Upcoming Dates

Monday 19^th           After Care invoices go home

Tuesday 20^th           JS Orchestra and J2-J6 Christmas Play 1.30pm – JS Gym

Wednesday 21^st      Preschool and J1 Christmas Play 1.30pm – JS Gym

Wednesday 21^st      Christmas Reports go home in schoolbags

Thursday 22^nd         Term ends 12.30pm No Aftercare today

Christmas Carol Service 7.30pm – Sandford Church

Last week of Term:

J2-J6 may wear their red tracksuits Monday to Wednesday. All classes can have a no-uniform day on Thursday 22^nd – Christmas colours.

Christmas Plays

Tuesday 20^th           JS Orchestra and J2-J6 Christmas Play 1.30pm – JS Gym

Wednesday 21^st      Preschool and KGLr-J1 Christmas Play 1.30pm – JS Gym

JS Orchestra: Girls need their instruments in every day next week!

Please note: All extra- curricular classes today- Friday, December 16^th. Prep and After Care will continue until Wednesday, December 21st. The school term will end for the Christmas holidays for all classes (Preschool to J6) on Thursday, December 22^nd at 12.30pm. There will be no lunch served or After Care on that day.

Christmas Carol Service: As the 150^th anniversary of the Alexandra College draws to a close, the annual Carol Service will be on Thursday, December 22^nd in Sandford Parish Church, Ranelagh at 7.00pm. Refreshments will be served in the SS concourse after the service. All are welcome.

From the Office

After Care Invoices: These will go home on Monday 19th. Please pay by Thursday 22^nd.

On to the Grand Finals of Mini Scientist for Belle Moore!

As you all know, Belle Moore competed in the regional final of the Intel Mini-Scientist competition. We are delighted to inform you that Belle Moore’s project on drones has made it through to the Grand Final of the competition in the Helix, DCU, on February 3^rd 2017. Congratulations, Belle! This is a remarkable achievement.

KGLr and KGUpr at Mill Theatre

Our KGLower and KGUpper students thoroughly enjoyed their trip today to the Mill Theatre in Dundrum to see the panto “Jack and the Beanstalk”. They sang along with the cast and joined in as much as they could. “ It was so much fun!” was the general consensus.

J1-J6 at Winter Wonderland in RDS

This is one of the most popular events on the Junior School calendar. All the girls and teachers from J1-J6 wrapped up warmly and set off to go to Winter Wonderland in the RDS. After a great session on the ice, the girls got to go on two outdoor rides of their choice. This was so much fun for everyone!

We are so proud to be able to say that three of our past pupils are currently attached to two major productions in Dublin theatre this Christmas. Nessa Matthews is appearing in a new version of Hans Christian Anderson’s ‘The Snow Queen’ by Ian Toner in Smock Alley Theatre. This beautiful show with sets and costumes designed by Molly O’Cathain, who is also a past pupil, runs until December 23^rd. In The Abbey Theatre, Alexandra Conlon is appearing in Tolstoy’s ‘Anna Karenina’, in a new version written by Marina Carr.

So what have they been up to?

Nessa graduated from LAMDA in 2013. Since then she has worked both in the U.K. & in Ireland. Notable credits include: a six month run of Philip Pullman’s Grimm Tales on London’s Southbank, Tactics (Sickle Moon Productions), Foxfinder (The Lir Theatre), the ladder & the moon (Loose Thread Productions, Edinburgh Fringe Festival), Macbeth, Bob & Judy, Shakespeare by Candlelight & Dracula (Fast Intent).  She is also a founding member of Fast Intent who were Company in Residence 2015 at Theatre Upstairs. During the residency, Nessa wrote (and acted in) her debut play, Way Beyond the Blue.

Most recently, she performed in Gatecrashing (Theatre 503), Hostel 16 directed by Raymond Keane (Tiger Dublin Fringe Festival 2016, nominated for Best Ensemble), Mother Stoker’s Sickly Stories (Pygmankenstein) She is also currently studying at Bow Street Academy for Film Acting. In the New Year, she will be working with the Associate Director of Corn Exchange Eoghan Carrick on a new piece of work draft titled ‘Bodies of Water’ and a piece to be written and performed by herself ‘Infinity’ at the Scene + Heard Festival at Smock Alley Theatre.

Alex’s most recent work has been with ANU where she was involved in all three parts of their Triptych 2016 including ‘SUNDER’, ‘ON COPORATION STREET’ & ‘THESE ROOMS’ in collaboration with CoisCéim Dance Theatre. She also performed with ANU as Eily O’ Hanrahan in ‘LAST WORDS : Proclaiming A Republic’  – National Museum of Ireland (2016),  ‘Beyond Barricades’ and ‘Into The Sun’ in which she played Nora Connolly.

Other theatre credits include: ‘’W’ in ‘LUNGS’, Granary Theatre CorkCork, LadyPlay’ – a new play written by Jane Madden & directed by Davey Kelleher for ‘Smock Allies: Scene + Heard Festival’ & ‘Scripted’ directed by David Horan.

Alex recently graduated from The Lir, National Academy of Dramatic Art where she holds a B.A. in Acting. Whilst at the LIR she performed in many productions including Coop (dir. Louise Lowe),Tarry Flynn (dir. Wayne Jordan), My Child (dir. Annabelle Comyn) & O Go My Man (dir. Tom Creed). She was also featured in ‘Dumped’ a short film by Conor McMahon. Both Nessa and Alex performed with us in the National Concert Hall earlier this year as part of our Alex 150 celebrations.

Molly O’Cathain was our ‘go-to’ girl when in school, stage-managing all our productions and costuming anyone who needed it! She is now a theatre designer based in Dublin and is currently participating in the Rough Magic SEEDs Artist Development program 2016-2017. She holds a first class honours degree in Drama and Theatre Studies from Trinity College, Dublin. Molly recently participated in The Next Stage as part of Dublin Theatre Festival 2016. She is also a co-founder of Malaprop, a collective of emerging theatre makers who created LOVE+; a show for which they won Spirit of the Dublin Fringe 2015. Molly is the designer on Malaprop’s work, including LOVE+ , BlackCatfishMusketeer and a new work, Everything Not Saved, in development for 2017. Previous set and/or costume designs other than the current production of The Snow Queen at Smock Alley include Recovery (Zoe Riordain), At Sea (Just The Lads), Aunty Ben (Super Paua), and Eamonn From Menswear (Ill-Advised). Molly has also worked with leading Irish companies Rough Magic, Theatre Lovett and Willfredd in capacities such as design assistant, scenic artist and prop-maker.

