Mock Elections 2011 (2011)
2B and 2C are running a Mock Election. There are candidates from all parties, and Independents too.
The Great Debate will be on Monday at 1.30 pm, Voting will be after the Debate, and the Count will take place on Tuesday at 9.40am.
Posters are up all over the school, with candidates are offering lots of different things, from no homework Mondays and Fridays, to free coffee and biscuits!
Good luck to all the candidates!
We'll post the result next week.
Green School (2011)
We're trying to get a Green Flag for St. Mary's School. There are 7 steps in the process, and we're on step 1
We have a Green School Committee, and we've had a committee meeting; you can see it in these pictures.
We've already achieved a lot of changes. We're trying to get people to be aware of reducing, reusing and recycling. We've introduced compost bins for some foods and we have a rota for collecting paper bins for recycling.
We're getting people to think about making things from old materials: the car in this picture was made form old drinks cans.
We're also collecting old clothes for recycling, and mobile phones. These items will get money for the school, which will be used to fund our green activities. E.g. vegetable garden.
New Speech and Language Therapist (2011)
Hi, my name is Deirdre and I am the new Senior Speech and Language Therapist in St. Mary's School for Deaf Girls.
I graduated with an Honours Degree in Applied Psychology from the University College Cork in 2002. I worked for a number of years as a Class Teacher in a school for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Dublin. Following this I co-ordinated a number of home programmes for Children with Autism using a method of teaching called Applied Behaviour Analysis.
I went on to train in the University of Limerick and graduated with an Honours Masters Degree in Speech and Language Therapy in 2007. I worked for a well known private Clinic; Arc Speech and Language Therapy Clinic in Dublin. My work here involved working with a large and varied caseload of children with communication difficulties including a large caseload of children who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
My work also included delivery of a school based service for three primary schools and a pre-school in Ballyfermot. I was also involved in multi-disciplinary team assessments for the diagnosis of ASD. I have been working for the HSE LHO Dublin North West since January 2010. Since this time I have had the responsibility for managing the caseload of Deaf children in a health centre.
I am a member of the Irish Association of Speech and Language Therapists and the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists. I am engaged in continuous training and professional development. I have been trained in Hanen "It takes two to talk" and "more than words", Lidcombe programme for stammering and Palin PCI for preschool children who stammer. I am trained in PECS and I am studying Irish Sign Language. I have attended a number of study days and courses for working with Deaf children.
I am looking forward to working closely with all the students, parents and staff in St. Marys School.
Table Quiz (2011)
The Table Quiz, organised by LCA, which was cancelled twice because of snow, finally took place!
There were some very interesting questions, identifying teachers' cars and peoples' eyes.
There were also rounds on Geography, soaps sport and general knowledge. We invited the boys from St Josephs' and they joined in the fun.
A great time was had by all!
Nora Duggan Swimming Success (2011)
Nora's swimming career started in St.Marys School for Deaf Girls when she started swimming in junior infants. She started swimming competitively with St.Paul's swimming club in 2005, starting with one of the junior squads. Nora progressed steadily through the squad structure within the club until eventually reaching the club's National Squad, a group of swimmers within St.Paul's S.C. dedicated to competing at national, and often, as in Nora's case, international level.
Nora competes at Leinster, National and International level. 2010 was a fantastic year for her. She qualified for European Deaf Swimming Championships, competing in 6 events and making finals in 400 and 800 metres freestyle, 100 and 200 metres backcrawl. Nora was placed 6th in the 400, 4th in the 800, 5th in the 100 backcrawl, and 6th in the 200 backcrawl; a brilliant achievement for an Irish swimmer at such a major championships.
Also in 2010, Nora won 7 commemorative medals at the British Deaf Swimming Championships, was awarded 'Most Improved Swimmer of the Year' at the Irish Deaf Sports Association (IDSA) sports awards ceremony, and competed in the Irish Long Course Championships in April, an event which attracts the country's best swimmers, as well as a number of international teams.
This level of achievement requires incredible dedication and sacrifice, early morning training being normal for swimmers competing at such a high level. Nora's swimming week starts on Monday morning at 5.15am, rising in time to be in the pool at 5.45am for an hour and 30 mins. Next swim is Tuesday evening after school for 1½ hours, another early morning Wednesday, 2 hours Wednesday evening, early Friday morning, 2 hours again Friday evening, and a 2 hour swim on Saturday. Land conditioning is also included during this gruelling schedule.
