Hockey
Well done to the Junior Hockey players who had their first outing of the year last week against Kilkenny College. They secured three wins out of three with lots of great hockey played and lots of fun had.
Interpros
Five Ursuline players lined out last weekend for Munster in the Interprovincial Hockey Tournament. Sarah Spain and Emma McDonald, Third Year, co-captained the Munster U16 team and were joined by fellow Ursulines Gabrielle Morrissey and Leah O’Connell. Meanwhile Katya Shorten, Fifth Year, was on the Munster U18 squad.
The Munster U16 girls finished second overall - a brilliant result, with Ulster the outright winners. Munster beat Leinster South 3-0 on Friday, 5 September with UCT’s Gabrielle Morrissey, TY, getting on the scoresheet. On Saturday they drew 1-1 with Leinster, with Ursuline’s Emma McDonald in Third Year, scoring the Munster goal from a short corner. This clash was eventually settled on shuttles with Munster securing the bonus point. They then went on to beat Connacht 2-0 on Sunday, 7 September with Emma getting both Munster goalsfrom short corners. Emma received individual recognition for her outstanding contribution over the tournament weekend - the Game Changer Award. Sarah Spain and Emma McDonaldwere excellent as joint captains with all four UCT U16s, Emma, Sarah along with Leah O’Connell and GabrielleMorrissey playing brilliantly.
The Munster U18 team, which featured Ursuline Fifth Year student, Katya Shorten, beat Leinster South 3-0 on the opening day of the Interprosand also overcame Ulster 2-0. They lost to Leinster 2-0 on Saturday, 6 September and lost 1-0 to Connacht by conceding in the final minute which was a cruel way to end the weekend having playedvery well in all games including beating Ulster, the eventual winners. Well done to all Ursulines involved with Munster last weekend, they represented themselves, their families, their school, their clubs and their province with distinction
Transition Year
The Ursuline Transition Year classes had two workshops to start the new term, both of which focussed on team-building, an essential element of the TY programme. David Collins delivered The Fundamentals workshop. The girls enjoyed games and tasks outside in the fresh air that involved them working together to achieve set goals. Through these fun activities they learned how clear communicationis essential to complete a team challenge.
On Friday, 5 September TYs had the first instalment of the Develop Me workshops. In this they learned about strategic planning and the benefits of effective communication through the experiential game ‘The Search for the Lost Dutchman’s Gold Mine.’ It was an enjoyable task which helped them gain insights into how they operate as part of a team and what elements improve overall group performance.