January 2017

Monday 9^th             School re-opens at 8.45am

Tuesday 10^th           J4/J3 Swimming

Friday 13^th              LUAS Safety Talk – all classes

Saturday 14^th          AIJS Drama workshop – St. Kilian’s (J3/J4)

From the Office

After care Invoices: They went home last Monday. Please pay by cash/cheque or online using Easy Payments.

Christmas reports (KGLr-J6): School reports went home in schoolbags on Wednesday.

Our 2016 Christmas Musicals

After many weeks of rehearsals, our Junior School girls performed their Christmas musicals for their parents and extended families this week. Both shows were wonderful, full of energy and amazing talent! This was the first chance we got to use our new staging that was bought through JACA fundraising last year.

The first show on Tuesday afternoon started with a fantastic performance by our Junior School Orchestra. It was followed by all the girls from J2-J6 singing and performing their hearts out in the musical “Angels Aware”. The play had a strong message to share with everyone about the real meaning of Christmas. It was a real treat for everyone to be there.

On Wednesday afternoon, it was our younger students who got the chance to showcase their talents. First up were the preschoolers – we enjoyed their medley of songs and their fabulous ballet numbers! The KGLower to J1 girls followed this performing the musical “Hey Ewe!”. This was another great show and what would Christmas be without a nativity play?

A huge thanks must go to our Head of Music, Ms. Fitzgerald for all the work she has done in the past few weeks with all of the classes and with the JS orchestra. Thank you also to our two fantastic directors: Mr. Fitzgerald for “Angels Aware” and Ms. Jansen for “Hey Ewe!”. Teamwork is so important for these events to run smoothly so we are very grateful for all the help from Ms. Ashmore (Speech and Drama), Ms. Errity (accompanist), Ms. O’Shea, Ms. Walsh, Ms. Gorry, Ms. Richardson, Ms. Healy, Ms. Stapleton, Ms. Brandon, Ms. Murphy and Ms. Boyd. 

We’ve Got Mail!

It is an annual tradition here in Alexandra College that each class designs and makes a special post box for Christmas. The girls write Christmas cards for each other and all the cards are opened on the last day of term. Well done to all the classes!

We have had a great first term in the Junior School. Your on-going support to the Junior School is really appreciated. I hope you read the Junior School section of the Alex Press each week to keep up with all the events in the school. On a personal note, many thanks for all the beautiful cards and thoughtful gifts. You are very kind. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas with your families and I wish you all the very best for 2017.

Dates for your Diary

Tuesday 17^th           J4/J3 Swimming

Thursday 19^th         Late tennis class (4-5pm) will resume

Friday 20^th              No tennis after school

From the Office

Welcome back and a very Happy New Year to all of you. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with your families. The girls have settled back into the new term nicely.

Updated date list: (blue) This was sent home this week – please keep an eye on the dates in the Alex Press too.

After Care Invoices: Invoices were sent home before Christmas. Please pay promptly. If you have lost the invoice, contact Carol Higgins in the office at jsinfo@alexandracollege.ie or call her at 01 4704617.

LUAS Safety Talks

As our school is right on a LUAS stop, it is very important that we follow the safety procedures when using the service or when we are crossing the tracks coming to and from school. Today, we had LUAS reps, Alison and Neil, come to the Junior School to talk to the girls about this topic.

A few points to note:

Motorists

• Never amber gamble. Never break a red traffic light.
• Never stop on a yellow box on the road.
• Be aware of motorbikes and cyclists.
• Do not obstruct the tramway.
• Look both ways when turning.

Pedestrians and Passengers

• Use designated crossings to cross.
• Listen for horn and warning bell – headphones and mobile phones may distract you.
• Look both ways before crossing a track.
• Keep clear of overhead power lines.
• Make sure you are not hidden by a parked car when crossing.
• Tram tracks are slippery in wet and icy weather. Be alert.

J4 Lead Geography Lesson

J4 has been working on individual in-depth projects on the counties of Ireland. They have been learning about the physical geography of each county, the key features and some fun facts. They presented their wonderful projects to all of us at assembly – well done!

Sports Update

Swimming: At the Leinster Regional Finals last Saturday, January 7^th, Catriona Baxter (J6), Isobel Baxter (J4), Emma Boylan (J6) and Orla de Schonen (J5) all swam the 50m breaststroke and the 50m freestyle races. They also swam a freestyle 200m relay and a medley relay.

Overall, the girls performed really well. The relay team qualified to take part in the national Minor Schools Finals in February. Catriona and Emma also qualified to swim the 50m breast stroke at the Nationals. Well done, girls!

Aoife McMorrow, Rameen Khalid, and Nicole Gallagher. 

As you will be aware from recent media attention, girls do not do as well as boys in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) subjects. It has always been the case in Alexandra College that the girls excel in these subjects. As part of our STEM programme we have been very lucky in having established, through the generosity of Brendan Kearney, husband of our late colleague Joan Kearney, the Joan Kearney Science Lecture and Internship Programme.

Congratulations to all the 5th year students who interviewed for the Joan Kearney Internship to the University of Pennsylvania. We are delighted to announce that following extensive interviewing by former colleagues Dr Carmel Sharkey, Ms Lucia Shelly and Brendan Kearney himself the following girls have been selected to take part in the programme, Sarah Lavelle and Sinead Walsh.

The Joan Kearney fund was created by Joan’s family. The Science Department in conjunction with Mr Brendan Kearney, Joan’s husband decided to hold an annual series of science lectures in the College. The first ever lecture was given by Garret Fitzgerald, Professor of Translational medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. After his initial visit, he offered to take two Alexandra College science students for 3-4 weeks every summer to take part in an internship at the University. The girls work in the laboratories alongside doctoral and post-doctoral students, they attend lectures and live with American families.  The Joan Kearney Fund also provides for a bursary that is awarded to the sixth year student who attains the highest points in the Leaving Certificate and who opts to pursue a science degree at third level in Ireland. The girl to whom this prestigious award is made is known as the Joan Kearney Science Scholar.  The names of the Joan Kearney scholars are inscribed on an awards board in the Science Building in the College.

