March 2013, No 36

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In the latest Newpark Drama production, The Real Inspector Hound, a cast of talented Fourth and Fifth Years executed Tom Stoppard’s brief and

brilliant one act play to triumphant effect for the annual St Andrew’s One Act Theatre Festival.

This hilarious production mocks the pretentious and pompous London theatre critics as well as providing comic spoof on the “whodunits” once popularised by Agatha

Christie. The clichéd plot includes a secluded English country manor house, ominous radio reports of a criminal on the loose, suspicious guests and a visiting relative with a shady past. This play soon presents itself as a sort of absurd nightmare in which (of course) everything is not as it seems.

Constructed as a play-within-a-play, the cast also includes two hilariously snotty competing theatre critics, Moon and Birdboot, played by Natalie Pullen and John Cummins. The play’s improbable twists, scandalous stereotypes and curious characters draw both of these critics into the plot for a comic and unexpected climax that reveals the murderer’s true identity to all!

As well as our two farcically stereotypical critics, the cast of diverse and intriguing characters thrilled the judges in St Andrew’s. Simon Gascoyne was played by the deserving winner of ‘Best Supporting Actor’, Mr Niall Sherlock. Felicity Cunningham was played

Newpark wins Best Production at Drama Festival

This review by Conor Ryan is continued

on page 6

Mr Derek Lowry

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On the evening of Wednesday the 6th March the PTA organised a talk presented by Amanda Chamber on cyberbullying and the use of social media. These are topics which have received a huge amount of publicity in the recent past. The feedback at the talk was very positive and the many questions at the end gave an indication of its relevance and interest to parents. Some materials from the talk are available now on the website.

Unfortunately the number who attended the talk was quite low. This is disappointing as the PTA (in a voluntary capacity) put a lot of work into organising talks such as this. The PTA is made up of very dedicated and hardworking individuals who have a desire to improve the school in a positive way. A properly functioning PTA is about more than organising fundraising events—as important as that is. It is about providing parents with the opportunity to meet each other, share concerns and experience and access up-to-date information on topical issues. Therefore it is necessary to look at the reasons for the low turnout at the meeting. Information with regard to the meeting was sent out by email to parents, two parent-texts were sent and it was on the front page of the website. In terms of communications it is difficult to see what more the committee could have done to advertise the talk.

When dealing with school issues relating to social media and cyberbullying, many parents have expressed to school management their own ignorance of the way in which many of the services operate and their shock at material which their son or daughter may have posted. The issues raised in the talk did not focus simply on the impact of cyberbullying but also the potential effects of posting social media material which future employers may have access to. Clearly these are issues which affect students from First to Sixth Year.

The speed with which internet technologies change puts huge pressure on all institutions in terms of their capacity to react. There is much that is very positive about the internet but those using it need to be aware of their responsibilities and of the potential impact of their online behaviour. It is certainly the case that in many cases the anonymity of the internet leads to a casual and sometimes extreme use of language towards another person which would rarely take place in a face to face situation. Many students simply act in such an impulsive manner online that the possible consequences are not thought through at all. Students have been advised at assemblies of the serious consequences which can arise from such behaviour. These issues have been addressed with First and Second Year students in particular in class and posters have been placed in strategic positions around the school.

We are in the process of reviewing our anti-bullying policy and those involved will address the manner in which cyberbullying should be addressed within the context and philosophy of the policy. When some interim work has been done on t h i s , f u r t h e r consu l t a t ion with students and parents will take place. The c o r e v a l u e s o f Restorative Practice will

remain at the core of any new policy where the aim is to resolve issues at as early a stage as possible and where conflicts and tensions are resolved by repairing harm and building relationships.

We also will publish on the website a revised Information Technology Acceptable Usage policy for all those who use devices within the school. This is aimed at ensuring responsible IT usage within the school.

The school’s role is to support students in learning to take more responsibility for their own actions and to be aware of the possible consequences of what they do—whether online or not. If the actions of a student online impacts on relationships within the school then that issue will become one for the school. The school has to be careful in its interpretation of what falls within its remit as so much of a student’s activity on-line takes place outside of school and within the control of parents.

This is a topic about which there is a great deal of publicity, which is constantly changing and which is a challenge to both schools and parents. Therefore I want to again thank the PTA for their initiative in getting in Amanda Chambers to give an excellent presentation and to strongly urge parents to go the school website and access the materials on the site to improve their own knowledge of the issues involved.

Last Saturday I visited the Coderdojo Club taking place in the school each Saturday afternoon. It was great to see the turnout on a Bank Holiday weekend. At Coderdojo, the students involved learn how to code, develop websites, apps, programmes, games

and more. Like any extracurricular activity it is built around the interests of the students involved.

I want to especially thank Natalie Butler, John O’Neill and all the volunteers who have committed

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themselves to organising and teaching the material each week. It was great to see students showing the work they have done and their creativity in developing their own ideas and building their own games.

To cater for the large numbers involved it would be great if we had more mentors and volunteers. Any parents or past students willing and able to give any time would be greatly appreciated. You can contact newparkdojo@gmail.com for more details.

Defibrillator Campaign

A huge thank you to everyone—pupils, staff and parents—who has contributed towards our mobile phone re-cycling campaign.

I am thrilled to let you know that the school has not one but TWO defibrillators! We are now working to obtain a storage cabinet for the defib which will be placed in the front hall area so it can be accessed by day and night school. We just need 30 more phones to obtain this free of charge—so please keep the phones coming!!!

We will need to look at purchasing a special heated cabinet for the defib which will be taken to the rugby pitches. This is costly but vital to ensure that the AED will work if it is needed! Well done to the following students who each won a prize for bringing in the most phones in their year-group:

1st Year Skye Jackson 2nd Year Adetola Adebisi 3rd Year Daniel Airey 4th Year Aoife Jungmann 5th Year Stephen McCormack 6th Year Dillon Kelly

Thank you to the PTA who sponsored the prize

money. The above students will receive €20 each. Special mention should go to Adetola Adebisi

who brought in a massive 35 phones and also to Ms Glancy, staff member, who rounded up 27!!

Once again, thank you to you all.

Nola Lambert, School Nurse

Maths Puzzler See if you can work out the solution to the following problem. The answer is on the back page of this newsletter, but make sure you give it a good try before looking! A worked solution will also be posted on the maths notice board in the C

corridor.

How many 6-digit numbers start and/or end with an even digit? (A six digit number cannot begin with 0)

Ellen Lawless, Newpark Maths

Hot Diggitty Dog!

Group Two CSPE class held a Hotdog Sale to raise money for the homeless. The two charities we chose to fundraise for were The Simon Community and Focus Ireland.

It cost us €57 to buy the

hotdogs and buns. We raised €70 for the two charities. It was a success and a great experience. Thank you to everyone who came out on the day and supported this very worthy cause

Jamie Lindsay 2JB

Buy a Brick Campaign

As you know, Newpark will soon be getting a new school building, which is great news for us all. Towards the end of 2013 we will be moving into a temporary building at the back of the hockey pitch in preparation for the commencement of demolition and construction. There will be more information on the schedule and logistics of this before the summer break. Unfortunately, Department of Education and Science funding does not fully cover the fitting out of the new building. These costs will have to be picked up by us: the parents, guardians and school body. These additional items will include such things as science equipment, ICT equipment, canteen fittings and much more. Our aim is to make Newpark a centre of excellence in education, and to facilitate the best possible educational experience of OUR children. To

do this, we need to raise a minimum of €35,000. Purchasing a brick for Newpark Comprehensive School is a great way to show your support for this project. All brick purchasers will be honoured on our wall of donors in the school. Bricks

range from €25 to €100 each. Bricks can be purchased online at: http://newparkschool.ie/fundraising/ We hope you will be able to support this campaign and we thank you for your continued support of Newpark. See the school website for details of our proposed school building.

