured by our TY Photography teacher Tom O’Connor, and, below, some after-show portraits by Student Photographer Adam Rafter. And stay tuned: Adam also caught the whole show on video, a link to which will soon be in all the parents’ mailboxes. So enjoy… again!

Some of us remember when Mr. Sheridan was a different type of ‘weekend warrior’: as a Fifth and Sixth Year student at St. Conleth’s, no party or ‘free gaff’ would escape his notice or attendance, and Monday morning Form Class, therefore, was the only time Eoin would be less than his usual chipper, ebullient self. Now, Mr. Sheridan spends his Saturday mornings not in the recovery position but leading his young Fifth Form charges into friendly battle on rugby pitches near and far. Last weekend, it was a special Rugby Festival in Willow Park, and we have Cahir Davitt to thank for all the great pics below.

Spring has Sprung! And so have the imaginations and the artistic abilities of our Junior School Students. Ms. Mellon takes advantage of the fine weather and the bucolic setting of St. Mary’s to prompt some Signs of Spring drawings. We also see her own personal masterpiece: Sunflowers on Window!

And we thought all the reptiles were in the staffroom! Apparently not, when The Reptile Zoo pays a house visit! After-School Director Cecilia Franken, fluent in parseltongue, arranged the visit, but we all enjoyed the smooth, silky (and only slightly sinister) serpents and such! Junior School students were left enraptured by the visiting reptiles, which you can see below. Everyone had the opportunity to get up close and personal with a variety of creeping critters, including tortoises, stick insects, metre-long snakes and more!

Things are getting back to normal in the Junior School! So-Young Yoon is back giving one-on-one paint lessons; ITC lessons continue apace with Mr. Travers; Principal Brian Nolan shows some proper stretching in the Herbo (and then leads a fitness run); and our Prepsters show they can still have a good time at the break!

Our Junior School Mindfulness Programme continues to grow apace! 
Head of Junior School PE Louis Magee has led Junior Infants through Second Form in a six week programme where they were involved many activities, all designed to clear their little minds of worries and open them up to more pleasant possibilities. Activities included: – Mindful Breathing Exercises (using balloons); – Mindful Colouring; Mindfulness Scavenger Hunt; -Group exercises; and  the much beloved ‘Tree of Feelings’. See some evidence below!

We missed a lot of big things these last two years and maybe one of the biggest for our youngsters was the challenge and fun of real, full sporting competition. Well, Fifth Form were finally back in competition this past weekend and the match versus Willow Park had all that we wanted , and so dearly missed: good-natured competition, sporting skill, camaraderie, fresh air and the smell of wet grass. Conleth’s Dad Cahir Davitt sent us these great pictures and we have added to them by including some action shots from training sessions during the dog days: no, Head of Junior Sport Louis Magee and his coaches did not let things just come to a standstill because of restrictions. The kids played on, limited in scope but giving it their all, down on the Herbert Park pitches. We also see some our Junior girls in action from earlier in the term, getting tips from roving Leinster specialist Grainne Vaugh.

This just in! After a massive, multi-biscuit bidding war between various record companies and promotional entities, we have secured the rights to DCSL’s debut single! The talent, enthusiasm and matinee looks are there for all to hear and see and they get along like a true band, clearly in sync with each other. Their career trajectory is definitely heading in only one direction. As long as they don’t forget their roots when hobnobbing with Hollywood stars at the Grammy’s. We could not take that!

Afterschool Director Cecilia Franken would give that Jack Black movie character or Louis Walsh or Willy Wonka or any impressario set on liberating the imagination of children, a run for their money! Her latest caper involves the promotion of DCSL- our in-house Junior School roock band. (They prefer not to be called a ‘boy band’ but are open to image change for the right recording contract offer!) And the other participants in Afterschool are not reduced to mere audience members: as you can see below, everyone gets busy once the homework gets stowed away! Amongst many other activities we have the ‘egg in bottle experiment; ‘sprouting seeds for our sandwiches’; cookie baking; the subsequent, hilarious ‘biscuit challenge’; the ‘carrot in the box game’; the making (and eating) of Coca-Cola popsicles; the egg in vinegar/Coca Cola experiment; the maintenance of a ‘What’s Up Board’; the construction of a ‘human chain’ (Take that, Covid!); arts and crafts in various formations, and good, old-fashioned horsing around! Why else do Afterschool kids sleep so soundly at night?

No, there is no ‘app’ for Afterschool! All participants in Cecilia Franken’s fun-filled festival of freedom must use their own hands, feet, eyes, ears and imaginations, and all screens are forbidden, unless the chosen activity for the day is sifting for gold in the River Dodder. How refreshing it is to see children enjoying themselves the old-fashioned way! And all this adventure time just intensifies at Christmas, as you can see below!

Secret Santa Prizes

Christmas Party Time

Masks Off… Hands On!

Exterminate: A DIY Recycling Christmas tree inspired by Doctor Who’s Dalek robots!

Art in Action!

Cecilia Franken’s latest Morning Club and After-School Newsletter available right here! Catch up on all the goings-on from September and October, including Halloween and a whole lot more!

Yes, some have tried to cancel Halloween, but luckily Principal Brian Nolan did not get the memo and, if anything, the Junior School’s Halloween celebrations were more horrible, horrific, horrendous, haunting and hilarious than ever! The students themselves, powered by twenty months of restraint, and approximately 1.2 kg of glucose each, rose to the occasion like so many zombies from the grave. And the individual class teachers, and our very own Morticia Addams- Cecilia Franken, were there to urge them on, finally enjoying the wearing of masks and the sight of horrors larger than that pesky, minuscule virus. So, before you go tricking and/or treating (from a safe distance… we suggest hand grenades!) have a gander at the various ghoulish but gregarious goings-on before the break!