A guest speaker from the Women’s Refuge in Rathmines came in to tell us more about the work she does. She explained what the Refuge does and how it helps women who are in need of a safe place for themselves and sadly sometimes their children. Last years TYs were set the challenge of collecting supplies for wash bags for this charity which we will continue this year. Firstly she told us how easy it is to be manipulated by a seemingly loving partner and then so hard to get away for a variety of reasons, blackmail being the most common. She kept reminding us that we should never judge someone in that position as we can never really know what they are going through behind closed doors. She really got across her point that this is much more common than we thought.

One in three women will at some point in their lives be abused by a partner. It hit us hard when she said this as that meant 20 of the girls sitting in the lecture theatre with us will statistically be victims in the future. She then urged us to watch out for warning signs in the future and most importantly to be there and supportive for each other. She told us some horrific stories of women she’s encountered in her years working in the Refuge. One of the points that I could barely believe was some of the advice that the workers give women who unfortunately have no other option but to return to their abuser. They are told to keep a spare key hidden in the house, to have another phone in case they are in an emergency, to have a code with their children so they won’t return to the house if it is dangerous inside. By the end we were all shocked as even though we knew about domestic violence we didn’t know the extent of it. After hearing the shocking reality we all want to help as must as we can by making as many wash bags as possible for the shelter.

She kept reminding us that we should never judge someone in that position as we can never really know what they are going through behind closed doors. She really got across her point that this is much more common than we thought. One in three women will at some point in their lives be abused by a partner. It hit us hard when she said this as that meant 20 of the girls sitting in the lecture theatre with us will statistically be victims in the future. She then urged us to watch out for warning signs in the future and most importantly to be there and supportive for each other. She told us some horrific stories of women she’s encountered in her years working in the Refuge. One of the points that I could barely believe was some of the advice that the workers give women who unfortunately have no other option but to return to their abuser. They are told to keep a spare key hidden in the house, to have another phone in case they are in an emergency, to have a code with their children so they won’t return to the house if it is dangerous inside. By the end we were all shocked as even though we knew about domestic violence we didn’t know the extent of it. After hearing the shocking reality we all want to help as must as we can by making as many wash bags as possible for the shelter.

She told us some horrific stories of women she’s encountered in her years working in the Refuge. One of the points that I could barely believe was some of the advice that the workers give women who unfortunately have no other option but to return to their abuser. They are told to keep a spare key hidden in the house, to have another phone in case they are in an emergency, to have a code with their children so they won’t return to the house if it is dangerous inside. By the end we were all shocked as even though we knew about domestic violence we didn’t know the extent of it. After hearing the shocking reality we all want to help as must as we can by making as many wash bags as possible for the shelter.

Dates for your Diary

Tuesday 24^th           J4/J3 Swimming (last session)

Thursday 26^th         J3 go to Dublinia

Friday 27^th              Sarah Webb (author) visits J1-J6

KGLr/KGUpr go to Imaginosity

From the Office

Reminder: No dogs on the school premises at any time.

School Blazers: If anyone has an Alex school blazer from an older sister that they are no longer using, we would appreciate it if you would send it into the JS office. We need them for the J6 girls making Confirmation.

Join Alex Voices!

Alexandra College has a parents’ choir, Alex Voices.

We would love your support and your company the evening of Friday, 3rd February at Murphy’s pub in Rathmines.  We are joining with St Mary’s parents’ choir and singing in aid of the Caroline Foundation who fundraise for cancer research.  It’s a fun evening with no entry fee (just a roving collection bucket) and everyone is welcome to sing along, or to wow us with your solo.  http://thecarolinefoundation.com/events/

Alex Voices rehearses every Tuesday at 7.30pm in the Junior School concourse during term time.  We need tenors and basses to balance our sopranos and altos.  If you are a singing Dad or Mom with this range, we’d love to hear from you. Veronica Brogan is membership secretary and can be reached at verbro@hotmail.com

J3 Assembly “Ingredients to Make a Good Friend”

The girls in J3 have been doing a lot of work on friendship and cooperation. This theme was chosen as a reflection of the positive relationships that are being built within the class.

The girls began by welcoming all to the assembly and explaining the idea to the other classes. After that, they introduced the various traits that are essential for friendship i.e. the ingredients for making a good friend. What are these ingredients? Kindness, respect, honesty, patience, listening, encouragement, forgiveness, trust, honesty and of course, fun. Super job, girls!

Sports Update

J6As vs St. Kilian’s  0-1

J5As vs St. Kilian’s   2-0

Well done, girls!

Newspaper Readership 

The marketing committee of Alexandra College Dublin is very keen to receive feedback from parents about the effectiveness of our marketing strategy. They would like to ascertain how effective print media might be in marketing the College. It would be really helpful if you could fill out the short survey on the link below.

Take Survey 

On Tuesday, a psychotherapist named Rob Lewis came in to talk to us about friendship. He had a very upbeat and friendly personality and told lots of funny anecdotes about his life. This made him really easy and enjoyable to listen too.

First he spoke to us about how to listen properly. We learnt that most of the time when a friend comes to you with a problem, they don’t want advice, they just want you to listen to them and offer emotional support. He then told us about the importance of body language. Words only make up 10% of verbal communication. The rest is all body language. Crossed arms and leaning back suggests a closed off, unfriendly person. A smile and leaning forward suggests a friendly person. Tone is also really important. We’d all rather listen to someone with a cheery voice rather than someone with a monotonous tone! To be a good friend you need to listen properly and have good body language.

Next he spoke to us about loving yourself. He said that you  have to love yourself before you can have meaningful friendships. He did a little exercise with us where he told everyone to close their eyes and then raise their hands if they could think of three things they liked about themselves. After we opened our eyes, he revealed to us that no one had put their hand up! This is because society tends to look down on people who are happy with themselves. They are seen as arrogant or boastful. But this is not right, because how can you live a happy life if you don’t love yourself? So the last exercise we did was that we turned to the person next to us, told them three things we liked about ourselves and then told them three things that we liked about them. Everyone felt much better after that! It was a lovely activity and a fitting end to a meaningful talk.

