Congratulations to the following pupils who were presented with Music Prizes following the Music Prize Concert in the BSR last night (photo album below). In total, 17 pupils performed in front of guest judge Jonathan Browner, former principal of Educate Together Goatstown, with prizes awarded to the following:
Junior Prizes
Hiro Grosse, VoiceEric Wang, PianoLaurence Sun, PianoSenior PrizesRebecca Flanagan, VoiceJack Francis McKeon, Voice and PianoJerry Zhang, Piano
Congratulations to the winners of the Junior Art Prizes, Tracy Wang (Form I), Ella Girdham (Form II) and Nala Pether (Form I).
On the morning of October 16th the Form VI Art pupils left the College to visit the Archeology Museum of Ireland and later in the day the Brú na Bóinne Interpretive Centre in Co. Meath. India Hassett and Mimi Fennell report on this expedition.
We began our day at the National History Museum of Ireland to explore its fascinating collection of Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age artifacts. Upon entering the building we met our guide Vanessa, who briefly explained the history of the museum and its artifacts.
Our first artifact was the Knowth Macehead, it was much smaller than we had imagined and displayed the incredible detail and craftsmanship of the time. We then moved onto the Bronze Age artifacts which included a beautiful range of carefully crafted gold jewellery such as ribbon torcs, armlets, lock rings and sun disks. We saw several lunala’s which displayed the remarkable gold craftsmanship of the early Bronze Age people. It was amazing to see the fine designs and decoration on these pieces up close.
Next, we viewed The Three headed Corleck, a fascinating 3-headed stone. The majority of the artifacts we study display linear or plant-like motifs, so this piece interested the group as it clearly resembled human faces. The final artifact we looked at was the Gleninsheen Gorget, a large, highly decorated neck ornament that demonstrated the exceptional skills of the ancient Irish metalworkers.
It was an amazing experience that allowed us to see the progression of Irish art and craftsmanship throughout this period.
In the afternoon we took the bus to the Newgrange in County Meath. It was an amazing experience that combined history, culture, and fun. It took about an hour to reach the Brú na Bóinne interpretive centre. From here we took a bus to Knowth. After our tour of Knowth we went to the jewel in the crown, Newgrange. As we approached the site, we could see the large circular mound surrounded by standing stones, it was even bigger than I expected.
It was built during the Stone Age as a passage tomb, and it is famous for how the rising sun lights up the inner chamber at sunrise on the winter solstice. We were able to go inside the narrow passage, which was dark and mysterious. The guide used lights to simulate how the sunlight would enter the chamber on December 21st.
Overall, the trip to Newgrange was fascinating and educational. It made us appreciate Ireland’s ancient history and the skill of the people who built such incredible monuments.
Last night, the final Transition Year Presentation Evening took place in Whispering House. It’s always a lovely evening as this year’s Transition Year pupils get a chance to reflect on their achievements, experiences and growth since last September. Congratulations to the following pupils who were presented with subject awards, recognising their academic excellence (main photo). Two additional awards were also presented: the ‘College Values Award‘ goes to the pupil who best represents the College values in TY while the ‘Spirit of Transition Year Award‘ is awarded to the pupil who best embraced the philosophy and objectives of TY.
Art – Harry Bowles
Geography and Chemistry – Lexi Hunter
Mathematics, Physics and Computer Studies – Jason Wong
French – Johann Diemert
Spanish – Giulia Soddu
Biology, Classical Studies and College Values Award for Determination – Hugo Russell Connolly
English – Anna Hart
Business – David Cron
Economics – Violeta Mykhalova
Irish – Daniel Passmore
History – Arthur Morphew
Design – Amelie Loehr
Music – Alice McCarthy
Spirit of Transition Year – Henry Clements
Those award winners are pictures above. Ms Lynch, the Transition Year Co-ordinator, acknowledged the pupils who took Early University Entrance courses in DCU throughout the year- Hugo Russell Connolly, Daniel Passmore, Jack-Francis McKeon, William Dai, Harry Hone, Alice Castagna, Ethan Robertson, Zach Kelly, Issac Fang, Sam Germaine, Lexi Hunter. Congratulations also to to Anna Hart and Charlie Clements for their week at the Royal College of Surgeons, and to Ferdia Murray for completing the Look Into Law programme.
This week we had the 30th Transition Year English Evening, the longest-established TY event in the College. It was planned primarily as a celebration of pupil work across the year, with an external guest speaker. There is no competitive element.
This year we were delighted to welcome back a former teacher, Mr Paul Reidy, who has been working at St Andrew’s College in Booterstown for 26 years, where he is head of Senior Cycle English. The event was compèred by Mr Kirwan.
