29 5 20

Good morning and welcome to the final assembly of this school year!
Over the last 9 months, I have had the privilege to address our assembly nearly every morning. As I write this I am remembering the sights and sounds of our school around 9.10 am in the morning…. the groups gathered together, the sound of the table tennis table, the smell of toast and the sound of 190 young people all talking at the same time. Then the call for attention, the shuffling of feet and the gradual quieting as the business of the day was announced, followed by Ms Keenans prayer. Since the 19th of March our assemblies have gone online with the intention of keeping us together even though we are apart. Many words have been written to express and make real that sense of community that is at the heart of our school and expressed so well in our motto; Ar Aghaidh le Cheile. The following is a word cloud generated in response to the question, how do you feel your school has supported you over the last 2 months? Take a moment to read it and reflect on what it says about our school. On this, your last day in school, I think it is only right that I leave the last word(s) to you!

Now a few notices.

1. We held our inaugural online Graduation night for the Leaving Certificates. Many emails and texts came in afterwards saying what a wonderful event it was. Students, parents and teachers were involved in this heart-warming tribute to the Leaving Cert class of 2020 which was both meaningful and beautifully presented. Well done again to Ms Keenan and Ms Spence for creating something special for us to look back on.

2) Now something to look forward too! Mr Donnelly has organised a virtual sports day and I urge everybody to take part! I include the programme of the day below. Enjoy!

Put a sock in it.

Here you will need 20 pairs of dry socks. Make sure that they are paired neatly and will not come apart when thrown. You will also need a laundry basket, stopwatch, phone and your responsible adult. Put the laundry basket on the ground and take 10 steps back from it. You now have 20 seconds to get as many socks into the basket as possible. You can have as many turns as you want but you must send me your best effort by video to be eligible for prize. Your responsible adult will record you and keep the time.

Egg and Spoon

Here you will need your hard-boiled egg and desert or soup spoon. Your responsible adult will step out 50 steps for you and mark the start and finish. You now have to balance the egg on the spoon and travel the course as fast as you can while your responsible adult keeps the time and records. You can take as many turns as you like but you must send me your best effort to be eligible for a prize.

The Balancing Act

Here you need your plastic tray and 4 paper cups. If you don’t have paper cups use a plastic equivalent. Fill all cups up to the top with water. You now must get from one end of the course to the other without spilling and more importantly without getting wet. You will use the same course distance as the egg and spoon race. Your responsible adult keeps the time and records. You can take as many turns as you like but you must send me your best effort to be eligible for a prize. Kleenex

Keepey upees.

Here you have 20 seconds to do as many keepy upees as possible with the roll of toilet paper. You can take as many turns as you like but you must send me your best effort to be eligible for a prize.

The press-up challenge

The challenge here is to do as many press-ups as you can in 1 minute. Your responsible adult records. You can take as many turns as you like but you must send me your best effort to be eligible for a prize

The situp straight

Here you have to do as many situps as you can in 1 minute. Your responsible adult records. You can take as many turns as you like but you must send me your best effort to be eligible for a prize.

Burpeeeeees

Here you have to do as many burpees as you can in 1 minute. Your responsible adult records. You can take as many turns as you like but you must send me your best effort to be eligible for a prize.

5k run.

From your maths class you will have learned that 5k is 3.1 miles. Irish athlete Ronnie Delaney ran a 4 min mile in 1958. So as you are all so fit from workouts with Joe Wicks since March 12th I am allowing you to have 50mins to complete this run.

Your responsible adult will time you. Be sure to send me your time to be eligible for a prize

3) So to conclude: Well done , we made it! Enjoy your holidays, keep safe and mind yourselves! Talk to you all soon… and do take special care of yourselves and your families at this time.

And now we will finish our assemblies for the school year with a prayer by Ms Keenan. And before I let her off, I would like to thank her on behalf of all of us for her words of wisdom that have inspired, uplifted and comforted us over the last year.