Prepsters Assemble and the Puffy Monster Race!

Best Home-Made Halloween Costume Competition 2021

Afterschool Ghouls!

Halloween Happenings!

Unfortunately, Alfred E. Neuman’s famous motto is no longer universally shared, even amongst the youngest of our children, who have grown up in a more complicated world in general, and then had Covid hysteria descend like a fog on their bright horizons. But here comes Louis Magee, a gentle giant of a guru, to the rescue! Junior and Senior Infants and First, Second and Third Forms have all enjoyed a seven week Mindfulness course which helped puncture that gloom. Activities included Mindful colouring competitions, breathing exercises and thinking deeply… but not too deeply! Want a dose of a true vaccine: take a peek into one of our Prep School classrooms, or, even better, the yard at break-time. Nothing will fill your mind with more joy than to see the youngest Conlethians loving life and school, again. Up next for Magee, the Mindful Magician: Third through Sixth Forms!

Creeping, creepy Americanism or just a good bit of fun, Halloween has rocketed up the charts as a favoured holiday in Ireland in recent years, no doubt in part to the enthusiasm with which it is celebrated at St. Conleth’s. And leading the way has been Cecilia and her After-School Ghouls.

And this year, more than any other, we need a particularly smashing Samhain to banish the last vestiges of that lingering ghost whose name we shall not say. Cecilia has come up with a brilliant competition, the details of which are above, and below are some photos of some eager Afterschoolers, already off the mark with their Halloween decoration creation!

Remember the butterflies? The worms? The chicks? No, these are not plagues from the Old Testament, sent to harrrow Pharaoh: these are references to the many wonderful creatures which Cecilia has arranged to visit St. Conleth’s After-School Programme, and the junior School as a whole. Thomas, the Yellow-Striped Slider Turtle, was our latest guest and he certainly won over the crowd with his coolness (of blood and otherwise) and his scant care for anything inedible, including morbid covidity!

Cecilia Franken, our After-School Manager, runs such an exciting and interesting programme for our Junior School students that we often see Senior School Students (and some teachers, too!) looking on longingly from the sidelines. Yes, they are a bit too long in the tooth but who would not want to join Cecilia’s merry troop of lost boys and girls as they get their homework done and then climb, cook, cackle, create, cuddle and, basically, live the ‘can-do’ life! Hopefully, Cecilia’s Morning Club will also soon be open again, and the kids can bookend their days with a host of activities that will make them happy, and just as importantly… tired at bed-time!

These last couple of days have been a bit nippy but the sun is still shining and we at St. Conleth’s Junior and Preparatory School will continue to make great use of the fine weather and get outdoors in that fresh, germ-free air, especially as we have acquired access to the green spaces of St. Mary’s Home: our own ‘secret garden’, right next door! But, apparently, the secret is out, as you can see! Pat Howe has taken his Speech and Drama classes al fresco, as has Sensei Ed Charmont with his high-kicking karate kids and Elaine Chapman with her Dance Class. And Shay Keenan takes the Prepsters through the gates for PE, as another generation benefits from this Conlethian legend. Is it all hustle and bustle? Not at all, as we realise the benefit of a bit of mindful relaxation in the sun, as the three old-timers pictured last in the scroll below have clearly copped on to!

Clean Up! Clean Up!
Everybody, Everywhere.
Clean Up! Clean Up!
Everybody do your share!

Yes, the purple dinosaur may not quite be the dominant force in children’s television (and lives) that he was in the Cretaceous Period or the 1990s but his catchy little tune still rings true: we can all make a positive difference in our local environment by just pitching in. The Senior School is currently reinvigorating their Green School campaign and Junior School Principal Mr. Nolan has enlisted eager Sixth Formers in following a basic, but essential tenet of environmentalism: Start Locally. The clean-up crew not only makes the yard and playground a better place: they also help themselves, engaging in an activity that helps them develop self-reliance and independence, important attributes as they get ready to make the transition to the Senior School. Yes, Sixth Formers are probably too old for even the friendliest carnivorous thunder-lizard ever, but if you happen to be in the yard early in the morning while the boys and girls are doing their duty, you might hear the faintest of tunes being hummed as they go along!

Junior School Art Teacher Orla Mellon always has a grand design in mind when she enters the classroom, and that has only intensified since relocating to the old chapel in the former St. Mary’s Home. The high-arching windows let in the light and spark the imagination of both Ms. Mellon and her charges. The current project involves ‘colour theory’ and it encourages the students to learn about the variety and range of colours, and the way you can mix them to create even more. After all this practice and exploration with colour, each child artist will contribute a multi-coloured feather to a giant, collective figure of a bird which will almost take flight, such is the energy and creativity that empowers it. All the Juniors are taking part, but we caught Second Form in action. Stay tuned for the finished product!

What could possibly be better than spending five to six hours in St. Conleth’s Junior School, certainly the coolest private Catholic primary school in town? Why, extending that stay either backwards of forwards, by an hour or two! Morning Club and Afterschool Director Cecilia Franken and her team are up to their old tricks: making pre- and post- school-time as much fun as possible, with an energetic mixture of learning and fun… with emphasis on the latter! Here are just a few pics of what shenanigans they get up to!

Bittersweet is the first day of school: a bit bitter as parents bid farewell to their near constant summertime companions and whole lot of sweet… as parents bid farewell to their near constant summertime companions! Our newly appointed school leaders, Junior Principal Brian Nolan and St. Conleth’s CEO Tony Kilcommons, were there to take the youngsters off their hands and our teachers got straight to work with them in the sparkling clean classrooms.