The TY graduation took place on Friday 22nd of May. TY Coordinator, Ms. Brosnan, opened proceedings by welcoming students and staff to the first online TY Graduation to be hosted by St. David's.

The criteria for the coveted 'Spirit of TY' Award was shared. The award encompasses all aspects of the TY programme. Each year the recipient of the award has made an outstanding contribution to all elements of TY. They have been enthusiastic on all tasks, they have volunteered, they have pushed themselves outside of their comfort zone, they have been supportive of other members of the school community, and demonstrated leadership qualities. This year a total of eight students were nominated by teachers of Transition Year. The names of the nominees were read out with the winner to be announced at the end of the graduation. 

School Principal, Ms. O'Doherty, made a short speech in which she thanked the TY Coordinator, Ms. Brosnan, and TY Year Head, Mr. Carey, for all their work with the students throughout the year. She also thanked the students for the excellent approach that they took to TY, which was epitomised by their willingness to volunteer. Ms. O'Doherty then shared the lyrics of the John Rutter song 'Look at the World' before wishing all the students well for the Summer. 

School Deputy Principal and TY Year Head, Mr. Carey, then spoke to the students on his memories of TY for this particular group. He complimented them on the way in which they had reacted to unprecedented times and on the way in which they had grown and matured throughout their time in TY. In particular he thanked students for their contribution to open night and commended students on the way in which exchange students were able to integrate seamlessly into the year group. He then proceeded to thank Ms. O'Doherty, Ms. Brosnan and all staff for their engagement with the TY programme before finally wishing the students well for the Summer break. 

Mr. Fernandez was next to talk to the students about the Spanish exchange. Each year the 'Spirit of the Exchange' award is presented to one student who took part in the exchange and embraced Spanish culture as well as being an exemplary role model for St. David's. This year the 'Spirit of the Exchange' award was presented to Michael Martin.  

Ms. Brosnan then took the opportunity to speak to all staff and students present. She explained that in normal years the students choose a theme for the end of year graduation. Due to the unprecedented times we are currently in Ms. Brosnan chose the theme of 'gratitude' for this year based on the spirit shown among the cohort of students throughout the year. Stand out moments mentioned included yoga, forensics, sailing, driving workshops, bowling, and ePortfolio interviews. She complimented students on their kindness, generosity and engagement throughout the year. Ms. Brosnan also thanked the tutors and teachers of TY for their hard work in developing classes and modules, as well as Ms. O'Doherty and Mr. Carey for their ongoing support. 

In typical Ms. Brosnan style a quote was included, this one by Marcel Proust, from 'In Search of Lost Time.'

"The real voyage of discovery consists, not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes."

The final act for this group of TY students was the presentation of the 'Spirit of TY' award. This year the award was claimed by Michael Martin on account of his exploits throughout the year. 

Well done to all involved in the graduation, in particular the massive amount of work completed by Ms. Brosnan, and the IT support from Mr. Ó Muirgheasa.

The 6th Year Graduation for the class of 2020 took place on Thursday 21 May 2020. This online graduation was conducted via Zoom but another graduation will take place later in the year when restrictions allow.

The ceremony was opened by the Year Head, Mr. Brían Ó Donnchadha who congratulated students on their completion of five or six years of secondary school education in St. David’s.

Deputy Principal, Mr. Simon Carey, then graced the camera with some kind words. Firstly, he pointed out this group of young men and women had made history by becoming the first Leaving Certificate class to not sit the examinations. He proceeded to mention some of his common phrases which tended to arise when he found himself in close proximity to some of the 6th Year students. These included “smile”, “who are you?”, and “where are the shoes?” Mr. Carey finished off by wishing the amazing and wonderful class of 2020 all the best for the future.

Next up was a video which was consisted of numerous photographs that were taken throughout the journey of the class of 2020 throughout their time in St. David’s. This excellent video was sure to bring back a few memories for the students involved! Students also took the time within the video to express their gratitude towards the teachers, school staff, Mr. Carey and Ms. O’ Doherty for all that had been done for them over their time in St. David’s. Well done to Stephen, Norbert, Ava and Carolann for putting in a large amount of time and effort.

Thug 42 dalta ón gcúigiú agus ón séú bliain cuairt ar Ghaeltacht Chonamara an tseachtain seo caite. Chaith siad dhá oíche ar an gCeathrú Rua i gContae na Gaillimhe. Bhí Céilí acu oíche Dé Luain agus Ceardlann Drámaíochta oíche Dé Máirt chomh maith le ranganna agus gníomhaíochtaí i rith an lae agus bhí an-spraoi ag chuile dhuine. Ní raibh an aimsir rómhaith san Iarthar ach níor chuir sé sin as dóibh! Tá roinnt pictiúir anseo agus físeán a rinne grúpa ón séú bliain ar an turas go Gaillimh.

The annual Junior Certificate/Cycle Awards ceremony took place on Wednesday the 29th of January. Each year this awards ceremony acknowledges the achievements of the 3rd Year class from the previous year. This year the awards ceremony took place in three stages. 

During the first stage each student received their Junior Cycle Profile of Achievement from the School Principal, Ms. Mary O'Doherty, as School Deputy, Mr. Simon Carey read through the names. 

Phase two consisted of the individual awards for any student who received an A-grade in any of their subjects. In total fifty-seven students received an award for their efforts.

During phase three the best results from each of the three base classes were presented with an award. Malina Parteni scooped this prize for base class 3.16, Taisia Danilova picked it up for 3.2, while Tom Roth was presented with the award for base class 3.9.

Finally, the Leah Little Award for outstanding achievements in the Junior Certificate exams was presented to Tom Roth on account of his wonderful results.

Well done to all students on their fantastic efforts!

St Davids puts on an annual show every January, and it’s one of the biggest events of the year. This year the students brought us a stunning production of Footloose the Musical.

It takes place in 1984, in a suburban town called Bomont in West Virginia. Ren McCormick, a city kid, inspired the young people of Bomont to fight for their deprived right to dance.

Footloose is a high energy, comedy filled musical that also cleverly deals with darker subjects like loss and neglect. This show is riddled with hit classics like Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out For A Hero” and, of course,   Kenny Loggings’ “Footloose”, as well as fabulous musical editions like “Mama Says” and “Learning To Be Silent”.

The main roles were played by Frankie Kavanagh, Emily Farrell, Dylan Anderson, Aoife Finnegan, Ross O’Rourke, Brian Woods, Rita Chernikova, Ciara Power, Tom Roth and Lucas Garcia.

Credit is due to all those who helped, fourth and fifth years, with backstage, set design, makeup, mics fittings and program design. And also, of course Siobhan and Yvonne because without them there wouldn’t have been a show. ​

Some of the photos from backstage:

More photos!

Junior Certificate/Junior Cycle - please click here.

Leaving Certificate - please click here.

1st/2nd/5th Year - please click here.