Newtown Review 2017-2018 262v4

Newtown Review

Principal’s Welcome Calendar The Review Team Interviews 1st Form 2nd Form 3rd Form Transition Year 5th Form 6th Form Head Boy and Head Girl Interview What They Will Class of 2017 Opinion pieces Mock Referendum Sport in Newtown Sports Interviews Hockey Lifesaving Rugby Orienteering Lion’s Club Art in Newtown Music in Newtown Competitions Quotable Quotes Old Scholars 1

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As I write this introduction to this year’s review the office windows are open wide and the Leaving and Junior Cert candidates are outside enjoying the sun on their lunch time break from “the exams”. The sun is shining and the heat is incredible and has been for two weeks now….Can this be summer? And yet the review is covered in snow!! And snow is probably the main memory and reference point for everybody this year and will be for years to come….. “Was that the year of the snow?” So what did happen in the year of the snow? This edition of the review will be our reminder, and thank you to the editorial team and contributors and to Aaron Corless for collating and guiding the whole process. This classroom is the core of our daily activity, and possibly the area least reported in reviews over the years as it is a constant. This year the new Junior Cycle changes came into full effect in the classrooms with teachers adapting to the new specifications in their subjects culminating with CBAs (Classroom Based Assessments) for the relevant subjects. New terminology and new assessment and grading practices will take time for everyone to get familiar and comfortable with. The staff have been very busy with training for the new programmes and also in their participation in working groups to lead learning specifically in the areas of Literacy, Numeracy and Assessment. My thanks to all for the great progress over the year. Outside the classroom many great activities took place; the choirs’ trip to Prague; the Senior girls retaining their national Orienteering title, the 2nd year ski trip, the TY Cycle without age initiative , winning national YSI awards, the Minor boys Hockey Munster title win, 4 hockey players gaining international honours, the Inter Girls hockey team league and Cup double and the determination of the Senior Boys rugby. There is much I have not mentioned but these are just a broad flavour. One of my personal favourite moments was a Tuesday lunchtime during Literacy week when about 12 students gathered to read poetry in the library. After the first scheduled recitals took place, with many being self-composed pieces, people started to volunteer to recite their favourite poem or something they wrote to the gathering. Just a lovely occasion to share together. Revealing emotions and thoughts through poetry. Poetry can often express succinctly where too many words will otherwise fail to communicate our feelings. At its heart it helps us to understand each other and this can lead to more understanding relationships. I will finish on relationships, as this, I believe is at the centre of education and what we do at Newtown. The snow brought communities together, built relationships, as people worked together for the common good and so it should be in school life. The pages ahead are full of memories and friendships, some forming, and in the Old scholar’s pages, many forged and lasting. We may not always agree, but we can all strive to understand and appreciate the “good in everyone” and work for the good of everyone. Enjoy the pages ahead and thank you to all of you who contributed to school life over the year In Friendship Keith

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August: 28th: First years arrive 29th: Boarders return 30th: School starts

23rd: Chamber and Girls Choirs fly to Prague to compete in The Young Bohemian Festival 24th: Multiple marches take place across America to protest for better gun control

September: 5th: International Bacon Day 6th: Pope Francis arrives in Colombia for a five day visit 8th: Head girl and boy are announced 10th: Hurricane Irma reaches America 30th: Old scholars weekend

April: 11th: Senior girls win Cup final against Kilkenny College 17th: Newtown swimming gala 20th: Avicii es away suddenly 23rd: Kate Middleton gives birth to third child, Prince Louis 25th: Newtown students compete in the Orienteering all Irelands in Emo Court

October: 5th: World Teacher’s Day 16th-17th: School closes due to Storm Ophelia 25th-27th: Senior boys hockey All Irelands 29th: Dublin Marathon 31st: Halloween!

May: 8th: The Clan 1500 metres 11th: Newtown holds its own referendum on the 8th amendment 19th: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle marry in Windsor Castle 25th: Ireland votes to repeal 8th Amendment in historic referendum

November: 20th: Universal Children's Day 23rd: Thanksgiving December: 1st: Rosa Parks day 12th: The annual Cross Country is run 14th: Newtown Christmas Dinner 21st: Newtown Christmas concert. 22nd: Christmas holidays! 25th: Santa visits

June: 1st: Clan sports day and Country Market take place, Green clan wins the clan shield. School breaks up for Summer! 4th: Volcano erupts in Guatemala 6th: State Examinations commence

February: 8th: The winter Olympics begin 14th: School shooting in Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Parkland 16th: Chinese New Year 28th: School closes due to Snow March: 1st-5th: School remains closed due to snow 5th: The Oscars Ceremony takes place 14th: Stephen Hawking es away after a long battle with motor neurone disease 17th: Ireland secures Grand Slam in Six Nations final against England 20th: First day of spring

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Without a doubt this year has not been without its challenges. Trying to balance an already full school timetable with the running of such a big project has definitely been hard, but as in true Newtown style it all came together in the end. Finding staff and students in such a small school should not be as challenging as we found it to be! We spent so much time outside the staffroom that we had become part of the furniture by the end of the year. Despite the vast number of jampacked lunchtimes, it has been very rewarding to be involved with such an important student led initiative.

This year we also decided to add an opinion section where students could express their thoughts on a multitude of subjects which they had strong views about. This was a huge success as we received some very thought provoking pieces. These topics ranged from social media to nuclear weapons, highlighting the wide range of ideas that people in Newtown express and showing that students have opinions concerning not only their direct environment, but also the wider world in which they live.

For sure, 2018 was the year of the snow. 'The Beast from The East' transformed Newtown into a scene not dissimilar to Narnia. For many students 'The Big Snow' was a very memorable part of our school year. This was evident through the vast number of photographs we received of Newtown covered in a blanket of sparkling snow. It was for this reason we decided to go with a theme for this years covers; Newtown in the snow.

The dedication of our team has been invaluable and we thoroughly enjoyed working with each and every member. We are immensely proud of everything we have accomplished this year. We would like to thank everyone who contributed to the review as without you, there would not be a review. We would also like to thank Mr. Corless, our staff editor, for his assistance during the year. Finally, we would like to thank the Old Scholars Association for their continuous and guidance By Caoimhe Lawless and Molly O'Shea

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Back Row (left to right): Niamh Doyle, Leah Combal, Daniel Evans, Molly O'Shea, Caoilin O'Meara, Maya Laura, Caoimhe Lawless, Sara McDaid, Izzy Collins, Samantha Foley, Kara Reynolds, Roisin Lynam Front Row: Ethan McInerney, Ben Johnson, David Gahan

Editors: Caoimhe Lawless and Molly O’Shea Creative editors: Izzy Collins, Daniel Evans and Caoilin O'Meara Staff editor: Aaron Corless Sports: David Gahan, Sara McDaid, Ethan McInerney and Ben Johnson Interviews: Niamh Doyle, Samantha Foley and Kara Reynolds Competitions: Isobel Collins, Maya Laura and Roisin Lynam Quotable quotes: David Gahan and Roisin Lynam Art: Niamh Doyle and Caoilin O’Meara Music: Daniel Evans and Kara Reynolds

Past sixth years: Kara Reynolds Calendar: Caoimhe Lawless and Molly O’Shea Photography: Leah Combal and Abi Hennebry Year Liaisons: First form: Niamh Doyle Second form: Maya Laura Third form: Sara McDaid Fourth form: Samantha Foley and Ethan McInerney Sixth form: Lizzy Swift

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How long have you been at Newtown? 33 years. If you weren’t a teacher what do you think you’d be? An archaeologist. What’s the most memorable experience you’ve had here? The 2007 rugby trip to Toulouse. It was my son’s senior team.

How long have you worked in Newtown? 11 years this September What would your day normally consist of? Well at this time of the year I mark the rugby and athletic pitches, but my usual jobs are bringing in the milk and bread at the start of the day, doing the bins, cutting keys and locks and other various tasks.

If you could change any one thing about the school, what would you change? I’d improve the facilities - it will come eventually. What do you like about your job? Being around kids means never having to grow up.

Why did you decide to work in Newtown? I was originally doing construction but I hated the last year and I saw that there was a job opportunity in the school and I enjoy working outside.

What do you not like about your job? Marking, marking, marking. How have schools changed since you were a student? Manners and politeness of the students has deteriorated. The decline in the use of the semicolon.

What is your favourite aspect of the school? The banter with the students and teachers What do you see as the most important part of your role in the school? The three S’s; students, staff and school.

If you were the Minister for Education for a day, what is the first thing you would change? Give teachers everything they want, then hide in my office and give myself a pay rise.

What is the strangest job that you have been asked to do in the school? I was asked to pretend to fall off a ladder by the S.P.H.E. teacher. I had to knock over the ladder in Glynn and lie on the floor ‘shouting in pain’ to see what the students of the class would do in the situation.

What subject do you wish you could teach? Art or music even though I can’t do either. Describe newtown in 5 words or less. Ramshackle but homely.

Who are your favourite colleagues/teachers and why? Bryan Ronan (we bonded from the beginning), Aoife Noctor (good buddy), Bernadette Mcgettigan (a pure lady) and Tara Coady (we travelled with a TY group to Romania together) to name a few. Also as an afterthought, Sinead Maher (because she scares me). What is the most memorable moment of your time in Newtown? When my sons came to the school. They also worked in the school during the summer and it was really memorable working with my boys.

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What’s your role at Newtown? I am the conductor of the chamber choir.

What was your first impression of the Newtown Community? It had a lovely friendly atmosphere!

What’s your favourite thing about conducting the chamber choir? The willingness to learn and enthusiasm of the students involved.

Funniest story about Newtown? A dog was found outside, one of the staff tied him up outside on this huge rope, so long it let him run all around the place! Then someone recognised him and rang his owner.

What is your favourite song in the chamber choir repertoire? It's a new song that we are only starting called Jenny Kiss'd me, by an American composer called Eric William Barnum.

Fondest memory about your time at Newtown? When my daughter was here as a student. What is your favourite thing about working in Newtown? My colleagues and the friendly students.

What’s the choir’s greatest strength? The choir always work at the challenges I set for them, be it warm ups or the rep. This year we sang in English, Irish, Latin, German and Russian.

If you could describe the Newtown community in three words what would they be? A friendly and welcoming community.

Highlight of your year with chamber choir? Competing in Prague and Cork.

If you were Principal for a day what would you change? I would update some of the buildings!

What’s your funniest story about chamber choir? Watching them doing star jumps and planks during warm ups. Best thing about the kids in chamber choir? They all love singing, which is the very important when being in a choir. What are your plans for the future with chamber choir? To expand the choir and hopefully double in size. More performances and competitions and hopefully some sort of exchange program and masterclasses. What would you say to people who want to audition for choir next year? Don't be nervous, it's lots of fun, come along to one of our rehearsals toward the end of the year and see for yourself. We rehearse on Monday from 6-7 in Mountmellick.

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What was your first impression of the school? I thought it was big and seemed nice. I was excited to start first year here.

When you first arrived at Newtown, what were your initial thoughts? I thought the campus was really nice and there was a lot of space here. Also the unbelievably creaky floors in the dorms!

Do you think Newtown is different from other schools? Why? Yes, we have boarders here and it’s cool to get to know people from other countries. I’d never heard of a Quaker school before Newtown either which also makes it very different.

Would you advise taking a gap year? For sure! There isn’t another way I would have been able to travel to 10 countries in 7 months without having a place as a 'homebase'.

If you were principal for a day, what’s the first thing you would do? I would start the day later so I don’t have to talk to people in the morning and get rid of homework.

What is your favourite memory of the year so far? It’s a tie between Hurricane Ophelia and 'The Beast from The East'. Both involved extra time off and lots of fun activities. If you could describe Irish people in 3 words, what would they be? Grand, outgoing and interesting.

What is your favourite class and why? English, I like the teacher and she gives us food sometimes.

If you could change any one thing about the school, what would you change? The red carpet in the staff dorm, I mean who thought that was a good idea?

What 3 words do you think sum up Newtown? Unique, friendly and relaxed.

Are schools here very different than they are where you’re from? Definitely, I only had 4 periods a day! Testing and exams are super different too and there are so many more breaks here.

Do you do any extracurriculars? Do you think students should get involved in extracurriculars in school? I do hockey and I think students should get involved in extra activities because it’s really fun and a great way to make friends.

What is the most important thing you’ve learned from Newtown and the people here? Patience, in all situations and that the Irish people are as genuine and friendly as everyone says they are.

Why did you decide to come to Newtown? My sister goes here and I liked the idea of a smaller school than the other secondary schools in Waterford.

What are your plans for the next few years? As of right now, I’m hoping to work on a cruise ship for a while and then go to Australia for a year. After that I have no clue.

What advice would you give first years coming to Newtown next year? Get involved in some of the extra activities, they make it easier to get to know people and also don’t be late to class.

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Why did you decide to come to Newtown? My sister came to the school before me and she really enjoyed the experience, so I decided to come for 2 weeks in transition year to try it out. I really liked the school and felt a good atmosphere. What is Longball United? We are a fully professional football team (within the school).

What was your first impression of the school? It was very good - dorms are like a big family because everyone cares about each other. I also liked how the teachers treat students like an adult, which is different to my experience back home.

Why did you, as a team, start playing soccer? When we saw the level of talent on show in the school, we knew it would be a sin not to start a team.

What was the hardest thing for you, coming to a new school in a different country? Leaving my friends....and the food! . What is your favourite memory from the year so far? The clan cross country, I found it fun and there was a strong sense of community.

What is the lunchtime league and who decided to start it? The lunchtime league is a league held within school between three teams from different year groups. The captains and founders of the teams created the league to inhibit fair play. What is happening for the rest of this year? We have our cup final with another team Tiki Taka coming up.

Do you think that there is anything that makes Newtown special or different from other schools? Yes, being a Quaker school. They give us time in the morning during collect to think for ourselves, to answer questions and give us ideas to think about.

Star player of the year? Jeffrey, scoring 5 goals in 4 games. Where do you see Longball United in the future? Making our way through the ranks.

Would you advise other foreign students to come to Newtown? Yes, as we are like one big family and they will feel at home.

Will it be able to continue next year without the current 6th years? Yes, there are third years.

After having been in Newtown, knowing your experiences and looking back, would you come to Newtown if you got to decide again? Yes I would. I find that here, I maximise the free time I have as I am always busy and have stuff to do. There's a good balance between free time and study at the weekend too.

Has playing soccer with other students in other years created a better sense of community/friendship? Yes, although it causes friendly competition, it brings people in their year together and allows people to put aside their differences.

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Back Row (left to right): Alex Papathomas, Peter Keappock, Luke Denny, Oscar Stumpf, Azuolas Cernius, William Miller, Fabio Rossetti, Charlie , Dylan Breen, Milo Curran, Obed Obode Middle Row: Charlie Shaw, Glenn Carr, Anita Thompson, Joshua Harvey, Alexander Camon, Luka Lawlor, Callum Bowlby Traynor, Ana Viladomiu, Katie Earl, Zara Notley, Saoirse Delaire Staines, Sophie Bascone, Kate Nolan, Hannah O'Connor, Luke Hogan Staunton, Callum Dooley-Cullinane, Eavan Li, Ben Kingston Front Row: Reanna Cody, Maggie Hennebry, Charlie Beresford, Ivan Kennedy, Harry O'Shea, Malachy Shute, Naoise Duffy, Isabel Griffin, Clara Cleere, Katie Lanigan, Hana Bousseiri, Yvette Sullivan, Lorna Hardiman, Sophie Reid, Axelle Ievers, Carlota Gomez Trabancos, Sarah Eogan, Ella Eustace, Jenna Caffrey, Siomha Hartery, Katie Lanigan, Amelie O'Kelly Brown, Robyn O'Sullivan, Anna McGuire, Juno Douglas, Sorcha Nutty, Julie Stokes, Harriet Thompson, Molly Swift, Sophia Lawlor

10

Not have to do chairs for a week OR Have study hall instead of maths for a week

Not be able to skip the lunch queue OR Be kept in until 1:20 at lunch everyday 70

90

80

56 60

Start collect at 10am OR Finish school at 3pm

60

42 40 28

30

20

14

0

0

0 No Chairs

No Skipping

No Maths

Kept in

Start at 10

Have to do a solo in first year choir Have a bottom locker in the green OR Make an announcement in lockers OR Have a top locker in collect Legoland

School lunch OR Packed lunch

100

80

60

75

60

45

50

40

30

25

20

15

0

0 Solo

Collect

Top Legoland

Bottom Green

11

Finish at 3

0 School

Home

Back Row (left to right): Hugo Mullally Staunton, Lily Joy, Mark Wallis, Jude Lee, Niall Vogelaar, Stanley Cann, Hugo Deegan, Sam O'Hara, Andrew Crosbie, Adam Sweeney, Penny Caraher, Hannah Morgan, Nifemi Ogunlade, Lucy Deegan, Julie Bradley, Fodhla Dunne, Middle Row: Charlie Caffrey, Finlay Edmonson, Panashe Chikanda, Maebh Dooley, Adrianna Kostka, Hazel Griffin, Anastasiya Doherty, Sinead O'Loughlin, Pierce Maher, Edward Griffin, Luke Shaw, Karim Bouarroudj, Luc Solan, Isabel Evans, Kyle Martin, Meadhbh Rogers, Loius Bayou, Emma Parnell, Anisha Dore, Nathan Moran, Holly Tweedy, Reuben O'Callaghan, Sam Fitzgerald, Pedro Materano Romero, Rory Treacy, Tapiwa Nemhara, Katie Owens, Alex Brady, Ona Montaner, Grace O'Brien, Julie Noonan, Rebecca Doyle, Lilias Maclean, Rachel McGuinness, Alejo Garcia Maldonado, Gonzalo Cia Jimeno, Jaime Barahona, Cian Fahy, Aaron Padinjarathala, Max Romero McCarthy Front Row: Arthur Pushkin, Alice Jennings, Kerrie Ezenwa, Melanie Jephson, Flavia Bascone, Isabella Goodall Turner, Sorsha Leonard, Lynda Gahan, Laura Belton, Molly Green, Lily O'Brien Peterson, Naledi Lelaka, Orla Treacy, Emma McMahon, Isabel Killian, Ben Mitchell

12

Be in school from 9am to 4pm OR 12pm to 7pm

Have a full day of school with no homework OR Have a half day with loads of homework

80

80

60

60

40

40

20

20

Have all classes outside on a hot day OR Have a half day on a rainy day 70 56 42 28 14 0

0

0 School for 9

Full Day

School for 12

Write out 100 lines OR Have a 2 hour history class

Outside

Half Day

Dissect a sheep’s heart OR Make a rocket ship in science

70

70

56

56

42

42

28

28

14

14

Inside

Go on the second year trip OR Have three weeks off school 80 60 40

0

20

0 100 Lines

2 Hour History

0 Sheep's Heart

Rocket Ship

13

2nd Year Trip

3 Weeks Off

The second years embarked on a skiing trip for a full week in Andorra this year and enjoyed five whole days of skiing at Grandvalira Ski Resort. We stayed in a hotel, called Hotel Andino, near the slopes and all shared rooms with our friends. When we arrived we were all exhausted from the plane and bus journey yet we were so excited to start our trip away. On the first night we were fitted for our ski boots and helmets. The first day we went skiing there were a few people who had never been before so they were all learning together, it was amusing to watch everyone falling around on the mountain. Of course there were the experienced students who knew exactly what they were doing and seemed totally at home in the snow. We had a blizzard on the first day which set us up with fresh snow for the week. After monday there were clear skies until Friday, the views were amazing! On Friday the snow set in again, so heavily it was hard to see through, a few people got lost but we still had a great day. Every morning we had to get up at seven am to catch the ski lifts up to the ski resort but the views of the mountains were worth it. Each day after a full day of skiing we had the opportunity to do some activities, one night we went bowling another we went swimming in an amazing pool, and we also went shopping! This was definitely bonding time and we really enjoyed spending time with our year group outside of school. After activities each night we headed back to the hotel for dinner, the food in our hotel was really good! For our final day we visited Barcelona, we went sightseeing and also enjoyed the cheaper prices in the shops!

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We were definitely all sad to be leaving but also wrecked after a week of jam packed activity. Most of us slept on the flight home and we finally arrived back at Newtown just after midnight. It was a great experience not only to visit two new countries and experience their cultures but also to learn to ski. But as they say, all good things come to an end and even though we had to leave, we left with lots of good memories (and bruises from the ski boots). By Molly Green & Isabella Goodall Turner

While the majority of the 2nd years were out there enjoying what could be called the trip of a lifetime in sunny Andorra, do you know what the rest of us that didn’t go were doing? Having a blast back in Ireland of course! The week started off slowly at first. Since mocks were also going on that week the school was eerily quiet. Of course, since we were in school we still had to go to class. Since the majority of people from Y and X were gone we followed 2W’s timetable. On Monday we went to class as usual and didn’t do much work. It wasn't until English class that Mrs. Lennon told us that we'd be making a magazine only for those that didn’t go on the ski trip. After spending the whole class brainstorming we decided that the themes for the magazine would be movies, memes and football. On Tuesday we went to Dunmore East Adventure Centre. First, we were all tied together and told to untie one another, next we were split into different teams and for the rest of the trip we had to try and win activities to get our teams points. The first activity was having to fold a blanket while we were all standing on it at the same time. The next task was probably the most infuriating as we had to try and get a marble across a room while only using pipes. After that we did archery. Finally, we did the indoor caving which wasn’t made for those of us who are claustrophobic. All in all I think Tuesday was one of the best days.

