TY Christmas Newsletter 2020

Mr. O’ Brien’s YSI Class have been working hard on their project on ‘ Improving Our School Environment ‘ which focuses on the built environment and the people of the school community. They are looking at 8 different areas of school life which can make St. Anne’s a better and happier place for all.

1. Goalposts: The TY students erected 4 goalposts so that the students can play football at break and lunch.

2. Benches: The students are making benches in Project work Class so that there are more places to sit outside.

3. Tree planting: The students will be planting trees in the New Year to improve the school grounds for everyone and developing a green area at the side of the school for others to enjoy.

4. Canteen: The students are surveying the student body to find out what kind of food services they would like.

5. Outdoor Games: The students hope to develop a games area so that students can play Connect 4, Jenga and Chess outside as well as inside.

6. Zen area: The students are collaborating with others to develop the area near the Chaplain’s Office and Memorial Garden to make it more inviting for others.

7. Flags and Fundraising: There are a group of 5 TY students who raise our National Flag, our Green Flag and Amber Flag each morning and on March 15th will celebrate our school flags and fundraise for Missionvale.

8. Leadership: It is hoped to run a leadership module for TY students in the New Year.

This is an ambitious program and the students have made some good first steps in achieving it. They have gained the support of many to enable them to achieve their plans and are grateful for this assistance. If you think you can help even in some small way to enable the students to bring their plans to fruition they will gladly welcome it.

Three films made by our students have been chosen by Fresh Film Festival to feature in their Annual Showcase.  Introduced by Oscar and Emmy nominated Lenny Abrahamson, this programme will feature a selection of short films with top tips from young filmmakers, leaders and teachers.

The films are;

•  Ali’s Story –  directed by Alisina Hussaini, Jack Grace, Cathal O’Donnell and Kian Donnelly. This is a short but powerful documentary charting Alisina’s experience of moving to Ireland from Afghanistan. This film focuses on the way sport has helped Alisina to make friends, learn English and develop his confidence.
•  The Last Generation – TY2 Film Class directed by Maeve O’Brien. This factual piece was a runner up for the RTÉ Factual Award for Best Documentary. Inspired by Greta Thunberg’s Friday’s for Future Campaign, these TYs wanted to actively join the fight against climate change by showing the impact it has on their futures.
• Midsummer Beauty – Oisín Mc Keogh (Leaving Cert class 2020) – This film won second prize in Ireland’s Young Filmmaker of the Year Awards his beautiful film examines one young girl’s struggle with a crush on her best friend.

Click on the film to watch it or see each video below. 

Film-making has been an integral part of school life in St. Anne’s for many years now, with TYs part-taking in Film-making and Film Studies each year and the success of our Film Club. St. Anne’s has a long-standing connection to the Fresh Film Festival with a significant number of our students’ films making their way to the finals over the last eight years. ​

We were thrilled when the festival contacted us a few weeks ago about their annual showcase with the Irish Film Institute. Every year the festival screens a selection of winning films at the IFI and this year they have selected three films made by our students. We were immensely flattered by this news, considering that the festival will programme just ten films from the 1400 submitted in 2020.

They have chosen two ​films made by our Transition Year groups in 2019. A third film (which also won second prize in Ireland’s Young Filmmaker of the Year Awards) made by one of our Leaving Certificate students will also feature in this selection.

As well as these films, Oisín (who has gone on to study film at third level), has recorded a segment in which he shares insights into his creative process with his peers. I have also recorded a segment encouraging other teachers to consider engaging in film-making with their students.

The Fresh Film Showcase will be introduced by Oscar and Emmy winning director, Lenny Abrahamson (Room, Garage, Normal People) and will be available to screen in early December. We are hoping to include this as part of a (virtual) TY Film Festival that TY classes will be running across the month of December here in St. Anne’s.

We are so very proud of our talented and hard-working students. Their creativity is truly inspiring as they bravely tackle under-represented topics and tell stories that need to be told in fresh and unique ways.

Ali’s Story

The last generation

 
Midsummer Beauty

On Monday 16th November, all of us here at St. Anne’s held a commemoration ceremony for the 100th anniversary of the Scariff Martyrs. These were a group of volunteers belonging to the Fourth Battalion, East Clare Brigade, who were shot and killed, on the bridge between our two towns, by British crown forces.

TY1 held a wreath laying ceremony at the base of our National flag in the morning and unveiled artwork that they created to mark this occasion. This was recorded and played in our classrooms along with a video presentation about the event, which was created by former staff member, Johnny McGrath, in what we have termed D.E.A.L (Drop Everything And Listen) class.

This is a great opportunity for the school community to take part in living history and mark the centenary of a moment in time from our past.

Huge thank you to Ms. McNamara and the history department for all their hard work.

At 11pm Monday night the Scariff Martyrs 100 commemorative committee will live stream their own wreath laying ceremony on their Facebook page.

                                   

Leaving Certificate student Daniel O’Meara has been selected to represent Ireland in the upcoming European Championships in Finland later this month. Badminton Ireland announced the 8 strong team, 4 male and 4 females, who will travel to Lahti Finland from the 29th of October to the 7th of November.

Daniel has worked hard with his training as well as his studies and we are delighted he has been given the opportunity to once again represent his country at such a high level. Daniel previously represented Ireland at the Europeans at U17 level.

Everyone at St. Anne’s wishes Daniel the very best of luck at the u19 Europeans and hope he has a safe and successful trip.