Our Second and Third year Spanish students visited Madrid over the Mid-Term Break. 

The students and teachers had a fantastic time, enjoying the sights and some good weather.

The highlights included the day at Warner Park, a visit to the Bernabéu, and the Bullring.

A great time was had by all!

This week is STAND UP WEEK nationwide.  The theme of the week is Allyship.

We are asked to consider how each of us can;

Show support,

Be an ally,

to people among us who may feel on the fringes, or outside society, especially people from the LGBTQ+ community

On Friday, the Student Council invites you to wear bright clothes, not to collect money, but to celebrate our diversity and recognise how each person contributes to the spirit and life of our school community.

We are back with a bang today - Pre-Mock Exams beginning today and tomorrow for exam classes. There are 7 weeks left until Christmas and we won't feel the time passing us by.

The Spanish trip to Madrid over the Midterm was a great success. The teachers and students had a great time. Travelling with Ms Saez, a native of Madrid, made the trip all the more informative for everyone.

Please pay attention to the project deadlines which you son must meet in order to keep on top of his CBA's, the JC and LC practical projects, the Geography field study, investigations for other subjects and of course, his homework. These dates are important and are always flagged well in advance by the teachers, giving time for them to be done by the student. 

Rehearsals for our upcoming School Musical "All Shook Up" are continuing. It is great to welcome many of the Scoil Chriost Ri students over to join us in this very exciting undertaking. Under the experienced direction of Paul 'Nippy' Norton, the lads and ladies are singing, dancing and most importantly, having fun. It will run in the Dunamaise Theatre in February. Many thanks to the teachers involved with the musical.  

We have two Parent Teacher Meetings coming up: on the 8th November for 5th years, TY's and LCA1 parents. A month later, on December 6th, for the 2nd years. Please mark these in your calendars. 

Our next Parent Council Meeting will be on Thursday the 14th November, at 7.30. We have a new Committee and plans are afoot for a Christmas Market among other ideas for the year ahead. Please come along on that night. Meetings are never long and the discussion is often informative.

I also want to give notice in advance of the school closure on Monday 20th November for the JCT Cluster Workshop Day. All Laois secondary schools will be closed and attend different schools for subject professional development.

As we began school 3 days earlier than required by the Department in August this allows us to close for 3 days during the school year. We will be closed on Monday, November 27th. 

The Christmas Exams for the 1st, 2nd, 5th years will be held during the last week of school beginning December 18th. The school will close for Christmas on Friday December 22nd. 

Our sporting events went very well last term, and hopefully will continue for the remainder of this year. Many thanks to our teacher/coaches who spend many hours training and organising the sporting events each week. 

I wish to remind parents that if your son must leave school early, he must bring in a note in his journal to show his year head and teacher before so that he will be allowed to leave the class at that time. Thank you all very much for your continued support of myself, the office, teachers and SNA's. It is much appreciated.  

Evening Study returns tomorrow 4.15pm to 6pm, Monday to Thursday in the school library. For any new student joining, application forms are available from Mr. White's room.