Ursuline Opening Mass of new academic year
‘Welcome is at the heart of our School Community’ was the theme for the year that was celebrated at mass on Thursday, 18 September by the students, staff and sisters of the Ursuline Secondary School. School Chaplain, Fr Jim Purcell, reminded the congregation that when they welcome someone the presence of God is in them. To emphasis this theme the word welcome was said by students and teachers in seventeen different languages at the beginning of mass. These represented the many dialects and cultures that can be found in the School in 2025. In his homily Fr Purcell encouraged everyone to open their arms wider and be inclusive. The music reflected the theme of welcome and was provided by Cecilian Choir and members of Senior Orchestra. Thanks to all the students and staff who contributed to this liturgical celebration to mark the beginning of the academic year 2025/2026.
Leaving Cert Art Trip to Kilkenny
Ursuline Leaving Cert Art students took a trip to Kilkenny on Tuesday, 16 September to see exhibitions with the aim of deepening their understanding of artistic techniques, styles and genres. They toured Butler Gallery’s permanent collection, including highlights from the Tony and Jane O’Malley Collection. The got to explore the exhibition ‘Cities of the World’ by Kathy Prendergast and Chris Leach and then visited the Mayfair Gallery to see Rachel Burke’s ‘Rewilding Riverbank.’ Rachel previously worked with these art students in UCT last year under the BLAST scheme, teaching her distinctive artistic techniques. It was wonderful for the students to see her work in a gallery setting having gained such an insight into the life of a working artist from her visit to the school. The whole trip was a creative and inspiring experience for the Leaving Certs. Thanks to Ms Spillane and Ms Hackett who accompanied the classes.
The Ploughing Championships
On Wednesday, 17 September Ursuline Senior Ag Science students and TYs headed to the National Ploughing Championships in Screggan, Co. Offaly. After the recent heavy rain wellies were a fashion must for all but a bit of mud did not hamper the good spirits. Neither did the early start from school, needed in order to make the most of the day. The girls and their teachers enjoyed seeing the huge variety of stands and exhibitions. There was a bit of shopping, a bit of dancing, a bit of fun-fairing along with seeing the latest farming methods, techniques and machines. It was especially beneficial to those interested in pursuing a career in the Agri-Food sectors of the economy.
Hockey
The Ursuline First Year Hockey players enjoyed some competitive home games against St Andrews from Dublin last week. For a lot of students this was their first experience of playing a hockey match and they got to try out the skills they had been learning at training this past month.
TY
Thanks to Tricia Kenny who delivered a manual handling course to Ursuline TY classes last week. This certifies them for work experience placements later on in the year. But it also informed them on how to avoid workplace injury and strain.