Newsletter March 2024 EX

In the homily for the Feast of the Transitus of St Benedict, Fr Abbot recounted St Benedict’s final hours.

“As Benedict was dying, his brother monks held him up, they carried him to the Eucharist. This is telling us

that we as brothers and sisters we are supposed to carry each other through life.”

I am struck by how frequently and often I see our students carrying one another, day to day. They do this in

lessons and by supporting one another’s study; in friendship, conversation and fun; in team work, in sport, in

choir. By their actions the boys are reflecting the Benedictine values of community, hospitality and

discipline.

The rule of St Benedict also encourages good stewardship of our environment. During Lent, in addition to

planting many trees, students have backed Trócaire’s campaign to alleviate ‘water stress’ in Malawi where

over a third of the population does not have access to clean water. We associated the Malawi campaign

with fundraising for Toilet Twinning which funds global water, sanitation and hygiene programmes. We have

reached our target of twinning ten Glenstal bathrooms. I would like to thank each of our students for their

commitment to promoting water and hygiene justice and to carrying our brothers and sisters in Malawi this

Lent. At present, donations total €3,673 - exceeding our target. Thank you to all who have contributed so far:

there is still time to donate.

May I wish you every blessing of Easter.

Please Click Here to Donate to our Lenten Fundraiser

March 2024

Newsletter

A word from the Headmaster

Glenstal Abbey School

Marius Carney

Headmaster

SPRING FLOWERS AT GLENSTAL

IMAGE CREDIT: MARIUS CARNEY

‘Parishes are asked to expand

their circles of solidarity, to

protect and care for

biodiversity and creation on 30

per cent of their grounds, and

to care for this as a haven for

pollinators and biodiversity,

that can be enjoyed by the

whole community.’

IRISH BISHOPS’ CONFERENCE,

SPRING STATEMENT 2023

University Entrance

Scholars

Student Council

Our student council consists of two elected representatives per year group, with the School Captain and

Vice-Captains leading our fortnightly meetings. These gatherings serve as platforms for discussing student

issues, planning school-wide events, and amplifying student voices. This year we were delighted to run for

the first time an inter-year Advent soccer tournament with over 100 players, raising nearly €600 for ‘United

Through Sport’. The council also played an important role in the organisation of the recent 5K Lenten Fun

Run, which raised over €3,500 for Tróciare and Toilet Twinning

The goal of our student council is to give a voice to the student body; being a place where student ideas can

be discussed, planned and then put into action. As we approach the final stretch of the year, we look

forward to organising further events and continuing our charity work which has been so successful to date.

Leo Cuddigan (Sixth Year)

School Captain

Congratulations to the Glenstal 2023

alumni, who were recognised for

academic

excellence

at

Leaving

Certificate at the recent Trinity

College and UCD Entrance Exhibition

awards.

Glenstal Abbey School

Tom Ryan, Headmaster Marius Carney, Zaac Dooley

and Ciaran Woodcock at Trinity College Dublin.

School

News

Alexander Waller, John Twomey and Séamus Hanly at

UCD (Luke Johnson, Charlie Hyde not pictured).

IMTA and IAMTA Quizzes

Well done to all students who partipcated in the recent

schools’ mathermatics competitions.

Congratulations to Peter Purcell, Jack O'Riordan and

Patrick Hartmann (pictured) placed second in the

International

Mathematics

Teachers

Association

competition.

Our Senior team of Zach O’Connor, William Mugan and

Peter Purcell won their Limerick region Senior Applied

Maths Quiz with a fantastic score of 46 points.

School

News

Glenstal Abbey School

Key Upcoming Dates

Sun 7 April - Boarders return after Easter break

Mon 8 April - Classes resume

Fri 3 May - School closes for exeat weekend (Sixth Years may remain in House)

Fri 3 May - Sixth Year Leavers’ Dinner

Tue 7 May - Teacher Professional Development Day. Boarders return 5pm.

