Junk Kouture Grand Final!

Congratulations and well done to our Junk Kouture team: Let Them Eat Cake - Duh!
They participated in the RTÉ filming of the Grand Final performance yesterday due to be aired in December. The date and time have yet to be confirmed.
The event took place at the beautiful Ballybeg House in Wicklow where 35 contestants will perform over the weekend.
Details on the voting process and when the winners are announced not available yet.
We wish our team the very best of luck!

SHSS Weekly Roundup - 1st October 2021

SHSS WEEKLY ROUNDUP - 1st October 2021

Woohoo, it’s October! The leaves are turning orange and yellow, and the evenings are darker. As W.H. Auden said, ‘Now the leaves are falling fast’. Shakespeare was also inspired by the change of season, ‘That time of year thou mayst in me behold, when yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang upon those boughs which shake against the cold, bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang…’

We can’t forget Keats. ‘Seasons of mists and mellow fruitfulness, close bosom-friend of the maturing sun’.

Okay, okay, enough poetry - here’s a roundup of the week at SHSS.

Best day of the week: Last Monday. What a lovely day to be off! No alarm. No snooze. No morning chaos. Just relaxation.

Best news of the week (1) : Only THREE weeks to Midterm! Halloween. Pumpkins. Sweets. Bring it on. 

Best news of the week (2) : Halloween Dress Up Friday is on 22nd October for staff and students. There will be GREAT PRIZES! Yippee!

Heroes of the week: For the second week running, it’s the Student Council for organising the Dress Up Friday. It should be great fun. Now, to think of a cool costume...

GAA Leaders of the week: The TYs who helped organise the second year hockey blitz at the astroturf. Well done! 

Calamity of the week: The wasps bullying the bees in the SHSS hive. Out of order!

#jesuisSHSSbees

Cutest dog(s) of the week: Stella AND Tilly. Even though the results of the poll were slightly in Tilly’s favour, we all know that Mr Pegler voted over and over again so that she’d win. 

We want to wish ‘Let Them Eat Cake - Duh!’ and Ms O’Connell all the luck in the world in the Grand Final of Junk Kouture! Happening as I type. Fingers crossed!

Also, there’s a new Instagram page for German students called @shss_deutsch

Give them a follow. 

See you next week for the next instalment of SHSS Weekly Roundup. Have a wonderful weekend!

2nd Year Hockey Blitz!

The second years enjoyed a hockey blitz today at the astroturf, organised and run by the GAA Future Leaders students. This TY module, run by Mr Cronin, is designed to encourage maturity, initiative, responsibility and leadership skills in pupils.

Thanks to Mr Cronin and Ms McEvoy!

Parent's Association AGM, 4th of October 2021

The AGM of the Parent’s Association takes place via ZOOM on Monday evening 04-10-21 at 7.30pm. A link to join the meeting will be sent to all parents via email.

SHSS Alumnae Link - Fiona Larkin

Welcome to SHSS Alumnae Link!

This is where we connect with past pupils and find out what they’re up to now.

This week we linked with Fiona Larkin who graduated in 2013.

Name and position:

Fiona Larkin, Front Office Manager.

Lives:

Madrid, Spain.

Best memory of Sacred Heart:

I loved the school musicals. I wasn’t ever a main character, but I loved doing them because of the sense of community it created within the school. The magic of working so hard on something and then people actually enjoying it. It was great to get to know girls outside of your own year too. 

What were your favourite classes?

Music class was probably my favourite class because we were a small and tight-knit group. We would try to turn the class into a singing class as much as humanly possible and throw a class party for everything we could think of! I think we were professionals at turning work into fun. Somehow we all still learned a lot, however, and managed good grades! Ms Hayes was a particularly encouraging teacher who took the time to get to know us individually and would always encourage me to step out of my comfort zone. I always felt like she saw something in me that I hadn’t seen in myself yet and that’s so important when you’re a teenager to have someone tell you, you can do it when everything feels overwhelming.

Tell us about your career progression to date: 

You could say that my career progression has been unusual. After the Leaving Certificate I started at the University of Limerick. I was determined to go to a university even though what I really wanted was to study Film. Within three months in UL I knew it wasn’t for me. I went on to study Film in Ballyfermot College of Further Education, where so many people of the Irish Film Industry got their beginning. This led me to move to Spain after graduation and learn Spanish. I came back after two years and studied a BA in English and Spanish. I took the scenic route and ended up being in college at the same time as my sister who is five years younger than me! I am due to start my new position as a Front Office Manager in Runnymede College in Madrid and I am very excited for my next adventure. 

 If you weren’t in the job you have, what would you be doing?

I have always been told that I am very over-dramatic. A “drama queen”. Perhaps I am destined for the stage or screen. If only I could harness that drama and make some money from it! 