There were eight readers of their work from the four sets; Mr Reidy’s comments on them follow each in brackets. Anna Hart kicked off with a narrative piece called ‘The Watcher’ (full of atmosphere and detail, tense and capturing fear very well, with a twist at the end). She was followed by Kayra Mbanefo with ‘The City That Dreams’ (a vivid phrase in the description was ‘like brushstrokes on a canvas’). Third was Issac Fang with ‘The Hidden Book’, a dense and interesting piece on body/mind (intriguing, getting across the thoughts of a teeming brain). As a total contrast, Isobel McKinley wrote ‘Testimonies’, an honest and personal piece about her relationship with religion (writing about character growth in a way which was gently wise).
Lexi Hunter’s ‘Underwater’ was a highly descriptive essay (very well written, with a strong sense of colour and cinematic). Alice Castagna’s ‘The Pulse of the Unknown’ on her time in London was next (a strong sense of nostalgia, and very good on the sounds and smells of the city), followed by Alice McCarthy with ‘Animal Farm at School’ (a version of the novel which was very humorous, with a touch of Lord of the Flies). Finally, Ferdia Murray provoked lots of laughter with ‘My First Love’, which started with lots of suggestive images which revealed themselves as references to his air fryer (very funny).
Mr Reidy then spoke a little about his time in the College from 1994 to 1996, his moving on to work for Concern in Rwanda, and then his return to teaching, which has become his career. It is indeed, he stated, a privilege to be a teacher, helping children learn. He concluded by reading out the names of the pupils who were awarded Premier grades this year,
Many congratulations to our Head of Science, Mr Jones, on his Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland Achievement Award in recognition of his exceptional contribution to education.
In the words of the ASTI:
“Humphrey Jones is a teacher of science, biology, and agricultural science, as well as a career guidance counsellor at St. Columba’s College in Dublin. As Chairperson of the Irish Science Teachers’ Association, Humphrey has established an extensive professional learning community for science teachers in Ireland using WhatsApp, enabling fellow teachers to come together and share best practices and support each other’s professional growth as well as student learning. This has been very successful and the initiative now has a membership of over 1,000 participants contributing to over 30 groups. He hopes that the professional learning communities will translate to more in-person events furthering collaboration and sharing of ideas amongst teachers.
In addition to this, Humphrey is one of the main organisers of ResearchEd Ireland. ResearchEd conferences are organised all over the world by practising teachers. Ireland has held two ResearchEd conferences, both hosted by Humphrey’s own school. These have attracted speakers that are internationally renowned educationalists from all over the world, providing opportunities for teachers in Ireland to update themselves on international best practice.
The Annual ASTI Achievement Awards recognise and celebrate teachers’ contributions both in and out of the classroom and their impact on young people’s lives.”
‘Roots’ was the theme of the Junior Art Prizes 2025. Pupils’ interpretations varied from roots which nourish plantlife and the human body to the roots of our heritage. From Form I- III there was a wide variety of media used among the entries.
Marianna O’Shaughnessy’s delicate use of water colour and excellent illustrative skills (main image above) awarded her the Junior Art Prize. Rachel (Yuqiao) Jiang and Doreen Rogers followed closely with each being awarded commendations for their entries in watercolour painting and drawing.
The Junior Craft Prize was won by Ciara Roets for a giraffe sculpted from wire and beads, an artform familiar to her through her South African roots. Georgia Dobbs received a commendation for her skillfully cut and printed linocut.
Merida Zhang won the Junior Photography Prize for her beautifully composed images highlighting texture, shape and pattern.
Distinctions were awarded to Faye Hodgson, Alex O’ Herlihy and Zora O’Rourke for Art, Rachel (Yuqiao) Jiang, Poppy Wilkinson for Craft and Jenny Fan for Photography.
