PJP School News - March

It is hard to believe that we are almost at the end of our second term. It has been a busy few months for all the PJP students and teachers.

Our second classes have been busy with preparation for First Penance. Well done to all the children and their teachers on two very successful ceremonies this week. When we return to school after the Easter Break our sixth classes will be preparing for their Ceremony of Light. Well done to the school choir who are coming together to rehearse for Communion and Confirmation.

A big thank you to Father Martin and Ronan for visiting the school for our Easter Assemblies.

The whole school thoroughly enjoyed Seachtain na Gaeilge and it was wonderful to see so many different activities happening throughout the school.

I hope that everyone can enjoy the Easter Break and that we will all return to school refreshed and ready for a wonderful final term.

Ms. Markey

Seachtain na Gaeilge took place in Pope John Paul’s from 13th –16th March. This is part of our Gaelbhratach award. A special ‘míle buíochas’ must go to our wonderful ‘Coiste na Gaeilge’ led by Ms. Magner who were very busy bees that week helping to promote Gaeilge around the school.

There were so many events happening around the school and such a wonderful atmosphere- It was wonderful to witness so many children making an extra special effort to ‘Bí ag caint as gaeilge’.

The ‘Coiste na Gaeilge’ took over the intercom every day to bring you all ‘Raidió PJP’ a short radio programme all ‘as Gaeilge’ updating children on the latest news in the school, birthday shout outs and a daily competition. We had great fun with that – A special thank you to Ms. Ní Chonchubhair for helping to co-ordinate the radio and to Ms. Markey for allowing us to use the intercom.

The ‘Coiste na Gaeilge’ also formed a ‘Foireann fáilte’ or ‘Welcoming Team’ - before and after break times throughout the day , members of the Irish committee greeted children going to /from the yard as Gaeilge and encouraged the children to greet each other as Gaeilge too. Special stickers were awarded to those making an effort!

We were delighted to welcome Ciarán Mac Fhearghusa from Óga Yoga, who came and did a yoga session ‘as gaeilge ‘ with each of our fifth classes. Ms Cahill’s 4th class also experienced a yoga class with Ciarán as part of Seachtain na Gaeilge in Malahide Library.

We also welcomed seanchaí (storyteller) Róisín Murphy who visited our 4th classes and told them a mixture of Irish stories and legends as Gaeilge. It was very entertaining!

Mary Grimes and her team of dancers came to help teach 2nd and 6th class how to do some Irish dancing (Thank you to Ms. Callely for helping to co-ordinate this) There were also wonderful year level Céilí in the hall, tráth na gceist ( table quizzes) , a Zoom with Poland , a ‘Lá Glas’ and the annual Seanfhocail competition. Congratulations to all the winners! The standard was so high! So many things to squeeze in but here are just a few highlights of the week:

The boys and girls in 5th class had been ag obair go dian for a few weeks in the run up to Seachtain na Gaeilge learning and practicing The Armagh Polka, Na Ballaí Luimnigh agus Shoe the Donkey for their Céilí sa halla spóirt! Each class also performed pop songs as Gaeilge! Ms. Bennets did the Cup Song, Mr. Murphy's did Shake It Off; Mr. Freeman's did Sky full of of Stars; Ms. McCarthy's did Shotgun; Ms. McKenna's did Galway Girl and Ms. Ní Chonchubhairs did Óró Sé do Bheatha Abhaile. We had some amazing fun at the Céilí!

The 5th classes held a large Tráth na gcéist (Table quiz) for Seachtain na Gaeilge! Every class held a qualifying quiz in their classroom before a grand final in the PE hall. The Final was MC'd by Ms. McCarthy who's class went on to claim victory over Ms. Bennett's class on a tie-breaker question after getting the exact same score on the quiz. Well done Ms. McCarthy's class!

