Dear Parents, Guardians and Pupils,
On the occasion of her retirement, we, would like to invite all the members of our school community, past and present, to a Mass celebrating the wonderful contribution our principal Miss O’Reilly has made to our school. The Mass will take place in The Sacred Heart Church, Ferrybank on Wednesday November 30th 2022, at 11.30am. We look forward to seeing you all there.
The Board of Management and Staff of Our Lady of Good Counsel GNS
Our Trip to Grow HQ
On Thursday 27th of October, the Senior Garden Gladiators visited the Dunmore Road with Miss Kelly and Miss Harney.
It was a dull and damp morning as we set off but that didn’t dampen our spirits. The girls were treated to a tour of the wonderful vegetable gardens by Head Grower, Richard Mee. Richard showed us how to cut lettuce from the garden and he gave us some to bring home. He also showed us how they compost in GIY. We didn’t like the smell! We took turns in spinning the wheel of the composter. We got to see the wormery. Richard told us some of the names of the tiger worms. After our Guided Tour we visited the Sensory Garden and got to smell and taste some herbs. After all the walking and touring we then went to the Café and had a tasty treat. All the food served in the Café goes full circle at Grow HQ from the ground to the plate and back to the ground again. As we were leaving the rain started again – but as gardeners say “there’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing”. We had a lovely day and we brought back a thank you card to Miss O’ Reilly.
Miss Kelly and Garden Gladiators
Basketball Blitz News
Last Tuesday, November 8th, Mrs. Burke was invited to bring a team of girls to a Girls Basketball School Blitz, organised by The Mercy Secondary School, Fourth Year girls.
She decided to bring the girls who joined The Wildcats Basketball Team in recent years. To her amazement, she could not get over how much they had improved! Not only did they win three out of four of their matches, but to witness their teamwork, and encouragement and praise to each other, was fantastic. Each girl acknowledged her own basketball strengths, put them into action, creating a superb team of players.
Mrs. Burke was so, so proud of each of the girls. She really enjoyed her day out with them and they also had a great day too. It just goes to show, with a little dedication, determination, practice and patience, you can go a long way.
If you would like to be a Wildcat like these amazing girls, please talk to Mrs. Burke who will give you a free pass to a training session with the Wildcats! Why not go along and see if you like it?
Mission Week News
What a fantastic Mission Week we had! As you will see from our Latest News tab, the girls raised a large sum of money which has now been donated to Opportunity Knox. Opportunity Knox is a local charity that works in Uganda. Every cent will be used to provide education supports to children who would otherwise not be able to afford to go to school.
As well as raising money, here are some of the things that the girls learned during Mission Week. In their own words:
‘We learned that when we work together, we get better’.
‘I learned how to count money’.
‘I learned more about my friends’.
‘We learned to have fun, to share and to be grateful’.
‘I learned that selling things is hard work’.
Girls, during Mission Week, you demonstrated all the qualities of Good Counsel Good Citizens – patience, courage, respect, care, loyalty, trust and fairness. Well done!
Covid-19
Unfortunately, Covid-19 is still with us. Please remember that if your child has tested positive for Covid-19, she needs to remain at home for 7 days. We have a pupil in our school who is very vulnerable due to an organ transplant, so we rely on you to take particular care.
Special Assembly
As we begin the month of November, we remember all our loved ones who have died, and we also pray for those who have no-one to pray for them. Mrs. Ryan’s Third Class has prepared a Special Assembly for today and they will lead us in prayer and song.
At this time, we extend our sincere sympathy to Sr. Mary Gough on the recent death of her twin sister, Sr. Catherine. May Catherine rest in peace with all the Saints and Holy Souls.
Remember those this special time,
Who live with God above.
All Saints and Souls, and all our own,
Who live with God in love.
Congratulations
Everyone at Our Lady of Good Counsel GNS sends congratulations to Mr. Jamie Nagle who has been appointed as the next Principal. We look forward to welcoming him to our school in January.
Congratulations also to Mrs. Clare Burke who has recently been appointed to the In-School Management Team as an Assistant Principal. Good luck in your new role Mrs. Burke.