From the beginning of the academic year, transition year students have been perfecting their business ideas for their mini-companies during the ‘World of Work’ TY module. On Friday 20th January, they took part in the Student Enterprise Awards (SEA) Competition in the college where they show-cased their business ideas to a panel of business experts from outside the College. The students were interviewed at length about the process they had just gone through.

The judges (Thea Shannon of Thea by Thea (Om Diva, Drury Street):  Tony Kinlan, Photographer: Julianne Bloomer, Interior Design Consultant) gave of their time very generously, having taken a day from their busy schedules to adjudicate the competition. We owe them a huge debt of gratitude. Equally, we have to acknowledge the generosity of the Parents Association (ACA) who provides the prize fund to the competition year after year and these prizes act as an acknowledgement of the students’ efforts and are a great motivator.

At the end of a long day, the following prizes were awarded and were so richly deserved:

STUDENT ENTERPRISE AWARDS – 20th January 2017

1st PRIZE  

AMAGI BOX                                                   Jemimi Hurley (Director/Finance)

Boxes for the Imagination                              Hannah Mangan

Ciara Nerney

Carmen Moscardo Zaforteza

Mandy Xiong

2nd PRIZE:

SMELL OF SUCCESS                                Costanza Cascio (Director)

Aerosol to freshen shin guards                     Catherine Bluett

Madeleine Egan

Eleanor Rushe

Rebecca Reid

3rd PRIZE 

HOT STUFF HEAT PACKS                          Niamh Courtney (Director)

Handmade heat packs                                Anna Hayden

Stephanie Foley

Yasmin Morgan

          COMMENDATIONS/CATEGORY PRIZES:

Originality:

POSH POOCH                                             Holly Holmes (Director)

Luxuries for dogs                                          Oihana Iunaz

Francesca Lorusso

Bernice Berlan

Presentation and Display:

ESSENTIAL                                                  Grace Gollogley (Director)

Alexandra Rojas

Alison McMorrow

Sofia Quintona

Teamwork:

SPLASH                                                       Claire Mulvey     (Director)

Water (Spray) Bottles                                  Venus Ip

Molly Hourihan

Jessica Smyth

Lucy Biewald

Most Creative:

PRACTICAL MYLA                                        Liza Afanaseva

Bookmarks                                                      Yicen Zhao

(Co-directors)

Attractive to Investors  

RELAX                                                           Aoife Sadlier  (Director)

Casilda Gaviri

Katie Warren

Lucy Grindle

Societal relevance

REVAMPED                                                  Maria Byrne (Director)

Recyclable Clothing                                        Hannah Miller

Rachel Fitzgerald

Kate Natin

Most Current Trend

GOOD VIBES CREATION                             Julia Dowling – Director

Ally Yu

Kate Cuthbert

Katie McCarthy

Our two top teams will represent the College in the City Finals on Wednesday March 8th in Croke Park.  Well done to all the participants.

Upcoming Dates

Tuesday 31^st           J2/J1 Swimming

February

Wednesday 1^st        J6 school trip to Kilmainham Gaol (9.30am – 12.15pm)

Friday 3^rd               Grand Final of Mini Scientist Competition – good luck Belle!

Friday 3^rd              J4 class will visit The Helix to support Belle (morning)

From the Office
Second Preschool Class to Open in September

We wish to inform you that due to the success and high demand for places in our preschool, we are delighted to announce that there will be a second preschool class, commencing in August 2017. As you are aware, the ECCE scheme allows for a two-year programme, so we will now be able to accommodate this second year. Details of the new arrangements will be confirmed at a later date.

We will therefore create a class for 3 year olds and a class for four year olds.  Should you require any further information regarding a place for your daughter, please do not hesitate to contact Ms Yvonne Airey, Admissions Secretary yvonneairey@alexandracollege.ie

Book Your Seats for the NCH!

All of our girls in J5 and J6 will sing as special guests with The Three Tenors in the NCH on Thursday, March 23^rd at 8pm. The evening will feature Sibéal Ní Chasaide and the concert will include popular classic hits from Sinatra, The Dubliners, and Pavarotti etc. Tickets are from €25.00 and can be booked at www.nch.ie or call 01 4170000.

School Blazers: If anyone has an Alex school blazer from an older sister that they are no longer using, we would appreciate it if you would send it into the JS office. We need them for the J6 girls making Confirmation.

J2 Assembly

On Friday, 27^th January, J2 performed an Irish assembly called “Fionn agus an Dragún” (Fionn and the Dragon). It told the story of Fionn slaying a fire breathing dragon and saving the lives of the king and the townspeople. The class introduced the assembly and said a prayer that thanked all our emergency services. The hymn, “Give to us Eyes” was played on the piano by Rana and Zahra. The girls dressed in costumes to play the parts of the king, queen, prince, princess, Fionn, the fire breathing dragon, servants and the king’s subjects and acted out the story of bravery. The J2s enjoyed performing and presenting their beautiful poster.

J3 Visit Dublinia

History was brought to life for the girls in J3 as they got to experience Viking and Medieval Dublin at Dublinia. They got to learn about the Vikings, how they lived and died and about what life was like for people during the Medieval period in Dublin. The girls loved all the facts on skeletons and the Black Death. They all agreed that it was a very interesting trip and felt that they learned a lot from their time there.

At Dublinia, the J3 girls got to see Dublin from a new perspective and came away knowing more about its citizens throughout the ages!

Sarah Webb visits Alex

Award winning writer, Sarah Webb, visited Alexandra College today. Sarah has written eleven best-selling novels for adults and her books have been published all over the world. She has also written many children’s books. Her Ask Amy Green series has been shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards. Her new series is called The Songbird Café Girls and is for age 8+ readers. Sarah met with all the girls from J1-J6 and shared some really good tips about writing short stories and books.

KGLR and KGUpr visit Imaginosity

Our younger students really enjoyed themselves at Imaginosity this morning. The got to take part in a special Science class called “Kitchen Chemistry”. They had a ball!

