Prayer for the Ploughing
The National Ploughing Championships Fenagh, Co. Carlow
Bishop Denis Nulty of the Diocese of Kildare and Loughlin invited people from all around the country to compose a “Green prayer “ focusing on care for the environment, as part of the National Ploughing Championships held in County Carlow. Congratulations to our own Racheal Diyaolu, Fifth Year whose poem entitled “Prayer for the Ploughing” came second in the overall competition. It is a powerful poem that captures the importance of respecting the environment around us while equally invoking each of us to develop a strong sense of gratitude for God’s creation.
Prayer for the Ploughing
God our Father
We thank you for this earth you have given us,
For the sun in the sky,
The rich soil in the ground
And the rainfall from the heavens.
We ask you bless this year’s crops.
May the harvest be bountiful and pure,
Like the love you bestow on us each day.
We pray for our world to be healed
And for comfort to those Who are going through hard times caused by climate.
May they know peace.
Amen
By Racheal Diyaolu, St Leo’s College, Carlow
Senior Prefects Training Day
Caption Senior Prefect Training day in Castletown, Co. Laois
On Wednesday, the 11th of September all senior prefects in St. Leo’s College attended a training day at Castletown Retreat Centre in Co. Laois. The group included our head girls as well as prefects from fourth, fifth and sixth year. The day was facilitated by the Castletown retreat team. The girls had a very enjoyable day, bonding together as a group and exploring various aspects of student leadership.
These girls will act as mentors to the current cohort of 2nd year students as part of the Cairdeas programme. Each class in 2nd year will be assigned three senior prefects, who will visit them weekly and organise activities for them throughout the year. The girls are really looking forward to working with the 2nd years in the months ahead. The Senior Prefect team are as follows: Ellen Phiri, Aoife Gallagher and Christina Byrne (Head Girls).
Temi Taylor, Ciara McDonald, Ishika Mohan , Jasmine Brennan Dowling, Aoife Cawley, Emma O’ Neill and Beibhinn Wilkins (all Sixth Year). In fifth year, Ava Duggan, Alicia Premkumar, Emily Bull,Sarah Graham, Sadhbh Scully, Laura Tallon, Hazel Moran and Sophie Nolan have been elected prefects. Finally, Tiffany Akinduro, Abbie Woods , Georgina Donovan ,Aoife Horgan, Brianna Lupchian and Lucy Mc Loughlin make up the Transition Year Prefect Team. These teams will be invested as student leaders during Mercy Day Mass on 27th September 2019.
Enrichment Programme
John Kerrigan from Age Action pictured with members of the Enrichment Programme recently. John spoke to students about their programmes and facilitating Computer classes for the elderly
The Enrichment Programme in Transition Year commenced last Wednesday afternoon with a panel of guest speakers who spoke to members of the Enrichment Programme 2019 about the importance of volunteering in your local community and in particular, the role of the volunteer. The students listened to an inspiring talk from Fr. John Dunphy, St. Clare’s Hospitality Kitchen and Graiguecullen Parish and John McDarby, Staff Officer at Carlow Museum. Each speaker explored how doing “good” for others and your community provides a strong sense of accomplishment as well as an invaluable opportunity to garner new skills. The students were reminded by the speakers that to enjoy true happiness and wellbeing one must give to others.
The programme which is run in conjunction with the Carlow volunteer Bureau affords twenty four Transition Year students a unique opportunity to take up a volunteer placement with a variety of organisations in Carlow town. These are St. Catherine’s Community Centre, Vincents’, St. Clare’s Hospitality Kitchen, St. Fiacc’s House, The Delta Centre and Carlow Museum. The afternoon placements which run from 2- 4pm every Wednesday afternoon allow our students a chance to work with very vital community organisations and people of all age groups and walks of life. This year St. Leo’s College is delighted to invite Age Action to help us expand this volunteering experience by training a small cohort of transition year students to teach digital literacy skills to older learners. As part of this new initiative, John Kerrigan from Age Action explained the critical services provided by Age Action which include; Care and repair, computor training as well as providing advocacy for older people at national level.
Sincere Thanks to Fr. John Dunphy, Graiguecullen & Killeshin parish and John McDarby Staff Officer, Carlow Musuem who were part a panel of speakers visiting St. Leo’s College to speak to Transition Year Students about the importance of Volunteerism in society.
Marketplace
Alicia Premkumar, Ms. Clare Ryan (Principal St. Leo’s College and Jennifer Murnane TD Fianna Fáil at the Bank of Ireland National Enterprise Town Awards
On Tuesday 3rd September a “Marketplace of Clubs and Societies” was hosted at lunchtime in the school’s Assembly Hall. Many of the organisers of the various Clubs & Societies, which are on offer throughout the academic year, were on hand to give information on their activity and to encourage new and returning members to get involved. New students were given a chance to meet past members of the active Clubs and Societies and find out what they do throughout the year. Hundreds of students turned out and signed up to over 40 weekly activities. Football, Hockey, Spikeball, Piano, Zumba, Goal, Hula Hoop, Maths Club, Coding, Green Schools, European Parliament, Folk Group & Chamber Choir……. to name a few! Sincere thanks to Mr. Ian Curran(Deputy Principal) and Ms. Marie Nolan who organised this marketplace.
Bank of Ireland National Enterprise Town Awards
On Thursday last, transition year student Alicia Premkumar and our principal Ms. Clare Ryan delivered Carlow’s entry to three judges and a broad audience as Carlow competed for the Bank of Ireland’s National Enterprise Town Awards. The town was judged on a set of criteria, in relation to business, enterprise and community. The presentation lasted for over thirty minutes and was very well received. The audience in the Waterfront building in Carlow comprised of many local business people and local politicians. During their presentation both speakers highlighted the connection between school and local business. Alicia reflected on the wealth of amenities available to young people in Carlow town. Their impressive joint presentation lasted for over half an hour and concluded with a joint question and answer session. This is a prestigious national competition and our speakers will learn the final outcome of the competition next month.