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On Wednesday we had a French breakfast at the cafeteria in the morning. It consisted or croissants, pain au chocolat, rolls and hot chocolate. Everyone thought it was delicious. On Thursday we continued to work on our magazine for English. During language class we had a karaoke and listened to French and Spanish songs. Friday was the final day before the rest of our year would come back. We finished writing up our magazine and made blue crystals in science. Even though we didn’t go on the ski trip we still had a blast back at school and if I were given the option again of either going on the ski trip or staying in school I'd still pick staying at school. by Kerrie Ezenwa

Back Row (left to right): Sa-ood Abrahams, Robin Lee, Sean Romera McCarthy, Ben McInerney, Shazam Saeed, David Groppa, Caoilte Brennan, Ben Kane, Jack Mitman, Tom Woodward, Thomas Delaney, Jasper Butler, Martin Swift, Khalidat Kadiri, Amelia Lawlor Middle Row: Alfie Fitzgerald, Marco Laura, George O'Shea, Luis Marin Martinez, Kyle Fitzmaurice, Grace Thompson, Isabel Black, Bruno Guixa Gonzalez, Kieran O'Donnell, Elizabeth Tihomirova, Hannah Power, Charlotte Molloy, Emma Walsh, Teagan Stanley, Eve McCarthy Front Row: Jordan Grogan, Zac Green, Ronan O'Donnell, Eve Delaney, Mercy Onabanjo, Aisling Lawless, Rachel Shute, Hannah Doyle, Lauren Palmer, Charlotte Miller, Mia McConnell, Sarah Kavanagh, Adel Gosi, Saorla Rodgers, Ella Grogan, Harry Belton, Maria Bovenizer, Alanna Cabrero Pinto, David Foley, Max Miller, Jasmine Slattery, Nessa Malone, Sophie Quinn, Katie Leslie, Cillian Keating, Eoghan O'Reilly, Emmet Treacy, Mark O'Donnell, Iona Ritchie, Michael O'Herlihy, Ethan Guiney, Sam Kimpton, Eoin Moran, Donnagh Twomey, Arthur Bilyk

16

Walk into collect late OR Have an in totality you didn’t study for

Have to walk from Penn to Link in the rain OR Fall in the puddle outside Mr O’Cuinn’s classroom

Be ignored outside the staffroom for 20 minutes OR Make an announcement in collect

60

100

80

45

75

60

30

50

40

15

25

20

0

0 Late Collect

0 Rainy Walk

In totality

Puddle

Staffroom

Have 5 study halls in a row OR Sit at a 6th years desk when there's Have your teacher forget about a no room in study hall OR Wear test uniform on a non uniform day

Get sick and leave during an exam OR Fail maths

60

80

80

45

60

60

30

40

40

15

20

20

0

0 Study Hall

Forgotten Test

Collect

0 6th Year Desk

Non-Uniform

17

Get Sick

Fail Maths

Back Row (left to right): Benedict Benson, Elliot Ogbemudia, Danila Macijauskas, Finn Vogelaar, Patrick Cooke, Nabeel Ishtiaq, William Wallis, Lucca Allen, Khalid Kadiri. Middle Row: Isabel Mallach, Rebecca Cleere, Bryony Hoyle, Cian Parnell, Charlotte Hirschberg, Enrique Cano, Javier Fraile, Jose Maria, Daniel Faleye, Joe Slattery, Sam Kingston, Zain Ishtiaq, Joshua Porter, Ethan Roche, Lily Kennedy, Alexander Kotsch, Ewan Kissane, Matthaus Klein, Evan Sullivan, Felix Bracht, Alfred Sirbu, Alex Berbenitskiy, Aaron Aylward Front Row: Joahanna Von der Schulenberg, Sally O'Sullivan, Rosie Toner, Olivia Marquez, Abigail Deegan, Liadan Leonard, Vittoria Cerrai Ceroni, Susannah Doyle, Natalia Muniz Ibanez, Jordan Pim, Alba Marin, Franciszek Czekala, Jordan Ludasan, Emma Pim, Pauline de Bizemont, Antonia Marot, Storm Eaton, Sarah Jane McEvoy O'Gorman, Emily Shaw, Lana Charron, Lilly Maydell, Abi Coughlan

18

Walk into collect late OR Forget to hand up an assignment 60 45

Go to Madrid OR Go to Killary

Be ignored outside the staffroom for 20 minutes OR Have to announce something in collect

70

70

56

56

42

42

28

28

14

14

30 15 0

0 Late Collect

0 Madrid

Assignment

Killary

Lie on the rugby pitch in the sun Sit at a 6th years desk when there's OR Go on a nature walk during no room in study hall OR Wear class uniform on a non uniform day

Staffroom

Do paired reading for the whole year OR Do walking class for the whole year

90

90

90

60

60

60

30

30

30

0

0 Rugby Pitch

Nature Walk

Collect

0 6th Year Desk

Non-Uniform

19

Paired Reading

Walking Class

On the first day, when we arrived, we were introduced to our tour guide for the week, Juan, who took us to the bus that went to the city centre. We had lunch in a restaurant called ‘Fresco’. After, we walked around the city we then got onto our bus that brought us to our accommodation. Once we got to our accommodation, we were assigned to our rooms. On the second day, we took a bus to a honey complex outside the city centre. We made candles and went to a beehive, we had to put protective clothing on which was new to all of us! We then went to the Plaza Mejor for a tapas lunch. We all really enjoyed tasting different types of food. After visiting the Retiro Park, we headed to a cooking class where we were split up into groups and taught to make different dishes. Then we got to eat them all. It was delicious. On the third day, we went to the city centre to taste churros in Madrid's most famous churro shop! We then walked to the Prado Museum. We thought it was very interesting seeing all the different pieces of art. After the Prado Museum, we headed back to the cooking class where we ate once again. Then the people that weren't going to the Carmen went bowling. On the fourth day, we took a bus to an oil factory near Toledo. After visiting, we had lunch in Toledo centre. We had some free time there which was very nice as this city was so beautiful. We went to another restaurant and then headed back to Madrid for the football match. It was so fun to experience spanish football crowds and the culture of the sport. On the last day, we headed to a shopping outlet where we all went shopping for about 40 minutes. After that, we walked over to another shopping outlet. We then went to an unforgettable buffet in the village. From here we returned to the airport where we got ready to board. On behalf of Transition Year students, I would like to thank all the teachers that organised and brought us on the trip. By Sally O'Sullivan

20

From March 15th to 22nd 2018, seven students from Newtown set off on the trip of a lifetime to Kolkata, India with the HOPE Foundation. During the year leading up to the trip we each had to raise €2,400 which went directly to the HOPE Foundation; a charity that works with the street and slum children of Kolkata. We raised the money through various different platforms, including bake sales, coffee mornings, quizzes, church collections and many more. It was amazing to get to see where the money was going to and what a difference it makes. We travelled to Dublin airport on March 15th where we met up with the other school travelling with us. The flight went to Dubai and then onto Kolkata where we arrived on March 16th. We mainly spent the week visiting the different orphanages that HOPE run, boys homes, girls homes, mother and child homes and a special needs home. We also spent a lot of time in creches, the most shocking being the creche at Bhagar dump and the actual dump itself. It really opened all of our eyes to the extreme living conditions in Kolkata and how people spend their days rummaging through rubbish to find any scraps which could be sold on for very small amounts of money. We had the amazing opportunity to attend an Ambassador’s Ball for St. Patrick’s Day, as representatives of the HOPE Foundation The trip was one that none of us will ever forget, we have all now seen the shocking reality of extreme poverty. It was a life changing trip and I thoroughly encourage anyone with the opportunity to go, to do so. We would like to thank everyone that helped and got involved with our fundraising. We also want to commend the HOPE Foundation on the amazing work they have done and continue to do. by Maura Carrol

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This year we had five spectacular dresses entered into the Junk Kouture competition. The dresses were made from all different types of materials; newspaper, plastic bags, recycled photos, plastic bottles, bottle tops and many more materials. We got one of the five dresses through to the South Regional Final that took place in University Concert Hall Limerick. The dress that got through was “The Fire Within” created by Pauline De Bizemont and myself along with a few extra hands here and there. It was made entirely out of newspaper and plastic bags. It took months of hard work, determination and grit to get the dress finished in time for the final on the 8th of March. Online voting counted for 10% of the final score in which the team rallied hard for votes from friends, family and the school for a week gaining nearly 2000 votes, this alone was an achievement considering the size of the school compared to other schools. The dress lay in 20th place after voting with approximately 60 dresses following after them. Choreography plays a big part in the overall performance which the team spent two full days perfecting. Pauline, Abigail and I travelled to Limerick for a long drawn out, exciting day. Hair and makeup was started promptly by Abigail and I as soon as we arrived and found our place. Lots of makeup, face paint, glitter and imagination was used whilst giving the model the wow factor. Pauline then had dress rehearsals at 2 o’clock to finalise the routine and practice on the catwalk in the dress. At 7 o’clock the show started with hundreds filling the auditorium in Limerick. Everyone had to clear the dressing rooms except for the models who then waited backstage until their slot. Pauline performed at about 8 o’clock and aced her routine. It was one of the best put together choreography pieces of the night which impressed the audience massively. Pauline twirled, danced and even did the splitz in the dress which was an achievement considering how heavy the it was. We then waited anxiously for the results of the seventeen dresses that would go through to the All Ireland Final in Dublin.

Unfortunately it was not to be for us girls that night but we are very proud of our creation and how far we got in the tough competition. We would recommend anyone who is considering participating in Junk Kouture in following years to go for it as long as you’re prepared for hard work and lots of excitement! by Susannah Doyle

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The outdoors pursuits week is a unique tradition of Newtown School. It is held to award the students of TY for completing the Junior Certificate and takes place over the results week so the celebrations are very fitting. This year it fell on the week of the 20th of September between Dunmore Adventure Centre and Tramore where surfing was on. We were split into two groups who went to the two locations respectively. I was in group 1 and we went to Dunmore on the first day. We received kayaking lessons from a highly qualified instructor courtesy of Dunmore Adventure center. The lessons fit the celebratory atmosphere as the skill that is kayaking was taught in a fun way through games. The following day we were brought by bus to Tramore where we were taught or further educated on how to surf and also filled in on the safety guidelines of the beach. The Thursday and the Friday followed similar routines to the previous two. These days, similar to the first two, were extremely enjoyable and a great way to ease the nerves ahead of the looming day of exam results. The Wednesday was probably the most enjoyable day of the lot in of activities, as it was when the entire year went as a group to Dunmore Adventure Centre and went on their best asset, the Wibit. This unique inflatable on water brought excitement to such a stand out day in our lives. The entire week was amazing and one I will never forget. by Isaac Johnson

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The Killary Trip was one of many great experiences on offer during Transition Year. On Monday, the 14th of May, we all arrived at the school at 8am with much excitement and anticipation for the week ahead. As Killary was 5 hours and 30 minutes away, we settled in our comfortable bus for the long journey ahead. We had great craic all the way to Killary, with one stop at Bunratty Castle. When we arrived at Killary, we were warmly welcomed by the staff, then we were allocated our rooms and groups and we dropped our bags and had lunch. After lunch we had our first activity. I did Gorge Walking (not walking with george). It was challenging but fulfilling. We walked to The Main Centre which was 5 minutes away, for dinner and evening activities throughout the week. Dodgeball was my favourite evening activity.

On Friday it was sadly our last day. My last activities were the high ropes and The Jacob’s Ladder which was challenging but also fulfilling. I climbed The Jacob’s Ladder with just my partner but we were able to make it to the top using teamwork skills and this was a great way to end the trip as I had a sense of achievement.Ninety percent of people don't make it to the top so that made it even more impressive. We then had lunch, thanked the staff and we boarded the bus and went back to school. I have so many great memories of The Killary Trip and I would like to say a big thank you to Mr Greene, Mrs Kelleher and Stephanie the gap student for bringing us on The Killary Trip and to all the staff at Killary for making this trip memorable.The trip had a very positive impact that created great camaraderie among the Transition Year students.

On Tuesday we had a bonfire and we also played music and danced with the tunes.

by Zain Ishtiaq

On Wednesday (my favourite day) we did The Turf Challenge which was so much fun. It was very muddy but it was great craic and we were all laughing at each other and we had mud fights. On Thursday it was all dry activities for me. We started off with The Giant Swing which is so much fun.You get strapped in with seat belts, you and your partner sit nice and snug in the swing,you are raised to a high height, then you pull a string then you swing and whee! Then it was climbing which was so fulfilling as I conquered my fear of heights on that day. After lunch it was Bushcraft, we learned important survival skills such as building a shelter and lighting a campfire using sticks and a flint and steel .We packed our bags that evening.

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On the first day we were introduced to Colm and Hugh who were part of The Young Irish Film Makers. We were split into groups and did a series of activities which involved creating scenarios and using our imagination. After lunch we setup the equipment, the camera, tripod and boom mic. Then we learned about the different roles people have when making a film like the director, the assistant director, the cameraman, boom operator, sound engineer, actors and clapper loader. We all had a go at each role which was fun and it was great to learn to use all the professional equipment. We started to think about the film we were going to make which had to have a theme of mental health. We had four ideas for a film, we then voted and split the class in two, each group created a different film. We then started to talked about the script and the props we might need. Day 2 was very exciting as we started to make our film. We first talked about the script and chose who will be the actors. Our film was about a guy named Ben who suffers with depression, he goes into virtual reality where he lives a second life, he eventually gets addicted to this VR world and stops going to school. His friend Mark tries to help him by hacking into his VR world and tells him to stop. We went out to start filming, I was cast as Mark in the film. Nobody had a set role except the actors and the director this meant that we took turns and everybody was able to take turns using different equipment. After a full day of recording we had all the clips we needed, all we needed to do was edit the film. The day was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed it. We started to edit our film the next day, everyone in our group was divided into groups of two and each group was given a Macbook to use. It was good to have multiple people editing the same film as everybody had a different interpretation, at the end we chose the best edited film. We used an old version of Final Cut Pro to edit the films.

We were all taught the basics and then we were left to edit the film ourselves. We ran into a few problems like getting the shots to flow together and fixing shots which weren't shot properly. It was my first time editing, I learned a lot and really enjoyed it. On Thursday we finished off editing the film, we mainly worked on the audio. It was hard as there was a limited amount of music we could use. When we had all finished our edits we chose the best edited films which was the directors edit and my one, the editors edit. Both edits were very good, the directors edit concentrated more on the message of the film while my edit had smooth cuts and incorporated some humour. After lunch we started to think about our 10 shot wonder which is a film which can only be filmed in 10 shots. We then started to make our film and I was the director, we planned to make an action comedy film. We finished filming our ten shot and edited it. The film turned out well and it was quite comical. We then began to think about our next film which had to be done in one shot. The film focused around a monster who went around the school on a killing spree, in the end a person wearing a gas mask tells the monster to go back to their room. Overall I enjoyed the workshop and I learned alot about cinematography and editing, which be useful in the future. by Alfred Sirbu

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In Future is Food this year,we were involved in a variety of things incorporating both business and the sustainability of food. Edel from Edelicious spoke to us about the importance of niche ideas and presentation and the owners of the Lemon Tree in Dunmore East helped us to understand how to bring a product to market. In school we had a food taster session, from this we were able to get inspiration as well as an idea on how to price our own products. In December we had a food showcase which was an opportunity to interact with different food entrepreneurs such as Tom Dooley from the Restaurant and Jeni Pim from Ballymaloe Cookery School. They offered invaluable help and guidance. Christine from Ardkeen stores showed interest in stocking Doughlicious, which is an edible cookie dough product. Cookie dough is widely available on the continent but not in Ireland as of yet. Other successful ideas included seaweed tea, beetroot hummus and flavoured fudge. All of us involved in this module ed our SafeFoodforLife exam which makes it easier to get jobs in the food industry in the future. By Bryony Hoyle

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In transition year, the students complete three weeks of work placement. This involves immersing themselves into a work environment to see how it runs and what the inner workings are like. People normally choose businesses or workplaces that interest them, in industries where they see a potential career, or somewhere that could lead to a summer job. The aim of work placement is to gain a better idea of what you want to do and also a better understanding of how a workplace operates. We had to find our own work placement which meant visiting or ringing a company and inquiring if they would take you on for a week. We then had to get a form filled in by the company to give to our TY coordinator. At the end of the week your employer fills out an evaluation form which reflects your work ethic and success during the week. This is good motivation to work hard as you could use your evaluation form as a reference to secure you a job in the future. I think work placement is an important part of TY and you should definitely choose where you go carefully. By Finn Vogelaar

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Back Row (left to right): Tom Lehane, John Monaghan, Sacha O'Neill, Ben Johnson, Ethan McInerney, Thomas Drayton, Roberto Fiorentini, Stefan Sumstad, Denis Tihomirov Middle Row: Molly Miller, Daniel Evans, Edward Mungai, Luise Jaeger, Jack Morris, Teresa Tilocca, Isabel Dineen, James Treacy, Isobel Collins, Roisin Lynam, Molly O'Shea, Pippa Durham, Harry McCarthy, Finn Brady, Gearoid O'Brien, Bernard Kelly, David Gahan, Leon Jordan Milne, Danilo Romolini, Mohammed Algharrash, Peter Yaciuk O'Connor, Gustav Jaeger, Jeffrey Balogun, Matthew Donoval Front Row: Kara Reynolds, Samantha Foley, Kassim Alam Baloch, Caoilin O'Meara, Caoimhe Lawless, Erika Beyers, Sara McDaid, Maya Laura, Leah Combal, Joan Planas, Niamh Doyle, Isabella Callaghan, Suji Frankel, Teresa Kripp, Aida Urien Vallina, Erika Slattery, Bryan Walsh, Leopold Grillet, Matthew Mosse

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Work in the chemistry lab on a hot day OR Burn yourself on a radiator in Legoland

Lose your maths notes copy OR Forget all of your Macbeth quotes

Do eight subjects OR Risk doing only six

70

70

70

56

56

56

42

42

42

28

28

28

14

14

14

0

0 Chemistry Lab

Radiator Burns

0 Maths Notes

Macbeth

Have a teacher forget about a test Run the cross country OR Run the OR Have five study halls in a row 1500m 70

80

Six Subjects

Be ignored outside the staffroom for 20 minutes OR Make an announcement in collect 60

56

60

Eight Subjects

45

42 40

30 28

20

15

14

0

0 Forgotten Test

Study Hall

0 Cross Country

1500m

29

Staffroom

Collect

Back Row (left to right): Jennifer Akachukwu, Gabi Grant, Thomas Perricone, Bobby Tweedy, Richard Butler, Hugo Urien, Jason Kenny, David Grogan, Eoin O'Driscoll, Dylan Crews, Jacob Pim Middle Row: Tommy Moloney, Caoimhe Hendley, Kim Daly, Catherine Dineen, Anastasia Nolan, Zoe Mulligan, Dorothy Pulbrook, Isabella Berrini, Miu Fukuda, Jessica Marsh-Horgan, Meabh Nugent, Liam Murray, Milena Barnes, Andras Gosi, Tom Owens, Bobby Coughlan Front Row: Cody Sweeney, Jack Jacobs, Cathal Cheasty, Cian Mooney, Rhys Jones, Harry Jephson, Rhys Kenny, Rachel Foley, Abby Durham

30

Be late for a leaving cert exam OR Forget your calculator for ing

Lose your maths notes copy OR Forget all of your King Lear quotes 90

70

80

56

60

60

42

Do nine subjects OR Risk doing only six

40

28

30

20

14

0

0

0 Be Late

Maths Notes

Calculator

King Lear

Take a gap year and travel the Get 625 in the Leaving Cert OR Have a tree planted for you in world OR Go on a really good sixth year holiday school 70 56

Nine Subjects

Six Subjects

Eat school food for the rest of your life OR Mystery meat for the rest of the year

60

80

45

60

30

40

15

20

42 28 14

0

0 625

Tree

0 Good Holiday

Gap Year

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School Food

Mystery Meat

Kim Daly, Caoimhe Hendley, Gabi Grant.

Rhys Kenny, Harry Jephson, Jason Kenny.

Cathal Cheasty, Cian Mooney, Rhys Jones, David Grogan.

Anastasia Nolan, Abby Durham, Zoe Mulligan.

Jacob Pim, Meabh Nugent.

Dylan Crews, Liam Murray.

Dorothy Pulbrook, Jennifer Akachukwu, Isabella Berrini.

Richard Butler, Hugo Urien, Eoin O'Driscoll, Bobby Tweedy, Andras Gosi.

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Jessica Marsh-Horgan, Catherine Dineen, Milena Barnes.

Thomas Perricone, Jack Jacobs.