Wed 8 May - Classes resume

Mon 20 May - TY Graduation

Wed 22 May - TY pilgrimage to the Camino de Santiago

Sun 26 May - Parents’ Day (Third Year depart for study leave at home)

Fri 31 May - End of term (Sixth Year may remain in House)

Mon 3 Jun - Third Year boarders return 5pm

Wed 5 Jun - State Examinations begin

THE FULL CALENDER OF EVENTS IS AVAILABLE ON THE COMPASS APP

First Years visit Dáil and Seanad

The boys had a fantastic day exploring Leinster house; coincidentally,

Kieran O'Donnell TD from Limerick, was addressing the Seanad when we

visited and the legislation around the adoption of the new Limerick Mayor

was being debated. The Chair, Senator Maria Byrnes (also from Limerick),

gave us a special welcome to our group (which apparently is very unusual)

and Kieran O’Donnell came out after his speech to talk to the boys.

Our talented musicians, poets and singers gave a fantastic St. Patrick's concert for their fellow

students this week, including Irish language performances as we celebrate Seachtain na Gaeilge

2024. Thanks to Fionn O'Donnell (class of 2023) for returning to share some of his own poems.

St Patrick’s Concert

Choir News

Music & Choir

Glenstal Abbey School

The choir has been working hard this term as we prepare for the Easter season. We meet three

times a week at lunchtime for practice and we are currently preparing pieces from Mendelssohn,

Mozart and our very own Fr Columba. With the exciting announcement of a trip to Rome in the

upcoming academic year, we have a lot of new music to prepare. The choir is one of the unique

groups in the school where there are members from all year groups and everyone works

together to enhance community life. Our primary role is to sing at community mass on Sunday

mornings but we also perform at midweek school masses and evening prayers. The choir is an

integral part of Glenstal life and we appreciate the support from all parents and members of the

school community.

Zach O’Connor (Sixth Year)

Choir Captain

Creativity@Glenstal

FRANCISCO LORENTE (SECOND YEAR)

'OUR BUILT SURROUNDINGS' ART PROJECT: STUDENTS USED THEIR OWN

BUILT ENVIRONMENTS AS SOURCE MATERIAL FOR THEIR PAINTINGS

Glenstal Abbey School

GAA fixtures and blitzes continue to play catch-up

from the mid-winter postponements. The first of

these took place this week with our Senior Gaelic

Footballers qualifying for final of the Limerick PPS

Gaelic Football competition yesterday. After a rocky

start, they overcame a lively Coláiste Chiaráin team

The first half of the Spring Term

was dominated by rugby and the

Munster

Schools

Senior

and

Junior Cup competitions.

The players acquitted themselves

very well and put in four good

performances in their matches,

giving the travelling supporters

plenty to shout about on the

touchline and in the stands of

Musgrave

Park

and

Thomond

Park.

SPORTS

NEWS

The SCT comprehensively defeated Villiers School in R1 before

losing a very tight game to Rockwell College, despite outscoring

them by three tries to two. The JCT had an equally convincing R1

victory against HS Clonmel before losing to a very strong Ardscoil

Ris team.

In the Munster Plate competitions the JCT secured an impressive

second victory of the season over Rockwell College before being

beaten by eventual winners St Munchin's in the semi-finals.

GAA

Glenstal Abbey School

PAX

Badminton

Our Badminton team qualified for the

Munster Championships for the first

time. Junrong Lin, Max MacCarthy,

Austin Quinn and Aaron Zhong did

very well to get through to this stage

of the competition and should be

delighted with their first outing.

Sixth Year student Sam O'Farrell who has been

appointed Vice-Captain of the Tipperary U20

Hurling squad. Congratulations Sam!

Sam O’Farrell (Sixth Year)

Glenstal Abbey School

Following his succcess in the Irish Freestyle

Kayaking Team Trials, Hugo Phelan will be

representing Ireland at the Freestyle Kayaking

European Championships in Austria this August.

Best of luck Hugo!

Hugo Phelan (Fifth Year)

Cross Country Athletics

Congratulations to our representatives

in the Munster Schools Cross Country

championships as JJ Power, Conal

Rowan and Michael Owens qualified

as individual runners and the Inter

Boys team also qualified through their

overall collective positions.

Our fledgling senior Basketball team

enjoyed success in their first challenge

match, v Doon, with a resounding victory.

More fixtures will follow next term.

Basketball

Beatha teanga í a labhairt ~ The life of the

language is in the speaking of it.

March is a particularly busy time in the Irish

Department as we celebrate Seachtain na

Gaeilge - an international festival of all things

Irish, that runs every year from March 1st to

17th.