Newpark PTA

beginning to enter my mind. However, with just under a minute left on the clock, Mount Temple were awarded a short corner giving them one last chance at a goal before strokes. The ball was out quick and Sinéad Malin sprinted out as fast as she could but they just slipped it past her. Next it was my turn and again they just evaded my stick, passing the ball into the penalty spot. The Mount Temple striker received the ball and took a big reverse shot that flew into the net. It was 1-0 with ten seconds to go. With barely enough time even to get the ball back on the halfway line, the whistle went.

The match was over. With sticks falling to the ground and heads in our hands, we had to pick ourselves up to shake their hands and walk back to the dugout. Along with the rest of the Newpark team, I was absolutely devastated to have lost, especially in such a horrible way.

Nonetheless, you can’t win everything and it was still a great match. I would like to thank our coach, Karen Clarke and my fellow teammates for a brilliant season. Most of all, I would like to thank all of the supporters who braved the cold and helped us to keep going throughout the entire match. Congratulations to Mount Temple and we wish them every bit of luck in the final. I think that I speak for everyone on the team when I say that we never want to lose a match like that again. It’s made us only more determined go all the way next year.

Anna Richardson (Vice-Captain) 4CBR

On Thursday 21st February, the girls’ senior A team played their league semi-final against

Mount Temple. As we stepped out onto the Newpark pitch, we were greeted by the freezing cold and we were glad to begin our warm-up. We were all very excited and nervous as we set up in our positions. The start whistle blew and we took the ball, immediately attacking their left side. We had lots of the play in the first half and they found it difficult to defend against us. Ten minutes into the match, we were awarded a short corner but their goalie made a great save, keeping the score-line even. The half time score was 0-0.

We went out for the second half, encouraged by our brilliant supporters. Mount Temple came out strong and our defenders had to make some great tackles to prevent them from entering our D. However, we still had plenty of fight left in us and we worked hard to put them under pressure every time we went on an attack. Katie Lowry had a lovely shot from a short corner but it was just cleared off the line by a defender. It was quite an even second half—Newpark were slightly the better team but only by a fraction. When the whistle for full-time went, the score was still 0-0. It was extra time.

Neither team made any headway in the first half of extra time so we had another five minute half left to play. It was end-to-end stuff as we faced the last few minutes of the match. As the umpires called for the last minute of play, penalty strokes were already

Heartrending Semi-Final for Senior Girls

Boys’ Senior Hockey

On Monday the 25th of February, the Senior Boys played Sutton Park in the semi-final of the B League. We played the match out in

Sutton on their new pitch. Both teams started well but Sutton opened the scoring with a drag flick from a short corner. At half time it was still one nil but we were happy with how we were playing. In the second half we upped our game even more and Kevin Mellot equalised from a short corner early in the second half. Our defence was under a lot of pressure but held strong with Lee Heffernan making some outstanding saves. Rory Pang battled endlessly in midfield and nearly got in for a goal but for an outstanding save. We got another short corner which was saved off the line by the lineman.

Then, with thirty seconds to go, Sutton scored the winner from a rebound. We were gutted with the result but happy with our performance. This season has not been a success for us at all but we are determined to push on and do

well next year. Andrew Ramsay 5CC 4

Athletics Season Opens

Athletics will be starting on Mon-day 8th April when we return to school after the Easter holidays. The annual competition held in Santry is scheduled for the 9th May. If you are interested in

competing, sign up on the coaching days and events sheets for training. All information regarding athlet-ics will be on the Girls’ Hockey noticeboard.

Gormlaith Ormond, Athletics Co-ordinator

Newpark on Tour!

Fifty senior students and five teachers are getting very excited as the long awaited hockey/rugby trip to Toronto and New York approaches. They leave for the thirteen day trip on the thirtieth of May. Each team will play four matches in total: two in each location. There should be time for plenty of sightseeing too. Go Newpark!

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pectation they have for competitive success must be matched by the level of commitment they make.

But the Newpark Minors deserve great credit. I have always believed there are many ways of being successful – winning matches is undoubtedly one of them and always our objective - but it is not the only one.

Throughout the course of the long season, all the girls became involved in learning new skills and challenges, learnt the value of teamwork and discipline and had fun when doing it. That’s all good. I have seen the girls’ self-esteem and confidence grow steadily since September as they learnt to handle their defeats and successes graciously and have undoubtedly grown from their experiences, both as hockey players and in-dividuals. They represented Newpark, their families and themselves with grace, determination and good humour and as their coach I was always proud of their efforts. They also demonstrated the ability to put their successes and setbacks into a proper context and per-spective—a valuable skill to learn in your teenage years.

I would like to thank all the parents who got up early on Saturday mornings to bring their daugh-ters to their hockey matches on time and who stood on the side lines offering their support. Your encourage-ment was invaluable and is appreciated by the play-ers—even if they tell you the opposite!

Thanks to all the players and parents for a great season.

Mags Downes – Minor Girls Hockey Coach

Playing with Pride –

No Prejudice It is a truth universally acknowledged that a Newpark student in possession of a good hockey stick must be in want of a hockey team.

And so it was with the Second Years, which saw Newpark field three Minor Girls’ Hockey Teams, two league and one friendly, this season.

The A team was co-captained by goalkeeper Savannah Power (great Leinster squad prospect) and wonderfully positive centre back Emma Horsefield. A real stalwart of the team proved to be sweeper Aisling Grogan, sister of the talented junior Ciara Grogan. Aisling had a 100% attendance record at training and was always quietly committed and determined with good humour, inspiring her teammates with her ability to absorb pressure.

Jane at right back steadily improved through-out the season while early on left back Rachel learnt the valuable lesson of abstaining from the Wesley Dis-co the night before matches! The midfield quartet of Muireann, Elvira and Jenna (with sub Christel) had a real battle on their hands and learnt the value of cour-age, footwork and the need for serious physical fitness at this level. The forward trio of Kate, Hannah and Maya showed flashes of real talent allied with buckets of patience. Over the course of the season the team faced schools such as Loreto Beaufort, St. Gerard’s, Mount Anville, Loreto on the Green, Loreto Dalkey and Mount Sackville and although they failed to quali-fy from their group they registered excellent draws against Cluny, Loreto Bray and High School.

The B team was co-captained by goalkeeper Lucy and left wing Tola and their win over Mount An-ville early in the season suggested great things to come. Indeed this transpired as the team qualified from their group to progress into the League quarter-final, beating schools such as Newbridge College along the way. Becca Wall took up hockey for the first time this year, bringing her valuable soccer experience, and scored an amazing hat trick in the win against St Raphelas. The team faced rivals Mount Anville again in the quarter final but unfortunately came out on the wrong side of the result the second time around.

The C team was co-captained by right back Sophia and centre mid Kenza and enjoyed many great matches with local schools. It transpires that Sophia shows great potential as a quick left arm bowler and is about to embark on a cricketing career—so good luck to her in her new endeavours.