Need some extra help with your Children?

Note: This girl comes highly recommended by a family in our school.

Dear Host family,

Hi! I’m a French girl 25 years old and I would be very happy to stay in Ireland for 4 months (February to May 2017) in your family to look after your children. I finished my university studies and I want to improve my English before my exam for being a lawyer in September 2017. I’m dynamistic, independent and responsible. I like to spend time with my family, friends, I’m a fan of nature and, most of the time, I bike! I also like the city to shop and see movies! My favourite artistic activities are music and dancing, I learned the piano and I practice classical dance and jazz, a passion for me!

I’m curious to discover Irish culture and the way of life. I realized a similar experience in Spain, in the Balearic Islands. I was au pair in summer one month, five consecutive years when I was 20 years old. I took care of two lovely girls (2 years and 5 years old) and I have a good memory of my stays! I enjoy being with children and spending time with them, I love their spontaneity! I would be delighted to get acquainted with yours, teach French if they’re motivated, I wish to take English class in the morning, I will be available for the children the afternoon after the bell. I don’t wish remuneration; I just want to be housed, fed and to be integrated in the family like a member (take the meal and share activities with the family).

Waiting for a positive answer,

Sincerely yours,

Charlène LAMOULINETTE

2 rue des tilleuls

17250 SOULIGNONNE

00 33 6 64 31 80 44

c.lamoulinette@gmail.com

Dates for Your Diary

Monday 6^th             J5 (all) vs Mt. Anville JS 2.30pm Alex

Tuesday 7^th             J2/J1 Swimming

Sunday 12^th            Leinster Inter Schools Gala – NAC

From the Office

Ms. Walsh – Family Bereavement

Please keep Ms. Walsh and her family in your prayers. Her mother, Mary, passed away very suddenly last Monday.

Lunch Card Top Ups: If your daughter’s lunch card needs to be topped up, you can do this online via the website or send cash into Ms. Higgins in the office and she will put the money on the card for you.

Book Your Seats for the NCH!

All of our girls in J5 and J6 will sing as special guests with The Three Tenors in the NCH on Thursday, March 23^rd at 8pm. The evening will feature Sibéal Ní Chasaide and the concert will include popular classic hits from Sinatra, The Dubliners, and Pavarotti etc. Tickets are from €25.00 and can be booked at www.nch.ie or call 01 4170000.

School Blazers:

If anyone has an Alex school blazer from an older sister that they are no longer using, we would appreciate it if you would send it into the JS office. We need them for the J6 girls making Confirmation.

From JACA

Don’t Forget! JACA Education Talk: “How to Keep your Children Safe Online” Wednesday, February 15^th 7.30pm in the Junior School. With all the new devices received at Christmas, this is a must talk for all parents. Pat Mc Kenna (childwatch.ie) will follow the parent talk with a talk for the girls in J5 and J6 in school the next day.

Belle Moore (J4) – Runner Up in Grand Final

Ireland’s first approved parcel delivery by drone was completed last Saturday in Dun Laoghaire by our very own Belle Moore in J4! The flight was part of her research for a project on drones for the Mini Intel Scientist Competition. It took two minutes to complete, with the drone taking the parcel from the shoreline to the boat almost 200m away. Belle’s sister, Betty, was in the boat that received the parcel.

Belle presented her project today (Friday) at the Grand Final of the Intel Mini Scientist Competition in the Helix in DCU. She came in second place overall – congratulations!!! This is an amazing achievement and we are all so proud of Belle.

J6 Visit Kilmainham Gaol

Kilmainham Gaol is a former prison in Kilmainham, Dublin. It is now a museum run by the Office of Public Works, an agency of the Government of Ireland. Many Irish revolutionaries, including the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising, were imprisoned and executed in the prison. Our J6 students found the guided trip they took around the Gaol on Wednesday morning very interesting and informative.

Sports Update

Upcoming Matches (all friendly matches)

Monday 6^th             J5 (all) vs Mt. Anville JS 2.30pm in Alex

Monday 13^th           J4 (all) vs KPS 2.30pm in Alex

Thursday 16^th         J6 (all) vs. Taney 2.30pm in Alex

Colman Noctor, Adolescent Psychotherapist. Author of ‘Cop-On’

We had a super talk during the week for parents of 1^st -3^rd years which had been kindly organised by Mary Earlie. Colman was a very lively and engaging speaker who had us all sitting up to hear his gems of wisdom from his clinical experience with adolescents and also as a parent. Some of the key points that he made were:

General

The Internet is the greatest social experiment of our time, whilst there are a lot of positives it comes at a price. General levels of anxiety among young people escalating and most issues relate to technology. We have an ‘Always on’ culture and we are engaging with devices continuously. For many young people this situation this is all they have ever known and their phones and tablets have huge emotional value. Experiences are all screen shootable and shareable.

Identity/Validation
The phone has become like an extension of ourselves and for many children it can bring about a “constant hum” of anxiety. It has become part of their identity and likes, shares, selfies all capturing how they wish to portray themselves rather than who they actually are. Also, generally they have more than just one profile, they have multiple; Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram. Even when phones off, their identities still processing/pinging –“different me on different platforms”.

Pornography

While it is generally seen as been fantasy, kids see it as ‘reality.’ Need to talk to kids about intimacy/relationships vs letting them just ‘google’ info.

Tips

Parents have a huge influence on their children’s mental wellbeing and use of technology. An OPEN & APPROACHABLE relationship is KEY

1: Be Open/Curious/Listen

Ask what its like to be in that ‘space’ i.e. online? Pros/cons

Which platforms do they like and why? How does it feel to be on FB?

Appreciate the positives and benefit of technology. Not all bad.

Tell your kids that whatever they come across to tell you about it

Even if it’s sinister don’t ever threaten to take the phone/device off them

(that’s often why they don’t tell parents about unpleasant/negative experiences)

2: Moderate Use of Devices

The Internet like snackfood – you have to moderate it , can’t let children decide when they’ve had enough as is too difficult. Need to limit time spent but important not to threaten confiscation as phone is too important to them , this is too serious a threat. Do whatever you think is appropriate for your child

3: Be a Role Model

Parents now also guilty of being addicted to their phones. We need to be good role models. No point telling them not to go on their phones at mealtimes if we do – it’s like telling them to ‘Eat porridge while we eat Tayto!’