For the duration of this festival students

celebrated their language and culture - we had

Irish

language

quizzes,

folklore

classes,

seanfhocal poster competitions, a Gaelic games

poc fada challenge and a whole school concert,

to name but a few events.

IRISH AT GLENSTAL

Some presented on their favourite movies,

sports personalities, Irish stories, whilst others

wrote their own poetry for this task.

Sixth Year students are hard at work preparing

for their State Examinations Irish Oral exam on

Saturday, March 23rd. This exam consists of four

elements:

the student introduces himself with five

pieces of information

the reading of a studied poem

a general conversation on prepared topics

a description of a picture sequence

This component of the exam equates to 40% of

the overall grade at Senior Cycle, and is the

culmination of diligent and continuous work

throughout the past six years in the Irish

classroom. We wish all our Sixth Year Irish

students the very best of luck on Saturday.

Go n-éirí go geal libh!

Glenstal Abbey School

“Tús maith is leath na hoibre”, a good start is

half the work as the seanfhocal goes, and that

can certainly be applied to our Third and Sixth

Year students. Third Years have just completed

their CBA2s. This Classroom Based Assessment

focuses

on

an

oral

presentation

which

showcases students' language skills.

PATRICE MADDEN

HEAD OF DEPARTMENT

MARCH 2024

Italian Alps

Ski Trip

Second and Third Year students spent a week skiing in the beautifal, sunny Italian Alps.

Students enjoyed working on their ski skills at group lessons tailored to their level of ski

experience. The beginners soon made it to their first red run and the intermediate group

progressed to the black runs, making fantastic progress over a short period of time.

The boys had great fun both on and off the slopes, exploring the picturesque alpine village of

Folgaria and relaxing in the evenings with board and card games.

JANUARY 2024

Belfast

Cultural Tour

Ms. Ann Aungier led a group of Fifth Year students

on an educational trip to Belfast at the end of

January, exploring the city’s culture and history.

The Falls Road witnessed many significant events in

Belfast's

past.

Students

learned

about

the

communities on both sides of the wall and about its

role in Northern Ireland's Troubles. The Peace Wall

is a powerful symbol of reconciliation and hope; it

stands as a reminder of Belfast's journey towards

peace and unity.

We were invited to sign the wall and stand with the

many others in peace and reconciliation.

Crumlin Road Gaol is a haunting reminder of

Belfast's tumultuous past and the city's darker

history. Students had the opportunity to take a

guided tour of this historic prison, gaining insight

into the lives of its former inmates and the

conditions they endured.

Lenten 5k Fun Run

For Trócaire & Toilet Twinning

Glenstal Abbey School

Karaoke Evening

#BoardingLife

Glenstal Abbey School

MENU PREVIEW

Cereals, yogurt with fruit compote, porridge with mixed seeds and honey, boiled

eggs, juices, fresh breads, fruit, tea/coffee and a hot breakfast option:

French toast with raspberry compote

Sausage with hash brown

Berry breakfast muffins

Jumbo sausage roll

Rasher and beans

Soup of the day with fresh roll, mixed salads, meat or vegetarian main course

followed by dessert or fruit

BBQ glazed chicken or vegetarian quiche with baby carrots and roast potatoes

Beef meatballs, tomato ragu with penne pasta | Mac & cheese

Thyme and garlic roasted loin of pork with gravy or mushroom vol au vent with

creamy mashed potato and roast vegetables

Beef lasagna or vegetable lasagna with garlic bread

Lemon pepper chicken leg with lemon aioli, garlic potato and green beans |

Spinach and ricotta tortellini

Bruschetta pizza

Chocolate cookie

Ham and cheese wrap

Apple turnover

Mozzarella and pesto crostini

Sticky crispy chilli chicken or vegetables with noodles and prawn crackers

Spicy taco beef nacho with tortilla, grated cheese

Smoked bacon and chorizo pasta or creamy mushroom pasta with garlic bread

Chicken or vegetable curry with fried rice and poppadums

Hot and spicy chicken or cauliflower wings with home made wedges and tossed salad

BREAKFAST

LUNCH

SNACK

SUPPER

Please note that this is a preview of some of the upcoming menu options and is subject to change.

Glenstal Abbey School

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