It’s been an incredibly busy final term for our Transition Year pupils, capping off an extraordinary year (read the end of term report here). Last night, at the prize presentation evening in Whispering House, our Transition Year co-ordinator Ms Lynch wrapped up the year, reflected on the various experiences and, finally, announced the following awards for academic performance across the year:
English: Grace Koch
Business: Felix Strigel
Economics: Giulia Trolese
Art: Rachel Pollock
Chemistry: David Chukwueke
Physical Education: Giulia Trolese
Biology: Polly Pringle
Geography: Naoise Bradley-Brady
Design: Jason Zhang
History: Elisabeth Sebbesse
Music: Cerys Mordaunt
Computer Studies: Eoin Siegel
Religion: Ignacio Suarez
French: Felix Strigel
Spanish: Grace Koch
Mathematics: Herbert Feng
Irish / Gaeilge: Dairbhre Murray
Classics: Safia Walker
Physics: Felix Strigel
Ms Lynch also announced another award – the Spirit of Transition Year Award – to the pupil who encapsulates what the Transition Year is design for: embracing every opportunity imaginable, growing and learning as both an academic and a person. We are delighted to announced this years winner as:
Spirit of Transition Year: Safia Walker
Runner-up: Ignacio Suarez
Safia Walker with the Spirit of Transition Year Cup
The 29th Transition Year English Evening was held on Tuesday 30th May in the Big Schoolroom. Again, it was a showcase of some of the best writing done during the year in English classes (there is no competitive element). Mr Jameson hosted the event, and the guest was former English teacher here, Mrs Annie Donnelly, who now works at Loreto Beaufort School.
Speakers (with Mrs Donnelly’s comments in square brackets) were:
Mrs Donnelly also talked eloquently about the power of English, and how it deals with the most important things in life. She much enjoyed returning to the College, where she worked for two happy years. She also announced the winners of this year’s Premier Awards:
Stella Borrowdale, Delia Brady, Rebekah Fitzgerald Hollywood, Grace Koch, Grace McCarthy, Cerys Mordaunt, Olive Mui, Felix Strigel, Giulia Trolese and Safia Walker.
Congratulations to the winners of this year’s Form Prizes, based on overall academic performance, including examinations:
Congratulations to all the pupils who participated in the Senior Art Prize for 2024. The level of dedication and craftsmanship displayed in each submission is a testament to the commitment of the pupils. Throughout the academic year, amidst the mountains of responsibilities and extracurricular activities, the pupils worked away on their submissions in the art room.
We are very thankful to multidisciplinary Irish artist Serena Kitt, who was invited to judge the entries, which were based on the themes ‘Territory’ and ‘Encounter’.
The Earl of Meath Art Prize, Senior, was won by Ivan Zhu, Form V (his piece above). Serena commented that the work was extremely skilled and innovative for showing the other side of the war through the lens of the camera and for all of the hidden messages around the composition.
The Craft Prize, Senior, was awarded to Felicitas Ratibor. Serena added that her work (above) was thought provoking and visually arresting as it leaves you wanting to see more.
The Photography Prize, Senior, was awarded to Ella Taylor, Form VI. Serena thought this work (below)by Ella was beautiful and a really interesting and innovative take on the theme of territory.
Commendations for the Art Prize were awarded to Ella Taylor, Form VI, for her conceptual, sentimental painting. And to Sofia Gill-Torrejon, Form V, for her painting of the rabbit and fox and for its meaning about two animals in the animal kingdom each vying for territory. A distinction for the Art Prize was awarded to Georgia Goodbody, Form VI, for the scale and sheer skill in her work. Serena added that it was a joyous piece to look at. A distinction was also awarded to Calvin She, Form VI, for his sensitive, gentle rendering of a young girl.
Commendations for the Craft Prize were awarded to Constance Chambré, Form V, for her provoking ideas that she communicated through clay modelling, and to Arthur Jellett, Form VI, for the ship that Serena commented was “beautifully made” and reflected a lot of detailed work and skill and very interesting accompanying drawings. Distinctions in this category were awarded to Maximilia Holstein, Form VI, for her lively batik.
A Commendation for the Photography Prize was awarded to Jacob Owen, Form V. Serena was so impressed with the compositions and the dedication and effort he went to to shoot his photographs.
Generally, Serena expressed how impressed she was with the standard and variety of the submissions, which also included; pottery pieces by Aeladh Bradley-Brady, Amaya Street, Elisa Bulla, Ella Taylor, lino prints by Hedley Butler and batik by Joy Orogun. Photographs by Calvin She and Jason Zhang and drawings and paintings by Clodagh Walsh, Liberty Jacquier-Kende, Finn Tabb, Elisa Bulla.
We commend all the pupils for their outstanding achievements. Please enjoy viewing the work in the gallery below.
Congratulations to Grace Koch, the winner of this year’s Transition Year House Speeches, which took place last weekend. Grace gave a powerful and well-delivered speech, with a personal connection to her Great Grandmother Freda Teitelbaum’s experience with anti-semitism and concentration camps. In joint second, Rebekah Fitzgerald Hollywood spoke confidently on Psychedelics and Psychology and the medicinal benefits of Psilocybin and Safia Walker on the fear and benefits of making a speech. Iona were the House winners.