It has been a tough and challenging hockey season, particularly for the A team. They encountered some very stiff opposition in their league and cup matches. Competing in the top A division is a real challenge these days. Every week the Newpark players face girls from schools that have significant resources and facilities and where elite training four or five times a week is the order of the day. I feel that is it im-portant for Newpark players to realise the level of ex-

Senior Boys’ Basketball Final

This has been a fantastic year for Senior Basketball in Newpark. The Senior Girls won their league and now it is the

Senior Boys turn to shine in the upcoming final of the S o u t h D u b l i n S ch o o l s B a sk e t b a l l L e a g u e . Newpark will meet St Michael’s in this much anticipated final. The match takes place in UCD at 10.30 on Friday the 22nd March. Best of luck, lads.

Boys’ Senior Rugby

In a year of ups and downs we (the Senior rugby team) finally found our

form. After being knocked out of the Vinnie Murray Cup we have bounced back and are in the final of the section B shield, after defeating High School in the semi-final. The final of the section B shield, Newpark Comprehensive School vs. Wexford CBS, will take place after the Easter break. Details to be announced. All support welcome.

Ross O’Suilleabhain 6DM

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A word from the director

Over the last few years when I have met and worked with Newpark students, each and every one of them has sparked with talent and creativity, whether it connects to acting, art or directing. Above all they show a real sense of maturity, dedication and a real love for the dramatic art form.

It was almost easy to direct a difficult play such as The Real Inspector Hound when I was working with

This review by Conor Ryan is continued from page 1

by the wonderful Zoe Perrin and Cynthia Muldoon by Anna McCarthy, the equally deserving winner of ‘Best Supporting Actress’. We also enjoyed the laugh-out-loud performances of Max Goldman as Major Magnus Muldoon, Colm Higgins playing the eccentric swamp-boot clad Inspector Hound and the lovely Maebh Hennelly playing Mrs Drudge.

Newpark’s production of The Real Inspector Hound by this solid and truly entertaining cast would not have been possible without the dedicated efforts of the talented director Aoife Burke. Huge congratulations are in order for winning ‘Best Production’ in the St Andrew’s Theatre Festival as well as two other major awards. Well done to everybody involved: you have absolutely outdone yourselves!

Conor Ryan, 5

such involved and talented actors. I can say that the whole experience was extremely enjoyable and so much fun. It makes winning the Best Production prize a little more satisfactory knowing that despite the m a n y hours and the hard work we put into the play, we simply e n j o y e d the whole process.

I a l w a y s b e l i e v e process acting is so much more fulfilling than the end

product but with this group of actors, both were made incredibly exciting. In saying that, credit must be given to the students for their dedication, meeting for hours outside of school to run the play, rehearse and run it again. Each student brought their individual

advice, talent and dedication to the play. I would like to thank all of the cast and Cathy

Devis for involving me in such a fun project and I hope it is not the end of my fond experiences with Newpark students.

Aoife Burke, Visiting Director

Production Photos by Anna Moran 6DM

Best Production Award at Theatre Festival

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Pictured above are the First and Second Year actors and Fifth Year directors of the Junior Plays which will grace the Hunter Theatre stage on Wednesday 21st and Thursday 22nd of March. They took a break from their arduous technical

rehearsal at the weekend to gather for the photo. The Junior Plays are the brainchild of Cathy Devis, a South African dynamo who has built up Newpark Drama into its current vibrant form. For the past seven years Newpark Fifth Years have had the opportunity to try their hand at directing short plays. This started in 2007 with senior student Sian Murray (now a professional drama practitioner) directing Just. Since then the numbers interested both as actors and directors has exploded so that there have been multiple plays each year and the directors now work in teams. Many of this year’s directors were Junior Play actors in their time and you can see the building of experience, talent, enthusiasm and commitment over the years. This year all the plays are original works

devised by students—another growing Newpark Drama trend which we have also seen to great success in recent Transition Year plays. Cathy Devis’s passion for drama, her dedication and enthusiasm and the steady stream of productions every year (Junior plays, Transition Year and Senior plays and most recently those of Newpark Theatre Company) have developed a corps of talented and experienced drama practitioners, many of whom return to Newpark and give generously of their time, skills and interests through workshops, courses or even as visiting directors. This year past students trained in theatre lighting have kindly returned to cast some light on the Junior Plays. New arrival, Cathy’s eight week old baby Noah, has already seen a lot of drama both in the Hunter Theatre and at the St Andrew’s Festival. Newpark Drama (past and present) salutes and thanks Cathy (and her family) for her exceptional commitment, dynamism, ambition and infectious

enthusiasm. Anna Johnston

Next to tread the boards: Junior Plays at the Hunter Theatre

From Bicycles to Submarines: a Feast of Drama Fun

The opening night of the Junior Plays went off extremely well. The appreciative audience was treated to four original works devised by the teams of young directors. All four were extremely enjoyable and funny with the writers and actors showing a great appreciation of comic potential. The writing and directing style of each play was very distinctive First up was ICBmazing directed by Fiachra Kennedy, Niall Sherlock and Louis Furney. Writer, Fiachra Kennedy, set his comic play in a Soviet nuclear submarine. The paranoid captain and his (her!) long suffering crew (all named after whales—nice touch) drift in the Atlantic on their manic mission to combat capitalism. The body count rises and the submarine deteriorates under increasing pressure: plot and characterisation handled with fun and flair here. Next was Colm Higgins’ play I have never been to Carrickfergus directed by the author and Rory Fogarty. This was a feast of absurdity and wheels

within wheels as the plot circled playfully. The cast were completely immersed here—subtle, artful and highly enjoyable. The Waiting Room by Mark Ball and Richard Harvey was directed by the authors and Chloe O’Hara. The story arc was ambitious but contained some beautiful set pieces including some hilarious comic sketches (I cried with laughter during the dance off!), strong ensemble work and poignant, thought provoking moments. Finally we were treated to Vintage Smort, written and directed by Adam Boland and Eve Nolan. This was high energy madness from start to finish. Stylised and hilarious drama with magnificent costumes! Again here the comic cast were notable for their total immersion and conviction in the zany world of Smort. It was a great finish to a most enjoyable evening. Thanks

to all involved. Anna Johnston

The Tales of the Otori by Liane Hearn

The Tales of the Otori series are a brilliant read. They combine fantasy, history and a love story and it is seriously difficult to put any of them down once you begin. Set in a fantasy ancient Japan and centred around a clan of assassins, there’s plenty of action, suspense and romance. The first in the series is Across the Nightingale Floor.

Madison Porter 6LT

I Am David by Anne Holm I am David was written by Anne Holm in 1963 and is set during World War 2. It is about a pre-teen who escapes from a concentration camp. I am David is full of suspense and emotions. While David is trying to survive he also tries to figure out who he is. It is an exciting and emotional and I recommend it to

everyone. Camille Pruvost 1DBT

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne This book is about Bruno, whose father works for the Nazis and because of that his whole family have to move near to a concentration camp. He befriends a boy called Samuel. This book is well written from Bruno’s point of view, there is a lot of mystery and there is a very sad ending that takes you by surprise. This book really makes you think.

Gabrielle Gabat 2JH

American Gods by Neil Gaiman This book is strange, gripping and quite unsettling. Just a few days before Shadow is released from prison his wife, Laura, dies in a mysterious car crash. As Shadow makes his way home, coming to terms with the secrets his wife kept from him, he meets the enigmatic Mr Wednesday. This man claims to be a former god, the king of America and a refugee from a distant

war. As they embark on a strange journey across the heart of America, a storm of epic and otherworld proportions threatens to break.