We started our season with a friendly against Holywell Educate Together. We got a 4-0 win and we played well as a team. This gave us confidence heading into the FAI schools league and Cup. For our first cup match we played Killester in St. Anne's park. We won by 5 goals. The weather was very bad. It rained heavily from start to finish. We instantly started preparing for our next match in which we faced Donabate away. This was our first match in the league. Once again, the weather was horrendous. Evan set the tempo with an early opener, we kept on playing through the rain and wind and we won 5-0.

In our second league match we played holy family and we won 6-2 with 4 goals from Ethan,1 goal from Evan and one from Luca. We played this game in very wet and windy conditions as well. In our next game we are facing Palmerstown in the cup in Gannon Park. We have a very strong squad, and this is coming through in the matches.

By Joseph Fallon and Ethan Kelly

The strong winds didn't stop over 20 boys for trying out for the first ever PJP hurling team in Broomfield on Friday 24th of March. The boys will be training hard for the coming weeks before an opening round match versus Rush NS at the end of April! Go n-eírí an t-adh libh buachaillí!

Our team made it to the Ladies under 12 Dublin Basketball Cup final after we knocked out the other teams we played against in the cup rounds. There were 4 players from PJP, Clara Morris, Olivia Morris, Amy Smith and Laura Glackin The final was held in the Oblates Hall in Inchicore which is the old National Basketball Stadium. We were first to arrive at the Oblates and we got to see the court first, it was huge. Our basketball club hired a coach to bring kids from the other club teams to cheer us on; we must have had about 100 supporters there to include our families. The club gave everyone flags and banners to wave as we played. Our coaches brought us into the locker room to give our team the game plan before the match and just before tip off each player was called out onto the court one by one to big cheers from the supporters. Our team got the opening score and, from there, we led for the whole game. Our opponents were very good and always very close to us on the score board so we only ever led by a few baskets. It was a very intense game and in the last minute we were only leading by one point. Our supporters were cheering like mad in the stands and the noise was so loud you couldn’t hear yourself think … the excitement was great. One of our teammates got a lovely side shot in the last minute and sealed the deal for our team to win. We won a big cup and we all got medals. It was an amazing day for us and for the club. We made history for the club as we’re the first under age team in Malahide Basketball Club to win a Dublin Cup final.

By Clara and Olivia Morris

On the 20th of March the boys football team played in a five aside tournament with over 50 teams in the competition in Gannon park and we had two teams in it. The first team won their group but sadly didn’t make it through . The first team played St.Ciarans, Trinity national school and St. Pats and topped our group on goal difference thanks to our beloved strikers Finn , Ethan and our captain Evan, Meanwhile supporting them were Max, Harry, Gearoid, Luke and Luka. Sadly St.Marnocks and Oliver Plunkets went through. The second team played against Oliver Plunkets and St. Pats The second team was Oliver , Robbie, Joseph, Conor, Cillian, Oliver, Dylan and Seanie. Thankfully it was at beautiful day outside and we had a great time. Thanks to our managers Ms. Bradshaw and Mr. Whiting.

Trinity 4-6 Malahide

St. Pats 5-3 Malahide

St. Ciaran’s 3-7 Malahide

On Monday the 27th of March we had a cup match vs St Helens and sadly lost 5-3 but we put up a good fight. We went 1-0 up thanks to Luka Whiting’s penalty. After we conceded two free kicks we went down 2-1. After a dry spell Cillian Daily gave hope to our squad when he made it 2-2. After the half time break Ethan Kelly scored a banger of a goal to put us in the lead. With 10 minutes to go we slipped up and St Helens drew the game at 3-3. In extra time we sadly went down 5-3 and lost. All hope was abandoned and we will not progress in the cup.

On Thursday the 20th of April we will play our bitter rivals Oliver Plunketts. This match will be played in Gannon Park at 2pm and it will be a gripping league match. So forth this will be our biggest match so far. We hope to have a lot of support there.

The school has ordered new jerseys and we will be proud to be the first to wear them.