The annual Transition Year Prize evening tonight featured an overview from Ms Lynch, the TY Co-ordinator, of the huge number of activities the pupils have taken part in this year. Pupil speakers on their experiences included Tomas Echevarria, Catejan Cardona, Mario Ramirez Miranda, Hedley Butler, Ayodeji Ediale and Harry Smith Huskinson, while Alison Wang sang and accompanied herself on piano. Plenty of pictures and videos gave a fine overview of the year. Ms Lynch thanked her team of teacher-colleagues, and paid tribute to her predecessor, Ms Kilfeather.
English: Manuela NassiefMaths: Fee Pirata SchmackFrench: Nooria NakschbandiIrish: Molly MannSpanish: Carlotta KirschnerHistory: Cajetan CardonaGeography: Ben SykesBiology: Melina PaulsenChemistry: Tomas Rosa EchevarriaPhysics: Alison WangDesign: Amecie RoseArt: Keelin Bradley-BradyPE: Frida CampeMusic: Harry PowellClassics: Aeladh Bradley-BradyEconomics: Clodagh WalshBusiness: Cajetan CardonaReligion: Alba Perich-Godo
Spirit of Transition Year – Elliot WarnockTransition Year Award for Outstanding Resilience – Ciara Finn
On the evening of Tuesday 30th May we had the 28th annual Transition Year English evening in the BSR (and so, with two years out for pandemic reasons, this event started 30 years ago). The formula has remained little changed: pupils read out interesting work they have written during the year, and a guest speaker associated with English comments on this, and speaks on wider issues. There is no competitive element: this is a pure celebration of writing. At the end of the evening the pupils receive their year’s grades.
This year our guest (who had also come several years ago) was Mr Toirleac O’Brien, former English teacher at Blackrock College (his comments are in brackets after each speaker). The evening was compèred by Mr Jameson.
The first reader was Ava Fagan, with a special memory this year about a scuba-diving trip (so richly descriptive – wonderful). She was followed by Melina Paulsen, who wrote about her first Irish train journey (a delightful piece, with entrancing dialogue). Clodagh Walsh was third, with a short story including the sentence ‘Suddenly there was no noise’ (it opened effectively in the middle). Amaya Street wrote about her memories of her early homes (this looked at how your life might have turned out differently). Jamie Casey then read Alba Perich’s story of first love (very bravely!), followed by a very different piece, Manuela Nassief’s ‘Waterfall’ (with incredible observation, a remarkable piece of writing). Aeladh Bradley-Brady next read her highly ‘imaginative’ piece about losing one sense – hearing. Finally, Iona McCausland wrote on a long-time favourite personal topic, ‘The Oldest Person I Know’, in her case her complicated grandmother (it was deliciously eccentric, with a lovely way of seeing things).
Mr O’Brien then gave us some heart-felt sentiments on the future of writing and reading, particularly given the new AI world we have moved into so recently. His passionate advocacy for books was striking. He finished by commending all the readers on their bravery in reading so personally and intimately in front of their peers.
Finally, congratulations to the Premier Award winners: Aeladh Bradley-Brady, Cajetan Cardona, Carlotta Castagna, Amber Cotton, Ava Fagan, Emilia Hager, Manuela Nassief, Melina Paulsen, Shannon Walker Kinsella, Clodagh Walsh, Alison Wang and Johanna zu Solms.
FORM PRIZES 2022-23: these are based on all academic work this year so far. Prizes will be presented at the St Columba’s Day celebrations. Congratulations to:
FIRST FORM: Eleanor Hart, Grace Lee, Percy Parkins, Alannah Starbuck, Cora Wheatley.
SECOND FORM: Josefien Hutchinson, Lexi Hunter, Daniel Passmore, Jason Wong.
THIRD FORM: Grant Fabian, Grace Koch, Oscar Ryan, Safia Walker.
FOURTH FORM: Nooria Nakschbandi, Bibiire Oke-Osanyintolu, Clodagh Walsh, Alison Wang, Johanna zu Solms.
FIFTH FORM: Elizabeth Hart, Rachel Shaw, Yilong She, Wong Cheuk Yin.
SIXTH FORM: Tomás Casado, Kamilla Murphy, Cian Slyne, Isabel Warnock.
Last Saturday, six Form V pupils took part in the second round of the Irish Olympiad of Experimental Science at Dublin City University with four of the six achieving medals. In Biology, Lorne Walsh finished in first place, taking the gold medal while Rachel Shaw came second, receiving a silver medal. In Chemistry, Elizabeth Hart won the silver medal while in Physics Calvin She also took silver. Well done to all the competitors but especially the medal winners who now progress to round 3 where they will compete to make the Irish team for the European Olympiad of Experimental Science which takes place in Riga later this spring.
