Five new First Year classes at Nenagh CBS

There was great excitement in St Joseph's CBS Nenagh as we welcomed our five First Year classes. This is the third year running that we had to timetable and resource five mainstream First Year classes, such is the demand for a place at Nenagh CBS.

The boys were greeted by Ms Karen O'Donnell, Principal, Mr Dermot Brislane, Deputy Principal, Ms Brigid Dundon, Year Head, their five class tutors and a number of their teachers.

The students received their induction and were given a tour of the school, an introduction to Microsoft Teams, a Well-being check-in and general information about school-life.

The First Years were then greeted by their Sixth Year Buddies, who will meet the students weekly until the Halloween Break, under the guidance of Ms Mary-Jo O'Reilly. We would like to thank the Sixth Years who volunteer their time to help settle the First Years into secondary school. Many of the Sixth Years recalled fond memories of their own Sixth Year Buddy when they themselves were back in First Year!

There were a lot of happy parents this morning to see their sons set out on a new chapter in their lives and we heard about having to get up early and take the obligatory photo, in their new school uniform, before they set off for secondary school!

Best wishes to all our First Years in what will be an exciting journey. We are sure you will make lifelong friends here at St. Joseph's CBS Nenagh! All year groups are being welcomed back on a phased basis with the return of all year groups from Thursday, September 1.

Retirements and New Staff Members

We would like to wish Ms Bernadette Lyons, Ms Catherine Neligan, Ms Máire Hoctor and Ms Beatrice Morrissey the best of luck in their retirements after their many dedicated years of teaching service to the school. Ms Bernadette Lyons taught Art, History and English and organised the weekly notes for the Guardian newspaper. Bernadette also designed and painted the sets and props for the many school musicals which took place in St Joseph’s CBS Nenagh over the years. Ms Beatrice Morrissey taught Art and Religion. Beatrice acted as a Year Head and many past pupils will have graduation certificates that were beautifully scribed by Beatrice. Bernadette and Beatrice entered many students into a variety of Art competitions with many notable successes. Ms Catherine Neligan taught English, Geography, French and CSPE. Catherine helped organise house exams in the school, organised several trips to Dáil Éireann and court houses to make CSPE come alive and was involved in organising foreign trips to France. Ms Máire Hoctor taught Gaeilge, Religion and CSPE. Like Catherine she encouraged the students to have civic responsibility and put the theory into practice when she was elected as a Teachta Dála for the Tipperary North constituency from 2002 to 2011. Both Máire and Beatrice were involved in organising many beautiful liturgical services for the school community over the years. We would also like to wish Ms Teresa O’Connor and Mr Niall Bucke the best of luck as they move school to be closer to their respective homes. We are sure many present and past pupils reading these notes will have many fond memories of their classes and their caring and encouraging words. We would like to welcome the following staff members who are joining St Joseph’s CBS Nenagh’s teaching staff: Shane Mc Elroy, Coralie McNamara, Sinead Maher, Anne Marie O’Connor, Eilis Doyle, Philip Hickey, Jim Shanahan, Zoe Farrell, Ciara Dwan and Kara Ryan-Mulqueen. Staff have been busy updating schemes of work and subject plans for the new school year.

Summer Works

We are delighted that the lift which has been in place since the mid-1980s has been replaced with a new efficient lift, which will make it easier for students with mobility issues to navigate between both floors of the building.

A lot of overgrowth and dangerous trees have also been cleared from the boundary of the grounds, which was a preventative measure due to the increasingly frequent winter storms. Inside the school building all the floors have all been stripped, waxed and are gleaming, classrooms touched up and cleaned for the year ahead by our caretaking and cleaning staff of Jimmy White, Susan Stapleton, Déaran O’Gorman and Julia Bacean.

Leaving Certificate Results

This year’s Leaving Cert Class of 2022 will have the option of receiving their results in school or online from 10am on Friday, September 2, the State Examinations Commission has confirmed. CAO round one offers are due to be made almost a week later on Thursday, September 8 at 2pm. We wish all the Class of 2022 the very best of luck with the next chapter of their lives, whether that is progressing to third level, taking up an apprenticeship, securing employment or taking a year out before deciding on their next move. The Class of 2022 showed great resilience to undertake their Senior Cycle education under the restrictions of a global pandemic, Covid-19; separation from friends and family, online and in-person education, mask wearing and so on. We are sure that the skills they acquired will stand to them in good stead into the future.

Edmund Rice Award for School Spirit

Congratulations to Adam Steed of the LC Class of 2022 who was the recipient of the Edmund Rice award for School Spirit, as voted on by all the staff at St Joseph's CBS Nenagh. Adam was a very hard working and diligent student throughout his time at St Joseph's CBS Nenagh and contributed to the school community in a variety of ways – rugby, hurling, on the Students' Council, as part of the Applied Maths team, and as a Sixth Year Buddy to mention just a few. Adam received his award from school Principal Ms Karen O' Donnell on the night of his Graduation.