PJP Girls soccer squad entered two teams into the five a side Soccer Tournament in Gannon Park on Tuesday March 21st.

Our meeting time was at 9:10 at Gannon Park . We went on to the pitch, they were less then a 1/4 size of a normal pitch and the goals were very small. We warmed up and took shots on goals .Then Ms James and Ms Ms McKenna split us up into our two five aside teams.

Team 1 was made up of

Eva , Rachel , Sophie , Sara , Isobel , Taja , Ruby and myself (Orlaith). Our first game was at 10:00am, we won and we beat them 17-0! It was brilliant! We won our second game against Portmarnock 2-0, it was a much tougher game but thankfully we came out on top. Our last game was at 11.30 and we won 11-0

Team 2 was made up of

Anna, Amy, Leah, Chloe, Jessica, Maria, Valeria, Paloma and myself (Síne). We won our first game against Holywell 2-0 and continued our winning streak, winning our second game 1-0. Unfortunately we were beaten 2-0 by a very strong team in our final game.

When all the matches were over we had to wait to see which team made it through to the next round. Finally Ms James and Ms McKenna came up and said that Team 1 had made it through but our second team sadly didn’t, but they still played amazing. We came first out of the whole tournament and we were all really proud of ourselves.

We now go through to the Dublin finals which will take place on May 4th. We are all very excited and hope that we can make it through to the National finals in the Aviva Stadium.

Written by Orlaith Reilly & Síne Guinan, 6th Class, Room 5 Ms James

A large crowd gathered to watch the PJP Junior Boys’ Football Team take on Gaelscoil Brían Boroimhe in the Malahide sunshine at 3pm on March 29th. For all the boys on the team, it was their first time donning the green and blue for PJP and they were eager to get a successful year up and running. An opening score for our Gaeilge speaking opposition was hard earned thanks to the heroic defending of Conor Early who blocked shot after shot after shot. A superb, diving Josh Dignam save at the near post kept PJP in the game. Lightning speed Gavin Shanley did excellently to run through the lines and send the ball over the bar for PJP’s opening point and level the game. Three more GSB points before half-time left the boys trailing by that margin at the break.

The half-time team talk was used to remind the boys how tight the game was and how many chances we had squandered. The boys re-entered the pitch full of belief and got straight into action. Half-time substitute Matthew Richmond stifled a shot at goal which was somehow saved by the goalkeeper. The momentum was now with us. Conor Halpin pulled another point back, as did Gavin Shanley from distance. Gavin continued to be instrumental in the game as his pass to substitute Cormac O’Neill allowed Cormac to put the ball past the keeper into the net. PJP’s belief had inspired them to fight back and now they had taken the lead. As the clock continued to tick towards full time, defenders Sean Osario and Rían Gardiner led by example in holding GSB at bay. As the clock entered the last minute, GSB broke through midfield and sent a long ball into their corner forward who wiggled through the PJP back line and nestled the ball in the bottom corner. The full-time whistle blew. Heartbreak for PJP. A one-point defeat, 1-4 to 1-3. There are many positives to come from this match. All the players on the team got at least half a game under their belt, while the team kept the opposition scoreless from the 15th minute until the final minute. The boys next face an away trip to Rolestown after Easter, where if they play with the same vigour again will certainly come away with a win!

Dé Máirt seo caite, d'imir foireann Gaelach na cailíní rang a cúig a gcéad chluiche i gcoinne Rolestown. D'imir na cailíní go maith so chéad agus dara leath. Bhuaigh na cailíní an cluiche peil. Bhí cluiche iontach acu. Bhí an t-atmaisfear go hana mhaith ar fad!

Tuarisc le Anna le Blanc, Rang a Cúig, Iníon ní Chonchubair

Following an amazing run in the Cumann na mBunscoil Gaelic Football championship before Christmas where the boys narrowly missed out on the final in Croke Park, they were eager to start off the Fingal League with a victory over our arch-rivals, Oliver Plunketts.

