We were delighted to present Maura McMahon from Focus Ireland with €750. These were the proceeds from The Big Busk for Focus Ireland which took place on April 12th.

Maura gave a presentation to our 1st year students about Focus Ireland and the work they do.

Many thanks to everyone who supported The Big Busk and helped us to raise funds and awareness for this very worthy cause.

On Thursday 16th May the students of St. Anne’s Community College, Killaloe are hosting their inaugural arts and music festival; Fresh Eyes Festival. This is a youth-led music and arts festival which aims to celebrate young people’s creativity and open eyes to the creative possibilities that surround us all.

This festival is supported by the Arts Council of Ireland as part of the Creative Schools initiative. The school has been working with Chelsea Canavan from Creative Schools to support the

students in bringing their vision for this festival to life. On working with the students in St. Anne’s, Chelsea said “It is inspiring and exciting to see this group of youths take the lead with developing an arts festival for themselves and their peers. From day one, I’ve been floored by their enthusiasm to acquire new skills and apply them to this. Fresh Eyes Festival is going to open a new door and build momentum in the world of youth-led and youth-run creative events”.

Students have also been working with Lumen Street Theatre, and artist Laura O’Loughlin, who facilitated a series of workshops with TY students on Blackout Poetry, Cut-up Haiku, Collage and Zine Making.  Leading professionals in the Arts community, including Declan Hogan, Kate O’ Shea and Enya Moore (Limerick Spring) have lent their expertise in the development of students’ skills and confidence in the run up to Fresh Eyes which is the first youth-led festival of its kind in Ireland.

The focus of this festival is on fun, creativity, imagination and innovation. The most important aspect of the festival is that young people, supported by industry professionals, are designing and building this festival from the ground up in the hopes of starting a cultural legacy in the school community. Gallery director, TY student Sara Lancaster said, “Getting to learn from these people who have that experience is really cool. We like that we then can take control of this project.”

The festival will feature student photography, art, sculptures, film, performances, live mural making and lots more creative fun. There will be food stalls offering fresh pizza and sweet treats, all run by the students.

The school Talent Show will feature as one of the main events ofthe day, with Declan Hogan providing a professional stage set-up to showcase the school’s wealth of singers, bands, dancers and actors, all whilst mentoring students who are eager to shadow him and learn about running festivals from this legend in the industry.

The school’s female DJ team have even been lucky enough to enjoy an inspirational workshop with DJ Ceese, a talented performer who has travelled the world playing solo and stages as big as Glastonbury with Denise Chaila and Narolane. She is passionate about encouraging young women to advance in an often male-dominated genre and said “I love to see schools being more proactive with opening students minds to jobs in the creative industry. It was great to do the workshop and even better that it was with women! The girls were really eager to learn and I hope we can continue to do these workshops or even supply a course, who knows!”

As well as Ceese, whose set will close out the day, Limerick band Dylan Flynn and the Dead Poets will bring a set packed with unforgettable, soaring indie rock songs that will light up the main stage. The band are about to release their new EP ‘caughtup in delusion’, and with 1,000,000 streams on Spotify and both critical acclaim and a growing fan base, the festival committee were blown away to secure them on the lineup.

Accomplished trad group Le Cheile comprising of students, teachers and local players will showcase the best of local talent, featuring players such as fifth year student Ruby McKenna who has graced the likes of Carnegie Hall. Their set will pave the way for returning past pupils Cailini Lua, whose highly energized brand of trad has taken them all over the country, to the US and seen them launch Tradfest in Dublin this year. The girls, Katie and Laura Donoghue and newly crowned Tipperary Rose, Tara Brady, will be warmly welcomed back to their alma mater and serve as vibrant example of the way our young people can lead creative lives after school.

Tickets are on sale from the school; it is €10 presale ticket and limited €12 tickets on the door. While students can enjoy the art, music, food and dancing during the day, the paid wristband will give ticket-holders access to the incredible line-up kicking off on the Main Stage from 4:30 to 8.

Keep your eyes open for updates on our social media.

The Creativity Committee

St. Anne’s Community College,

Killaloe,

Co. Clare

Well done to second year student Dylan Ruane and to Transition Year Students Eimear Spain and Caoimhe O’Driscoll who have all spent two weeks in Basse-Goulaine as part of the school’s French Educational Exchange Programme. The students went to school in France for two weeks and immersed themselves in French culture as part of their trip.

We look forward to welcoming their exchange partners from France over the coming weeks and months, as well as developing this exchange programme.

Many thanks to the Ballina-Killaloe and the Basse-Goulaine Twinning Committee’s for all their help and support restarting the exchange programme this year.

If you have any questions in relation to the exchange programme or if you would like to take part please feel free to contact Ms. Irwin for details.

Our Transition Year students were delighted to welcome Michelle Coughlan, Chairperson of Down Syndrome Limerick, who spoke about how to support people with Down Syndrome in our community.

Our students presented €630 from the proceeds of a bake sale and “rock your socks” campaign held on World Down Syndrome Day on March 21st. Thanks to Ms. Fitzgerald for leading this initiative.

On Monday 29th April, Clare Co. Council Environmental Awareness Officer Karen Foley visited our school to deliver presentations to 1st, 2nd and TY students. Topics such as sustainability, circular living and and climate action wee discussed. A waste separation demonstration was also conducted.

As part of the school Green-Schools Programme Transition Year students form the green school committee. They have done fantastic work on the themes: Litter and Waste; Energy and Water.

Well done to all involved!

On Friday April 11th a group of Transition Year and 5th Year students took part in Today FM’s ‘The Big Busk’ for Focus Ireland.

‘The Big Busk’ took part across the country with groups busking to raise vital funds in the fight to end homelessness in Ireland.

St. Anne’s busk raised €547 for Focus Ireland. Thank you so much to all those who came out an supported us and contributed in any way that they could towards this very worthy cause.

Fresh Eyes Festival is happening Thursday May 16th 2024 in St. Anne’s Community College, Killaloe!

We are opening our eyes to our own creativity in St. Anne’s this year and have been busy planning our very own music and arts festival!

Live performances, exhibitions, stalls, food and fun will be brought to you by our student led festival committee.

Keep your eyes open for more updates and a full lineup in the coming days and weeks.

St. Anne’s C.C have a special visit planned from Santa Claus on 12th December from 5 to 7:30pm. Available on the night is a professional family photograph taken by Avril Fallon (Avril Fallon Photography)
Price is €25 which includes a physical print photo inserted into a black and gold frame, a selection box for each child, face painting, games and a reindeer station. There is also a Christmas Market Fair which is free for all to enjoy. Tea, Coffee and light refreshments are available on the night. The staff and students of St. Anne’s wish everyone a Happy & Peaceful Christmas. We are looking forward to meeting the local community on the night.🎅🧑‍🎄🎄🎁