NEWSLETTER

A Festive Tale

Please Spread the Word . . . to relatives, friends and neighbours who are past-pupils. Our College website has been further developed. Besides the school calendar and general information about the College, all past-pupils are listed and a network structure has been set up. Now they can have information about themselves posted and get in contact with those classmates they may have lost touch with. The address is : www.stlaurencecollege.com

Green Schools
A Big Thank You to those in the school making the effort to recycle. Already this is reducing our waste from the school. Please continue to place all paper, cans and tetra packs into the "paper" bins in the lobby, library and upper corridor.

The Green Schools Committee will be meeting after mid-term and all students are welcome to join.

Continued efforts in Green Issues will see us aiming to achieve ‘The Green School’s Flag’. Schools in the Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown Co. Council Area have been awarded 23 Green Flags out of 651 awarded in the whole of Ireland. We will try to have St. Laurence College awarded this coveted International Flag.

A First Year Adventure

In early September the first years journeyed to the barley fields, visited the two High Crosses at Tulley and picked blackberries, while in early October they separated barley wheat kernels from the corb. They ground the kernels into wheat flour with water, baked and made it into altar breads. The first year Masses, using the home made altar breads, are currently taking place at the Brothers' House. [Brother Fred.]

Sponsored Walk

On Friday 28th October, the staff and students of the College will participate in a Sponsored Walk. The purpose of the walk is to raise funds to purchase school equipment which will be of benefit to all students. Every student has received a sponsorship card and are encouraged to raise some money.

Sponsorship Cards and monies raised should be returned to Ms. Kearns on Monday, 7th November.

Thanking you for your support. [Ms. Kearns }

Induction of Student Council

On Tuesday the 18th of October our new Student Council members received their badges. A short service was held in the Prayer Room led by Sr. Ann. Mr Michael Redmond called each student by name and asked them to make the following promises:

• To work in partnership with school management, staff and parents for the benefit of the school.
• To represent all students and to encourage them to uphold the discipline of the school.

Each student then received a name badge from Mr. Redmond and Mr. Rowe and received a miraculous medal, a reminder to the students that Mary, our Mother, is with them and will help them to stay faithful to their promises.

Sports Report

Senior Boys 
 09/11 St Laurence V Newpark 
       1.15pm Away

 16/11 St Laurence V Blackrock
       2pm Home


Junior Boys 
 09/11 St Laurence V Newpark
       2.15pm, Away

 13/12 St Laurence V Ballinteer
      2.30pm, Home

Cadette Girls 
 10/11 St. Laurence V Rosemount

 5/12  St. Laurence V St. Columba

 15/12 St. Laurence V Newpark

Minor Girls 
 10/11 St. Laurence V Rosemount

 05/12 St. Laurence V St. Columba

There was a great response to the fundraising for the South Asia earthquake disaster. To date we have raised, € 1,147.90.
A big thank you to all involved for their hard work.
Congratulations to Ms Bennett’s 4 th year students who had a very successful cake sale.
All proceeds go to The Irish Red Cross.

Transition Year News

On Friday the 14th of October Mr. Fay, Ms. Bennett and Mr. Devine took all 4th year students for a day trip to Croke Park. Students were given a guided tour of the stadium and the museum. A great day was had by all.

Drama
The drama class attended a production of ‘Floating’ in the Helix. This play was part of the Fizzfest, a drama festival aimed at young people and which encourages new plays. The class thoroughly enjoyed the performance as did their drama teachers Mr. O’Neill and Mr. Pender.

Ahhh…..
Transition Year students attended a one-man show in the school library which dealt with the subject of H.I.V. and Aids.

School Musical
The rehearsals for this year’s co-production of Guys and Dolls with St Brendan’s is well under way. Rehearsals take place every Monday in St Brendan’s. Auditions have been held and some of the main roles allocated. Students involved really look forward to Monday mornings.

Mini-Company
The mini-company students attended a talk by Steve Thompson, executive with the Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown Enterprise Board.

Mr. Foy and Mr. Pender attended an information lunch in Fitzpatrick's Castle Hotel, Killiney, hosted by the Dun Laoghaire/ Rathdown Enterprise Board at which the Minister for Education and Science, Mary Hanafin, T.D. was guest speaker.

Sixth Year News

A Retreat
On Tuesday October 11 th, 6 th year students spent a day retreat in the Marianist house.

Those who chose to go enjoyed the day. The day was organised by Sr. Ann. The Retreat team called Mustard Seed led the students for the day.

Here are some of the comments made by the students after the retreat:

• It was a brilliant day
• I got to know the people in my year a bit better.
• It was a relaxing day and I was able to be myself.
• There was enough time for prayer and meditation,
• We had 45 minutes and it only seemed like 5 minutes.

An Educational Treat
On Monday 14th of November the two sixth year Biology classes will attend a lecture entitled ‘DNA Fingerprinting’ in Kevin Street D.I.T. as part of Science Week.

Our Open Night

On the 6th of October, St. Laurence College had its open night. The night was a fantastic success with many interesting displays in various classrooms aorund the school. Many people were very interested in our tole and we were asked plenty of questions about what we do.

Next year it looks like St Laurence’s will be filled with many great students. Congratulations to all students, parents and staff that were involved on the night. [Report by Ciara Byrne and Damien Corbett.]