This gripping tale takes a long hard look in to the soul of America. I would strongly recommend

it for anyone from 5th and 6th year. Isla Hoe 6PC 8

Time for Reading

The Book Corner

The notice-board in the reading area is starting to fill with book recommendations. On this page you can see some of the new ones. Keep them coming: we want books for all kinds of readers. All you need is a short recommendation for a book you have read and enjoyed. The books can be fiction or non-fiction. In addition to the name and author please include what you liked about the book and why you would recommend it. You just send us the words and we will find the cover image to go with it on the noticeboard. You can email these reviews to vicky.meredith@newparkschool.ie

Object Talk “Turn the key the other way,” suggested the door.

“Wear me today,” begged the leather jacket. “Your feet smell ...” commented the shoes.

“I’m a two-timer,” joked the clock.

“Call me!” flirted the telephone. “Don’t look at my drawers,” cried the dresser.

“I am a box,” mumbled the box.

“I’m not odd at all,” huffed eight. “I am red,” wheezed the yellow balloon.

“Where are we going?” droned the car.

“A lovely day for a walk,” suggested the footpath. “Keep pushing,” snapped the trolley.

“So where do I sign?” questioned the pen. “There’s no time!” shouted the clock.

“I’m watching you ...” whispered the video camera.

“Should I let them come in?” debated the door. “Why is everybody late?” wondered the clock. “Please don’t write on me,” begged the table.

“You spin me right round, baby, right round!” sang the globe. “Clicking me ain’t going to make me go any faster,” explained the

computer. “I feel so lost,” sighed the map.

“I’m for writing, not for drawing with,” defined the pen. “Turn to page twenty seven,” commanded the book.

“Is it chilly in here or is it just me?” enquired the freezer.

“Oh no! Not the toaster!” pleaded the bread. “Stop staring at my breast!” screamed the KFC bucket.

“Everyone hates me; I make them cry,” despaired the onion “Feed me,” grumbled the stomach

“Bounce on me,” invited the trampoline.

“Everyone kicks me when I’m down,” sighed the ball. “Put me out,” begged the bin.

“Let the water out,” wept the bath. “Ye tick!” shouted the clock.

AJ Transition Year English

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Public Art for BSQ

Newpark has been invited by Aramark, the property managers for Beacon South Quarter, to propose a public art piece for two glass-fronted spaces facing Imaginarium, the children’s museum. Mr Byrne’s Fifth Year Art class has taken on the project. It is an exciting prospect, as it could lead to an opportunity to make and install something in a real public space, and see the reactions of the people who use the space.

We have asked Michael McLoughlin, the Youth Arts Officer with Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, to help up through the process. He has experience of public art projects, and his advice and guidance to date have been most helpful.

We will have our proposals ready this week, and hope to be able to offer the client a choice of options.

Ciaran Byrne & Fifth Year Art

What is Transition Year?

Recently one of the Third Year students at Homework Club asked me what Transition Year is like. While there are lots of different perceptions on TY, I see it as a great chance to reflect on one’s goals, whether these are personal or academic/career goals. Students can pursue their interests and find out what their strengths and weaknesses are. They can also develop their creative side when working on interesting projects like tie-dying their own shirt, etc.

Transition Year can also be a great eye opener to how things work outside of school, in the wider community and in the business world. It might contribute to finding your identity while discovering areas where you fit in. You’ll also learn about societal and other issues and solutions that might help you with overcoming obstacles that you yourself are affected by (e.g. bullying).

TY gives you a chance to explore what it is like to work in a job that you are interested in. This could include a week’s work experience in places like IBM or RTE. At the same time you will contribute and help out with important and rewarding tasks in your community every week, such as engaging with residents in nursing homes or helping out at a homeless shelter. In school you will learn about First Aid and other important life skills that might be useful in certain situations.

In summary, Transition Year gives you an opportunity to reflect on certain aspects of your life—what you expect of it—and to find ways to achieve things for yourself while taking initiative and responsibility.

Some students I talked to said that TY helped them to become more independent, meet new people, be less judgemental towards others and make new friends. They learned how to cope with stress, how to get organized and space out their workload. Some enjoyed being taken more seriously as they developed into young adults, while others found out that they have a lot more growing up to do before they enter the ‘real world’. One student even found a job during his year, another one really liked learning a new language and one of the girls told me that she found out about the possibilities she will have once she gets her Leaving Cert.

Writing Another World

Congratulations and thanks to TY student Alice Hamman who won a set of fantasy novels by Frank P. Ryan for Newpark with her entry into the John West Fantasy Writing competition. This is an annual competition and the theme this year was ‘Under the Sea’. Alice wrote an entertaining story of aquatic ichthyoids (aka fish-humans) and a rebellious daughter who challenges her mother’s outlook on how things should be. Look out for next year’s competition. Fantasy writers should also check out Fantasy Faction, a US website that publishes anthologies of stories selected from their annual competition.

As with all the other years, what you get out of Transition Year depends on you. All the Third Years will get a chance to learn more about Transition Year and soon they will be experiencing it for themselves.

Elkee McEntee

TY Interview Day 2013

28 janvier – 4 février 2013

Après avoir reçu leurs correspondants français en novembre dernier, les élèves de 2e année de la Section Européenne et de Mainstream ont eu l’opportunité d’aller à Lyon et de découvrir la culture française. Cette année, 24 élèves ont participé au voyage. De nombreuses activités et visites étaient prévues: atelier cuisine, visite du Musée de la Miniature, visite du quartier St Jean, funiculaire, shopping, visite d’une chocolaterie et sans oublier, raquette en montagnes!

Le voyage s’est bien déroulé et les élèves se sont très bien comportés. Ils ont tous fait l’effort de parler français et n’ont pas hésité à goûter les spécialités locales. Les élèves ont tous passé une semaine formidable en compagnie de leurs correspondants. De réelles amitiés se sont créées. Beaucoup avaient les larmes aux yeux en partant et maintenant, ils n’ont qu’une hâte, revoir leurs

correspondants cet été! Nous avons reçu des commentaires très positifs que ce soit de la part des élèves ou des parents. Félicitations à Dara Neville Fulena et Savannah Power qui ont remporté le prix du meilleur journal de

bord et à L o l a N o l a n e t L u c y Richards-Smyrk pour meilleur effort durant le voyage. Un grand merci aux parents pour leur soutien et à Melle McCarthy pour sa collaboration dans l ’organisat ion du voyage.

Laetitia Tessier

Notre voyage à Lyon le mois dernier a été l'une des meilleures semaines de ma vie! J'ai apprécié chaque chose que nous avons faite, j'ai particulièrement apprécié notre séjour chez Enzo, c'était vraiment amusant! Il n'y a pas beaucoup de différences entre la

France et l'Irlande. La principale différence que j'ai remarqué, c'est que les bus n'avaient pas d'étage. Nous nous sommes tous très entendus avec nos correspondants et nous avons déjà prévu de les

voir pendant deux semaines cet été! J'ai passé un moment vraiment incroyable, je vous remercie Mme

Tessier et Mme McCarthy! Nora Noone, 2nd Year ES

Voyage á Lyon

Concours Francophonie

On Wednesday 27th February, First and Second Year European section students entered a French online competition. In groups of three, we answered questions about the Francophonie.

French is an official language in 29 countries (par example: La Belgique, le Quebec, l’Algerie) and 129 million people can speak French. A francophone is anyone who is French, speaks French or lives in a French speaking country: they are all part of the Francophonie.

Congratulations to the winners : Harry Clarke (1SO), Jakob Stack-Kral (1MDY) and Marie Arteaga (1HG) who came in second place. We are very proud of them because there was a lot of schools competing.