Nora hopes all this training and commitment will help her achieve her goals. She is aiming to compete in the World Deaf Championships in Portugal this August (2011), hopes to qualify to swim the 800 freestyle at the Irish Long Course Championships later this year, with her dream being to compete in the Deaflympics.
4B Horticulture Project (2011)
In September, we began a project with our Science teacher, Ms. Walshe.
We drew a plan of the Flower bed outside the front door, and we decided on where the plants would be planted in the flower bed.
We planted bulbs: Daffodils, Tulips and Crocuses. We planted these on the outside of the flowering bed.
Then we planted a variety of Heathers, Rhododendrons and Azaleas.
We gave the soil plenty of water before we started planting the heathers.
We have watered the bulbs regularly to ensure they grow in the Spring.
Now we're looking forward to seeing the flowers!
CSPE Action Project on Animal Welfare (2011)
We decided to help the DSPCA, cos we all love animals.
We had a Cake Sale Week in November, baking cakes and cookies each night and selling them Monday to Friday, and our 5 cake sales raised 191.47 euro.
We went to visit the DSPCA to present the big cheque, and to meet some of the animals in their shelter. Wished we could have brought them home!
Soccer and Basketball (2010)
Some girls have been doing soccer and basketball training.
Don't they look great in their new jerseys?
Some of the girls' essays
Basketball
I was a supporter for out basketball team, "St Mary's Cabra" along with Anna M and Laura K. The team and their supporters walked to St. Dominic's Sports Hall, it is modern and has plenty of space. Our team was nervous. The girls practised some shots, some girls scored, some missed the ring by inches.
At the beginning of the match, we scored then scored again then scored again but things heated up when our opponents scored but we quickly answered with a new score .We scored six points , St Dominic's scored again , it was nearly half-time and one player got a cramp and had to sit out and rest, Annelise replaced her. At half time and the supporters had to return to school for lunch. When the team returned they told that they won by an astonishing 26-10. We were thrilled.
Everyone did a high-five.
Football
Our football team St.Mary's, Cabra. Played another team also called St.Mary's Glasnevin. It was a home match. The weather was fresh and cool but it was very cold for them to play outside. Geoffrey the coach took photographs of the team. The girls did the warm-up before the match started.
Denise is the captain of the football team. Eimer, Ciara and I supported the team and were cheering loudly for them. When the match started our team played very well. The other team scored a goal, which followed up with another goal just a few minutes later. We were frustrated and wanted to score a goal from our team.
At half-time in the second half, Denise Doran ran up to opponents. The rest of the team defending so she tried hard to score a goal, she scored we were all so proud of her, Finally we had scored a goal on our team. About 10 minutes later, the girl on the opposing team scored a great goal, she shot the ball high in the air. We were all shocked when she scored a stunning goal.
The match was finished. We shook each other's hands. Afterwards our coach Geoffrey told the team members that they had all improved and were much better then the previous week. They defended and played well. The score was 3-1. We were so proud of them. It was a wonderful feeling.
Annalise 2B
St Mary's Cabra -V- St Mary's Glasnevin played a really exciting football match. The girls were nervous but they were also determined. The weather was fine and sunny. Before the match stated, Geoffrey took a photographs of the team. Ciara, Patricia, Annalise and I were supporters for our Team St Mary's, Cabra.
When the football match started, the girls started to play. The two teams played well but the opposing team scored a point then another 2 points. They were cheering wildly; the game continued and stared to get very competitive. Suddenly, Denise Doran scored a point: we shouted and encouraged our team. The air was full of cries; we were excited and could hardly bear to watch. The opposite team scored, our team very nearly scored but they just missed it. When the match was nearly over, a girl from the other team did a hot shot. It was a shock but it was a very good score and we lost but we still felt good, Geoffrey was delighted with our team and told the girls that they had played much better than the previous week. Later, when we had returned to the school, we got a message from the coach of St Mary's Glansnevin saying ' well done to the team'.
By Eimer 2B
Hip-Hop Success (2010)
My name is Nicola, and I am in Second Year.
At the weekend I go to dancing with a Hip Hop group called "Collide".
I go every Saturday and we practice for 4 hours. There are 23 people in my dance group.
I have been learning Hip Hop for 2 years. I love dancing.
My dancing group won a competition in Tallaght Basketball Arena on 12th December.
This is me with my trophy.
Marian School Notice Boards (2010)