One to one quality communication key

4: Encourage More Downtime/ ‘Nothingness’ Time

Kids need downtime to ‘be’ and do nothing. Need to teach kids to tolerate boredom and just ‘be’ with themselves. Learning to Wait.

This generation always hearing ‘hurry up’ with their overscheduled lives. If they have too much on, cut back. You need to talk the lead here if a kid wants to do ‘everything.’ Overdoing things can cause burnout.

5: Build Resilience

Our childrens generation are known as the ‘snowflake generation’. Even though they want to be resilient we don’t’ give them enough opportunities to fail/learn from their mistakes vs fixing/controlling things for them. We need to teach them to be more resilient.

6: Balance is BEST ( 4-7/10)?

Kids need balance. Don’t want a kid to be over achieving or under achieving

Anything from 4-7 out of 10 is really good.

Resources;

www.colmannoctor.com

Daire Coffey and Monica Haughey

On Wednesday the 8^th Feb in the afternoon, I had a visit from a very interesting past pupil of Alexandra College, Mrs. Laetitia Le Froy (1955) who attended the school to matriculate.

She lived on the Corkagh estate, Clondalkin in the family home, which has since been demolished and is now a well know park in Clondalkin.

Her family, the Colleys go way back in our records as having attended the school. They also have a very interesting history.

Veronica Colley 1929-1930

Valerie Colley     1930-1931

Rosemary Colley1931-1933

Maud Colley 1986-1988

Florence Colley 1986-1989

Constance Colley 1986-1991

Gertrude Colley 1989-1992

Florence, who was the older sister, is the mother of the great Elizabeth Bowen CBE Irish novelist and short story writer. (1899-1973)

Gertrude Colley went on to marry Alberic Arthur Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes.

They had 4 children, 3 girls and a boy named Maurice Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes (1907-1994) later to be knighted Sir for his contribution to engineering. He married Sylvia Finlay and they had 5 children.

His eldest son Mark Fiennes (1933-2004) married writer Jennifer Lash.

They produced the famous actors Ralph and Joseph Fiennes, film director Martha Fiennes, composer Magnus Fiennes, film maker Sophie Fiennes.

Constance Colley who attended Alex from 1886-1891 won Miss Porter’s Prize (1891).

She went on to become a very successful doctor studying in the College of Physicians in Edinburgh; she graduated as a Doctor of Medicine (MD).

She went on to work at Kingswood Sanatorium in the Chiltern Hills Oxford; it was a treatment centre for tuberculosis.

Unfortunately, she contracted consumption and died on the 15^th Feb 1912. She never married.

Her brother Edward (Eddie) Colley was on the Titanic and was lost in the tragedy that unfolded with the sinking of the ship on the 15^th April 1912. His body was never recovered.

I have just given you a small amount of the history of the Colley family, but as you can see it is very interesting.

Mr. Turtle Bunbury who is a relation of the Colley family and a well know writer, has been commissioned to write a comprehensive history of the family.

Gillian Dean

Dates for your Diary

Sunday 12^th            Leinster Inter Schools Gala – NAC – Good luck, girls!

Feb. 13-17^th           Friendship Week in the Junior School (activities all week)

Mon.13^th/Tues.14^th Speech and Drama exams – Good luck, girls!

Mon.13^th/Tues.14^th No regular Speech and Drama classes today

Tuesday 14^th           J2/J1 Swimming

Tuesday 14^th           Strings Concert 7pm SS Lecture Theatre

Wednesday 15^th      JACA talk on Internet Safety for parents – all welcome

Thursday 16^th         Internet Safety talk J6/J5 (9-10am)

Thursday 16^th        KGLR vaccinations – see email and note in bag

Friday 17^th              Pajama Day! Sponsored by Student Council – €2 for Make a Wish

Friday 17^th             Foundation – girls to wear runners with pajamas

Friday 17^th             Full school day. Aftercare open until 6.00pm

Feb. 20^th-24^th         Mid-term Break – enjoy!

From the Office

KGLr Vaccinations – Thursday, February 16^th – email sent home Thursday and note went home in schoolbags today.

Lunch Card Top Ups: If your daughter’s lunch card needs to be topped up, you can do this online via the website or send cash into Ms. Higgins in the office and she will put the money on the card for you. If you received a text saying your daughter’s card is in arrears, please top it up as soon as possible.

After Care Invoices: Invoices will go home in schoolbags on Monday, February 13^th. Please pay online/cash/cheque by Friday, February 17^th. Thank you.

Book Your Seats for the NCH!

All of our girls in J5 and J6 will sing as special guests with The Three Tenors in the NCH on Thursday, March 23^rd at 8pm. The evening will feature Sibéal Ní Chasaide and the concert will include popular classic hits from Sinatra, The Dubliners, and Pavarotti etc. Tickets are from €25.00 and can be booked at www.nch.ie or call 01 4170000.

From JACA

JACA Education Talk: “How to Keep your Children Safe Online” Wednesday, February 15^th 7.30pm in the Junior School. With all the new devices received at Christmas, this is a must talk for all parents. Pat Mc Kenna (childwatch.ie) will follow the parent talk with a talk for the girls in J5 and J6 in school the next day. We look forward to seeing you.

JACA Social Evening – Saturday, March 25^th in Westbury Hotel – class reps will be selling tickets soon – don’t miss out!

Speech and Drama Exams

Good luck to all our girls in J1-J3 who will be taking their exams next Monday, February 13^th! They are very well-prepared and we wish them all the best.

Reminder: There are no regular Speech and Drama classes on Monday, February 13^th.

A HUGE Thank You!

Alex Voices recently joined forces with St Mary’s College Singers and The Notabelles in support of The Caroline Foundation. Our performance at Murphy’s pub in Rathmines enjoyed strong support from non-singing parents, who cheered, chatted and were abundantly generous.  There were dozens of parents representing both senior and junior school, but the preschool parents made a class night of it and deserve particular thanks.