On Wednesday 20th of March, during French Week, the winners accompanied by Mme Berteloot will go to town. They will watch a French movie, have a French gouter and receive prizes.

Elizabeth Manning and Camille Pruvost 1DBT

The Francophonie online contest was organized by Le service de coopération et d’action culturelle de l’ambassade de France en Irlande et l’Alliance Française de Dublin. Students involved learnt about Francophonie, French culture and language.

Félicitations à tous les élèves qui ont participé

et bien sur à l’équipe gagnante!

Daisy Berteloot

Les gens là-bas me manquent. Mon repas préféré était les quenelles avec le riz. Je voudrais revenir à Lyon encore une fois, j'ai apprécié l'expérience.

Emily Hogarty 2JB

Nous nous sommes vraiment rapprochés de nos correspondants. Nous avons fait beaucoup, beaucoup d’activités. J'ai aimé les crêpes avec le fromage et le jambon. Les f r a n ç a i s o n t u n e personnalité beaucoup plus douce que les Irlandais. J'ai vraiment apprécié le voyage et j’étais si triste quand nous sommes partis.

Merci beaucoup Mme Tessier et Mme Mc Carthy!

Rachel Meagher, 2nd Year ES

Le voyage était fantastique!

Finn Howley, 2nd Year ES

Le voyage à Lyon était la plus belle semaine de ma vie; c’était incroyable.

Ailbhe Duke, 2nd Year ES

J’ai beaucoup amélioré mon français! J'ai hâte de voir ma correspondante Lana cet été!

Amanda Hickey-Hedberg, 2nd

Year ES

J’ai adoré le voyage á Lyon. Le voyage m’a donné plus de confiance pour parler en français.

Karen McGuirk, 2nd Year ES

http://nearfm.ie/ Produite et présentée par Eléonore Nicolas, ‘Qu’est-ce que c’est le Craíc ?’ est une émission de la radio locale dublinoise Near FM, intégralement en français, diffusée tous les mardis à 18h (heure irlandaise). Vous pouvez écouter l’émission en ligne ou à Dublin sur 90.3 FM.

Literally translated as ‘What’s the craic?’, the French radio programme produced and presented by Eléonore Nicolas which runs every Tuesday at 6pm, is great for anyone trying to improve their French or get in touch with French culture. You can listen to it on Near FM 90.3.

Listen and Learn

Elodie le Rouic, head of Campus France Ireland came to talk to 6th year ES students about the University studies in France – Friday 25th January

Vendredi 25 janvier, nous avons eu le plaisir d’accueillir Elodie Le Rouic, responsable de l’Espace Campus France en Irlande qui est venue présenter les études universitaires françaises aux classes de Terminale Section Européenne. De nombreux étudiants de la Section qui ont passé le DELF B2 cette année, envisagent d’étudier en France après le bac, que ce soit dans le cadre du programme Erasmus ou d’un Master, et l’intervention d’Elodie était l’occasion idéale pour poser des questions et en savoir un peu plus sur les démarches à suivre. Si vous voulez avoir des informations sur les études universitaires françaises, n’hésitez pas à consulter le site Campus France: http://www.irlande.campusfrance.org/en/ ou à contacter directement Elodie Le Rouic: If you want to know more about studies in France, check the website of Campus France or alternatively you can contact Elodie Le Rouic in the

French Embassy. Laetitia Tessier

Campus France Irlande Ambassade de France en Irlande 1 Kildare Street, Dublin 2, Irlande d u b l i n @ c a m p u s f r a n c e . o r g 00 353 (0)1 708 83 07 00 353 (0)1 708 83 07

French Week is on ! Newpark 19-24 MARS 2013

La Semaine Francaise

French Week is in full flow as we go to print and the school is awash with all things French. Classroom doors are decorated with subject related posters in French and each day the announcements feature a French question of the day. On Tuesday the week commenced with a feast of crepe making for the lucky Second Year European Section. Having recently returned from their trip to Lyon they will be able to judge the authenticity and quality of their product!! Some Sixth Year classes were treated to a talk from guest speaker Eimear Carlin from the 2041 Antarctic Youth Ambassador Programme. This was followed in the afternoon with French quizzes for First and Third Years. On Wednesday morning all students studying French in First Year attended a play in the theatre. Entirely through the medium of French, this comic theatre group entertained the First Years with plenty of audience participation. The plot: a hapless director has been commanded to present a play for the mayor the next day and has to improvise drastically with his own team of actors and those drawn from the audience. The student actors who were dragged onwere great sports, not only delivering their lines in French, but even taking part in an acrobatic dance-off and singing on stage much to the amusement of the audience. The play was energetic and varied, culminating in an emergency puppet show designed to appease the mayor. On Thursday a French Singer Lucie Azconaga is due to give a concert in the Hunter Theatre for French classes from Transition Year and Fifth Year. This will be followed by a teachers’ competition, the Second Year quiz and Café Francais in the afternoon for all Sixth Years. The final day gives Second Years the opportunity to enjoy the French Theatre Company and Fifth Years are duelling it out in their quiz. The lucky teacher who won the competition will be awarded with a tasty French prize: plateau de fromage,

Concours Labcitoyen2013

Gagnez un séjour en France Do you want to win a trip to France this summer? Are you 18 and i n t e r e s t e d i n Human Rights? Check out the details about this French writing contest Lab Citoyen , le

nouveau programme de mobilité de l’Institut français sur le thème des droits et des libertés, se déroulera du samedi 6 juillet au mardi 16 juillet 2013. Il offre une opportunité unique aux meilleurs apprenants de français en provenance de tous les pays du monde de participer à un séjour en France au mois de juillet, pris en charge par l’Institut Français Paris et le Service Culturel de l’Ambassade de France à Dublin. Ce séjour est destiné à leur faire découvrir des aspects de la culture française grâce à des échanges et des rencontres.

Placé sous le thème ‘Les droits de l’Homme au XXe siècle: s’engager pour demain’, le programme insistera sur le droit des femmes et des filles, les libertés politiques, la liberté d’expression et le droit des minorités.

En cette année 2013 qui célèbre le 30e anniversaire de l’abolition de la peine de mort au niveau européen, Labcitoyen portera une attention particulière à cette question de la peine de mort.

Le programme est ouvert à des jeunes du monde entier âgés de 18 à 25 ans qui ont appris le français (niveau B1), ont un engagement public, ou à défaut, sont disposés, du fait de leurs études (journalisme, droit, sciences politiques notamment) à s’intéresser aux droits de l’Homme. Leur inscription est du ressort des Services d’action et de coopération culturelle des ambassades, des Instituts français et des Alliances françaises. Les lauréats seront sélectionnés par concours.

Les inscriptions devront être retournées avant le 25 mars 2013. Les textes seront transmis au service culturel de l’Ambassade de France en Irlande par le candidat au plus tard le 8 Avril 2013. Registration deadline : March 25th 2013 Essays are due on April 8th 2013 If you want to know more about this contest check ou the website http://www.institutfrancais.com/fr/labcitoyen-2013 or talk to Ms Tessier or Ms Berteloot

Festival International du Film

Want to win a trip to France and

participate in an International Film Festival?

Find out more here!

Dans le cadre du programme Culture Lab instauré par l’Institut Français, le service culturel de l’Ambassade de France à Dublin est heureux d’offrir à un jeune irlandais l’opportunité unique de participer à un programme d’été de formation professionnelle en français dans le monde du cinéma.