Dorothy Pulbrook, Miu Fukuda.

Kim Daly, Rachel Foley.

Tom Owens, Cody Sweeney, Andras Gosi.

Cathal Cheasty, Meabh Nugent, Harry Jephson.

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What was your first impression of Newtown? Zoe: I thought that this school was purely amazing and that hasn’t changed over the years. The school just seemed so bright and buzzing even on the most miserable of days and that was what really caught my attention. It was such a safe space to make friends and the school just instantly made me so happy. Dylan: I can’t too well but I think at first Newtown was kind of scary, not in a bad way more it was just big because before coming here I was home-schooled. What’s it like to be head boy/girl? Zoe: It’s definitely a privilege but I don’t feel different to any other student. It certainly has its perks but at the end of the day I am the same as everybody else in the school which is the most attractive thing about the position. My status and duties in the school may change but not the way I am treated by teachers or students, which is nice. Dylan: It’s fine, probably the best thing about it was eating the fried hake in Dooley’s hotel at the start of the year for a school reunion. What are your responsibilities in the role? Zoe: I am a representative for the students of the school at school events like the Old Scholars Dinner and occasionally have to make small speeches. I act as a role model daily for students and make sure they always feel comfortable in the school and provide at in-school events. Dylan: Much the same as prefect but we also have to represent the school at events and help people around the school grounds. What’s your funniest story from your years at Newtown? Zoe: Probably when one of my classmates ‘accidently’ fell straight through a table, absolutely destroying the desk, in the middle of first year prep. Good times. Dylan: Most can’t really be told here but there are plenty that can. Probably once in dorms one of the lads bought glow sticks and long story short we burst them, sprayed the glowing stuff all over dorms in the middle of the night and proceeded to freak out covering the floors and walls with blankets to cover up the evidence. What are you hoping to do after the Leaving Certificate? Zoe: I am praying that I get a place in Trinity, Dublin to study medicine. I would absolutely love to pursue a career as a doctor and have wanted to since before I was six years old. Dylan: I “hope” to study marine biology in Galway with the hope of going abroad after my course to somewhere like Costa Rica or Thailand. If you could describe the Newtown community in three words what would they be? Zoe: Wow. That is a hard question… UNIQUE, (incredibly) SPECIAL and COMFORTABLE. Dylan: Fun, fun, fun. Advice for next year’s sixth year? Zoe: Organise your revision notes in fifth year!!!! Also, just enjoy it. No point in stressing too much as that will just take your focus off the important things that need to be done. Trust that you have put in enough work and you should fly through the year. Dylan: Next years sixth years are studying more at the moment than our year so I think they should be fine. Where do you see yourself in ten years time? Zoe: Hopefully qualified and working as a doctor if all goes to plan but I will go wherever my life takes me. Dylan: In the middle of nowhere in the blazing sunshine riding a turtle into the sunset.

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Jennifer Akachukwu: Question time in Ms Glasheens home economics class. Milena Barnes: The thing I will most about my time in Newtown is the freedom and the trust we were given to explore and grow. Isabella Berrini: I will the nice atmosphere and all my friends that I’ve met in the last two years. Richard Butler: Long nights with the boys in D.C.G. Caoimhe Cahill: Seeing the girls every morning, having the craic in collect and a fast catch up. The laughter in class and talking about the memories we had of each other over the years. Robert Coghlan: Transition Year, all of it. Dylan Crews: Long nights and wholesome days with the boys in the cage that they call the D.C.G. classroom. Kim Daly: Summer term lunchtimes in the sun and studying outside during the junior cert. Catherine Dineen: Teacher Training Days. Abby Durham: The 427 hours I have spent in Ms Noctors classroom doing ing and economics. Rachel Foley: Sunny days here will be missed. Miu Fukuda: Everyone was kind, my first year of Newtown I didn’t understand English well and everyone helped me. I was very happy; my experiences of Newtown are some of the most rewarding ones in my life. Jodie Giles: Newtown, to say the least, has been an adventure. No school like it. I will always the water fight in dorms. 10/10 would recommend. Andras Gosi: I will never forget the people I met and the friends I made, especially those I got my first order mark with. Gabrielle Grant: The back gate. David Grogan: The great atmosphere around the school and the friends I made. Caoimhe Hendley: Sunny days, sitting out and having a laugh together. The friends I have made that I definitely plan on keeping. Newtown has changed my life in so many ways and I am grateful for it. Jessica Marsh Horgan: I will how amazing it is at the back of the study hall. Who needs the library anyway?

Jack Jacobs: The spiritual experiences I’ve had in this school were pretty good, the people were original and very much themselves and I will also some malevolent teachers for years to come. Harry Jephson: I feel like I should’ve been a prefect, but sure, next year. Rhys Jones: Getting the Daunt Cup from Waterpark after they thought they got to keep it. Jason Kenny: Madame Guyon. Rhys Kenny: Then one foggy Christmas eve… Tommy Maloney: The hours spent practising in Mount Mellick music rooms. Eimear Mansfield: Mr Cox's time keeping skills and watching the economics students sprint to class at 11am. Cian Mooney: Some day for Silage lads. Zoe Mulligan: The school clan days, where everyone is out on the pitches together and the atmosphere is so special, unlike any other school. Liam Murray: I will always playing football with the lads. Anastasia Nolan: The banter in chemistry class. Méabh Nugent: I will forever hold dear the wonderful people I have met at Newtown...and also that time Rhys Jones punched a pole LOL. Eoin O’Driscoll: The treasure I hid in the main building, worth 1 million euro. Isabel O’Reagan Fernandes: The poor misfortunate souls who got a round of applause when they dropped their trays in the canteen. Tom Owens: The locker rooms being locked every morning. Jacob Pim: Sound lighting in 4th year. Enough said. Dorothy Pulbrook: The people, choir, hockey, chemistry, physics and biology classes, the atmosphere and Indy. Jasmine Taylor Ryan: I will never forget the memories I have of all my six years in Newtown. Cody Sweeney: All the great friends I had and having a laugh, growing potatoes and daffodils in Ag Science and the great teacher I had teach me. Bobby Tweedy: Construction Class. Hugo Urién: I will the good friendships I have made and the great education I received.

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Isabel Auld: Studying International Development in UCC. On the committee of AIESEC UCC - a global volunteering organisation which is a fun way to fill spare time! Getting involved in some cool other societies too. Loving living in Cork but really missing seeing all my Newtown bros everyday!

Elena Fiore: I’m studying economics and languages in Milan. Lena Foerster: Still going to school in . Elena Foschi Suha: I’m studying Hotel Management and working in a Tourism agency.

Elishka Lane Barnes: I’m studying Drama and Theatre Studies in Trinity.

Emma Galloway: I’m studying biological and chemical sciences in UCC hoping to do chemistry next year, and I’ve ed the fencing club which is the best fun ever!

Kristin Batan: Studying Applied Biosciences in CIT.

Julie Gartland: First up I miss Newtown so so much. After I finished my Leaving Cert, I moved straight to Dublin to do TV and Radio presenting. I was with Today FM being taught presenting and did my TV presenting with The Park Studios. I loved them both, and did an internship with a celebrity website in Dublin for a while. Now I’ve just gotten a job at home with WLR FM as a promoter and video editor so I’m absolutely thrilled! I really missed Waterford. I obviously skipped the whole college thing but I couldn’t be happier. Huge shout out to the staff in Newtown for their and encouragement. Newtown will always be with me and I’ll be back visiting no doubt!

Olivia Bayne: I’m studying Ancient and Medieval History and Culture at Trinity. Katie Bradley: Studying English, Irish, Italian and Sociology in UCC (arts), ed the UCC singers and absolutely loving life. Robyn Brady: I’m doing a full time acting programme at the Gaiety School of Acting. It’s really intense, like 50 hours a week or so, but I absolutely love it! My year is really small (only 21 people), so it’s a very tight knit community (like Newtown) which has made the transition to college so much easier! Missing Newtown though and I still wear my NSW sweatshirt and drink from my Newtown mug. Katie Breathnach: Taking a gap year and doing a course in sound engineering to fill in time, still unsure about taking my place in psychology in UL next year, sure I have the summer stateside to look forward to now!

Pippi Griffin: At the moment I’m too busy for breath! Working part time at least 4 days a week at TK Maxx and doing a part time course in event management! In February I’m going to Paris for a month for a bartending/mixology course, then finally taking a 6 week interrailing journey, all the while missing Newtown a lot.

Maya Brennan: Studying Product Design in UL.

Emma Hannon: Studying Psychiatric Nursing in UCD and having loads of fun.

Helen Crews: I’m studying Enterprise and Innovation in Limerick IT. The course is so intense that our first group project was to set up a business and that's all being tested next week!

Ava Kelly: I’m doing a portfolio year, so I basically get to spend six months making stuff and then I’m probably going to go and travel to places until UNI next year, and I’m having a lot of fun doing it, although I miss Newtown a lot.

Philip Dwan: Working with horses abroad in . Gidee up ya good thing!

Sebastian Klockner: Working as a ski instructor in Austria.

Rachael Fenton: Studying Economics and Politics in UCD. Taking advantage of the Dublin nightlife. Life is good.

Filippos Koltsidas: Studying Hotel Management in Switzerland.

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Nacho Sanchez-Capuchino Polanco: I’m studying Marketing, Public Relations and Publicity in Spain at ESIC University.

Valerie Kripp: Taking a gap year and going to Chile to learn Spanish, I’ll work and travel out there. Jack Lailheugue: Studying music production in .

Kate Sherry: Doing a film and television portfolio course in DFEI, just moved into my new house.

Katie Lynch: I’m studying European Studies in Trinity. I’ve ed the choir and the musical, i'm discovering that life after the Leaving Cert is wonderful! Having the best time!

Emma Swift: Studying Liberal Arts and Sciences in Rotterdam. Lived on a boat for a month 'cause dutchness but loving life and crashing my bike on average three times a week. Sometimes it’s not my fault. Also, work in an Irish pub where they only serve Murphys. Shock and horror!

George Maclean: Taking a gap year, working full time as an advisor at Abtran in Cork. Katie Mann: I’m doing a portfolio course for UNI as well as a bit of travelling.

David Thorpe: Absolutely ballin’ in the big smoke! Studying some wicked things about broccoli and cows in UCD and dappling away at some rugby.

Lucinda Marden: Taking a gap year, moved to Berlin. Hoping that I’ll leave at least twice as cool as when I arrived #techno. Sarah Kate Morris: Studying Commerce and French in UCC, absolutely loving Cork, college is amazing! Mark Morris: Flippin’ burgers.

Cici Tracey: Taking a gap year to travel and get some work experience under my belt. My next stop is Switzerland and I’m absolutely loving life.

Ella O'Neill: Living the good life in Amsterdam.

Aoife Treacy: I’m studying Biomedical Sciences at the University of Maastricht. I’m enjoying traveling/exploring Europe in my free time!

Daniel Owens: I’m studying maths in TCD, really enjoying the work I get to do, and I’ve also ed the fencing club but am yet to challenge Emma to a duel!

Shauna Twomey: Having great craic in UCD along with Emma. I’m studying food science and I love it!

Robert Pim: Studying Liberal Arts and Science in Maastricht University. Meeting with some incredible scientists (Nobel winning) and people, the atmosphere in the city is incredible!

Emmy Zimstern: Taking a gap year in New Zealand.

Sean Noonan: I’m studying English Literature and Film in Trinity.

Leona Quigley: I’m studying Liberal Arts and Science’s at Leiden University College in the Hague. I’ve been playing football, doing some hitch hiking and struggling to learn Dutch. Niamh Robertson: Working in Berlin since July, just qualified as a Ski instructor and I’m teaching in Austria until April, plan to end the year by heading to Australia for their snow season & some travelling too! Applying to Medicine abroad for 2018, life is good! Valerie Kripp, Aoife Treacy, Julie Gartland

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The role and importance of women in the workplace is something that has been changing drastically over the years. Long gone are the days where women couldn’t wear tros instead of a skirt, or were forbidden to work in certain fields. Although we have advanced since then,it does not for a minute mean we have reached our end goal. To this day there is still a substantial pay gap, between genders, across the board. On average in the EU, women earn 16.2% less than men for carrying out the same jobs. This pay gap can be as insignificant as 0.1% in countries such as Italy, but can be as high as 23% in Latvia. It is important to point out that this discrepancy is within the private sector primarily. Jobs in the public sector such as teaching generally have equal pay between the sexes. According to the ESS, European Statistical System, women only occupy 25% of all senior leadership positions, while men are 30% more likely to obtain a role in management. Because of statistics like these women can often feel discriminated against, and I would agree that the picture painted by these numbers is not one of equality. These statistics had left me with the question of why inequality still exists within the workplace while our world is seemingly so progressive. Sadly, it’s possible that biases and sexism still exist, but there’s also the possibility that there is something within human nature aside from sexism that’s stopping total equality from being reached. June O’Neill, the director of the Congressional Budget Office spoke relevantly about this in a way that interested me. “Any wage gap is rooted more in social trends and tendencies than malicious discrimination by employees.” There is evidence to suggest that women and men’s roles in the workplace is not a result of oppression and injustice, but are the places we have naturally assumed due to typical gender characteristics. In studies testing

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aggression, authority assertion and dominance, men consistently came out on top. This means they would be quicker to push to the top in the commercial world or push for pay raises. There is also the added factor of motherhood for women and leaving work due to pregnancy. This can make appointing women with higher positions seem risky to employers, even if this is subconsciously. It seems near impossible to tell whether the gap between the genders is intentionally malicious, or just a result of nature and personality traits. In my mind however the cause of it isn’t as relevant as the fact that it still exists in a society where inequality should be a thing of the past. Where there’s discomfort and unrest there is undoubtedly an issue. No woman should feel less important or less appreciated than any man, and regardless of the cause, steps should be taken to fix this. Equality in the workforce particularly relates to all of us young students, as this is the world we will soon all be entering. For me it would be comforting to know that when I leave school I will be welcomed with complete equality, and will have the power to shape my future career with the same opportunities and treatment as all men. By Caoilin O'Meara

I think that we, as a generation should start to promote realism in socialisation. Too often we opt to face a situation online because it is easier to ignore a message than a person, if things get awkward. Too often we turn to our screens when we momentarily run out of things to talk about in person. Let’s face up to the real world and let our thoughts and feelings be shared face to face. Let’s phone that friend we haven’t seen in ages and arrange to meet up, to grab a coffee instead of triple texting the latest news.

Social media has no doubt set it’s roots down firmly into secondary school culture. There is something amazing about the fact that most of us can casually hold conversations with hundreds of people at once and not bat an eye. Adults seem perplexed by the idea that we’re able to keep track of it all, but for us it’s just part of life. They worry that we’re talking to strangers, that we’re sharing our addresses online, yet most of us don’t drift outside our inner online circles, although that number may be a couple of hundred people. No, most of the time we handle our online presence pretty well. However, there is a trend that I’ve started to notice, which older generations don’t seem to. There’s comes a point when you are socialising with loads of people where conversation becomes kind of shallow. Not noticeably at first, but there is undoubtedly a difference when we talk to our friends via Snapchat versus when we talk to them in person. People can seemingly reveal secrets like they are nothing, send whatever content they want without heeding any consequence. Yet we find it awkward to call someone because then it connects the online to the reality. Important topics that we discussed for hours in the middle of the night are completely disregarded the next day at school, never to be spoken of again. There seems to be some safety net in a cell phone, a veil we like to stay behind in order to connect with our friends.

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There is no doubt we are a social generation but maybe instead of mindlessly chatting away to our friends far and wide, we should look up and see who’s sitting right in front of us. Maybe we’ll learn something new. By Erika Beyers

Nuclear weapons are often talked about in the media, but I find that my peers know very little about them. They are often used in fear mongering conversations generally in a joking manner but are never discussed seriously as the reality of their use can be a little hard to swallow for a young teenager. In order to understand nuclear weapons and their capacity for destruction we must first understand the history of their use; J.Robert Oppenheimer and his colleagues at the Manhattan project successfully detonated the first atomic bomb on 16th July 1945. On the 6th of August, 1945, the US dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima in Japan, killing an estimated 140,000 people. On the 9th of August a second bomb was dropped over Nagasaki, killing approximately 75,000 people, either on impact or soon after from radiation related illnesses. To put this figure into perspective, during “The Blitz” in Britain, from September 1940 to May 1941, the German air force dropped over 45,000 tonnes worth of bombs, with a view to kill an expected 750,000 civilians. However, the reported figure was around 43,000 fatalities. In part, this lower figure can be attributed to many people in London taking refuge in underground tube stations and others in bomb shelters. In short, the German air force required 45,000 tonnes worth of explosives to injure 43,000 civilians, the US used one uranium bomb in Hiroshima to wipe out over 140,000. If this does not demonstrate the power of nuclear weapons nothing will. After the use of chemical weaponry in Syria, the United States, Britain and , have carried out airstrikes aimed at bases there. Russian diplomats have been expelled from Britain, Ireland, and other EU countries, over the attack of a former Russian intelligence

officer and his daughter. Tensions are most certainly rising, but the question still remains: If the state of global politics should worsen, will nuclear weapons be used? The answer to this question is shrouded with uncertainty. Today, the sheer mention of nuclear weapons evokes horror, fear and dread, and does so for a reason. Being a teenager myself, only coming to with the sometimes-harsh reality of conflict and its effects, I find the threats of war and especially nuclear war quite distressing. However, in the past months, the situation between North Korea and the US has appeared to settle The denuclearization of the Korean peninsula is a current proposition, with North Korea pledging to close their nuclear test site may. This is a step in the right direction. 188 countries have signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, promising to reduce their nuclear arsenals and not to seek nuclear technology. Luckily, all of us here in Newtown are growing up in an environment where peace is portrayed as not only preferable but vital. I believe the peaceful Quaker ethos will remain with all of us as we head out into the world. As science continues to advance and many means of destruction become readily available, it is up to us all to promote the ideals of using science to create rather than destroy. In uncertain times, we can only hope that world leaders have learned from the mistakes of the past. By Kara Reynolds

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In recent years Ireland has been swept up by the wind of change which, lately has turned into a gale. Despite our age we knew that we wanted to be part of the movement by expressing our opinions on repealing the 8th. Although the vast majority of the student population are under the legal voting age we believe that our opinions are still valid, particularly regarding the 8th amendment, as this is a law which impacts so many of our generation. We decided to try and give the students here, in Newtown, a chance to express their views. As soon as we got the all clear from our principal it was official, we would be holding a mock referendum. On the day of our referendum, which we held on the 9th of May, we offered unbiased information, obtained from the referendum commission, and of course it was all kept anonymous. Our referendum was a huge success with a large number of students coming out to vote. Many of the students expressed their gratitude about being given the chance to cast their vote on the matter. Overall Newtown voted, in accordance with the country, to repeal the 8th amendment. By Caoimhe Lawless and Molly O'Shea

No 18%

No 34%

Yes 66% Yes 82%

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After 35 years since the last referendum, where the 8th Amendment was brought into our constitution which made abortion illegal with two exceptions in Ireland (if the woman is suicidal or if she is going to die), this year the people of Ireland have spoken out about how the 8th Amendment is affecting the women of Ireland and putting women’s lives in danger every day. On the 25th of May, Ireland will decide whether to retain or repeal the Eighth amendment, and in my opinion, it needs to be repealed. The 8th amendment doesn’t work, it never has. It forces women and girls to pay for a flight to travel abroad everyday to obtain medical treatment. A flight not everyone can afford. A flight that is not an easy one, a flight you don’t tell your family or friends about, because in this country you will be howled at with shame, disapproval and silence. A flight that shouldn’t have to happen. We have to banish this wall, this sea, this curtain of stigma that prevails over our little island. This culture of shame and disapproval and silence.

This year, two of my school friends and I, Sarah Jane McEvoy O’Gorman and Emily Shaw, attended the ‘South East Coalition for Repeal’ on the 13th of January in Kilkenny. There we heard various speakers from different organizations that are fighting for repeal such as ‘ROSA’, ‘strike4repeal’, and ‘Coalition to Repeal the 8th’. They spoke about why it is so important that we repeal the 8th amendment. After talking with various people at the event, we set up a Repeal youth group in the Edmund Rice centre in Waterford City, where we discuss our plans for canvassing and our plans for events we could do to raise funds for the ‘Together for Yes’ campaign. We currently have eight people in our youth group, and plan on getting more in the coming weeks as we will be on Beat FM, talking about how the 8th amendment will affect us if it is not repealed and asking all the young people of Waterford to get involved to ensure we will win this referendum!

As a young girl myself, this is going to affect me and all the girls in our school. Abortion is frowned upon in our country, we are trapped in a dark, stubborn nation that forces us to stay silent. It’s time. It’s time to end this. It’s time to trust in women. It’s time to change the laws of this dark stubborn nation, so our future daughters will have control over their own bodies, without the state or the church deciding for us what they think is morally just.

I am looking forward to May 25th, and look forward to see all the great work in the lead up from the ‘Together for Yes’ campaign. I truly hope Ireland will progress out of these dark dark times, and vote yes. It’s time to make a better, safer country for the women and girls of Ireland.