Advice you would give your teenage self:

Try to get to know yourself and trust your own instincts. I relied a lot on the opinions of others and feared stepping out of the crowd. If I could go back with the knowledge I have now, I think I would enjoy my teenage years a lot more. 

Favourite quote or motto?

Everything happens for a reason.

It’s cliché but it has always kept me motivated. It might seem like nothing makes sense and the world is collapsing around us but I like to believe there is a bigger picture we just can’t see yet. 

What is your hidden talent?

I can make my eyes shake. A former classmate from SHSS is now a qualified optometrist and she informed me that it’s called “Voluntary Nystagmus”. Fun fact! 

Huge thanks to Fiona for taking the time to answer our questions!

See you soon for the next instalment of SHSS Alumnae Link.

Shakespeare in the Carpark!

Second year students performed an excerpt from Shakespeare’s ‘Antony and Cleopatra’ in the school carpark this week. There were various interpretations of the play including a Wild West version, a twenties version and even one with lightsabers. The students were free to direct the scene and to be as creative as possible.

Well done to our budding thespians!

Opening of the School Year Mass

Last Friday, on Mercy Day, SHSS held its annual Opening of the School Year Mass in the GPR. Fr Aidan and Fr Fergus led the Mass and the ceremony was live cast throughout the school to each classroom.

Thanks to the RE Department, to the Music Department and to Mr Browne for organising the event.

After-School Supervised Study commences on Tuesday 28-09-21 at 4.15pm

Supervised study will commence on Tuesday 28-09-21 and will run for the next four weeks. It will take place in room 43. On Mondays and Tuesday’s study will start at 4.15pm and finish at 6.15pm. On Wednesdays and Thursday’s study will start at 3.30pm and finish at 5.30pm. A limited number of places are still available and forms are available from the main office..

SHSS Weekly Roundup - 24 September 2021

SHSS WEEKLY ROUNDUP

So, September is almost over. What a crazy few weeks! There’s no tiredness like ‘going back to school’ tired. This week was particularly busy. SHSS had its first podcast with the Mayor of the County of Cork, the U16 ladies football team became the West Cork champions (yahoo!), we had our Opening of the School Year Mass online, and of course, Mercy Day. 

The SHSS roundup:

Genius of the week: Whoever decided that we take next Monday off. We salute you. 

Dodgy chef of the week: Ms Bell #madeleines

Heroes of the week:  The Student Council. Those chocolate bars got us through Friday. 

Lookalikes of the week: Laura Daly (3rd year) and her mum (see below) #twins

Hottest day of the week: Thursday. What’s with the weather? It’s impossible to predict. 

Busy bees of the week: Mr Barry’s bees, says you? No! It was actually the TY art students who were painting sets for the upcoming show, ‘Sister Act’. 

Thespians of the week: The second years who performed Shakespeare in the car park. Bravo!

Most adventurous: Those courageous TYs who braved the Atlantic to go surfing. Brrr! 

Most creative: The sand sculptors. Very impressive. 

Weekly reflection: We should have chocolate bars every Friday!

See you next week for the next instalment of SHSS Weekly Roundup. 

Ms Bell’s madeleines

Twins!

European Day of Languages 2021

Third year French and German students celebrated European Day of Languages today.

Ms O Regan’s class brought in pretzels, strudel and choco banane. They also brought some Haribo.

Ms Bell’s French class made macarons, tarte aux pommes, meringue and palmiers. Ms Bell attempted to make madeleines which tasted better than they looked.

Celebrated on the 26th September, European Day of Languages was founded by the Council of Europe and is a day to promote modern foreign languages. Learning another language improves creativity, problem solving skills and critical thinking.

Chocolate for Mercy Day!

The Student Council distributed chocolate bars to the student body today in honour of Mercy Day.

The girls got to choose from boxes full of treats.

Mercy Day, celebrated on September 24th, is the anniversary of the opening of the first “House of Mercy” in 1827 in Dublin, Ireland. Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy, devoted her life to the poor, sick and uneducated, and today we continue her legacy of caring and compassion in the name of Mercy.

LCA Hot Chocolate Trip for Mercy Day

The LCA students enjoyed a trip downtown for hot chocolate today to celebrate Mercy Day.

Thanks to Ms Russell for accompanying them.

International Students at Clonakilty Market!

Sacred Heart’s international students enjoyed a trip to Clonakilty Market today. Under the supervision of Ms O’Regan, they wandered around the stalls and soaked up the atmosphere on Emmet Square.

Aina, Anna, Aline, Clara, Thuylane, Inken, Claudia and Lara are studying in Ireland with the Educatius Academic Exchange programme.

The Irish education system ranks as one of the top in Europe, and students from all around the world now have the unique opportunity to experience this as part of an exciting exchange programme.

