November Whole School Assembly 28/11/25

Today the 28th of November we held our monthly whole school assembly. It was opened with a warm welcome from Mr. Carey and opening prayers from Lucas O’Sullivan who impressively said the prayer in Irish, and from Clark Kelly in recognition of ‘In November We Remember’.

This was followed by speeches by Head Boy Rían O’Gorman and Head Girl Kate MacAdam to talk about the upcoming Christmas party for St. Catherine’s Special School. They announced who Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus, and the elves would be. The people taking the role of elves are Eoin O'Neill, Ernie Pust, Ellie Hall, and Mia Thompson Ibanez. Mrs. Claus will be Maria Hassett, and Santa Claus will be Daniel O'Reilly. They also congratulated TY students Conor Church, Rory Coyle and Dan Farrell for cycling the length of Ireland, approximately 603km to raise awareness for men’s mental health. 

Ms. O’Sullivan then began presenting the awards for the month, with awards being given for achievements in art, science, maths and sports, many at a national level.

Mr. Carey went on to address the Fifth year immersion trip from the 23rd of October to the 3rd of November to Zambia. He spoke about their incredible experience which included seeing some of the wonders of the world and helping building schools. We were then introduced to some of the students who went to Zambia, including Rowan Carr, Alannah Lynch, James O’Farrell and Anna O’Driscoll. They gave enthusiastic insights about their experience and learning cultural songs and dances. They visited both primary and secondary schools and plastered walls in the sweltering heat. 

Mr. Davies congratulated many teams in the school such as the senior boys football and rugby teams and Ms. Dempsey’s girls basketball team. Students Cian Quigley, Joshua O’Connor, Evan Lynch and Jamie Lynch also received a special mention for national awards in football with their teams Bray Wanderers and St. Patrick's. 

Two third year students, Alex and Julia, were presented with the co-presidential roles of the Young SVP conference in our school. They talked about the Christmas Hamper Appeal and the importance it holds to all the families, encouraging the whole school community to bring in non-perishable food and toiletries for the hampers left in every tutorial class.

Overall this assembly was a huge success, allowing staff and students to recognise the achievements of our school community and to reflect on the meaningful events of the past month. 

Reporter: Laoise O’Gorman 

Photographer: Alanna Synnott & Lena Gleeson