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By Abigail Deegan

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Milo Curran

Hugo Deegan

Alex Papathomas

Dylan Breen

Callum Bowlby Traynor

Ana Viladomiu

Hannah O'Connor

Ana Viladomiu

DNF

Ana Viladomiu

Niall Vogelaar

Krisztian Nagy

Adam Sweeney

Rory Treacy

Niall Vogelaar

Grace O'Brien

Molly Green

Alanna Cabrero Pinto

Rachel McGuinness

Fodhla Dunne

Isaac Johnson

Marco Laura

Ethan McInerney

Ethan McInerney

Ethan McInerney

Elizabeth Tihomirova

Emma Pim

Elizabeth Tihomirova

Eve Delaney

Elizabeth Tihomirova

Aedan Rogers

Ethan McInerney

Aedan Rogers

Peter Yaciuk O'Connor

Aedan Rogers

Samantha Foley

Maya Laura

Samantha Foley

Sara McDaid

Samantha Foley

Marco Laura Zoe Mulligan Charlotte Miller

Blue: Isabel Dineen, Caoilin O'Meara, Matthew Mosse, David Gahan Green: Sam Foley, Molly O'Shea, Maya Laura, Gearoid O'Brien, Ben Johnson Yellow: Kara Reynolds, Ethan McInerny, John Monaghan, Roisin Lynam Red: Caoimhe Lawless, Sara McDaid, Daniel Evans, Finn Brady, Erika Beyers

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Age: 17 Specialised Sport: Horse riding - working hunter How did you get involved and when did you start? My mum was always interested in horses. From when I was born there were always horses at home. I started riding back in 2004, when I was four years old in a little riding school. Then when I was six years old, my sister and I got our first pony to share. What are your most prized achievements? Winning the Tom Robinson Gold Cup at the Irish Pony society National Championships in the summer of 2017. Second place at RDS Dublin horse show in 2014. Fourth place RDS Dublin horse show 2016. Sixth place RDS Dublin horse show 2017. Kildare/North leinster girl rider of the year, Connemara pony of the year and intermediate pony of the year. What are your goals for the future? My goals for the future are to keep on improving in all aspects of my horse riding. A dream of mine from when I was young is to qualify and ride at the horse of the year show in England so I will keep on working towards the qualifiers. This year I will hopefully have my two ponies at the RDS. Next year I will aim to be selected for the gold cup Europeans at the BSPS summer champs in Grantham England. What advice would you give to an aspiring sportsperson with similar goals? Miracles are not going to happen over night so keep working hard at your goals and soon improvements will be seen.

Age: 17 Specialised Sport: Rugby How did you get involved in your sport and when did you start? I’ve been playing since I was six. I used to play in Waterpark after my football training was over. What are your most prized achievements? U16 Pan Munster champions which I captained, U18 East Munster champions twice and U19 interpro champions. What are your goals for the future? To continue playing through college and the rest of my life. What advice would you give to an aspiring sportsperson with similar goals? To get to the top of your sport you need to be 100% committed because if you aren't then there will be someone who wants it more that will take the opportunities you weren’t prepared to take.

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Age: 17 Specialised sport: Hockey How did you get involved and when did you start? Hockey runs through my whole family so getting started was easy and inevitable. I started hockey at the age of four or five when my first hockey stick was talIer than me. I got involved in Waterford Hockey Club and then later with my school hockey team. What are your most prized achievements? Definitely captaining the Munster U18 team to a very respectable interpros team and as well captaining the Irish team in some tour games abroad. And also putting Newtown back on the map as a school to fear after a year of lower level hockey. What are your goals for the future? My goals for the future would be to get involved in the U21 Irish programme and the senior programme for the Olympics and World Cups. What advice would you give to an aspiring sportsperson with similar goals? The most valuable advice I can give to someone aspiring to achieve this kind of level in their chosen sport would be to keep driving and although sometimes it may be hard and if you fail to get onto a team or squad, face it as a hurdle that you can overcome as opposed to a barrier blocking your path.

Age: 14 Specialised Sport: Karate How did get involved in your sport and when did you start? I started karate at the age of six and I started because my brother had been doing it for the previous couple of years and seemed to be having great fun. What are your most prized achievements? I have achieved many international titles such as: European Champion in 2014 and 2016, American Champion in 2018 and World silver medalist in 2015. What are your goals for the future? My goals for the future are to continue doing karate, and to continue competing both at home and abroad. My main goal is to train hard and to hopefully one day compete in the Olympics for Ireland. What advice would you give to an aspiring sportsperson with similar goals? To work hard, stay motivated and you won’t achieve anything unless you put your mind to it.

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Age: 15 Specialised Sport: Racing (F4) How did you get involved and when did you start? I always loved driving anything with an engine growing up. I eventually started racing in the karting championships with a second hand kart at the age of nine. It just went from there, and after my first year I knew I wanted to keep doing it. What are your most prized achievements? My proudest moment of my career was ¾ Irish championships in 2014. Also, being picked to represent Ireland was my greatest experience and honour. In the more recent times I would say being the first ever Irish British F4 driver and hopefully it sets a standard for young Irish drivers. What are your goals for the future? At the moment F1 is the only thing on my mind as its the pinnacle of motorsport and its where everyone wants to be. However, I would be greatly satisfied if I was able to make a professional career racing in one of the top championships and make a living off it. What advice would you give to an aspiring sportsperson with similar goals? Mindset is probably one of the most important features you can have as an aspiring young sportsman/woman. You need to work harder than all your competitors and make sure you’re mentally and physically a step ahead. Also you need to 100% believe in your abilities because if you don’t nobody will. But most importantly make sure you keep smiling and enjoy what your doing.

Age: 15 Specialised sport: Hockey (goalkeeper) How did you get involved and when did you start? My parents both loved hockey, when I was seven I ed Waterford Hockey Club and my love of the sport grew from there. What are your most prized achievements? My most prized achievement includes representing the South East at the 2017 Interpros in Belfast and also winning the Cup and League double last season with Waterford Hockey Club and with the Newtown Inter team this year. What are your goals for the future? I hope to continue playing for the South East and get trials for the Irish squad. I also hope to continue to see girls hockey in Newtown grow and get to play and watch many more finals across the different teams in our school. What advice would you give to an aspiring sportsperson with similar goals? I would say to always try your best and give every opportunity 110% of your effort and make sure to enjoy every second you play.

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The first year boys hockey team came a long way from the start of the season considering that most of the players had never played hockey before. We started off the season by playing a number of blitz’s in Midleton, Ashton, Bandon and at home here, in Newtown. The results were mixed, we won some matches and lost others, but by the end of the season we were winning most of our matches. Most of our players also played on the minor boys’ team which really helped us see the standard for next year when we will be the minor boys. We played matches in Ashton, and in Newtown which we narrowly lost. But it helped us see how much we will need to improve if we want to try and win some tournaments next year. We played Ashton in our first cup match which was close until the last few minutes of the first half when they snagged a couple of lucky goals. It went downhill after that and we ended up losing but we came close to scoring a few great team goals. On behalf of the team I would like to thank the coaching staff.

Team: Alejo Garcia Maldonado, Louis Bayou, Luke Shaw, Pierce Maher, Callum Dooley-Cullinane, Peter Keappock, Rory Treacy, Ivan Kennedy, William Miller, Malachy Shute, Dylan Breen, Andrew Crosbie, Luke Denny, Gonzalo Cia Jimeno, Jaime Barahona

I’d just like to start of by saying thank you to all the coaching staff for really improving the team over the year. There was a huge improvement from beginning to end and I’d just like to thank Brad for everything he has done. Before Christmas we travelled up to Dublin to play in a tournament in High School against them and Villiers from Limerick. We were unsuccessful in both matches, only picking up our rhythm against High School. It was a great tournament and really helped the boys to see what we are against in standard this season. We didn’t have great luck in the Munster league by losing all our matches. We played Bandon Grammar in the Semi Final of the Cup. It was a hard game to play has they had more experience but we defended well in the first half. In the second half they stepped up by scoring two goals. Then it started snowing, for about ten minutes it was lashing snow and with about half our players not able to see the ball, they scored again. That was us done. We played Kilkenny College in the Southeast Final. We won 2-1. Luke Denny with a super back post deflection and a drag flick by Rory Treacy. It was a great win for the lads. Congratulations to Jamie Norton on winning the players player of the year

By Peter Keappock

Team: Charlie Beresford, Peter Keappock, Callum DooleyCullinane, Charlie Shaw, Ivan Kennedy, William Miller, Malachy Shute, Dylan Breen, Luke Denny, Harry O'Shea, Saad Kazi, Callum Bowlby Traynor

By Rory Treacy

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The past season was very successful for our junior team, as we claimed Newtown’s first major hockey trophy for over 40 years. A handful of our team were also part of the senior boys successful season, which really drove the standard of our squad. The season started off brilliantly with wins against Ashton and Midleton in the league and Kilkenny college in a friendly. These three games were a great launch pad for our success in the cup. Our cup campaign was our main focus for the season and it all started with our home semifinal against the favourites for the cup, Bandon Grammar school. The lads put in a terrific performance full of courage and determination and we came out on top 4-1. No one saw it coming. That result blew the entire cup competition wide open. Our opponents in the final were Ashton and we knew there was nothing between either team. But maybe we had the psychological advantage over them that day as we ran out 3-0 winners. There was an air of disbelief at the final whistle as we just couldn’t get our heads around that we had actually managed to win the Munster Junior A cup. Our success was down to the courage and forward thinking ideas of our coach Rory Isaacs who mentored us throughout the season. Well done to all the lads and thanks to Rory for everything he’s done for us.

Team: Ian Balding, Ben McInerney, Harry Belton, Zac Green, Patrick Cooke, Jasper Butler, Lucca Allen, Isaac Johnson, Thomas Delaney, Marco Laura, Eoin Moran, Kyle Fitzmaurice, Rory Treacy, Shazam Saeed, Donnagh Twomey, George O'Shea

By Ian Balding

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We started off the year in style with a friendly preseason tournament which saw us win in a high quality tournament held in Dublin during which we played the All Ireland contenders, Friends of Lisburn, and beat current All Ireland champions, St Andrews College. Because of this there was a fantastic tempo and mindset for the team for the oncoming season. Shortly after, the annual All Ireland qualifiers were held in Cork. We came 3rd in our group which guaranteed us a spot in the All Ireland Tournament. This had only been achieved by Newtown twice in the last decade. The All Ireland’s were held in Cork. Being drawn in arguably one of the toughest groups in the competition, it was always going to be a challenge for the lads. Our group consisted of St Andrews College, Sullivan Upper of Ulster (Ulster cup winners). We had quite the mountain to climb. Saying that, this was exactly what the guys wanted and a chance to play the top sides in the country was a great opportunity. October came and our opening game was against the eventual winners of the tournament, St Andrews College. Sadly we lost this game 4-2. Next was Sullivan Upper, this was the highlight of the tournament for most of the squad as Newtown took the victory in the very last minute with a 2-1 win. This gave us the chance to get into the semi finals but would require an extremely impressive win over Ulster's Campbell College. This match ended 2-2 so we sadly drew an end to our All Ireland Campaign. A friendly was organised against Bangor, another Ulster team, and we came away with a 4-3 win and left for home with another win in the bag. A special mention was given to Finn Brady after a heroic tournament as this also was his last All Ireland’s.

After the new year, our cup had commenced and saw us draw home to Midleton College, we won this game 4-2 securing a place in the final. Villiers of Limerick were our opponents in the final, the game saw Villiers score early which was quickly counteracted by a well planned set piece finished by myself to equalise. Outstanding goal keeping from goalkeeper fill in Kassim or 'Kaz' saved us several times during the game. The game finished 2-1 to Villiers after a goal in the last moments of the game. The end of the season saw several players actively being involved in Munster and Irish programmes. Myself, Harry McCarthy, Ian Balding and Ben McInerney all being apart of Irish u18 and u16 s along with trialist Ethan McInerney. Top Goal Scorer Tally: Ben Johnson: 16 Harry McCarthy: 14 Gearoid O'Brien: 7 Sacha O'Neill: 4 To finish, on behalf of the squad I would like to thank the coaching staff Mr Greene, Rory Isaacs and Brad Rouhana and all the players for their outstanding commitment all season By Ben Johnson

Our family is growing.

We are having a baby girl! Hillary and Chris Johnson are expecting their third child!

Team: Thomas Delaney, Ian Balding, Ben Johnson, Ben McInerney, Sam Johnson, Lucca Allen, Jasper Butler, Gearoid O'Brien, Finn Brady, Ethan McInerney, David Gahan, Isaac Johnson, Harry Belton, Marco Laura, Rory Treacy, Sacha O'Neill, Patrick Cooke, Harry McCarthy

Our International Players

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The start of the season for first year girls was in September and there was about 25 of us at the first session. Most of the girls who were on the team had never played hockey before which was surprising because they all picked it up very quickly. Ms Comerford was our coach, we had training every Monday and Thursday. We had great fun and learned loads. All of this training paid off because out of our 10 matches we won 9. The schools we played against between October and February were The Abbey, Ursuline, Loreto and last but not least Kilkenny College. The only match we lost was our first away match, our heads were still in the bus but we came back in our next match with a 12-0 win. We are all looking forward to next year and hopefully just as many will play again next season.

Team: Ella Eustace, Molly Swift, Siomha Hartery, Axelle Ievers, Jenna Caffrey, Saoirse Delaire Staines, Isabel Griffin, Kate Nolan, Maggie Hennebry, Harriet Thompson, Juno Douglas, Ana Viladomiu, Carlotta Gomez Trabancos, Katie Earl, Lorna Hardiman, Zara Notley, Ana Bovenizer

By Katie Earl

The minor girls hockey team developed well this year. We all improved and bonded as a team. We are a great group of girls who played to the best of their ability throughout the season. All the girls are very driven and enthusiastic while at training. We are looking forward to further developing our hockey skills and having plenty of opportunities to showcase our skills as a team next year. By Laura Belton & Grace O'Brien

The junior girls hockey season was very enjoyable for all who took part. Training was every Tuesday and Thursday evenings after school and for the most part we had a great turnout of girls eager to play, train and enjoy themselves on the pitch. We played a good number of matches throughout the year and worked really well as a team, due to this we had a very successful outcome, winning, drawing and incurring only a few losses throughout the year. As a team we would like to say a massive thank you to Joanne who took the time to coach us throughout the year. By Eve McCarthy

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Team: Penny Caraher, Rebecca Doyle, Fodhla Dunne, Hannah Hadden, Lucy Deegan, Molly Green, Isabella Goodall-Turner, Emma Parnell, Grace O'Brien, Julie Bradley, Isabel Killian, Hazel Griffin, Melanie Jephson, Lily O'Brien Peterson, Orla Treacy, Sorsha Leonard, Laura Belton

Team: Isabel Black, Eve McCarthy, Hannah Doyle, Rebecca Doyle, Teagan Stanley, Orla Treacy, Adel Gosi, Maria Bovenizer, Aisling Lawless, Charlotte Miller, Rachel Shute

This year the Inter team had a great season of hockey, we were made up of 3rd, 4th and 5th years. All matches were played very late due to 4th years being on work experience but better late than never. We won the Inter A league against Loreto Kilkenny in May. We played a very good match and worked together very well! We came out on top with a 2-0 win in Kilkenny. This left us on a high for the Cup final the following week against The Abbey in Newtown. Again the girls pulled it out of the bag with a 3-0 win to bring home the A Cup.

This year the senior girls have had a very frustrating season. Our slogan for the year was definitely “we should have won that match”. We had a really strong team this season led by our great captains Zoe Mulligan and Abby Durham. Every training session was good fun and a lot of hard work and dedication was put in to try and improve our games. We won a few matches and like I said we almost won a lot more! Each match we maintained possession and had some really nice plays and skills from our players, but we struggled to get goals in the back of the net.

With such a range of personalities and commitment to hockey the team performed very well in all their performances. A very big thanks goes to our super goal keeper Rachel Shute in 3rd year for always working so hard and saving some serious shots that often kept the game at bay for Newtown. The girls had a very positive, fun and enthusiastic season of hockey, the future is very bright for us as a team.

Our last match of the season made up for all our close wins when we played Kilkenny College in the South East Cup. We played to the best of our ability and did all we could have in the match coming ahead 1-0 early on. Kilkenny came back at the end of the second half to even the score to 1-1. The game ended and we went to strokes, I can honestly say it is the most nervous thing you’ll ever have to endure on a hockey pitch! Thanks to our amazing goalkeeper Rachel Shute and every player who took a stroke, we won! It was one of the best feelings ever.

By Susannah Doyle

Thanks to Rory for training us all year and we’re really looking forward to start training again in September! By Sara McDaid

Team : Sara McDaid, Abigail Deegan, Ava Kenny, Caoimhe Lawless, Jordan Pim, Maya Laura, Molly O’Shea, Pippa Durham, Aisling Lawless, Charlotte Miller, Eve McCarthy, Lauren Palmer, Rachel Shute, Rosin Lynam, Sally O’Sullivan, Sophie Pim, Storm Eaton, Susannah Doyle and Abi Coghlan.

Team: Sophie Pim, Samantha Foley, Roisin Lynam, Teagan Stanley, Jordan Pim, Susannah Doyle, Abigail Deegan, Ava Kenny, Molly O'Shea, Sarah Jane O'Gorman McEvoy, Sally O'Sullivan, Rachel Shute, Maya Laura, Sara McDaid, Zoe Mulligan, Storm Eaton, Emily Shaw, Caoimhe Lawless, Pippa Durham, Abi Coghlan

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Lifesaving is not just going swimming after school, it's the commitment, it's the ion, it's the effort. Lifesaving is definitely one of the greatest things one could ever sign up for. This has been my second phenomenal year and at the same time, unfortunately my final year with this wonderful group of people. Although this year was a bit different to last year, because I had to train with younger people, it was still really good. It changed me both physically and mentally learning how to stay calm in stressful situations, as it develops not only as a body workout, but also as a mental workout. It's something that anyone, even with no prior experience, can learn thanks to the committed people involved. I can only recommend it, as every skill learned will be useful to you if you ever were to come across an emergency scenario. Special thanks to Ms. Coady, helping throughout the year, sacrificing her own afternoon time. Thank you for giving me this year the ‘Commitment to Lifesaving Award’ cup, I will take care of it for the next year. Huge thanks to Sonny, our examiner, who qualified us in all exams throughout the two years. Thank you for having me as part of this amazing community. By Andras Gosi

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The 2017/2018 Newtown Junior Rugby team had an average season with ups and downs. We played a mixture of matches against a variety of teams, some we won, some we lost. Our team showed great strength on and off the field. We made it to the quarter finals with the help of our coaches Mr Walsh and Mr Keappock. It was a great season overall even with the disappointing result.

This year the senior rugby team were much improved and competed against some strong opposition managing to get a few wins here and there along the way. Our first game was against Youghal School. We were quite rusty and came up second best on the day losing 29-17, try scorers on the day were Cathal Chesty and Cian Parnell. A few weeks on we were drawn against Youghal again in the O’Brien cup and we proceeded to the next round where we played Carrigaline away which we won in the final few minutes through a late try and conversion from Rhys Jones, other try scorers on the day were Thomas Perricone and Kitty. Following that win we made it into the quarter final against Nenagh CBS, unfortunately we lost 19-5 but Thomas Perricone scored a great individual try in the opening minutes. To finish off our season we played Waterpark College in the annual Daunt cup match, we were winning 8-0 with 10 minutes to go after Harry Jephson crossed for a try however Waterpark came back in the final minutes and managed to score to draw the match at 8-8. This means that the cup is now being shared between both schools for six months each. Overall our season was much improved from the previous year and hopefully this will continue in the future. A huge thanks to Mr Walsh, Mr Jones and Mr Lyons for the time and effort they put into us all season

By Niall Vogelaar

Team: Jasper Butler, Finn Vogelaar, Luke Shaw, Pierce Maher, Bruno Guixa Gonzalez, Daniel Prager, Ronan O'Donnell, Kyle Fitzmaurice, Niall Vogelaar, Sam Kingston, Ian Balding, Mark Wallis, Donnagh Twomey, Tapiwa Nemhara, Hugo Deegan, Eoin Moran, Louis Bayou, Edward Griffin, Sam O'Hara, Charlie Caffrey, Hugo Mullally Staunton, Daniel Sirbu, Finley Edmondson

Senior Boys Captain Rhys Jones Team: Cian Parnell, Harry Jephson, Dylan Crews, Finn Vogelaar, William Wallis, Daniel Prager, Finn Brady, John Monaghan, Tom Owens, Gearoid O'Brien, Elliot Ogbemudia, Thomas Perricone, Cathal Cheasty, Alfred Sirbu, Sam Kingston, Lucca Allen, Ewan Kissane, Rhys Jones, Eoin O'Driscoll, Leopold Grillet, Patrick Cooke. (Pictured with of the Daunt family)

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Orienteering is both a team and individual sport. It is a sport for all levels of ability. We start in the autumn with a bonding 1st year event at a local venue. This is followed up when we take two large buses to Kennedy park to give other years a chance to try it out. This helps to sort out the more proficient orienteers for the subsequent events. The 1st year boys team won the South East (SE) schools lead by William Miller (1st individual). They followed this up with 3rd at the Munsters. Harry O’Shea, Dylan Breen, Azuolas Cernius, Peter Keappock, Oscar Stumpf, Charlie Beresford (10th Irish) and Alex Papathomas made up the team. The 1st year girls won the SE schools and followed this up with two fantastic silver place team finishes in the Munsters and Irish schools competitions. Anita Thompson, Juno Douglas, Axelle Levers, Saoirse Delaire Staines, Molly Swift, Sophie Bascone, Siomhra Hartery and Alocque Brady were the key team . The 2nd / 3rd year boys team won the SE schools, placed 2nd in the Munsters and 3rd in the Irish schools. Harry Belton (7th Irish), Pierce Maher, Charlie Caffrey (8th Irish), Kyle Fitzmaurice, Sean Romera, Ian Balding (6th Munster), George O’Shea, Kieran O’Donnell, and Luke Shaw all contributed to team success. .The 2nd/3rd year girls team finished 2nd in the SE, 1st in the Munster and 3rd in the Irish competitions. Best individual was Aisling Lawless (1st Munster, 4th Irish) ed by Laura Belton, Grace Thompson, Melanie Jephson, Rachel Shute, Charlotte Miller (3rd Munster), Teagan Stanley (4th Munster, 12th Irish), and Rebecca Doyle.