With throw in delayed by ten minutes, PJPs had an extended warm up which proved beneficial as we stormed to an early lead thanks to points from Harry Moore and Luke Ryan followed by a hattrick of well taken goals by full forward Ben Walls. Another point was kicked over by Luke Ryan before Dylan Canny and Ethan Kelly each added a goal to give PJP a 5-3 to 0-4 lead at half time.

Mr. Freeman and Mr. Murphy emptied the bench at half time making 8 substitutions at once. Some excellent second half performances continued PJP's dominance over our neighbours with goals from Luke Whitney and Cillian O'Reilly the highlights of the second half. The full time whistle ended with an 8-9 to 1-6 victory and bragging rights for the PJP Boys!

The boys next face Rush NS in Broomfield at 2pm on Wednesday 29th March, an hour before the Junior boys play host to Gaelscoil Brian Boroimhe an hour later at 3pm.

A warm, sunny day provided glorious conditions for a Fingal League tie with Gaelscoil Brian Boroimhe. Under the watchful eyes of Ms. McDaid, Ms. James, and Ms. Conneelly, a strong starting 15 was named and quickly found a scoring rhythm. 2 points from Leah Lamanciuc and points by Abby Healy Dillon and Sarah Farrell had given PJP a healthy lead before Anna Le Blanc added 2 more points and a goal from close range before half time. A strong PJP defensive performance kept GSB scoreless at half time as they trailed PJP by 1-6.

A raft of half-time changes only furthered our scoring ability. Olivia Morris soloed through on goal and opted to take the safer option of a hand-pass over the bar. Anna Le Blanc continued her fine form from the first half by adding a point and securing her hattrick with two goals smashed into the roof of the net either side of a well-taken Sarah Farrell point. Substitute Rebecca Kelly made an excellent run down the left side before kicking over for another point before Olivia Morris scored from far out. The score of the match came from GSB who kicked over from a massive distance gaining applause from both sets of players and fans. The game ended with PJP coming out on top by 3-10 to 0-2 in a convincing and ruthless display by the Junior Girls who take on more Irish speaking opponents after Easter with a visit to Gaelscoil Colmcille in Santry.

It was the 8th of March. We had a Gaelic Football match against Portmarnock. We left school at 1.30PM and were very excited for the game ahead. Once we all arrived, we pulled out the goals, set up the cones and got some footballs for our warmup. The throw in was at 2PM and we started strong and were leading at half time. Once the second half started, we were against a strong wind and they started to catch up. Before we knew it the game was over. It ended a 1-7 to 1-7 draw. A disappointing result but acceptable in the strong wind.

On 21st of March, we played St. Seachnalls in Broomfield. Many of us had played a soccer tournament that day and weren’t in school at all. We were far too strong for our opposition and beat them 6-14 to 0-1. It was a great day for 6th class girls going undefeated in two sports.

On 28th March, we played St. Patricks from Skerries. At the all weather pitch, Ms. McDaid, Ms. James, and Ms. Conneelly were getting everything set up while we were taking shots on Izzy and practising taking our points. When the ref threw in the ball, Eva and Áine won it. Our team started getting early scores and our whole team was doing great and kept making substitutions and everyone had a go on the pitch. We won by 4-12 to 1-1 We played some great games and hopefully can win our league.