Student Council Training

Last Wednesday, the Student Council participated in a training day with the Irish Second-Level Students Union, ISSU. It was online with Tammy Whelan. Today, they received their certificates.

Thanks to Ms Meade for leading the project.

Ty Parents/Guardians Information evening Wednesday 29th at 7pm via Google Meet

An information evening for parents/guardians of TY will take place on Wednesday 29th at 7pm via Google Meet. A link will be sent to all parents/guardians to join the meeting.

TY Team Building Day at Inchydoney Beach

TYs enjoyed a team building day at Inchydoney today. They left on foot after roll this morning with Mr. Barry, Ms. Harte, Ms. Harrington and Mr. Cronin. They were divided into two groups, with half doing sand sculpting and half doing rounders surfing with Inchydoney Surf School.

The sand sculptures were of mermaids, koi fish, dinosaurs, whales and SpongeBob Squarepants’s pineapple house. The weather held up for the day and everyone had a lovely time.

Thanks to all involved in making this happen.

First Year Soccer Tournament

The first years enjoyed an inter class soccer tournament today in the gym!

There will be more games to follow.

TY LIFT Programme - Leading Ireland's Future Together

The Transition Year students have been busy implementing the LIFT programme at school under the guidance of Ms. O’Regan. LIFT stands for ‘Leading Ireland’s Future Together’.

To create a nation of leaders, we need to show students from an early stage what it takes. LIFT’s leadership learning process provides students with the foundation to become leaders in their own lives. Students that have taken part in LIFT have improved their listening skills, increased confidence and become more emphatic, understanding and positive.

The Transition Years will work with the second years to help them understand the leadership values that will serve them in the future.

Inaugural Podcast at SHSS!

The SHSS podcast took place for the first time today. Sacred Heart was delighted to welcome the Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr Gillian Coughlan, as the first guest. TY students, Orla Whelton and Lucy Collins, were the podcasters, asking the Mayor various questions about her political life and her views on education.

The SHSS podcast is student-led: the research, the questions and the interview are all down to the students. It is all about developing the student voice.

Huge thanks to Mr Patrick Kiely and his company, Flux Learning, for providing the recording equipment and his expertise.

The podcast will be released soon. Keep an eye on our social media for updates.

#shsspodcast

Instagram: @shssclonakilty

Twitter: @shssclon

Facebook: Sacred Heart Secondary School

LinkedIn: SHSS-Sacred Heart Secondary School

SHSS Alumnae Link - Sr Eilis McGrath

Welcome to SHSS Alumnae Link! This is where we connect with past pupils and find out what they’re up to now. 

In honour of Sacred Heart’s 80th anniversary, this week we linked with a very special alumna: Sr Eilis McGrath. Not only was Sr Eilis a boarder here at SHSS, she was also principal of the school from 1983-2009. 

Name and (previous) position:

Eilis Mc Grath: Principal of Sacred Heart Secondary School.

Year of graduation from SHSS: 

1965.

Lives: 

Arus Muire, Clonakilty.

Tell us about yourself:

I grew up near Ballycotton in East Cork and was number five in a family of 7 children. We had a small farm. I went to primary school in Churchtown South, which was over two miles away. I used to walk across the fields with my siblings, unless it was raining.

Best memory of Sacred Heart (schooldays):

I set off for boarding school in September 1960 with my sister Mary, who was in Leaving Cert.  It was a daunting and exciting prospect.  Being on site was a great relief, but was also restricting.  Losing the freedom to wander along the cliffs every day was a huge loss.  This seemed to weigh heaviest each evening as we sat in a supervised study room.  How I longed to be free and call over to the neighbours for a chat.

This was quite a change from a small rural school and also a long way from home. However, I did make good friends there and it was a very positive experience. It was full time boarding with breaks only for Hallowe’en, Christmas and Easter.  I can still remember the excitement of getting the train to Cork to go home that first October.  We changed trains at Clonakilty junction, and then on to Cork where the station was by the side of the City Hall.  My Dad was there to meet us.  That was the only trip on the train as it closed later that year.

The day was strictly set out: rising every morning for Mass at 7.20 a.m., followed by breakfast and then chores.  We were all assigned housekeeping duties which we did each morning. This was followed by rosary and then class.  There was no time for loitering about. We had class from 9am until 4pm, Monday to Friday, and 9am until 12.30pm on Saturday.  Evening time was regulated again.  We had recreation after school until 5pm.  This was playing either netball or tennis. Then, it was study until supper at 7pm, and study again until 9pm. We were meant to keep silent in the dormitory … that didn’t always happen though.  