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The Senior boys team won the SE event, finished 2nd in Munster and 3rd in Ireland. Team included David Gahan (1st SE, 5th Munster), Sacha O’Neill (2nd SE), Matthew Mosse (3rd SE), John Monaghan (4th Munster), Thomas Drayton, Dmitry Kodzhaspirov, Ethan Roche and Ben Johnson (9th Irish). Pride of place goes to the group of 5th year girls who have participated right the way through from 1st year. They won gold at all of the competitions and won the Irish trophy back from the Ursuline. There were excellent individual and team performances from: Caoimhe Lawless (2nd SE, 7th Munster, 7th Irish), Roisin Lynam (3rd SE, 8th Munster, 4th Irish), Molly O’Shea (4th SE, 6th Munster, 2nd Irish), Jordan Pim (3rd Irish), Maya Laura (5th SE, 10th Munster, 10th Irish), Caoilin O’Meara (6th SE, 9th Munster, 6th Irish), Sara McDaid and Erika Beyers. By Mr. Cox

Teagan Stanley The Lions Club Young Ambassador Award is an award given to young people to recognise the work that they do in the community and is run annually by the Lions Club . I was invited to participate in this event by Ms Coady because of the various fundraiser events I have run and participated in since first form. For the award the first thing that I was your required to do was to prepare a CV. In the CV we had to document what we had achieved over the last few years. This was to provide the Lions Club with an idea of what we have done. I spoke about the fundraisers that I had run as well as the other activities I have participated in, such as IGG, as well as the sports I played.

The last part of the event was a lunch in the tower hotel where the winner was announced. The day was incredible, it was great to be able to just talk to the other contestants and it was also a huge honour to be able to represent the school at such an event. I really enjoyed myself all the way through this event. Lastly, I would just like to say a huge thank you to Ms Coady and the Waterford Lions Club for this amazing opportunity and for ing me all the way through.

Along with my portfolio I was interviewed by a member of the Lions Club, the interview was actually really good and it wasn’t as formal as I had been expecting. It was very much along the lines of a general conversation and I really enjoyed it. I was asked a lot about the charity work that I had done as well as what I plan to do in the future. A few weeks after my interview I was told that I had made it through to the final eight in Waterford. As one of the youngest participants I was utterly shocked and delighted. Being in the top eight meant another interview. This time it was in the Tower Hotel, this interview seemed a lot more formal. While I was waiting I got to speak with several other participants which was great. Everyone came from different schools around Waterford, the large majority of them were from fifth and sixth year. Then it was my turn. There was a of judges for this interview and their questions were a lot more direct. The interview could have gone better, but then again couldn’t almost anything have “gone better”? The interview still went pretty well and I very much enjoyed the evening.

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Iona Ritchie Earlier this year I was lucky to be one of four students nominated from Newtown school to participate in the Lions Club Young Ambassador Award in Waterford . This is an awards program which operates throughout Europe and is part of the Lions opportunities for youth initiative. It is a competition that recognises young people (between the age of 15 and 19) for their outstanding community service and involvement in charity work. The program encourages young people to see community service and charity work as an integral part of leadership skills and is looking for leaders of the future, with an emphasis on community service and charity work. This was a very new and totally wonderful experience for me.

I had such a wonderful experience partaking in the Lions Club Young Ambassadors Award this year. It was a fantastic experience and is something I will never forget. Thank you to the Lions club for their kindness and hospitality. Also, a huge thank you to Ms Coady who helped me in so many ways to prepare for the interviews and for all the brilliant charity work she has done in the school. She is an inspiration to all! Congratulations to Jack O’Neill from De La Salle College who won the award and went on to represent Waterford at regional level.

Initially, I had to complete an application form and put together a portfolio containing all of my personal details, accomplishments and details of charity work that I have been involved in. The next step was to attend an interview, this interview was with one person from the Lions Club, he was extremely friendly and put me right at ease. Then the dreaded waiting to hear if I was lucky enough to get through to the next round. Fortunately, I got through to the second interview in the Tower Hotel where, as part of the interview process I had to present my portfolio to an interview of experienced interviewers from across the Waterford area. They were also kind and good fun to talk to. At this interview I met the other nominees from Waterford who were all very friendly and equally as nervous as me! The last part of the process was a delicious lunch in the tower hotel with representatives from the Lions Club, where a presentation was made to the winning contestant, who went on to represent Waterford at a regional level.

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On the 16th of January 2018, fifth and sixth year Leaving Cert art classes took a trip to Dublin to visit the National Museum of Ireland and the National Gallery. Our first trip would be to the museum, however before our tour we had a bit of time to browse the local shops. When we arrived at the museum, we marvelled at the beautiful architecture of the building, and the colourful stone reception room. Our main focus throughout the tour was Irish bronze-age metalwork. We got to see famous pieces such as the Ross Lunula, as well as some early Christian metalwork pieces, such as the Ardagh Chalice and the Lismore Crozier. After a tasty burrito lunch, we headed to our second destination the National Gallery. We all struggled up several flights of stairs to the pre-renaissance religious paintings some of which can be seem on the right. Here we got to see some beautiful works of art, a class favourite being “Rest on the Flight into Egypt with the Infant Saint John the Baptist” (top right) by sco Granacci. We also learned lots about the history of this particular period of artwork.

Rest on the Flight into Egypt by sco Granacci.

This visit proved to be an invaluable experience for all, providing us with the information we need for the exams to come, as well as broadening our own knowledge of history, art and culture. We'd like to thank Mrs. Dillon and Rory for taking us and for the great day out! By Izzy Collins

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Since my first year in Newtown, I have been singing in both the Chamber Choir and the Girls Choir. I have also played the flute in orchestra and now, finishing up my fifth year in Newtown, I am still involved in all three. The first choir I became involved in was Girls Choir, which is conducted by Mrs. O’Connor and accompanied by Mrs. Keappock. It is an all-girls choir, which does not require auditions and rehearses one lunchtime a week. All ages from first through to sixth year are in this choir, and it regularly sings for charity events, and usually gets involved with Winterval to sing to ers by. Recently, they accompanied the Chamber Choir to compete in Young Bohemia Prague and won a silver award for the school in their category. Girls Choir is a lively bunch of girls and I often leave rehearsal with a smile on my face after learning a fun song such as “Mamma Mia” or “It’s only a Paper Moon”. Mrs. O’Connor and Mrs. Keappock also organise a first year choir in order to get our incoming students involved from day one! Our second choir is the school Chamber Choir, which was ed with a new conductor this year, Fearghal O’Connor. This is a mixed choir that you audition for, and our songs are largely unaccompanied. It is a small but highly competitive choir that practices one lunchtime in the week and also for an hour on Monday evenings. I spend so much time with this choir that they’ve become something like a family to me. Yes, we sing and we’re very good at it, but we are all also socially connected by a love for the music and arts culture of the school and have become great friends over the years. We have established a name for ourselves, competing nationally and this year, internationally at the Young Bohemia Choir Festival in Prague and also won a silver award, like Girls Choir, in our category.

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The instrumentalists in Orchestra, change very much with each ing year. This year, it was largely a strings choir, with a few brass and woodwind instruments, which we really took advantage of. We played many pieces for string orchestra with brass and flute solos throughout, such as Ashokan Farewell and The Pirates of the Caribbean and I feel like this year was a very successful year for the orchestra! Our conductor this year was Eimear Heaney. Being so actively integrated into the musical community of this school has shaped my experience as a student here. Most rehearsals are held at lunchtimes, which means I hardly ever have a free lunchtime yet it ensures at for at least one half hour of the day, my time is filled with music. People of all ages, talents and interests are welcomed with open arms by the music staff of Newtown and everyone has a part to play in making our activities so successful. I would highly recommend getting involved in these if you enjoy music because it is what has made my experience at Newtown so special and enjoyable. I can’t thank all of the music teachers enough for allowing me to embrace everything Newtown has to offer. By Erika Beyers

Newtown Chamber Choir is a mixed choir for all years, run here in Newtown. It is a great opportunity to expand your musical knowledge, and to get to know people who you otherwise wouldn’t have spoken to. We have line rehearsals every Monday for half an hour, during lunch, followed by a full rehearsal during prep from six until seven. As of this year we have a new conductor, Fearghal O’Connor, who has brought the choir up to a new, higher standard of singing. He brings fun into the rehearsals while still getting everything covered. He is highly respected amongst everyone in the choir, even if he does make us do planks. The choir has sung in several concerts this year, starting with a charity fundraiser concert, in Christ Church Cathedral, back in October. We then performed at the Newtown Christmas Concert. We were invited to sing in a concert at

St. John’s Chapel in March, but unfortunately it was postponed due to storm Emma, and the new date did not suit. At the end of March we travelled to Prague to sing in the Young Bohemia Choir Festival. Both Chamber Choir and the Girl’s Choir were awarded silver medals! We returned home triumphant but exhausted. Three weeks later we travelled to Cork to compete in the Cork International Choral Festival. We sang under the secondary schools mixed choir category and we came second!!! We have been very successful this year in all of our concerts and competitions. The Chamber Choir is a close knit group of students, who love music and singing. We compete in competitions all over and we all thoroughly enjoy it all. I would strongly recommend anyone who shares a love of music to us in the new term! By Fodhla Dunne

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During the week of the 22nd to the 25th of March the school chamber choir and girls’ choir were fortunate enough to experience the trip of a lifetime to the beautiful and historical city of Prague in Czech Republic. Both choirs performed in the local town hall of Prague as part of the “Young Bohemia Festival”. The “Young Bohemia Festival” is a European musical event for people between the ages of 8-26 years from all around the world that consists of numerous competitions, allowing thousands of people around the world share and appreciates each others music. The girls’ choir took part in the competition category “Children’s Choirs” and sang Suantraí Na Maighdine by Éamonn o Gallchobhaire, It’s only a paper moon by Billy Rose and E.Y. Harburg, Détské Hádanky by Bohusslav martinu and Adiemus by Karl Jenkins. We performed our pieces the without a flaw and left full of excitement and satisfaction. The chamber choir took part in the competition under the category “Mixed Choir” in total we sang five songs. Pater menus by Antonín Tucapsky, when I fall in love by Edward Henyman and Victor Young, The Road home by Stephen paulus and Bogoroditse Devo by Richard Apperley and Fite Fuaite by Ben Hanlon. After performing our final song we got a marvellous cheer from the crowd. We got the pleasure of hearing voices, orchestras and watching performances from places all around the world .For example Russia, Japan, Norway, Canada and Israel are just a handful for different nationalities that also took part. We spent all Saturday morning exploring the stunning city wandering the cobblestone streets and learning all about the medieval history. We were being typical tourist capturing photos and gasping at everything in awe. We took a tour on a boat cruise and saw Charles Bridge, Prague

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castle, the old town square, St.Vitus cathedral, Petrin lookout, The Famous Prague astronomical clock and many more. When the evening hit all choirs and orchestras gathered together to the old town square to participate in a parade. We proudly wore all green, Irish flags as capes and Irish car accessories and sang well known Irish tunes. After the parade we the gathered back to the town square to sing “Iubilate” by Mark Ivanovic to the whole of Prague to hear. We were over the moon to receive a Silver award in both the categories “Children’s choirs” and “Mixed choirs”. Our success would not have been possible without the long days and hours of practise and the huge help from our teachers in the music department. Both Choirs would like to give huge thanks Ms O'Connor who is our girls choir voice trainer and conductor and Ms Keappock who is our voice trainer for girls choir also and piano accompaniment for girls choir and chamber choir. We would also like to give thanks to our amazing chamber choir conductor Fearghal O'Connor who meets with us twice a week (sometimes three) to teach and perfect our pieces, helping us discover fun new ways of singing. We completed our stay with a fun disco organised by the “Young Bohemia Festival”. This was a great opportunity to meet with other people from different countries and make new friends. On the last day shopped like no tomorrow and said farewell to the spectacular city, Prague. We were all in deep gloom to leave, some even considered to stay and never come back. But we were also overjoyed to come back home to Ireland. By Nessa Malone

The music department has had a busy and very successful year. We welcomed four new staff - Catherine Power as a piano teacher, Peter Taylor as teacher of Brass, Mark Robinson as guitar teacher and Fearghal O’Connor as the new conductor of Chamber Choir. The year started with a group of students attending a very enjoyable schools talk/concert (with some audience participation) at the New Ross piano festival in September. Milena Barnes performed in the evening concert for young pianists in the South East. We announced a Choir Trip to Prague, to compete in Young Bohemia 2018. The Christmas Concert was our main focus after mid-term break, with many beautiful performances from soloists and ensembles. The Choirs got into the Christmas spirit by Carol singing in aid of Christian Aid. Transition years also gave a Christmas Concert that highlighted the musical talent in their year. In January we set a very heavy rehearsal schedule for both choirs that were travelling to Prague in March as we were competing in two competitions. The students gave of their time willingly and put a huge effort into learning very challenging programmes. .

In early March the Girls’ Choir performed in a Choral Concert in Church St. John’s (organised by piano teacher Catherine Power). The event was in aid of the Hospice and it was a lovely occasion to be part of. March 22nd until 25th we travelled to Prague! We had a wonderful and very successful trip with both choirs being awarded Silver awards in the Competition. We travelled with a great group of students and they represented Newtown proudly. Summer term started with Leaving Cert practical exams on the first day back followed closely by the Junior Cert Practical exams on the following Wednesday and Thursday. The following week, April 18th the Chamber Choir Travelled to Cork to participate in the Cork International Choral Festival where they were awarded second place. In April we announced to great excitement that the school is going to stage a Musical, Disco Inferno, next October. We ended the year in May with a lovely lunchtime concert featuring the Orchestra, Girls Choir and soloists. We wish our leaving cert students every success in their next chapter By Mrs. O'Connor

Izzy Collins and Naoise Duffy from the Girls choir accepting a Silver Award Prague.

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Ripples radiate out from his feet as he steps forward through the pool. Tiny tidal waves, fleeting but beautiful, eventually blending back in with the water. His tears are camouflaged by the rain, but that doesn’t stop them from coursing down his face, as if they were streams of lava scorching paths across his cheeks. He reaches the centre of the pool and collapses to his knees, drenching his clothes in water. The cold, lifeless body he’s carrying falls as well, creating yet more ripples. The face that once shone with happiness, then contorted with rage, now lies still. The lack of expression carries an almost otherworldly grace and peace. But of course it does. She is in a better place now. He leans down and kisses them for the last time, then gets up, watching her cherry lips slip under the water. He looks up at the sky, at the gods, hoping for some ray of sunlight, of hope, but all he sees are clouds, black and foreboding, covering the night sky. The only light comes from the flashes of electricity that spark above him. The sound of thunder assaults him from everywhere, but he hears nothing over the soundtrack of loss and memory. He hears her first words, her nightly screaming and crying that prevented him from sleeping for so long, her frustrations over studies, and her sadness over love. The storm would never be as loud as his grief. As nostalgia attacked him, his tears flowed ever faster, burning their way down his face and falling into the pool, ing the rain and creating more ripples. Ripples, fleeting but beautiful. Impactful, but only for a while. Like him. Like her. Like all of us. Simply ripples in the pool of life. By Michael O'Herlihy

The new girl had fangs, and I seemed to be the only one who’d noticed. Her name was Ann. She’d arrived a couple of weeks into the school year, early enough to not make much of a fuss, and after the first few days of new-student-novelty wore off, she had sort of faded into the background. Ann didn’t seem to mind this, though. Alone as she was, she never seemed lonely. Preoccupied; searching, perhaps. She’d sit in class, maybe write some notes. Mostly she would look about the room, dark brown eyes flitting from place to place. What struck me the most-besides the fangs- was that she didn’t speak. Ever. The only reason I even knew her name was because the principal had announced it during assembly the day she’d arrived.I’d have been mortified, but Ann just grinned, her teeth like rows upon rows of bonewhite needles. Pretty creepy, to be honest. Eventually, I realised that I needed to figure out what was up with Ann or I’d go nuts. Also, I think people were starting to notice me staring. The history teacher had sat her next to me that first day in an apparent bid to throw both the resident and newest friendless weirdos together, so it wasn’t hard to get her attention. One day just as class ended, I rapped my knuckles on her desk and said hello. Ann gave me a quizzical look, and it came abruptly to my attention that I had no idea what to say next. I fumbled briefly, before managing to choke out a strangled “Doyouwanttohavelunchwithme?” She seemed to perk up, and nodded furiously.

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We sat together in comfortable silence for the first few days, until I finally mustered the courage to start asking Ann about herself. I eventually got into the habit of carrying a pencil and paper with me everywhere so that we could communicate beyond her shaking her head and nodding, which was when I asked her why she’d moved here. Ann frowned slightly, and seemed to carefully consider every letter as she wrote; Looking for something. From the look on her face,I gathered she didn’t want to talk about it, and launched energetically into a rant about one of our teachers ,who probably didn’t deserve it, to diffuse the tension. She started silently cackling, and it was soon forgotten. I almost didn’t realise we’d been friends until after she left. There’s not much I about my last day with her, because, well. I wasn’t looking for anything in particular. If I tried, though. If I racked my brain… I could have sworn I saw something sleek and grey, like a fur, poking out of her bag that morning. I think she finally found what she was looking for. I’m not sure why I’m writing this. Maybe for closure, or to prove to myself she actually existed and wasn’t just a product of my lonely, sixteen-year-old subconscious. Maybe because I’m in such a better place now that I finally feel ready to look back properly.Or maybe, a part of me still hopes to see her again. Long as it’s been, I’d recognise her. She’d turn to me, and flash that grin, like rows upon rows of bone-white needles. Pretty wonderful, to be honest. By Lily Kennedy

In the early hours of the night, in central Paris, it was anything but dark. Julie was awoken to the harsh sound of an air raid siren blaring through the streets. She leaped out of bed, ripping her lace nightgown on a bed post on the way out the door. Buildings were lit up, surrounding Julie and she coughed from the smoke inhalation. She worried about the little person brewing inside of her, knowing she was breathing for two. She cursed Adolf HItler as she climbed down the slimey ladder into the underground bunker. Someone gave Julie a hand at the bottom, trying to hurry along the long que of people waiting to get to safety. “Merci,” she said to the elderly man, who’s deep blue eyes reminded her of her fiancé, Theo. The first time Julie looked into those ocean blue eyes, she knew there was a lifetime of happiness within. It was before the war had started, Julie was working in “Café la Coco,” the most popular café in the city. It was a beautiful Summer’s day and Julie’s long, brunette curls shimmered among the harsh rays of sunshine. Theo pulled up on his rented moped, his cologne filling the air around him and ordered a strong black coffee. The café was situated on so it had a perfect view of the Eiffel Tower right on Avenue De Bosquet. Julie brought Theo his coffee and noticed he looked rather confused as he studied a torn and slightly crumpled map of the city. “Excuse me sir, I can’t help but notice the poor condition of your map,” she said to him. “I’m afraid, Madame, I do not have a replacement and I cannot seem to find where I would like to go,” he replied in a posh English accent.