Together we raised in excess of €1800 towards cancer research, and the choir would like to express their thanks to everyone who contributed.

Music Recital

We were delighted to have some of Ms. O’Rourke’s viola students play for us on Monday during assembly. The girls from J1 to J4 played really well.

We Did the 10/10 Challenge!

Our school took part in a nationwide exercise event today. All primary schools were challenged to get together to do exercises on February 10^th at 10am for 10 minutes. Kate Saunders, Evie Heaslip, Bonnie Logan and Natalia Perez del Olmo in J5 led the whole Junior School in a rigorous but fun workout. It was great fun! The aim of the event was to show the importance that exercise has on our physical and mental well-being. The Junior School has an Active Assembly every Wednesday at assembly time too. Well done, everyone!

Sports Update

Upcoming Matches (all friendly matches)

Monday 13^th           J4 (all) vs KPS 2.30pm in Alex

Thursday 16^th         J6 (all) vs. Taney 2.30pm in Alex

 Dates for Your Diary

Monday 27^th           School re-opens 8.45am

Monday 27^th            Father/Daughter Pancake Breakfast (see below)

Tuesday 28^th           J2/J1 Swimming

Tuesday 28^th          School Spelling Bee (J5 and J6) 9.15am

March

Wednesday 1^st        J4 Tag Rugby event in Mt. Anville

Thursday 2^nd           Celebrate World Book Day – Dress up as a book character

March 2/3/6th      Scholastic Book Fair in JS Hall (See below)

From the Office

Camp Alex

Camp Alex is on next week, February 20th – February 24^th, for boys and girls aged 3-12. There will be a whole variety of activities, including sports, baking, games and dancing.

Camp Alex is great value at only €125 for the week. It also offers pre and post camp activities as well as daily rates. The camp is on from 10-3pm each day and After Care is available from 8-10am and 3-5pm at €5 per hour.

Father/Daughter Pancake Breakfast: Tuesday, February 28^th from 7.30-8.45am in the Dining Hall. The cost is €5 per person and is in aid of the Alexandra Bursary Fund. If dads can’t make it, uncles, granddads or big brothers are very welcome. We really hope that lots of you can make it!

Lunch Card Top Ups: If your daughter’s lunch card needs to be topped up, you can do this online via the website or send cash into Ms. Higgins in the office and she will put the money on the card for you. If you received a text saying your daughter’s card is in arrears, please top it up as soon as possible.

After Care Invoices: Invoices went home in schoolbags last Monday. Payment is due now.

Book Your Seats for the NCH!

All of our girls in J5 and J6 will sing as special guests with The Three Tenors in the NCH on Thursday, March 23^rd at 8pm. The evening will feature Sibéal Ní Chasaide and the concert will include popular classic hits from Sinatra, The Dubliners, and Pavarotti etc. Tickets are from €25.00 and can be booked at www.nch.ie or call 01 4170000.

From JACA

The JACA Education Talk: “How to Keep your Children Safe Online” took place last Wednesday evening. Pat Mc Kenna (childwatch.ie) gave a large group from the Junior School a very informative talk on the topic. Pat certainly gave us lots to think about! He followed the parent evening with a talk for the girls in J5 and J6 in school the next day.

JACA Social Evening – Saturday, March 25^th in Westbury Hotel – tickets are on sale now – don’t miss out on this great evening!

Friendship Week in the Junior School

This week, the Junior School engaged in many activities related to the theme of Friendship. The whole school took part in a special art project on the theme of the book, “The Rainbow Fish” by Marcus Pfister. In summary, the most beautiful fish in the ocean is asked to share one of his shining scales with a little blue fish, and to which he refuses. All the other fish in the sea leave him alone, and he wondered why. He goes to the wise octopus for advice, and she tells him to give away his scales. Rainbow Fish reluctantly does so, except for one. In the end, he is less beautiful then he was before, but he has new friends and is now the happiest fish in the sea.

Every student in the Junior School decorated their own fish and wrote on one side what friendship meant to them. You can see the colourful display in the reception area of the school. Many thanks to Ms. Boyd for planning this project and for hanging up all the fish. The teachers covered the topic of friendship and bullying in their SPHE lessons too.

Monday: In assembly, we talked about what it takes to be a good friend, everyone got an “I am a Good Friend” sticker and we all joined in singing the popular Bruno Mars song, “Count on Me”.

Tuesday: During assembly, we talked about St. Valentine’s Day and the KGUppers sang a song about friendship. They also let us know what love means to them.

Wednesday: The J3 class sang a wonderful song, “ Friends Forever”.

Friday: The week ended with the KGLowers leading assembly with a poem (“I Can Be a Pal”) about friendship and they also made beautiful, colourful posters about the rules of friendship.

The Student Council organised a special Pajama Day on Friday in aid of the Make a Wish Foundation. All the Junior School girls were delighted to wear their pajamas to school!

An Evening to Remember -Valentine’s Strings Concert

Some of us were very fortunate to attend a wonderful concert on Valentine’s night in the Senior School. We got to hear the very talented Alexandra College String Ensemble, String students from both the Junior and Senior Schools and the Alexandra College Chamber Orchestra. We were very proud of our girls from the Junior School: Róisín O’Callaghan (J1), Enid O’Brien, Athena Wiley, Anna Perryman, Ainhoa Kosossey Velez(J3) and Portia Wiley (J4). Many thanks to their teacher, Ms. Hakanen-O’Rourke, for organising this very special evening.

Get Ready- The Scholastic Book Fair is coming soon to Alex!

The annual Book Fair will take place in the Junior School concourse on Thursday, March 2^nd, Friday, March 3^rd and Monday, March 6^th. There will be hundreds of books to suit all age groups. The school earns 60% commission on all the sales that will go directly to buying new books for our Junior School Library project. With sales from the book fair and on-going fundraising by JACA, we hope to have our own Junior School library in place for the next academic year.

Sports Update

Good news! Congratulations to Darcy Hutter in J4. At the Dublin Indoor Championships last weekend, she took Gold in the U11 60m Sprint and her team took Silver in the relay. Well done, Darcy!