Report by Eva and Sophie

Broomfield looked magnificent as the sun beat down on the all-weather pitch on Wednesday 29th of April as the Senior Boys took on Rush NS. Having comprehensively beaten Oliver Plunketts a week earlier, the senior boys were all pumped up for the match. Unlike last week however, we were off to a slow start and found ourselves trailing by a goal and a point mere minutes into the game. Defender Ronan Brady found himself spare as a result of the opposition playing a sweeper system which prompted Mr. Freeman and Mr. Murphy to instruct him to man mark the sweeper and play as an extra attacker. Ronan instantly latched onto the ball and scored our first point of the game after breaking through a tackle and shooting from distance. An Ethan Kelly free and a sweetly struck shot by Gearóid Heery had PJP right back in the game. Full forward Ben Walls almost broke the crossbar with a rocket of a shot which was subsequently turned over the bar by defender-turned-attacker Ronan Brady. Gearóid Heery soon knocked over his second point, again from distance to put some daylight between the teams on the scoreboard. Rush did not lay down however and tapped over another point. Ethan Kelly took advantage of the very strong winds to score from an outrageous distance which his coaches agreed they would be doing well to score from. Another Rush point and Another Ethan Kelly point followed. Hattrick hero from the last game, Ben Walls finally got his goal before half time just as Gearóid Heery notched his third score as the referee blew for half time with PJP leading by 1-7 to 1-2. The first half was tighter than the scoreline indicates and the boys knew they would have to work hard against the wind in the second half to see out the victory.

Jamie Mooney got himself two points either side of a superbly taken Ethan Kelly goal and point from play at the beginning of the half. Ben Walls soon added his second goal bringing him to 5 goals in 2 matches after some excellent tackling resilience by Toby Brooks. Substitute Luke Ryan grabbed himself a point before fellow substitute Joseph Fallon raised the green flag with his first touch of the ball. Matthew McGovern powered through the middle and gave the goalkeeper no chance as he buried the ball in the back of the net to finish off another outstanding display against weaker opposition with a scoreline of 5-11 to 1-3. Our opponents will be grateful for the cross bar and post which were hit 5 and 3 times respectively, preventing the Malahide boys from winning by a cricket score. Broomfield has become a fortress for the senior boys this year who have gone unbeaten on home soil. The boys will next be tested in Skerries after the Easter break as they take on St. Patrick’s NS. A pjp victory here will see the boys through to the Fingal League semi-final!

Everyone in PJP is very proud of Taja Korsakovaite for representing our school in The Swim Ireland Irish Minor Schools Championship at the National Aquatic Centre on Saturday 25th of March. Taja was competing in the Girls 50-Meter Breast Stroke where she secured a top 20 finish in a very impressive time of 46.79 seconds! This was an excellent result for Taja who is always improving in the pool. We look forward to seeing all of Taja's successes in the future!

On March 21st Room 25 had great fun celebrating World Down Syndrome Day! The class all wore odd socks and had fun playing our favourite playground games during an extra yard! We played 'Duck, Duck, Goose', Hot Potato', 'Who Goes over the Golden Bridge', 'Stuck in the Mud' and even took part in some fun races. We watched the 'Better Place- World Down Syndrome Day Celebration' which even features one of our own students! We all really enjoyed celebrating this special day.

Easter holidays are nearly here. We get off school on the 31st of March for 2 weeks.

The DnD (Dungeons n’ Dragons) club is starting up on Thursday, the 30th of March.

The Chess club are back on after the Easter holidays and may have open spots if you want to join.

The Chess club are going to have another KitKat cup.

The school are going to have some Polish visitors after Easter.

Happy Easter to all !

Siobhán Corcoran, Maeve’s Mom came in to talk about engineering to our class (room 28) and Ms. Conneely’s class (room 27) during Engineers Week. She showed us all of her equipment. She brought a hi-viz vest (a reflective jacket), boots with steel toes and a set-square ruler.

Next, she explained what an engineer does and we had to spot the items that an engineer designed. After that, we got a plan of Maeves house as an example for measuring our classroom. Finally, we got to measure the room. Maeve’s table used the laser for measuring length, Sophia’s table used a set-square ruler, Oscar’s table used a measuring tape, Grace’s table used their feet and Daniel’s table used the big measuring tape. We swapped around but not everybody got a turn of everything. The laser was the most popular tool. Soon enough Maeve’s Mom had to go to Ms.Conneely’s class. We had a great time and we are excited for her to maybe come again!

by Sophia Lennon and Maeve Corcoran

Junior Entrepreneur Programme – The Yard Shop update

The children from Room 8 have been busy setting up The Yard Shop. The children carefully chose products they believed would be popular with the students in our school. The products the children have sold are items such as chalk, tennis balls, skipping ropes and games. The items sold in The Yard Shop have been so popular we have had to restock the shop on numerous occasions. The children have been working very hard not to disappoint our loyal customers. The Yard Shop has been a great success and the children from Room 8 should be very proud of their successful business achievements. Great job everyone in Room 8 and thank you to everyone who bought items from the shop.