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Julie introduced herself, and offered rather boldly to show him to his next location on the tourist map. She surprised herself by doing this as she usually kept to herself, but there was just something about him that she couldn’t put her finger on. “I wouldn’t want to put you out, you are clearly at work!” he replied gratefully, but he was secretly over the moon when Julie replied, with a shy smile, “I am finished in five minutes, Monsieur.” Since that day in July, Julie’s broken English has greatly improved. She watched as the petrified children clung to their trembling mothers, covering their ears from the loud bombing, and vowed to raise her child bilingual. She sat reading her book, trying to block out the noise and screams of babies. Sitting on the concrete floor was uncomfortable with the cold seeping up through her body and Julie thought about the comfort of her home, and the warmth of lying by the fire. She tried to think of happy moments in her life, anything to distract herself from what was presently happening, the unimaginably loud explosions and terror. An old couple were in the corner of the bunker, and Julie recognised the man as the person who helped her down the ladder. He kissed his wife on the cheek, showing so much affection for each other, even in their old age, making a certain memory surface. “I can’t do it Theo! You go on without me, I’ll wait here.” The way she made Theo feel when she said his name in her classic French accent made him weak at the knees. They were standing, hunched over and out of breath, two floors from thee top of the Eiffel Tower. “No Julie, I can’t leave you here, you’ll make it, I promise,” Theo then swooped down, picked her up gracefully and carried her the rest of the way. Julie had never been to the top, in all her 24 years of living in Paris. “I don’t understand why! You work right in front of this magnificent structure and never been to the top!” Julie ired Theo for his intelligence and love for physics, and she hated to it it, “But I’m terrified of heights!”. She refused to walk over to the edge, but Theo gently coaxed her, reassuring her all the while he would protect her. When Julie opened her eyes, she was shocked by how far into the distance she could see. “The view!”, she exclaimed, “It’s so beautiful!” “It’s the most beautiful thing i have ever seen,” Theo replied, but when Julie turned to face him, he was looking longingly at her, not at the city. He leaned in, kissing her ionately, like it was the first of many. Everyone around the started to clap and Julie went rouge with embarrassment, but couldn't wipe the smile off her face the whole way down, back to earth. The sounds of the fighter jets only grew louder as the night went on, the complete darkness of the sky abruptly punctured by the flames. The adults grew restless, finding it more and more difficult to settle their children, Juie sat, huddled, all alone, in a blanket someone had given her while she dozed off, and wondered if she would ever see her Theo again. She knew thinking irrationally was bad for the bay, but she couldn’t help it as she was surrounded by husbandless woman, and fatherless children. She wondered how many men loved by those in this room would return home in one piece. It reminded her of the day she said goodbye to Theo, the day he left to the army. It was the blank period between Christmas and New Years, when no-one really knew what they should be doing, and that’s exactly how Julie felt when Theo broke the news that he was leaving. She knew it was inevitable, but Julie refused to it that Theo, her Theo, father to her unborn child, would soon be in a fighter jet, serving the British Air Force. Less than a week later, Julie was standing at her front door, waving a hand that held the promise of marriage, with tears rushing down her face. She watched him walk away, looking as handsome as ever in his uniform. She shouted after him “I love you, Theo.” Those were the last words she ever spoke to him.

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Back in the bunker, the siren had stopped and people were returning to their houses. Julie was rounding a corner when she stopped and looked up at the clear night sky, wondering in this very moment in time, where he is. Thinking so intently about her true love, she did not hear the loud whirring sound, nor the harsh smell of fumes and the bright flash of colour and explosive visions, the Eiffel Tower crumbling piece by piece right in front of her. This was the last thing Julie ever did see, with an image of Theo and the tower, frozen in her mind forever. By Roisin Lynam

“It gets easier” they say, but we all know it’s a lie, When sixteen-year olds test results go from A’s to double lines, There’s a problem with our youth and you’re just gonna stand by?

Smithing swords, the solid gold sings as it smelts, a sorrowful song Swords clash, the glowing bright blade Down within the forest of the war-torn glade Steel finds its way to the wielder’s heart Poisonous as snake’s venom, the thorn of a bee The solid gold sings as it hits the bloodied ground Like hammer striking anvil – a spark filled sound Blade tip low, jewelled hilt up high A sorrowful song hits the valley – a gold blade’s cry Soil creeps up over a thousand years All that’s left – a gold blade’s tears

Tiger stripes permanently marked on your thigh, Begging for someone to notice your harming signs, “It gets easier” they say, but we all know it’s a lie. Kids, raiding parents’ whiskey drawers, drinking bottles dry, Cigarettes between their fingers, everything is fine, There’s a problem with our youth and you’re just gonna stand by?

By Max Romera McCarthy Being driven to starvation and counting calories til you die, Throwing up becomes your best friend and your scales become your shrine, “It gets easier” they say, but we all know its a lie. Beating on kids ribs and bruising along their eye, Their parents tell them they deserve it, have been since they were nine, There’s problems with our youth and you’re just gonna stand by?

To love is to give, to give is to make peace, Need you not something to give, as love is free, So we must also be

So you’re just gonna turn your back on us with hardly a goodbye, You want to think I’m joking? Trust me, there’s no punchline, “It gets easier” they say but we all know it’s a lie, There’s problems with our youth and you’re just gonna standby?

By Charlie Shaw.

By Abigail Coghlan

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"The Earth is like 2017 years old, right?" - Meadhbh Rogers

“Sometimes life’s not fair, and weasels aren’t seals” - Stefan Stumstad

“I burn like a peach” - Finn Brady “I haven’t readed the books for English yet” - Caoilin O’Meara Izzy Collins: “OMG she's sooooo pregnant!” Mr. Ashmore: "I'm only a biology teacher but I thought you could be pregnant or not pregnant, not sooo pregnant."

“What’s the main ingredient in milk?” - Adam Sweeney

“They shadin’ like it’s art class” - Harry Jephson

“But Miss, I’m looking for a date" - Gearoid Morgan O’Brien

“Why don’t we just print more money to solve debt?” - Rhys Jones “Was I in that day?” - Arthur Pushkin [in every class]

Mr. Keappock: “Why would the ice melt if I held it?” Finn Brady: “Because you’re hot, sir” “Random Selection” *bangs fist on table* - Mr O’Cuinn

“Don’t you get dimples when you get your tonsils are removed?” - Pippa Durham

Ms. Glasheen: ‘’What can yeast and bacteria be used to make?’’ Pippa Durham: ‘’Lasagne’’

Madame Guyon: “I am sooooo…?” Cathal Cheasty: "Beautiful” “When smurfs tan, do they go navy?” - Caoilin O’Meara “I’d be a size three if it wasn’t for my big toe” - Maya Laura “June is right around the corner, yes, yes? “ - Mrs McGettigan [all year]

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‘’Ardkeen Foods is not the only thing that is quality" - Meabh Nugent [suggestion for Harry Jephson to get a debs date]

Mrs. Lennon: “Does anyone think Paris really loves Juliet” Isabella: “Well, jokes on him because she dies anyway”

Old Scholars 2018 REUNION WEEKEND The annual Newtown, Mountmellick & Foy old Scholars Reunion Saturday 29th September 2018 from 2pm onwards SATURDAY All afternoon

Archival photo display & tea/coffee in “Legoland”

3pm

Hockey match, Old Scholars vs school. Players of all ages and levels are welcome even if you haven’t played since leaving Newtown! Jonathan Fletcher 087-6476416 or [email protected]

7.30pm for 8pm

Reunion Dinner in The Woodlands Hotel, Waterford. Tickets are €40 and must be pre-booked and paid for on the website www.newtownoldscholars.com or with your class leaders. Any other years can book in with Peter Pearce 087-2760868 or [email protected]

Sunday 30th September 2018 12 noon

Archival photo display & tea/coffee in “Legoland”

12.30pm

AGM of the Newtown, Mountmellick & Foy Old Scholars all are welcome, please attend if possible

1.30pm

Lunch in the school dining room priced at €10 per adult, €5 per child. Tickets must be pre-booked and pre-paid for in advance. See website or book with your class leader. The old scholars tree planting and group photographs will take place after lunch in the old scholar’s garden

Those attending with class year groups may also book in with their class leaders: 2008 2003 1998 1993 1988 1983 1978 1973 1963 1958

Fiona Deacon Carolan Redfearn Clodagh Webb Andre Thompson Jonathan Fletcher Keith Cooke Patrick (Peadar) Faull David Harrison Adel Trapnell Roger Johnson

086-1026202 086-0223853 086-0223853 087-6476416 087-2054959 087-2600337 087-2429788 051- 874612

[email protected]

ACCOMMODATION INFORMATION Woodlands Hotel, Dunmore Road, Waterford 051 304574 Dooley’s Hotel, the Quay, Waterford City. 051 873531 Samuel Heritage B&B, Ballymacloda, Halfway house, Dunmore Rd, Waterford 051-875094 Accommodation enquires: Failte Ireland South East, information office 051 875823

Any other enquires can be made to Oriel Woodbyrne 087-6371080 or email [email protected]. Payments of dinner and lunch can be sent by cheque to Oriel, Cluain Laighean, Ballyroe, Athy, Co. Kildare, made out to NMFOSA.

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TREASURER’S REPORT 2017/18 NMFOSA Fund: The Old Scholars' Association distributed funds for the year, as follows: €300 was given towards the annual short story, poetry, and photo competition. €250 went towards hockey tournament expenses. €400 towards the schools choir expenses for youth choir competition held in Prague. Eric deCourcy Fund: €790.00 Music Bursary was awarded to Kara Reynolds. Our congratulations for her great work. In July 2017, the fund was amalgamated with the NMFOSA discretionary stock portfolio managed by Goodbody. The amount transferred from PTSB was:

€44,117.00 This amount represents about 33% of the total portfolio. Investments: The Goodbody valuation of the portfolio for the period ending on 31st December 2017 is: €129,214.00 This is made up, as follows: Equities: €67,793.73 Bonds: €34,028.20 Other Assets: €9,251.33 Total Cash: €18,141.02 This includes the funds transferred from the Eric deCourcy fund to the PTSB. On behalf of the committee: Peter Pearce - Hon. Treasurer

AGM Minutes of the AGM of the Newtown Mountmellick and Foyonian Old Scholars association held in Newtown School, Waterford on Sunday the 1st October 2017 Present: Jonathan Fletcher, Roger Johnson, Joan Johnson, Oriel Woodbyrne, Peter Pearce, Louis Hemmings, Andre Thompson, Mary Dobbs Apologies: Bob Burns, Ciara Harrison, Sara Lee O’Brien, Debbie Bailey and Keith Lemon Jonathan opened the meeting by thanking everyone for attending this Sunday and apologised for Sara our president who is out sick. He asked that people take note that at this moment we still have no vice president, but that Sara Lee O’Brien is happy to stay on for a second year. Oriel reported that it was decided to send out the insert with this year’s review and so far, it has been taken up well. Our postal and printing costs should be dramatically cut from last year. If you didn’t fill in the form, you won’t get a review by post. You can get in touch and get back on the list for 2019 onwards, although you need to us first. You will then be able to view the 2018 review online, and you will receive the printed version next year. Treasurer’s Report: Peter handed out his report for 2016. The annual s were handed out to the meeting. Brian Little is stepping down and a replacement is sought.

New officers and committee: The following officers were proposed by and seconded by for the year from September 2017 to September 2018.

Tony Chearnley, Oriel Woodbyrne, Jonathan Fletcher and Ken Murphy 2020: Sonya Boyce. This year stepping down from the committee are Sharon Mansfield and Sarah McBride. We thanks them for their time.

President: Sara Lee O’Brien Vice president: to be confirmed Hon Treasurer: Peter Pearce Secretary: Oriel Woodbyrne Hon Auditor: Brian Little Editor: to be confirmed New committee proposed by Andre Thompson and seconded by Roger Johnson were Louis Hemmings, Mary Dobbs and Jacqui Stokes for the years running from Sept 2018 to Sept 2020, leaving the committee the option to co-opt another person for editor and or vice president.

AOB: Joan Johnson requested that the old scholars might try and find some funding to help replace the display stands that are used during the weekend, three are broken and need to be replaced. She also requested some help with naming the younger year photos as the more recent ones are getting harder to name. She also wanted to give thanks to Ken Murphy for his tireless work with all the photos taken every old scholar weekend.

Retiring 2018: Clodagh Alyward, Sara Lee O’Brien and Peter Pearce. 2019:

There being no other business the meeting was closed.

Old scholars team verses Newtown School team

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CLASS OF 1987

Back row L-R Patrick Shelly, Sheena bailey, Aidan Dunwoody, Vicki (Ashmore) Khan, Eoghan O’Donoghue, Brian Hadden, Gail Johnson, Michael Thompson, Michael Quinn. Front row, L-R Suzie (Nielsen) McCully, Oriel (Shorten) Woodbyrne, Karen (Harris) Sweeney, s (Meade) O’Reilly, Rachel (Farrell) Niall, Sean O’Neill, Susan (Crosbie) Creed, Heather Checkett

Julian Anderson: Lives and works in Chichester, UK, he is managing director at Anderson Oak Design, married to Zoe and they have two daughters. Ian Tyrell: Living with his wife and three children in Dungarvan. Keith Ashmore: Was living in Dublin with wife Jennifer and daughter, he is still flying

cargo all around the world and may be relocating. Ken Baldwin: Working as a supervisor at a medical equipment business in Clonmel. He married Sandra in 1994, they have 2 sons and live in Tramore. Anna Hunt: Went back to college and trained as a midwife, still living in Tramore with her 4 children.

www.campwaterford.com

Edmund Burke: In America, has recently qualified to compete in the 2018 Boston Marathon. He and his father had great fun watching the All Ireland and Waterford winning! Morten Tandel: Living and working in Oslo, Norway, travelled over last time for the reunion. Married to Lise (Hauger) and they have two daughters.

CUB

Eddie Ormonde: Working and living in Dublin, busy climbing Mont Blanc and skiing, will definitely make the 40-year reunion!

4 - 6 yrs

Dagmar (Hovel) KaHo: Married, working and living in Melhelm, since leaving Newtown school. Was sorry to miss the reunion.

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Orla Barry: Lives in Wexford with her partner and their herd of award winning sheep. She is also involved in the local dramatics society.

NEWTOWN REVIEW - NMFOSA Section

Rita Delahunt: Works with her husband Paul in their company in Sydney, Australia, she has three children and comes home to Ireland every now and then! Kai Reynolds: Living and working in at Micro Fidelio Gmbh in Neuss. Kevin Holt: Lives in Hamilton County, Ohio, married to Nancy, has one daughter Emily. Was in Ireland this year on retreat in Galway.

Jules (Phelan) Gibson: Married to Adam Gibson, were based in Sydney, Australia but currently travelling the world on miniretirement. June Ross: Living and working in Tullamore with her son Charlie. Working in the insurance business and still making trips to Tramore! Stephen Neill: Living and working in Celbridge as the local Church of Ireland Rector, with his wife Nicola and his son Arron. Richard Corcoran: Works at Liberty African Safaris in Nairobi, Kenya. He is married to Annie, they have a son and daughter. Kai Reynolds: Living and working in at Micro Fidelio Gmbh in Neuss. Jeff Pim: Was living in Italy but might have moved back to the UK with his wife, works with EFSA College and University. Renne (Flynn) Santosa: Married with two sons, currently living in London. Amanda Jolly: Living in Waterford with her partner and three children who have great involvement in the surfing world. Gail Johnson: Left Lennon’s in Carlow for the easy life in Tipperary! Busier than ever but enjoying life.

Brian Hadden: Married to Melonie. They have 4 children and are living in Tinahely. Larry Taylor: Living in Blackrock Dublin with his wife Orina and their two boys, he currently works at Oracle. Siobhan (Walsh) Popplewell: Married to Jason and living in Kildare with their two children. Founder and owner of Elf Media. Grace (Wills) Ball: Married and still living in Inistioge, Co Kilkenny with her husband Jeremy. Shane Goodbody: Director and part owner in the Good Spirts Co. which is based in Glasgow. David Bulbulia: Barrister at Law from Trinity. Living in Kildare with his wife Katherine and their kids, horses and dogs! Kate (De Bromhead) Thorpe: Married and living with her two daughters in Waterford. Recently started Thorpe Fiona (Jeffares) Rowell: Living in Hobart, Tasmania with her husband and their two girls. Still playing hockey! Works as a dietician in the local hospital. Vicki (Ashmore) Khan: Living in Carlow with her family. Finished at the Nationalist newspaper after 16 years and is now working at Ireland Sotheby’s International Realty.

daughter, visits home most years. Oriel (Woodbyrne) Shorten: When not organising Old Scholars is kept busy with the Kildare County Show. Sarah 20, working from home as nail technician and make-up artist. Robert, 23, working in O’Neill’s pub in Dublin. Paul still with Sweeney O’Rourke, over 30 years! Georgina Johnston: After four years of study she recently qualified with a BA Honours in Ceramics at LIT Limerick school of Art and Design. Debbie Hainbach: Living in Kilkenny with her son, kept busy working in the gardening business from home and in Dublin. Heather (McLachlan) Pomeroy: Married to Andrew and living in Dundrum with her two daughters. Still teaching in the local primary school. Valarie (Duke) Ford: Married and living in Cork, still in primary school teaching. Was at the last reunion. Interiors for interior designs. Sara (Somersett Webb) Kavanagh: Living with her husband Morgan and their four children in Borris House. Kept busy with weddings in the fantastic setting of the house. Great recent TV appearance on RTÉ.

1986 Tiglin: Shane Goodbody, Kate De Bromhead, Brian O’Rourke, Paul Duffy, Heather Checkett, Patrick Shelly, Rachel Hodkinson, Sharon Murray, Gail Johnson, Larry Taylor, Sara Somersett Webb, Billy Watson

playing soft ball and running marathons.

Dominic. Still cooking and busier than ever.

Patrick Shelley: After the amazing launch of Kalak vodka he is now going on to introduce the second range of peat cast Kalak this year. Well done.

Michael Thompson: Busy as ever in the undertaking business and watching local football.

Paul Duffy: Married to Christina and living in Wexford with their twins. Shay Livingston: Left the hotel business in Galway and has gone out on his own working in sports management. Working with up-and-coming stars in all sports. His son is probably top of the list. Christopher Fitzmaurice: Married and working in the Grandville Hotel in Waterford, his daughter has started in Newtown school.

Alexis Bernstroff: Living in Kilkenny and still involved in Ros Tapestry. Launched her own range of knitwear, Alexxi Design in Dublin.

Rachel (Hodkinson) Davis: Married to Trevor, kept busy with kids Bethan and Robert. She recently left the BBC and got a MA in Northumbria University. Is still involved in book and local restoration.

Kevin Jephson: Married to Sheila (Quinn) and they have a son and daughter. Still working in the family business in Ardkeen Super Store.

Sacha Whelan: Married and living in Cork, still making furniture while working in Ballymaloe and teaching his son to drive.

Brian O’Rourke: Is on twitter, was in Suffolk for 10 years and then moved to a private stud farm in Yorkshire just over a year ago.

Alla Kerzzo: Currently living and working in the Middle East in Kuwaiti where the temperature is 47c. Great catch-up at Christmas.

Desmond Kilroy: Still living in London. Was working with the Liberal democrats, involved with politics!

Sheena Bailey: Married and living in Dublin with daughter and two sons, still working full-time.

Stephen Ralph: Married to Tracy and has twin boy and girl, currently working and living in Swords when not

Suzie (Nielsen) Mc Cully: Travelled over for the reunion leaving hubby in charge of the school runs! Well done

Sharon (Murray) Amato: Living in Italy with her husband Lino, son and

Rachel (Farrell) Niall: Married and has a 2-yearold daughter, still at work in Arthur Cox Solicitors.

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s Meade: Based in Waterford, kept busy with school runs and committees! Eoghan O’Donoghue: Married to Noelle, they have a son and daughter, both busy golfers. Heather Checkett: Nursing in Vincent’s Hospital and managing a busy family life while still staying young at heart. Susan (Crosbie) Creed: Living and working in Dublin with husband Ken and their two boys. Michael Quinn: Congrats on your recent marriage to old scholar Jessie Statham and all your TV appearances. Keep up the magnificent work. Jo Chegy: Currently living in England.

No news or whereabouts of Nickie Beirne, Reginald Blanchford, Ronan Butler, Michael Daniels, Elizabeth Power, Johanne Rothwell, Lester Rothwell, Billy Watson, Herald King, Maeve Hart, Eileen Hearne and Rebecca Hughes.

NEWTOWN REVIEW - NMFOSA Section

CLASS OF 1982 Caroline Davies: Living and working in Ascot, Berkshire England. Racecourse Services Director at the RCA, the trade association for race courses. Never a dull day working with our . Emer Fogarty: Winters with the ageless ski bums of St Anton. She moonlights as financial controller for her GP partner, Peter. She reached this pinnacle via countless years travelling in the war zones of the world for various charities. This was preceded by a spell in hospitality, in Paris. Rosemarie O’Brien (Clancy): Married to Michael; mother to sons, Tim, Hugh, Chris and daughter Alice, living in Co. Wicklow. Purchasing Manager in a French Pharma company in Arklow. Enjoys work, rest and play (and of course the odd glass of vino, and catching up with old friends!) Deirdre Jacob: Living in for 21 years.

Married with 2 kids, 16 & 18 years old. Self employed for the past 10 years running her own company, teaching English – particularly business English. Loves the continental weather and still gets a kick out of al fresco summers and clearing paths from snow come winter. Sean O’Connell: Currently living on Isle of Man. One daughter Jessie. Poker Manager with online company 138.com. Founder member and Chairman of Isle of Man Underwater Search and Recovery Team. Ex-Garda Diver, UN Police Monitor,Titanic Expedition member in 2000. Naomi Stapleton (Duffy): Still living in Greenane, Co. Wicklow and still married to Richard! Four fabulous grown-up kids who are almost off the books, and one gorgeous granddaughter, Robyn, almost 3! Playing lots of golf, busy as Lady Captain of Woodenbridge Golf Club this year!