Du 28 juin au 7 juillet, le candidat sélectionné aura en effet la chance de participer à un parcours pédagogique dans le cadre unique du Festival international du film de La Rochelle. Le participant aura l’opportunité de développer des compétences à la fois artistiques et linguistiques, autour de projections - débats, de rencontres avec des professionnels du cinéma, et d’ateliers pratiques. Et ainsi de partager une expérience interculturelle mémorable avec d’autres jeunes francophones du monde entier. Conditions :

Etre Irlandais et agé de 18 à 30 ans

Avoir une bonne connaissance du Français (B1)

Etre étudiant ou travailler dans le domaine du cinéma, ou à défaut, montrer un intérêt certain pour ce domaine artistique

L’Ambassade de France prend en charge la formation, le billet d’avion et l’hébergement sur place.

Alors...vous êtes francophone et intéressé par le monde du cinéma? Pour participer et découvrir l’univers unique du Festival international du film de La Rochelle, veuillez envoyer un CV, une lettre de motivation en français (et une lettre de recommandation d’un de vos professeurs si vous êtes étudiant) avant le 5 Avril 2013 à l’adresse suivante. Un entretien en français et en anglais au Service Culturel suivra la sélection préliminaire. Claire Rouquette Cultural Service French Embassy 1 Kildare Street Dublin 2 linguistic@ambafrance-ie.org 01 708 8306 http://www.festival-larochelle.org/ Bonne chance!

On Friday 15th March the Fifth Year LCVP class organised a Shave or Dye event in aid of the Irish Cancer Society. There was a great turnout of students and staff, with many participants from each year group kindly taking part.

Everybody had a fantastic time and enjoyed getting their hair styled!

Donations have already topped €1,000. Many thanks to our hairdressers – SNAs Wanda & Caroline and past pupil Róisín Conway and, of course, to everybody who participated and donated to this worthy cause.

14

Inga Gillham & Becky Kavanagh, 5th Year

Shave or Dye Newpark Style

15

In Paris on April 5th the group called ZoiBand Trio will play at the Quartz Awards and afterwards will support the Detroit electronics DJ Derrick May.

On Wednesday March 6th, the band very kindly came into G4 to do an open rehearsal for all interested music students to observe. The group is made up of three incredibly talented musicians: Daniel Jacobson (Electronics), Bill Blackmore (Trumpet) and Chris Engel (Alto Saxophone). Daniel is a past pupil of Newpark and is now working as an Irish composer, electronics musician, teacher and producer. He has released a lot of new and contemporary music on his own label Diatribe. As a guitarist and electronic musician he has played with many groups, including tours with Meljoann and Jack L. He founded Diatribe Records in the late 90s to promote the work of local underground artists and is currently one of three directors of the label. He curates the Tronix Series to encourage electronic music makers and composers to collaborate in unusual ways.

The first piece they worked on is called Richman’s Folly composed by Daniel. While Bill and Chris played from the scores, Daniel added effects and altered the track electronically by using microphones direct into his laptop. The software he uses is called

Ableton Live and he also added other instruments such as bass, guitar and drums as the guys played.

The next two pieces they worked on are called D-Blop and Phroph. For D-Blop Daniel had recorded various musicians jamming in his studio and another track of Bill improvising. He then cut up these tracks and multi tracked then into a backing track for this piece. Phroph doesn’t have a score so Bill and Chris had to listen to the backing track and then create on the spot their individual parts under Daniel’s guidance. This piece is great and is basically built on two staccato notes with the top note added to a strong techno groove. It was incredible to watch, as the piece was not working the three musicians took to singing and clapping the individual parts until they got it right and only then did they take back up their respective instruments to play. Chris explained how valuable this is as a learning tool to ensure the preciseness of the rhythm and then the overall blend of the ensemble.

It was really cool to see how a proper rehearsal worked and really interesting to see how the musicians worked together and particularly when one of them is the composer. Overall it was a brilliant experience! Thank you to Ms. Glancy for organizing it and thanks to the ZoiBand Trio for coming in. Good luck to

them in Paris! Anna Richardson 4CBR) and Siobhán Franks 4CR

ZoiBand Trio in Rehearsal

Former Newpark student Daniel Cummins, who is part of the Trinity Singers all male Capella choir Trinitones, has been causing a sensation on Facebook with their version of Teenage Dirtbag. Daniel is credited with the musical arrange-ment of the piece. Catch it on Facebook at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gnSdxlku5s

Unloved? Unused?Unwanted?

Do you have an instrument sitting in your attic, beneath the bed, under the

stairs?

Would you like to find a home for them?!

Newpark Music Department can help.

Would you like to donate an apple? Or a laptop that is lying idle?

If you can help please email

ethel.glancy@newparkschool.ie

Two of our desktops decided to break this week or maybe they’d had enough!

We are now down to two work stations!

The Trinitones on Facebook

16

Ar ndóigh bhí Seachtain na Gaeilge i o n t a c h a g a i n n a r í s i S c o i l Chuimsitheach na Páirce Nua. Bhí seachtain d’imeachtaí eagsúla againn agus bhí atmaisféar deas Gaelach le

mothú. Ar an Luan tháinig compantás drámaíochta

darb ainm Team Theatre isteach chugainn agus léirigh siad dráma Focal Point don 4ú,5ú,6ú bliain sa halla. Ba dhráma é faoin teanga féin agus an fiú an Ghaeilge. An chéad lá eile rinne na daltaí 5ú agus 6ú bliain ceardlann bunaithe ar an dráma.

Ar an Máirt chuaigh daltaí ón 4ú bliain ar cuairt chuig an phictiúrlann san IFI i lár na cathrach. Léiríodh cúig scannán—El Toro, Sylvia, Cáca Milis, Washed up Love agus Asal. Bhí na scannáin taitneamhach agus greannmhar. Labhair na stiúrthóirí, Tomás Seoighe agus Tom Ó Súilleabháin, leis na daltaí agus chuir cuid dár ndaltaí ceisteanna maithe orthu.

Ar an gCéadaoin tháinig stiúrthóir Daithí Connaughton isteach chugainn chun labhairt faoina scannán Lón sa spéir, scannán faoi fir oibre Gaelacha a bhí ag obair ar fhoirgneamh skyscraper i Nua Eabhrac.

Ar an Déardaoin thug Shane Ó Murchú taispeántas ar scileanna iomána. Is sár imreoir iomána é Shane atá a ainm in airde aige. Rinne daltaí na 4ú bliana iarracht cúl a chur thairis agus is ar éigean ar éirigh leo, fiú na múinteoirí. Ansin bhí cluiche iomlán againn a bhuíochas le Scoil Lorcáin a thug camáin ar iasacht dúinn.

Ar an Aoine bhí cluiche peile idir daltaí na séú bliana, agus thug Conor Ó Murchú taispeántas scileanna peile dúinn. Chomh maith le sin bhí seisiún ceoil sa leabharlann le ceol gaelach ag am lóin. Bhí Saoirse Ó Coineen ar an gcláirseach, Madison Porter ag canadh, Eva Comerford ar an bhfeadóg stain, Johanna Byford agus Leigh Eccles ar an ngiotár, Feilim Murphy ar an bhfliúit agus Alexis Fitzgerald ar an mbodhrán.

Tríd is tríd bhain na daltaí an-taitneamh as an seachtain a bhuíochas na daltaí go láir a ghlac páirt agus na múinteoirí fíor dhíograiseacha a rinne a ndícheall chun an tseachtain a chur ar aghaidh.