Upcoming Events

Monday Feb. 27^th        J6A and J5A teams – league matches in Alex 3.10pm

Tuesday, Mar. 14^th       AIJS Swimming Gala for J5/J6 – leaving 12.30pm and returning

Tuesday, Mar. 14^th       3.45pm in Castle Park, Dalkey

Tuesday, Mar. 28th^th    AIJS Swimming Gala for J3/J4 – leaving 12.30pm and returning

Tuesday, Mar. 28th^t      3.45pm in Castle Park, Dalkey

Wed. April 26^th             AIJS Athletics in Irishtown (J4/J5/J6 only) Starts at 12 noon.

Wed. March 29^th          AIJS Basketball Tournament – (7 players from J6) Leaving 12.30pm

and returning 4.30pm

The Transition Year and Alex Bursary Washbag Appeal is upon us again and is in aid of the Women’s Refuge in Rathmines. Students are asked to bring in washbags filled with the listed products below. The form class that bring in the most washbags will be rewarded with a pizza party next term!

The washbag deadline is Wednesday 29th April. Last year we made over 200 washbags and this lasted the refuge 5 months. The TY’s would love to double this figure this year!

We would appreciate all your support and help with this very worthwhile initiative.

Dates for Your Diary

Monday 6th            Last day! Scholastic Book Fair in JS Hall

Tuesday 7^th             J2/J1 Swimming

Wednesday 8^th        J4 visit St. Michael’s House (morning)

Friday 10^th              Soccer league starts (J2-J6)

March 13-16^th        Seachtain na Gaeilge activities

From the Office

Important Reminder: Students may be dropped off and stay in the Junior School Hall from 7.50am each day. Students are supervised in the hall from 7.50am-8.30am. It is very important that your child is on time for school. Between 8.30 and 8.45am, the students get themselves ready for the day before going to assembly. We gather as a school community in the JS concourse for assembly at 8.45am. Classes start immediately after assembly. It is very disruptive to the teachers and the class when students arrive late to school. We would appreciate your full co-operation on this matter.

Lunch Card Top Ups: If your daughter’s lunch card needs to be topped up, you can do this online via the website or send cash into Ms. Higgins in the office and she will put the money on the card for you. If you received a text saying your daughter’s card is in arrears, please top it up as soon as possible.

Please note: You will have received a text saying if your daughter’s account is in arrears. There are some accounts in serious arrears and, as a result, this is causing a disruption to the flow of service daily and also adding to the catering admin workload on a daily basis.

*Effective from Monday 6^th March ’17, the caterers will be unable to provide a service to any student who does not have sufficient funds on their card.

After Care Invoices: Invoices went home in schoolbags before the mid-term break. We would appreciate it if all invoices were settles as soon as possible.

Book Your Seats for the NCH!

All of our girls in J5 and J6 will sing as special guests with The Three Tenors in the NCH on Thursday, March 23^rd at 8pm. The evening will feature Sibéal Ní Chasaide and the concert will include popular classic hits from Sinatra, The Dubliners, and Pavarotti etc. Tickets are from €25.00 and can be booked at www.nch.ie or call 01 4170000.

From JACA

JACA Social Evening – Saturday, March 25^th in Westbury Hotel – tickets are on sale now – don’t miss out on this great evening! Contact your Class Rep for tickets.

Father/Daughter Pancake Breakfast

It was wonderful to see so many dads (uncles, brothers, granddads) at the Father/Daughter Pancake Breakfast on Tuesday morning. There was a great atmosphere in the Dining Hall as the girls from the Junior and Senior Schools queued up to enjoy some delicious pancakes!

Thank you to George and his team from Donnybrook Fair for hosting the event. All the money raised will go to the Alexandra Bursary Fund. Susan Whelan was very appreciative of the support you all gave to this charity. We look forward to this becoming an annual event now!

Celebrate World Book Week!

The Junior School celebrates World Book Week this week with lots of different events.

• Lamplugh introduced the theme for the week, emphasised the importance of reading and told us about some of her favourite books.

• Girls from J1-J6 all did charades on some of their favourite books.

• Girls from different classes told us about some of their favourite books and book characters.

• The Scholastic Book Fair started and the girls were very excited to look at all the books on offer. On World Book Day, everyone dressed up as their favourite book character – the girls and their teachers were so creative! Enjoy the photos!

• The Eason Spelling Bee competition took place on Friday – J5/J6 took part and J2-J4 all watched the event.

It is very important to cultivate the habit of reading in your home and to foster and develop the habit of daily reading with your child.

• Encourage children to choose books independently
• Talk to children about their choice of books and be aware of what they are reading in their spare time.
• Encourage children to spend time reading on a regular basis. This should include weekends and holidays.
• Continue reading aloud with your child as long as she considers it to be an enjoyable activity
• Let your child see you reading
• Join a public library

Thank you for supporting the Book Fair again this year. The school earns 60% commission in books on all sales. The last day for the Book Fair is Monday, March 6^th.

Eason Spelling Bee Winner!

The Junior School held the annual Eason Spelling Bee competition on Friday morning. There was great excitement as the girls from J5 and J6 competed with each other to be the school champion. After five rounds, we had a winner. Congratulations to Emily Holland in J6! Well done to Aisling Finn in J5 for being a runner-up. Emily will go on to represent our school in the Dublin County Spelling Bee in The Red Cow Inn on Wednesday, March 29^th.

Sports Update

Tuesday, Mar. 14^th       AIJS Swimming Gala for J5/J6 – leaving 12.30pm and returning

3.45pm in Castle Park, Dalkey

Tuesday, Mar. 28th^th    AIJS Swimming Gala for J3/J4 – leaving 12.30pm and returning

3.45pm in Castle Park, Dalkey

Wed. March 29^th          AIJS Basketball Tournament – (7 players from J6) Leaving

12.30pm and returning 4.30pm

Wed. April 26^th                        AIJS Athletics in Irishtown (J4/J5/J6 only) Starts at 12 noon.

Any Mums for Tennis?

Why not join the Rusty Racket Group!

Every Wednesday morning in Bective Tennis Club, Donnybrook.

10am to 11.30am. Max Group 10, 4 spaces remaining.

Tennis, Fun & Coffee

If interested, contact : Mairead Wales at 087 4151590