 The school day brought a variety of “Day Students”. We had two class groups in our year.  I found the size of the class daunting.  There had been three of us in my class in primary school!  What a change. At first, I thought that the “town” girls knew everything,  so I was always afraid to answer in class.  However, barriers were not soon broken down and we were all one.  I used to feel sorry for the country girls who cycled many miles to school. This was before free education and buses.  On wet days, many would arrive soaking wet.  We would give them a change of clothes and Sr Therese would dry their clothes in the laundry.  They certainly worked for their education.

Subject choice was limited. All students did Irish, English, Maths (Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry),French History/Geography, Commerce, Latin or Domestic Science and Religion.  The whole school had choir practice with Mrs Crowley for 30 mins each week and dancing with Miss Attridge weekly also. Science was introduced onto the curriculum some years after I started.   Honours Maths for Leaving Cert was added at a later stage.  Exams were written, except for Irish which had an oral component.  A very different world to what you have today.

In English, you learned the poetry by heart so that you could quote from it to support your answer.  The same was true for the Shakespearean play.  In fact, the exam paper was just a single foolscap page with the questions.  I still have nightmares about the Leaving Cert exam.

Strong bonds and friends were made in boarding school, many of which last to this day.  We made our own fun and shared our stories.  Those living nearby had visitors on Sundays from 2 to 5pm.  This often meant goodies brought back and shared.  Being from the other side of the county, I did not have visitors, but I had an uncle who was a priest in the town. This meant that I got out occasionally.  The break was always welcome.

Looking back, I can say that boarding school was a great preparation for independent living.  Leaving home at twelve years of age teaches a certain independence and responsibility.  However, I missed my siblings, who were all in school as well, so holidays were always great.  It did mean that school work was for school and holidays were for a break.  

What were your favourite classes? 

Maths with Sr Stanislaus; Irish with Mrs Dinneen, and in Leaving Cert, we had Mrs Nolan for Speech. This was the highlight of Fridays!

Tell us about your career progression to date:

 After Leaving Cert, at the age of 17,  I entered religious life in Clonakilty. This has really been my home since. Sr Benedicta was principal at the time. I spent one year as a postulant, and two years as a novice. During the first year as a novice, I had no visitors at all. As a novice, I helped out in Sacred Heart as there was very little funding at that time. Free Education only came about in 1966. I taught Irish, ordinary level Maths, 5th Irish and 2nd year Commerce. 

I went to Carrick-on-Suir for one year, followed by Sion Hill for three years, training to be a Home Economics teacher. I taught Home Ec and Science in the old Domestic Science rooms. I was known as Sr. Michael and I taught at Sacred Heart from 1972 – 1981. I loved teaching, especially cooking. September was always special with all the fruits for preservation. In 1981, I went to London and did an M.Phil at Brunel University. My thesis was entitled: The Needs of Young People. Then, I returned to Sacred Heart and was appointed Principal in 1983. I retired in 2009.

Best memories of Sacred Heart (professionally):

Many memories – I really enjoyed teaching cookery and I still love to make jams and jellies in autumn. I have wonderful memories of the many sporting events. There was no competitive sport for girls when I started teaching. When I was in Sion Hill, there was a PE college next door. I noticed people playing volleyball and was curious about the game. So, in 1972, I got a team together at SHSS. The girls would play in their uniform as we didn’t have a sports kit.  In 1974 we qualified for the All-Ireland. By then, we had red and black sports outfits. We defeated Presentation Convent, Thurles and got a hero’s welcome when we returned to Clonakilty. In 1977, we won another All-Ireland against Naas. In 1980 we travelled to the World Championships in Bristol. We would train mornings, lunchtimes and evenings. Sr Dolores would give large doses of glucose to the girls for energy. During the festival in Clonakilty, we would compete in beach volleyball. Most of our opponents trained inside. The SHSS girls trained outside and so we had an advantage as they could handle the wind. 

However, we were playing volleyball at top level with no indoor facilities so we took the initiative to get our own. We fund raised for a few years and finally got a sports hall in 1980. The sports complex came later and after many negotiations. The project needed to include a community aspect so the Sports Association was born. It was chaired by Leo Meade with Joe Walsh as the patron. Happy are those who dream dreams and have the courage to make them become reality. 

I loved working with an amazing staff and students. To pick an overriding memory would have to be seeing students achieve their potential, each at their own level. Rejoicing with the student who achieved against all the odds.

Advice you would give your teenage self: 

Follow your own dream, never mind what the crowd are doing.

Favourite quote or motto? 

Your best is always good enough.

What is your hidden talent? 

Empathy.

Huge thanks to Sr Eilis for taking the time to answer our questions. Your legacy will live on forever at Sacred Heart. 

See you soon for the next instalment of SHSS Alumnae Link.

(Follow our hashtag: #shss80)

Leaving Cert boarders, 1965