Sean Mac Carthaigh

Ceolchoirm Kila

Cuireadh tús spleodrach le SNAG 2013 nuair a chuaigh rang gaeilge Ms Ní Laoghaire agus rang gaeilge Ms Ní Fhaolain go dtí ceolchoirm Kila sa chulturlann i mBaile na manach.

Bhíomar ag canadh, ag damhsa agus ag labhairt gaeilge. Bhí an craic go hiontach!

R Ní Laoghaire

Na scoláireachtaí gaeilge 2013

Nina Gevers, Alistar Tidey agus Lorán Ó Ceallaigh leis an t-uasal Lowry agus Ms Ní Laoghaire.

Seachtain na Gaeilge 2013

17

The state Music Practical exams will take place on the following dates:

Leaving Certificate: Monday 15th – Wednesday 17th April Junior Certificate: Thursday 18th – Friday 19th April.

All Music students should be doing a minimum of 20 minutes practise every day from now on. Please check with your music teacher and/or the music no-ticeboards for your assigned exam time. Be sure to have timed your programme. For Junior Cert. it is 12 minutes and for Leaving Cert. it is 22 minutes. The remaining three minute slot is for you to take your un-prepared test. Go to www.examinations.ie for lots of past unprepared tests for you to practise on.

On the day, you will have your paperwork ready and sign the SEC rolla. There is absolutely NO time to setup within the allocated exam time so be sure

to have everything ready first thing in the morning of your exam day. Be ready for the unexpected – what do you do if a string breaks? What if you have forgotten to bring your music with you? What if your computer freezes? Any problems or concerns just talk to Ms. O’Keeffe or Ms. Glancy.

Those of you using Backing Tracks please re-member that under no circumstances will your mobile phone be allowed into the exam. Import your Mp3 into Audacity then export as a Wav and save onto CD. Alternatively email Mp3s to Ms G and they will be on the PC in G4.

Remember you have spent a long time prepar-ing for this exam. It is worth 50% (Leaving Cert.) and 25% (Junior Cert.) overall. You are a talented musi-cian so let the examiner hear what you are capable of.

Best of luck to you all. Ethel Glancy

Music Practical Exams: notice for students

Newpark Meets ZoiD

After a chance meeting in 2011 between Daniel Jacobson (past pupil, composer, musician, producer) and his Leaving Certificate music teacher from Newpark Comprehensive, Ethel Glancy, the seeds for Newpark ZoiD project were sown. Many more conversations, emails and various applications for funding later, we were delighted when Creative Engagement came through with some financial support to get the project off the ground. Newpark School and Diatribe Records (the record label co-founded by Daniel) are both extending support for this project.

ZoiD aims to help the students produce their own compositions/songs from initial ideas to the finished product. It comprises the mentoring of the students in songwriting and song production while giving them a valuable experience of how this is done in the music industry today, with the experience of a professional musician/composer/producer. It allows for the pieces to showcase full diversity of backgrounds, genres and styles. The project to guide the students through the entire process of producing music from its composition to production to release and distribution.

Daniel attended Newpark himself. He then studied jazz full time at Newpark Music Centre with Ronan Guilfoyle and others, and then Music and Media Technologies for two years at Trinity College Dublin. He has worked in many different fields of music, from playing guitar with the well-known singer Jack L, to producing techno, r&b and electronica, to performing classical guitar and playing in numerous jazz ensembles, to composing contemporary classical music, to DJing in night clubs, to running a record label to promoting jazz clubs and other events.

ZoiD began in January and will run for nine weeks—no mean feat! The Transition Year music students have to date composed and recorded five original compositions. Students are encouraged to get involved and participate in many different ways – from

instrumental playing to singing, composing, writing lyrics, or helping design graphics for the cover. The software we are using is called Ableton Live: for some the music technology is a whole new area of learning.

During instrumental recording sessions, rehearsals and performances, several past pupils who are now professional musicians have agreed to join the present students, including jazz singer Jenna Harris, jazz drummer Matthew Jacobson, and pianist/composer Greg Felton. The students will gain immense benefits from working with and learning from these established musicians. Students will also get the opportunity to attend open rehearsals of working musicians (see article on ZoiBand Trio). Daniel is in a unique position to help these students by encouraging them to compose in whatever style or genre comes naturally to them; rock or classical, jazz or pop, electronic or acoustic, as he has worked in all these genres as a musician and producer.

Today in the music industry it is becoming more and more common that the musician not only writes and performs their own songs, but also records it themselves in a small project studio, produces it, masters it, and then releases it on their own label, distributing it digitally on the internet. Studio equipment used to be prohibitively expensive but now for a modest sum one can purchase everything needed to do all this with a computer and a microphone. Giving the students a first-hand look at the process will be undoubtedly useful and stimulating to them.

The project will be completed by having a professional quality digipak CD. This will be launched at an event in May 2013. Details will be posted on the website and internally on music notice boards. Watch this space!

Newpark Arts believe in creating an enjoyable learning environment to help develop the positive strengths of the individual within the school community. ZoiD is focused on this and we wish the Transition Years every enjoyment and success with

their project. Best of luck to all involved. Ethel Glancy

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Belfast Trip

The Sixth year history class (minus two students), along with Ms Rowan and Ms Harris went on a day trip to Belfast on the 25th February. Ms Rowan organised the trip as we are studying the Northern Ireland Troubles as part of our history course. We met at Connolly Station at 9.15am looking particularly sleepy. We had 20 minutes until the train left so some of the boys went off in search of a chess board. We left the station on board the Enterprise at 9.35 and it took about two hours to get to Belfast.

We were met by two taxi drivers only to find we needed a third; Big Norman rang around and another

black cab arrived. We drove towards northern Belfast and got out in a Protestant estate, ‘the Shankill’, with gable wall after gable wall covered in huge murals. King William of Orange was the oldest mural in the estate and was referred to as ‘King BULLY’ (but only because of their accents). We were told bits and pieces about ‘Billy’ and about Protestant culture then wandered around taking photos and trying not to upset any locals with controversial comments.

We went to the Peace Wall, which has divided Protestant and Catholic communities since the Troubles, and signed our names with the markers the drivers gave us. The wall was covered in comments and wishes for peace and we were amazed at how huge it was. We were told that it’s the largest remaining peace wall in Europe. Though

there are gates in the wall they are only open during

the week and still remained closed at the weekend to avoid any trouble.

Back in the taxi. Next stop was the Falls road. As we got out Keelin managed to pull the bottom half of the seat out with her. Thankfully it wasn’t the first time it had broken. We saw the Bobby Sands mural and stood outside the Sinn Féin office, which is still selling sectarian books banned by the government. We had one more

stop which was at a load of Catholic murals painted by Danny Devenny who was actually painting a new mural as we arrived. There were paintings of the hunger strikers, other political prisoners and some of other prisoners of war around the world.

After lunch we met at the Linen Hall Library, opposite a flag-less City Hall, and looked at all the sectarian posters from the 70s, 80s and 90s. And then it was time to leave. We were close to missing the train but managed to get it with three minutes to go. Apart from a few shouts when we were walking around during the tour we came home unscathed (much to our surprise).

The trip was really informative and the taxi drivers were good fun—even if we couldn’t understand them very well (and vice versa!). Many thanks to Ms Rowan and Ms Harris for taking us.

Text & photos by Anna Moran 6DM

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Adventure in Narnia!

The first years in Ms Harris and Ms Rowan’s religion classes took a trip to Narnia a few weeks ago! We took the DART to Christchurch Bray to see the Narnia Lenten exhibition there. The church was completely redecorated to give the experience of entering Narnia in ‘The Voyage of the Dawn Treader’. Even the church door had been replaced with the painting Lucy, Edmund and Eustace went through.