Dooley’s is a 3* family owned and managed hotel located in the heart of Ireland’s oldest City, minutes walk from the main shopping, cultural and business centre Adventure awaits you on the Waterford Greenway – 46 km of stunning countryside to discover on foot or by bicycle Special family and corporate packages available to stay at Dooley’s

Dooley’s Hotel, The Quay, Waterford, Ireland Phone: +353 (0) 51 873 531 / Fax: +353 (0) 51 870 262 Email: [email protected]

www.dooleys-hotel.ie 24 hour bookings online

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NEWTOWN REVIEW - NMFOSA Section

Back Row L-R Ruan McGloughlin, Naomi (Duffy) Stapleton, Charlie Cowdy, Helena Kingston, Rosemarie (Clancy) O'Brien Front Row L-R Emer Fogarty, Hendrik de Booij, Rachel Power, Jacqui Sheridan, Stephen Leslie, Des Keatinge

Joni Hudson: Still living in California in the heart of Silicon Valley working for PWC. Eldest son, Zach, just graduated from law school and is preparing for the bar exam. Middle son, Michael, is still playing college level baseball … still chasing his dream. Youngest, Andy is

graduating from high school in mid June, and then is heading to the US Marine Corps in August. Very proud Mom all around. Now just needs to win the lottery so she can go “home” to Ireland regularly! Did enjoy a lovely visit in San Francisco with Naomi! Great fun!

CLASS OF 1992 Jonas van der Pol: Living in paradise in New Zealand and making lots of wine for the world. Married no kids. Breeds Dachshunds for fun. Christian van den Bøsch: Working in renewable energy research in Cork. Partner, no kids, but accumulating cats as always. Can often be found in Ireland or abroad officiating at roller derby games. Susan Steele: Chair and CEO of Sea Fisheries protection authority, seven kids, lots of running! Martina Diegmann: Living in Greystones with my partner and my 2 boys! Teaching Business German and Spanish around Wicklow and South Dublin. Just started teaching Spanish at primary level too! Astrid Pollmeier: HR Director and living in Dunhill with my beautiful daughter who is doing Leaving Cert. Roll on the day it’s over! Plan on kipping on her couch regularly

in Cork when hopefully she gets there! David Bray: Left the corporate world after 20 years, now living in Brazil with the family on our farm and running a business sourcing and exporting green coffee beans to independent roasters in Europe and US. Dee Leonard: Enjoying life in Wexford town, working as a dental hygienist in private practice. Spare time spent running around after my 2 girls and 2 crazy Jack Russells! Lorna Ross: Living in Sydney with my husband and two daughters. Working as a Nursing Unit Manager. Rachel Corrigan: Living in East Gippsland, Victoria, Australia with my husband and two children. Working for the East Gippsland Shire at the Theatre & Arts Centre. Derek Coad: Living in Waterford, married and

Back row L-R Derek Coad, Michael Widger, Rebecca Reynolds, Annabel O’Keeffe, William Deacon, Ken Murphy. Front Row L-R Sarah (Grubb) Furno, Astrid Pollmeier, Susan (Neil), Wilkinson, Gilly Clarke, Susan Steele, Grainne O’Driscoll

raising my 2 sons, both in Waterpark. Working as a co-ordinator for Sanofi Bio Pharma in Waterford. Marina Watt: Living in Spain 23 years now, very happy. I have a corporate event business and my daughter which both happily keep me busy! Lloyd Murray: Living in sunny Wexford. Married with one boy ‘Louis’, 3 dogs, 3 goldfish and a cat. Working as a data centre engineer for Oath: If I’m not with my family, I’m swimming, walking my dogs or at a music festival (once all at the same time). Sarah Hauer: Living in with hubby and 3 boys. Feeling thankful and lucky! Joan Power: Living and working in the south-east of Ireland. 3 beautiful children.

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Sarah Furno (nee Grubb): 3 kids and 1 great husband. Immersed in a world of cheese. Susan Wilkinson (Neill): Living in Delgany with three kids and wonderful husband. Couldn’t be happier! Gilly Clarke: Living in Dublin with husband Willie and 3 kids (ages 13, 11 and 6). Working at the Royal Irish Academy.

business ‘Grá For Fitness’ and hasn’t looked back since. She teaches Pilates and Yoga putting folk through their paces with personal training. Nathan Loftus: Living the dream in Ardkeen Village, Waterford. Aoife Day (Fitzgerald): I’m living in Dunmore East with my husband and 2 kids and I continue to run the family menswear clothing business. Dominique Ellickson: I’m living in Dublin, married 7 years, run my own creative company and manage a band! Caroline Cherry: Living in Dublin, working for Accenture, married to Daniel with two sons. Treasa Cox: Living in Dublin. Working for Sailing Ireland, married to Rory with two children. Michael O’Connell: Living in Australia with wife Aoife and kids, working for KPMG. Thurston Pim: Has a fitness business in California. Rebecca Reynolds: OMG! Living in Wexford with partner Ben and 22 year-old son Ben. Marta Sanz: Married and living in Mallorca, working in marketing and has two daughters.

Ken Murphy: Dairy farming near Carrick-on-Suir. Sorcha and Ken have three-year-old boy Finn.

Michael Widger: Farming and Agricultural contracting near Waterford. Married with kids.

Grainne O’Driscoll: Based in Sandymount in Dublin, left her job in advertising in 2016 to start her own fitness

Tanya Schwarz (Faeste): Married to Pete, two kids, living in upstate New York, USA.

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CLASS OF 1997

Back row L-R Graham Murphy, Barry McConnell, Roisin (Deegan) Scanlon, Emily (Musgrave) O’Donoghue, Julian Canny, Anna Quirke, Janice (Warren) Deacon, Sarah Jane (Delahunty) Jackson, Gail Clarke, Nicky Statham. Front row L-R Becci Harrison, Nathalie (Murphy) McConnell, Trudy (Kellett) Carlile, Ross Orr, Ian Fewer, Phoebe Hadden, Stephanie Flinders, Emma (Martin) Sharp

Graham Murphy: Married to Sinead with two girls, living in Enniscorthy running Murphys Cash and Carry. Roisin Scanlon (Deegan): Married with a son, living and teaching in Carlow.

(class of 1997) and their 2 daughters. She works in House of Waterford Crystal. Trudy Carlile (Kellett): Working in Dublin and is married with a daughter.

Julian Canny: Married and living in Dublin.

Ross Orr: Living in Waterford with his partner and their 2 children.

Anna Quirke: Living in Clonakilty with her partner Lee and has two children, works as a nurse.

Ian Fewer: Works as an architect and lives in Waterford with his wife and children.

Janice Deacon (Warren): Janice and her husband Jonny run Clonmore farm in Bree, Co. Wexford and they have a son and daughter.

Phoebe Hadden: Living in Cork with her husband and two children.

Sarah Jane Jackson (nee Delahunty): Living in Dunmore East having returned from New Zealand with her husband and two children. Gail Clarke: Lives in Midleton with her husband Brian and their two daughters. Owns Driscoll Kitchen.

department store Fishers of Newtownmountkennedy and Food Cafe. She is also Chair of the Advisory Council of Network Ireland – Ireland’s leading organization for women in business, the professions and the arts. Emily O’Donoghue: Married to Chris O’Donoghue (Class of 1996). Living in Cork having recently moved back

from London with two little girls aged 6 & 3. Emily owns The Coach House, Douglas, a two-bedroomed cottage/ guest house for rent in Cork. Barry McConnell: Married to old scholar Nathalie (nee Murphy) class of 1997 living in Waterford with their two girls. Sales manager at McConnells Toyota.

Stephanie Flinders: Works as a midwife. Emma Sharp (Martin): Lives in Scotland with her husband Byron and their two children. She works with the NHS. Polly Egerton: Married to Christian, just returned to Dublin from Egypt, working with the UN world food program.

Nicky Statham: Lives in Cork, works for Horizon. He is married to Louise (Class of 2002). They have a daughter and son.

Mory Cunningham: Married to Matt with two sons. Living in Athens and working for World Vision.

Nathalie McConnell (Murphy): Lives in Waterford with her husband Barry

Becci Harrison: Lives in Co. Wicklow with her daughter Emily and runs 9

NEWTOWN REVIEW - NMFOSA Section

CLASS OF 1977 Blake Böhm, Claire: Living in and likes it a lot. Both children have fledged, one in Munich, the other in Hong Kong. Currently she continues to teach English one-on-one in various businesses, while restoring old stone houses and letting them. Thinking of training as a health coach because so many friends seem to be ageing poorly. Her ions in life are her husband, glorious architecture, being in nature, health and healing, gardening. Boal (Jermyn), Fiona: Living in North Down for last 20 years with second husband Darryl. Son, Kim 26, living in Melbourne Australia. Daughter Holly, 17, doing A levels, and competing with Eventing Ireland on her horse, Aero. Having been self employed most of her life, she is now taking it easy, and working part time in a bakery. This leaves her much needed free time to drive around the country with her daughter and horse. She also travels to SE Asia with my husband. Boyd, Roger: Still living in Ballinglen, Wicklow, dairy farming. Married to Helen, two kids, Stuart and Emma. De Montfort, Tara: Lives in Cork, and works from home for a workplace consultancy. She travels when she can with particular emphasis on Africa. She also lived in South Africa for a year, working in one of the National Parks. She is in an active member of a large 4 part choir in Cork, also involved with the Everyman Theatre, and her local Tidy Towns group. She has recently enjoyed catching up with old Newtown pals via Facebook, and also face-toface! Jordan, Mary: Retired from her career in the airline industry (American Airlines, Canadian Airlines, Air Canada) in 2007 and is living in Vancouver and Whistler, BC. Still working, serving on a number of corporate boards of directors (including as Chair of the Board of Vancouver International Airport) and involved in 10

volunteer activities in the community. Her ion is spending as much time outdoors as possible–skiing, hiking and road cycling with my wonderful partner Cameron. If any of my Newtown classmates finds themselves in this part of the world, I would love to see them! Farrelly (Pollard), Alison: Lives in Perth, Western Australia and works part time at the WA Kirkbride Melanoma Advisory Service. She is proud parent of Luke (28) and Lizzie (26). Would be delighted to see any Class of ‘77 who might through Perth. Alyn, Fenn: Living in Schull. Husband and 3 sons, one grandson, another grandchild due in July 2018. Work is painting, writing, and voluntary work with Citizens Information Service, and Schull Community Care. Gurnee, Anthony: Back in Ireland for the past 12 years, living the life in West Waterford with Marianne, close by Villierstown; three grown children Alex, Erica and Katie, all Newtown old scholars; still working in Cork City for a shipping company, and hoping to get off the treill sometime soon! Hall, Michael: Living in Southern California, working for a company that specialises in DNA sequencing; married with five children, one still at home, the rest either in college, or working. Two grandchildren. Finishing up a master’s in building sustainable communities, and hoping to get involved in this either at retirement, or as a late-career change. Plays bass-guitar in a church band. Hall, Sandra: Living in Arklow, Co Wicklow. Working in Job Activation (Supervisor) with Arklow Tidy Towns CE scheme. Part-time working as a Celebrant. 2 adult sons, both working in Dublin. Harrison, Richard: Currently enjoying the quiet life

NEWTOWN REVIEW - NMFOSA Section

Back Row L-R John Reihill, Tony Gurnee, Fred van der Puil, Sean MacLachlan, Chris Chedgey, Stuart Dagg, Laura (Roche Perks) Griffith, Trevor Helen, Ian Pim. Front Row L-R Roger Boyd, Oliver Mosse, Eva Swanton, Siobhan Milliken, Robert (Jinx) O’Neill, Paddy Sawyer, Sue Henderson, Richard Harrison, Stuart McBain

of Unionhall, West Cork. Walking, cycling, swimming to try and slow the ravages of age! Involved in Glandore Harbour Yacht Club and regularly takes the Rib over to Castletownshend for a spot of lunch. Keeps in regular with some of the class thru’ WhatsApp. Trevor Helen: Works for the local Dairymaster dealer, fitting and maintaining milking machines; farming in Foulksmills. Married to Georgina, who teaches children with special needs, in Wexford. They have two sons, Lloyd, an Architect, working in London, and Howard working with a marketing and business company, in New York. Both sons Lloyd and Howard attended Newtown School. Henderson, Sue: Living between Dunmore East and Castlebellingham, Co Louth. Working as a Special Needs Assistant, in St Angela’s Ursuline Secondary School, in Waterford. Two daughters: Emma, working as an equine vet, in Co Meath; Roisin, a Speech and Language Therapist, working for the NHS, in Carlisle. Continuing to enjoy singing with local ladies choir in Waterford, Voci; fulfilled her ‘bucket list’ wish to sing in the Messiah last Christmas, with Notable Works Choir. Hennessy, Valerie: Living in US (California). Maintaining an almost perpetual facepalm due to the current istration here. Two children attending University, also in California. Luce, Alice: Now lives in Dublin with her husband Greg and teenage children André and Tania, after 20 years living abroad. She

worked in editing, politics and translation in South Africa, Sweden, Scotland and . She teaches piano part-time. MacLachlan, Sean: Still flying and instructing on the A380 for Emirates, 31 years at the end of this month, hoping to come back to Ireland next Spring. Son, Hunter, qualified as a Commercial Pilot last December, at home while looking for a job. Daughter Scarlett graduated last June from Cardiff (NSW class of 2012 and 2013 respectively ). Milliken, Siobhan: Lives in Shankill, retired 2017 after 40 years of nursing, was Assistant Director of Nursing, in St Vincent’s Hospital, mostly cardiac specialty. Son (Andrew, 31 years old) lives in Malaysia. ed the local tennis club where he plays league matches; plans to spend more time in the garden, do some travelling and enjoy having time to catch up with friends. Milne, Ida: Is a disease historian, working on the 1918-19 influenza pandemic in Ireland, and on infectious diseases of childhood. She is mother to Connie and Síofra. She lives in Straffan and Belfast. Her book, ‘Stacking the Coffins: Influenza, War and Revolution in Ireland, 1918-19’ has recently been published by Manchester University Press. Moore (Davis), Sue: Still living in Sydney with her husband Nic, son Michael, and little black Spoodle, Molly. Michael will finish school this year and move on to the next chapter of his life. Still organising events and conferences – mostly in Sydney, but hoping for an international conference to

organise! Learning Spanish, with the dream to spend an extended time in Spain, over the next couple of years. Hope to get to another reunion sometime. McBain, Stuart: Living in Shankill, County Dublin, working as a Senior Manager with vehicle leasing company, Hertz Lease, based in Dublin (owned by the Sheridan Motor Group, in Waterford). Married to Hilary, a Primary School Principal, in Kill O’ The Grange National School in Deansgrange, Co Dublin. Still very involved in Motorcycle touring and Freemasonry in Wicklow and Wexford. Son, Cameron, is recently qualified Civil Engineer with Aecom, in Dunlaoghaire. Daughter, Juliette is in second year at TCD, studying French and Film Studies. Hilary is involved with Mellon Educate in her own time travelling to South Africa to mentor and train teachers there. Mosse, Oliver: Horticulturist, living in Dublin. O’Neill, Robert (Jinx): Self employed potter in Bunratty Castle, County Clare. Lives in Clonlara, County Clare with long-time partner Pauline. Their three boys have left the nest; they spend spare time immersed in nature. O’Sullivan nee Malcolm, Audrey: Married with 3 children living near Macroom Co Cork. Pursuing an neverending interest in horses! Owens, Rosemary: Married and living in Kilternan. Working as a legal executive in Dun Laoghaire. Pim, Ivan: Living in the UK, working across many countries. Trying to get an amateur astronomy project to come together – should be this year. O’Conor, Kieran: Lectures in medieval archaeology, at NUI Galway; lives in North Roscommon. He spent much of the academic year 2017-18 on a lecture tour of America and Canada, invited by the Archaeological Institute of America. Kieran

is married to Karena, who is Head of Conservation at the National Museum of Ireland. They have two boys, both of whom boarded at Newtown. Springer Spaniels are also an important part of his life. Reihill, John: Returned to Dublin from London, living in Sandymount and is a business consultant. Three kids 26, 24, 20. Meets up with Vincent Nolan and Kieran O’Conor, from time to time. Sawyer, Paddy: Living in Tramore and still rugby mad - Munster Abú! 5 kids at present, and 1 on the way in April. He’s a medical engineer, and has been with the same company for years! His little people keep him busy! Gerald Smyth: Lives in Japan with wife, Junko. He worked 26 years at Nippon Shinyaku Co., Ltd, the last 20 years at the research institute in Tsukuba. Daughters Juliet (25) and Michelle (23) work in Tokyo, and Rachel (21) is at university in Taiwan. In his spare time he has been translating old Japanese books on Korean pottery into English.

Ireland, and as sports coach in Loreto Abbey, Dalkey. Still playing hockey and represents Ireland, on the Over55 squad. Three children, and two grandchildren. Daughter, Ciara lives in Australia with her Aussie husband and 2 children. Simon is hockey in Holy Child Killiney, and studies in UCD. Daniel graduated in 2017 and works in Lisbon as a translator. Thorp, Nicolette: Worked as an Enrolled Nurse and as Occupational Therapist, running her own business. In the Aged Care sector for fifteen years before selling the business two years ago, now semi retired. Married (for 28 yrs) to husband John, have two children Mark 25 yrs (recently married) and Phoebe 23 yrs. Lives in Hamilton Hill and has a hobby farm, out in the West Dale/ Brookton area, which is well-loved, keeps them very occupied with their sheep, and a few horses. (Nicolette and her brother, John Thorp, both reluctantly and sadly left Newtown in the latter half

of 1970 to live in Perth. She was boarder at Newtown for one year, and loved her time there). Torrie, Shelagh: Living in Montreux, Switzerland, recently became a Swiss Citizen. Head of Studies at Institute Monte Rosa. Love the mountains, snow and lake. van der Puil, Fred: Married in 1986 to Elizabeth Nicholson (Liz), moved to The Netherlands in 1989 with two very young children and a promise to return within 3 years. Now they have four children, Jessica, Adam, Roxanne and Ross (all fledged). Still married, still in the Netherlands. He is a Marine Insurance broker, and partner in a firm established in 2006. Zaska,Thomas: I am still living in Weilheim, Bavaria. Wife Birgit and kids Fiona, Fabian and Lena are doing well, and are living either here in Weilheim, and in nearby Munich. Still runs his travel agency, Santana Travel, specialising in trips to Latin America.

Spain, Tamsin: Lives with her partner Paul in Leeds, Yorkshire; self-employed, and semi-retired. Last full-time job was managing a new website for Northern School of Contemporary Dance. Their main leisure activities are rock climbing, walking and mountaineering. Sutton, Gerry: Gerry lives with his family in Crosshaven, Co. Cork where they enjoy local sailing, with an occasional trip “down west”, coastal walking, and the odd day sunbathing at the beach. At work he is involved in various strands of marine related research at the MaREI centre in Ringaskiddy, a part of University College Cork. Projects include mapping the seabed, marine renewable energy. Recently he started to investigate how mussels can be farmed in deeper waters round our shores. Thornton, West: Works as fraud manager for Insurance

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CLASS OF 2007 James Frisby: Went to Ballymaloe after school and followed that with a ski season. Lived in NY for a year and returned 4 years ago to set up a house building company based in Waterford and Dublin. Ellen Cunningham: I live and work in Cork with my boyfriend Paul, I'm currently doing a part-time degree in HR. I've travelled a good bit since school and hope to do a bit more travel in the next few years. Karl Smith Byrne: Is currently a post-doctoral fellow at the International agency for research on cancer the branch of the United Nations that investigates the screening, prevention, and cure. Focusing mainly on the genetic and biomarker driver for cancer risk with a view to building a blood test that might be used in the future to detect and cure cancers earlier. Niall Tuohy: took a scenic route through college taking in sport science, Chinese medical acupuncture and has just finished a graduate medicine degree at UL and begins work this summer. Still loves a good run, although has slowed a little in recent years. Jamie Leptein: Following stints in Dublin, London and New York, Jamie has settled in Istanbul, where he is juggling a combination of teaching English and freelance writing. Billy Fitzherbert: After graduating from Edinburgh university Billy moved to Istanbul, Turkey where he lives still. He helps manage the Middle East desk of an international economy focused publication. One day he'll move home to Ireland once the cards fall right. Shivaun Ryan: Currently living in Melbourne, Australia, still following Waterford hurling, playing hockey for St. Kilda, working in IT and generally living the dream!