After entering the painting, we arrived on the Dawn Treader, a massive boat in the Church. A tour-guide from the Church brought us around and it felt like we were in the movie. There was a big dragon that breathed smoke and Aslan was there, of course. The whole theme around the movie is temptation so they gave us a chocolate bar with a challenge – not to eat it until Easter!

C.S. Lewis wrote the Narnia books to explain to his stepsons that there is a world out there that many never see – the world of faith and that they are never alone. Aslan is always there for the children in the books as they face the challenges of living a life that brings about change and we were reminded that God is always with us. It was a really good school trip, I might even go again!

Ella Slate 1CQY

Conflict in the Congo

Do you know which has been the deadliest war since World War 2? Probably not! The Western World’s media has ignored the conflict raging in the Congo for the last few years. To date 7 million people have been killed with 45,000

being killed per month. Fifth Year Religion class had the privilege of

hearing about it from a native, Salome, who was brought to Ireland by Christian Aid to raise awareness of the conflict and lobby politicians during Ireland’s presidency of the EU. At the moment, we are studying morality so her talk linked in to our debate on whether Christians follow the teachings of Jesus today.

The speaker had nine brothers and sisters but due to poverty only the youngest four got educate. The Congo currently only has one state school which dates back to Belgian occupation. Salome was very passionate about the plight of her country which made it interesting for us. We hope to get involved in some campaigns that will pressurise our media and government to prioritise this needy nation.

Andrew Ramsay and Sheena McGuirk, Fifth Year

Michael and Salome from Christian Aid came to speak to us in Geography about the conflict in the Congo and the challenges that face aid agencies who work there. They concluded by asking us to tell other people about what is happening there and to raise awareness by liking their Facebook page Christian Aid Ireland or following them on Twitter @Christian Aid Ireland. Holly Campbell Fogarty 1HG

Newpark Amnesty

Amnesty club has been in Newpark School for many years. The Amnesty Club is open to all year groups. It gives members the opportunity to learn about inequalities in the world and to help in some small way by organising fund ra i s ing event s f or worthwhile causes. The Amnesty Club ties in very

well with C.S.P.E. a subject studied at Junior Certificate.

At the moment the Amnesty Club is organising Friendship Week, which focuses on generating friendships throughout the school with people from all walks of life. Friendship bracelets will be on sale in school in the coming weeks. If you are interested in joining the Amnesty Club we meet in G1 every Tuesday during lunch: everyone is very

welcome. Deirdre McCarron

Compulsory Religion – Yes or No?

Newpark School and CBC Monkstown are to participate in a new ecumenical initiative called MC3 that brings together the three Christian congregations of Monkstown Village.

The initiative hopes to develop and encourage a greater understanding and friendship between the Church of Ireland, Roman Catholic and Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) communities and the Transition Year students of the two schools have been invited to take part in a debate where the motion is “The teaching of religion should be compulsory in schools.”

Newpark is supporting the motion and the students selected to take part are Shauna Moran, Sinéad Gallagher, Aaron Williams, Charlie Banks, Emma Gordon, Aaron McLoughlin and Alice Hamman. They are being advised on all religious matters in preparation for the debate by chaplain Ms Harris.

The debate will be chaired by former Newpark pupil and teacher Ms Amy Keating while the other two members of the judging panel are Mr Patsy McGarry, of the Irish Times and Ms Katherine Donnelly of the Irish Independent. The purpose of the debate is to encourage thought, reflection and an exchange of ideas on subjects of a religious or spiritual nature.

The debate will take place in the Quaker Knox Hall in Monkstown village on Tuesday 16th April at 7.30 and all support would be greatly appreciated.

Mags Downes, Debating coach.

March Newsletter team: Anna Johnston & Mary Kennedy Thanks to all our contributors especially Anna Moran for wonderful photography.

Please email contributions for the next issue to newsletter@newparkschool.ie

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Newpark PTA

Happy Easter from the PTA. Our thanks go to all the parents who came for our talk on Facebook Uncovered on 6th March. We had a respectable turnout of about 35 parents. Amanda Chambers gave a very interesting talk on the whole area of social media. She highlighted the fact that our children’s digital footprint will be so much bigger than our own as they are now coming to social media so much younger. To view the handouts from the evening please see the Newpark Website under the News section of News & Events.

In other news, the Science Department went on a shopping spree for new equipment which we hope will greatly enhance the learning environment for our children in the labs. The

PTA contributed €2,400 towards this equipment. We also gave the school nurses

€120 to buy prizes for their defibrillator challenge. This fantastic campaign collected enough old mobile phones to get not just one but two defibrillators for the school. The PTA prizes were for the students who brought in the most phones. Other PTA outlays this month went towards the minibus insurance, supplies for the school nurses and the renewal of the water cooler service contract.

We were also very happy to help in the funding of the Newpark Archive project carried out in recent months by past pupil and archivist, Hanne Sheeran. It is such an important job to get done before the big move when so much history could be damaged or lost in the enormity of the task facing the school. An ongoing system has been put in place now for all future archives.

I cannot end this article without mentioning FUNDRAISING again. We have organised a number of subcommittee meetings but are finding it difficult to get any new or non PTA parents involved. We would really love a few new people to get involved—even to run just one event or fundraiser. Our next fundraising meeting will be in the library on Wednesday 20th March: you would be most welcome.

Finally, please support our Buy a Brick campaign. You will all be receiving texts, emails and notifications in the bags and on the website in the coming weeks. If every student could buy just one brick we could raise in the region of

€20,000. (see page 3 for more details).

Phoebe Crowe, PTA Answer to maths puzzler: 650,000

Tackling Bullying

Over the last few years there have been quite a few presenters who came in to lecture Transition Year students about bullying. Among them were actors and comedians Joe McGrath and Thomas Farrell (from The Clinic) who addressed this serious topic in a very interactive way. They displayed through role play what it feels like for both the bully, and the bullied. Joe and Thomas demonstrated in a very realistic way the many forms bullying can take.

Below are the main forms of bullying listed by the ISPCC on their website: Verbal bullying: Directed verbal attacks on a person, his/her family, race, colour, etc. It might also include malicious rumours about someone. Physical bullying: Often dismissed as ‘horseplay’ or games that are in fact very serious precursors to physical assaults. Exclusion bullying: Isolating behaviours of peers directed towards a single person or a small group, e.g. excluding the person(s). Extortion bullying: Threatening or similar behaviour that includes demands for food, lunch money, etc. Cyber bullying: Abusing and intimidating behaviours, including the spreading of rumours via emails, text messages and other digital ways.

Presenters of the ISPCC/Childline also visited Newpark a few years ago during one of the TY lecture talks. They have just recently launched their anti bullying campaign which is hugely supported by their ambassadors including Mark Feehily from Westlife.

On March 4th, Childline finally opened their new bullying support service which operates every day from 2-10pm and is completely confidential and free to anyone below the age of 18 affected by bullying (including bullies). Children and teenagers just simply text ‘Bully’ to 50101 and someone will respond and listen to their concerns.

For parents, there is a helpline that can be supportive too: www.parentline.ie, LoCall 1890 927277 or 01 8733500.

Often children don’t ask for help or tell anyone because they are ashamed of being bullied, but there is nothing to be ashamed of. Every child has a right to be acknowledged and respected, while feeling included by others. Everyone is worthy of that and should seek support if needed.

Elkee McEntee