Back Row L-R: Frank Sanderson (husband to Aine), Jamie Leptein, Robbie Blake, Ian Goggin, Lloyd Helen, Liam Godinho, Sophie Herron, Billy Fitzherbert, Orlando Fitzgerald, Megan O’Neill, Kirstie Gaynor. Middle Row: Glen Deacon, Peter Richardson, Michael Ward (Class of 2008), Patrick Rochford, Maud Ragonnaud, John Davis, Andres Zarabozo, Aoife Hendrick, Ruby Boyce, Jennifer Bradish, Miriam Kiersey, James McCann, Front Row: Jack Kennedy, Rion O Farrell Walsh, Aine (McNamara), Sanderson, Luisa Von Silva Tarouca, Ellen Cunningham, James Frisby, Colin O Shea, Niall Tuohy, Richard Dunne, Shane Poole

Get home for a large bottle of Clonmel champagne at least once a year!

married in July. Still slogging away on the rugby pitch with Enniscorthy. Wilde!

Phil Murtagh: Went for a degree in computer forensics straight after Newtown but realised he would never shake his albino-like skin tone behind a desk 8 hour a day. So, has gone for a career change and is preparing for his internship at Munster Rugby as a S&C coach.

Robbie Blake: Since Newtown, Robbie has focussed on artistic pursuits in the performing arts and music, working as a performer and composer for theatre, dance and opera. Robbie's collaborators include Theatre Replacement - a Canadian theatre company - on a show called Town Choir, which is currently touring.

Luisa Von Silva: After successfully ruining the Greek economy while living there Luisa is now in Munich where she completed medical studies, opened her own company managing doctors’ offices and drinks all the local beer! Lloyd Helen: went on to study architecture at University College Dublin, graduating in 2013. Since then he has practiced internationally and is currently based in London. Maud Ragonnaud: Completed a BSc in food science and an MSc in nutrition. Worked in LA, Melbourne and now London with a food redistribution charity. Richie Dunne: Living and working in Dublin. Getting

Paddy Rochford: After Newtown, inspired by Gerry Hanlon and the fall of Constantinople in 1453, I studied history at Trinity College Dublin. However shortly after I sold out to the business world and can now be found in London selling clicks and dreams at Google. Anemone Von Blomberg: first did a bachelor’s in international business, then decided to do medicine and is currently in her final year doing a placement in traumatology in Guadeloupe, . Jack Kennedy: For the past 10 years Jack has been combining education and travel which has taken 13

him across the continents. Having recently finished his ing and tax exams he decided to celebrate by setting up a hostel in Bolivia where he currently lives and works. Peter “Yogi” Richardson: Is still smarter than the average bear. Murray Kinsella: pursued his interests in both rugby and journalism after Newtown. Miriam Kiersey: has been a busy woman since school including being crowned the princess of dairy farming and is still assessing who in Ireland has the most road frontage Colin O’Shea: After spending a number of years working for a property firm in Dublin, Colin is currently on a career break travelling in South America. Don’t be surprised if you see this guy running for Mayor of Waterford as he still loves his networking. Aine McNamara: Currently based in London and working in Interior Design, married Frank in 2016 after meeting at Trinity College, Dublin - tries to get back to Ireland as often as possible!

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CLASS OF 2002 Tom Gems: After 4 years of computer science degree, he set about building a 12 -year long Sushi Business, Gems Sushi, supplying over 30 cafes and supermarkets, he then decided on a career change and now sells Coffee (Gems Coffee) to thirsty patrons. Enjoys sailing the summer and snowboarding in the winter. Often found atop a horse in rural west cork. Jon-Laurence Kickham: Completed a BA in ing and HRM after leaving Newtown. Whilst in College he ed the Naval Reserve, which lead to ing the Permanent Defense Forces. Completing a Cadetship and BSc in Nautical Science he received his commission and progressing through the Officer ranks, Lieutenant Kickham now services as Executive Officer and 2nd in Command of Lè Ciara. Lydia Daniels: received a BSc in sports rehabilitation from Carlow IT and went on to complete an MSc in Physiotherapy in Aberdeen. Worked as a physiotherapist in Nottingham and New Zealand before returning to Ireland. Currently working in Wexford with her first child; Caleb! Robert Shaw: After graduating with a Masters in electronic engineering, Rob moved to the UK where he worked on Ford vehicle development. In 2015 he moved to where he currently lives with his wife, he leads a small team working on electronics for Mercedes vehicles despite struggling to learn German.

Back row L-R: Jon-Laurence Kickham, Tom Gems, Tom Maxwell, Michael Grant, Brendan Power, Mark Fairman, Henry Dunne, Carl Giffney. Front row L-R: Eoghan O’Sullivan, Lucy Rowell, Lydia Daniels, Joanne Kennington, Sarah-Jane Donnelly, Mary Dobbs, Louise Musgrave

and pain management specialist. Currently on leave following the birth of our little wonder Emily Genevieve. Lena Crummenerl: After years full of travels and studies abroad, Lena currently lives in NorthrhineWestfalia, , with her husband and daughter. She became a biologist and is still a big nature-enthusiast with an extremely diverse fruit and vegetable cultivation on her balcony. Louise Statham (née Musgrave): Graduated from UCD with a BA Hons and then went on to do a CIDESCO qualification in Beauty Therapy with Bronwyn Conroy. Louise had a varied career in Beauty, then as a recruitment consultant, a PA to Finance Director and

a team of 80+ in PepsiCo before choosing her final vocation as a busy stay-athome Mum to 2 kids! Based in Cork and married to fellow Newtowner Nick Statham. Joanne Kennington: Moved back last July from living in Australia for nine years. Was working as an emergency nurse but since moving back is working as theatre nurse. Living in Annestown. Currently pregnant and has a 2-year-old daughter, Evie. Lauren Murphy: is a news anchor in Colorado. She married her husband in Kenmare in 2013 and is now mom to two little girls (Elle, going on 3 & Claire Daisy, 5 months). Heather Darlington: Living and working in Dublin in the

Corporate HR space, has two beautiful children and is loving life! Diana Muntion Villate: Ended studies at University in 2005 and is now working as physiotherapist. Since 2007, she has her own physio and rehab clinic in a small city where she grew up. Married in 2011 and in 2016 her son was born. Kyle Rothwell: Lives in Delgany, Co Wicklow with my wife Kirsty and our daughter Lucy who has just turned 1. I work in Capital Markets in CBRE Dublin as an executive director (I basically buy and sell commercial property!). Mark Fairman: Studied European Studies in UL. Lived in Granada Spain for 6 years. Now I coach MMA and

Fiona O’Neill: Has been living in Australia for the past 8 years, recently moved home to Ireland where she works in corporate human resources. Henry Dunne: Is working at home on the family dairy farm. Married with 3 beautiful children. Sarah Cullen: Living in the UK, working as a rehabilitation case manager 14

Class of 2002: L-R: Tom Gems, Jon-Laurence Kickham, Carl Giffney, Lydia Daniels, Sarah-Jane Donnelly, Tom Maxwell, Louise Musgrave, Mary Dobbs

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work in finance, making my way through my professional ing exams. Living in Dublin and recently engaged. Ian Hemingway: Married Fiona Bradish (class of 2005) in June 2017, living in Booterstown, Dublin. Currently enjoying many minireunions with Newtowners every few months at weddings. Sarah-Jane Donnelly: Recently moved back to Waterford from Dublin with her husband and bought a house in Dunmore East. They welcomed a baby boy last year called Harrison. She is working on the events team for TV3. Henrietta Gaunt (MüllerSchönau): After an apprenticeship in wholesale

and foreign trade in Hamburg Henriette was offered a job as a fertiliser commodity trader in Tasmania, Australia where she lived for 2 years before moving to Melbourne. Returned to Hamburg in 2011, completed a bachelor’s degree in shipping, trade and transportation then worked as a ship broker. In 2013 she moved back to Melbourne where she is now married with a daughter born in 2017, another baby on the way. Katharina (Kallee) Bollongino: Recently moved back to Düsseldorf from Hamburg with her husband. They welcomed their first child in 2017, Helena. Now working for the Spanish fashion company, Inditex, in charge of the German real estate expansion of Zara & Co.

Class of 1957: Peter Varian, Weldon (Don) Tarleton, Patrick Glanville, Dermot Mullane, Esther Langley, Alan Pim and Geoff Coad

Camp at Caragh Lake, late 1960’s: Names so far and open to correction! Trevor Shaw, Ken Shepard, Brian Harte, Don Tarleton, Dick Fletcher, Doris, Ann Barrett, Hilary Tarleton, Derek Harte

Class of 1972: Back Row L-R Cora (nee Sinte Maartenddyjk) Corrigan, Philip Mears, Michael Quane, David Corrigan. Front Row L-R Peter Johnson, Joan and Roger Johnson , Claire (nee Bewley) Fitzherbert

Tree Planting (after Sunday lunch)

Class of 1977: Stuart Dagg and Trevor Helen

Class of 2007: Back Row: L-R Glen Deacon, James Frisby, Orlando Fitzgerald, Jack Kennedy,

Class of 1957: Esther Langley and Paddy Grandville

Patrick Rochford, John Davis, Andres Zarabozo, Ian Goggin, Middle: Aoife Hendrick, Kirstie Gaynor, Megan O Neill, Miriam Kiersey, Ellen Cunningham, Maud Ragonnaud, Rion O Farrell Walsh, Robbie Blake, Sophie Herron. Front: Billy Fitzherbert, Richard Dunne, Shane Poole, Lloyd Helen, Liam Godinho

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NEW HOCKEY PITCH UPDATE In last year’s magazine I wrote about the tremendous success of the new TigerTurf hockey surface at Newtown. I wrote about the positive effects on both school and club hockey and also referred to financial aspects. I’d like now to give an update on school hockey, as I see it. I am glad (perhaps relieved would be more accurate!) to record that the full cost has now been covered, so that it was a ‘cost neutral’ project for the school. I would like, once again, to thank all those individuals, Trust Fund and groups, including the Waterford Hockey Club, the Old Scholars’ Association, the Bewley Foundation and the Mountmellick Trust, who contributed so generously. I will not name individuals (you will know yourselves!) except for a generous legacy from Joyce Pearson. THANK YOU ONE AND ALL. Last year I had indicated our

income was several thousand euro short of our costs and also that we needed, approximately, an additional €9,000 for dug-outs to finish the project properly. Subsequent to s made at the Old Scholars’ weekend two generous Old Scholars donated €3,500, and two Trust Funds also donated a further €14,000. Bingo! Mission achieved through this great generosity. Thanks again. On-field successes, achievements and advances have been many. Some say that this is due to the pitch; however, I believe it is because the new pitch coincided with an upsurge of individual talent and enthusiasm at Newtown, which the coaches have harnessed, and the pitch has facilitated. In girls’ hockey there is the (wonderful) problem of hugely increasing numbers wanting to play. Field space and coaches are being

Harry McCarthy, Ben Johnson, Ben Mc Inerney and Ian Balding

Roger Johnson in the newly acquired dug-out

stretched! Six different agegroup teams were playing both league and cup hockey in the South-East. At inter-provincial level two girls were chosen on the S.E. Teams – congratulations Aoife Treacy (under 18) and Rachel Shute (under 16). On the recently created S.E. development squads, three girls are on the 1st year, and five on the under-16 squads. This hopefully makes the future look rosy – well done girls! In boys’ hockey there have been many successes and achievements. The Senior team qualified for the AllIreland tournament (first time for many years). At the tournament they beat 2 and drew with 1 Ulster side, their only defeat being 2-4 against the eventual tournament winners, St Andrews. Sadly, they were beaten for the 2nd consecutive time in the Munster Senior final by a single goal, after extra time, by Villiers; hopefully 3rd time lucky next year? It was good to see three Junior boys win the Munster cup final with a 3-0 win over Ashton. At representative level there have been four Irish internationals – two at under-18, and two at under-16 17

levels, with matches in South Africa and so far, with 6-Nation tournaments in July in Spain and Cork. At inter-provincial level three boys played under-18, and two boys played under-16 for Munster last season. In addition, BOTH CAPTAINS were from Newtown. I think this is a ‘first’! Well done Ben Johnson and Ian Balding – and also Harry McCarthy, Ethan McInerney and Ben McInerney, the other . Currently there are five under-18s and 4 under 16s on the training s for the Autumn tournament. Good luck all, and huge appreciation to the devoted staff and parents who this enormous endeavour – countless hours and miles travelled to ‘sessions’ for coaching. Finally, to the marvellous array of coaches that make all this happen on a daily basis, thank you for your time, effort and commitment. Keep it up and hopefully next year will be as good, if not better!

R.H.J. June 2018 Photos published courtesy of Leo Murphy

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OBITUARY: BRIAN SAMUEL PIM –Class of 1943 Brian Samuel Pim was born on the 11th June 1929-2nd May 2017

constitutes from the early seventies until the School Bicentenary 1998.

Brian was born in 1929. He went to Friends Lisburn School 1941-1942 and on then to Newtown School Waterford 1942-1943.

He went to Bootham School York, England in 1943-1947.

He served on the Newtown School Committee and Sub

ed family business W+R Jacob [later became Irish

Graduated at Trinity College Dublin in Civil Engineering.

Biscuits and worked for 40 years. One of the founding of the Irish Sub Aqua Club and became Honorary Treasurer. Married to Vivienne in July 1958 and had five children who all followed in his footsteps and attended Newtown.

Brian Pim

CLASS OF 1967...50 YEARS OUT

There were up to thirty of the class of ’67 between upper transition and sixth year with various comings and goings. We managed to twenty of these, in the event fifteen came along, not bad after 50 years. Although many of us have kept in touch over the years the stars of the show were Niall Maynard, who came over

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from the UK and Maurice Poole who arrived from Ferns. We had seen neither of them for almost all the fifty years. This proved to be a magical twenty-four hours with all the fun and banter that exists with old friends. It was agreed that we should not wait another ten years but planned to meet up again in five.

Left-right: Maurice Poole, Trevor Myles, Penny Hill, John Davey, Daphne Luce, Rachel Wigham, Rob Goodbody, Susan Luke, Michael Hilliard, Niall Maynard, Dianne Turner, Pam Biggar and Roger Bewley Missing from photo, Rosaleen Alexander and Liz Cumming

OBITUARY: CLIVE ALLEN–Class of 1963 Clive Allen, Class of 1963, Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford. With the recent death of Clive Allen–many in County Wexford and beyond have lost a valued friend and tireless er of a number of causes. The large number of people at the meeting house in Enniscorthy, and later at Friends burial ground, Blackrock, were a testament to the love and respect held for Clive in the community. An unsung hero, Clive helped countless people with his generosity, cheerful encouragement, and downto-earth wisdom. His faith was an essential part of this life. A committed Quaker, he was an active member of the Enniscorthy meeting and took regular care of the meeting house and gardens. The Allen family can trace their Quaker ancestry back to 17th century Cork city, and Clive’s knowledge of his family history was encyclopedic. He put this

knowledge to good use with the publication in 2007 of his book The Allens: Family & Friends - tracing all branches of the Allen family. It was typical of Clive that he channeled all proceeds from sales of the book to the charity which manages funds towards Quaker work in Ireland and overseas.He also played an important role in the re-publication in 1996 of Transactions of the Central Relief Committee of the Society of Friends during the Famine in Ireland in 1846 and 1847 – an important testament to the nature and extent of Quaker activity during the Famine. Clive David Allen was born in Drogheda in 1946, the fourth of five children born to Maurice, a farmer, and Elizabeth Allen (née Shaw). When Clive was seven, the family moved to the Enniscorthy area where his father continued to farm. Clive along with his siblings, his children and many of his cousins, attended Newtown School in Waterford. The

Allen family had been associated with the school since its foundation in 1798. After he left, Clive maintained the connection and was a past President of the Old Scholars. He was one of the longest-serving of the school committee, and a keen fundraiser, on the side of getting things done. After school Clive trained first in the hospitality business. It was while working at the Monasterboice Inn in Drogheda, that Clive met his future wife, Jo Smyth. For the rest of their lives together she was his stalwart er and loving companion. The couple married in 1969 and settled in Bunclody in 1970. In 1972 Clive went to work in Slaney Meats in Bunclody working there until his retirement. The Allen family home, Slaney View, was always open to visiting family, friends, neighbours, and those needing help. Clive was a big man with big hands, big pockets and

Clive Allen a big heart. He was a true gentleman with an inner core of kindness and a great sense of fun, a humble person, and never quick to judge. He was also a sociable man who loved to chat. His grandson noted at the Meeting for worship, Clive frequently used the word ‘marvellous’. In his spare time Clive was a keen gardener, walker, and devoted dog owner. He was also a rugby er, having played on the Enniscorthy 2nd XV’s, and was Captain in the 1971/72 season. Clive is survived by his wife, Jo, daughter Rebecca and sons Weston and Edgar, siblings Lorna, Bertram and Lance, extended family and friends. Clive David Allen born 21st August 1946, died January 11th, 2018.

OBITUARY: HAZEL JEAN BLACKSHAW–Class of 1949 Hazel Jean Blackshaw (nee Smith) February 2017. Class of 1949. Hazel was born in Mountmellick House, Newtown School in October 1932, to Lester Smith (Science master) and Anne (house mother of young boarders, and manager of San). Hazel lived in Mountmellick House and attended the school as a day scholar until leaving at 17. She then attended college in London to train as a Speech Therapist. She spent a preliminary year at PRADA in preparation, and then 3 years at College, qualifying

as a LCST in 1953. From 1953 to 1960 she was sole Speech Therapist for Westmorland (now Cumbria) based in Kendal, then transferred to Birkenhead for a further 4 years. She met her husband Alan in Kendal in 1959 and they were married in Liverpool in March 1963. Their first child was born in December 1964 in Watford, Hertfordshire where Alan had found employment as a Probation Officer. Their second child was born in December 1968 in Stevenage. In 1971 the family moved to Suffolk, where Alan had found employment as a Lecturer in Social Work.

The association has been informed of the following deaths: Myrtle (Hill) Allen, Class of 1941, Ballymaloe House, Cork. June 2018. William Frederick Bell, Class of 1951, Sandyford, Dublin. May 2018. Eveline Margaret St Leger, Class of 1951, Cork. March 2018. Philip Chearnley, Class of 1945, Limerick. June 2018.

Hazel continued to work parttime as a Speech Therapist, mostly with school children. She was active for the Labour Party in local politics, both as a parish and District Councillor. She was a strong advocate for peace, through CND and other organisations. She was also an active school governor for the local primary school, specialising in for children with special needs. She retired in 1992 after heart attacks which necessitated a quadruple by- operation. Restored back to health, she continued to be active, enjoying many holidays around the world with her

To all the families of these loved ones, the association would like to extend their deepest sympathies. If you know of old scholars who have ed away, please inform the Association so as to on the news to others. Email [email protected] or post, Oriel Woodbyrne c/o Newtown School, Waterford.

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Hazel Jean Bradshaw (Also on the right of second photograph with Jean Walsh

husband. Unfortunately, a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s in 2009 limited her ability to travel and she spent the last 2 years of her life incapacitated in a Care Home. Her time at Newtown was very precious to her and she tried to live by the principles imbibed through her education there. She had kept in touch through regular visits, and the Newtown Review, until all the staff and most of her fellow old scholars were gone. She returned one last time for her 80th birthday in 2012, which, despite the Alzheimer’s brought back wonderful memories for her.

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Backstory to the Treasure Trove of Fond Memories I actually chose to go to boarding school, over four decades before Harry Potter boosted interest in such a unique educational experience. My parents were separating, so I decided that Newtown would serve my interests better. That proved to be the case, for most of the three years that I was a boarder, 1969 - 1972. I then left reluctantly. Every five or ten years I would visit Newtown for the annual Old Scholars weekend. Last year I made another visit. My wife, Liz (nee Sothern) also an old scholar (1978) along with my terrier rescue-dog Jack-the-Lad, accompanied me. We had some good chats with teachers, peers and one or two students. A few days after our visit, Liz casually informed me that many of the old buildings were due to be knocked down. What??!! I spluttered. Something must be done to preserve those memories! Photos, at least... I immediately got in touch with my collaborative Polish photographer friend, Dora

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Kazmierak. I also ed Keith Lemon, school principal. It was all systems go, once various access guidelines were outlined. A two-day shoot took place in the school grounds, in November 2017. A couple of hundred artistic and atmospheric photos was the result of that. Apart from gifting these to the school, what should I next do with them? Where was the right forum for showing them? From late December 2017, to early April 2018, I twice-weekly posted thematic groups of photos on the Newtown Old Scholars Facebook page. At first a lot of likes for the photos started slowly building up. Word must have got around, because soon many people were posting memories and anecdotes, in response to the bi-weekly posting of photos. The biggest responses were to the Dining Room, the Old Lab, the old Bell and the Dorms. It was wonderful to read threads of exciting online conversations. There was a lively buzz and a deep appreciation for the photos. I even made some new Newtonian friends. Just

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what I wanted... When the Old Scholars Committee agreed to publish some of the photos and anecdotes in the 2018 Review, I couldn’t have asked for more. So, six pages of photos are what you see. A booklet for sale has been produced of the full twelve pages of

fabulous photos and amusing anecdotes about Newtown from a previous era....

- Louis Hemmings

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NEWTOWN, NEWTOWN, I GOT MY FIRST GOOD START THERE! NEWTOWN, NEWTOWN, I LEFT MY HARBOURED HEART THERE...

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