On February 26th, my Mom came in to do a fun coding lesson. First, we learned a bit about her job. She works at Microsoft! Next, we learned about coding and what we were going to be doing later on. After that, we started coding. We made a game called Whack-a-mole! It was very fun and we all enjoyed it.

By Fionn Whelan

THE KITKAT CUP

The KitKat cup was a chess tournament where you got paired up with someone from the the group and played to try win a KitKat. My experience will be at the end.

By Shane O'Connell

Ben 3rd class

How did you feel about your opponents?

some opponents were better than others.

Was everyone playing by the rules?

Yes, everyone was playing by the rules.

What did you think when you had to do rock paper scissors if you got in a draw?

There should have been a better way.

How did you feel when you lost?

I was sad because I thought I had a chance but then we just plummeted.

Oliver 2nd class

What did you think about the KitKat cup?

It was a good experience to meet someone new and it was satisfying when you won a game.

Did you find any cheaters?

No, I thought everyone was playing fair.

What did you think about playing rock paper scissors if you got in a draw?

I thought it was a bit surprising.

How did you feel when you lost?

I didn’t care I had a backup snack

Patrick 5ft class

Did you enjoy the KitKat cup?

Yes, it was fun. I liked it was speed chess and not normal chess.

Was everyone playing fair?

Yes, everyone was playing fair.

How did you feel when you won?

I felt happy and wanted to eat chocolate.

Ella 2nd class

Did you enjoy the KitKat cup?

Yes, I enjoyed it. It was a good experience

And I liked the faster games and the partner system.

Was everyone playing fair?

Yes, everyone was playing fair.

How did you feel when you won?

I felt happy and it was fun.

Clara 3rd class

Did you like the KitKat cup?

Yeah, it was a good experience.

Was anyone cheating?

Yes, someone was moving the pieces wrong by moving the rooks wrong.

How did you feel when you lost?

I didn’t mind but it would have been nice

Rian 5ft class

How did you feel about the KitKat cup?

It was alright, I would have liked it if it wasn’t speed chess.

Was everyone playing fair?

Yes, everyone was playing fair but making quick moves was hard.

How did you feel when you lost?

I didn’t really mind, and I didn’t tidy up.

Kealan 3rd class

Did you enjoy the KitKat cup?

I enjoyed the KitKat cut and learned when I lost a game.

How did you feel when you won?

I felt proud I won a tiny chocolate bar

Shane O'Connell 5th class

On the day of the KitKat cup, I had forgotten about it. I only remembered when I saw the sign on the way there. Once I got there, they were picking partners. I was partnered with someone called Kealan. I thought we didn’t have a chance. We tried getting a good seat. This would be important so we would be near the championship spot. My friend Tuna in 5ft class started in the championship spot, so he had the most chance to win just because he sat there first. We didn’t get off to a good start. We lost 3 games. It looked pretty bleak but then we went on a winning streak into the CHAMPIONSHIP spot and then the 2 kids there who had only lost one game messed up. They put their rook in the way of our queen. We took it. We went good from there and won a KITKAT!!!!!!!

If you haven't tried chess club yet, you should try get in! It's worth it even if you're not doing a KitKat cup!

The Lunch bag

Report by Cillian Lawton, Ms. Bennett's 5th class

Have you ever had a fresh lunch in school from The Lunch Bag? If you have, have you ever wondered who founded it? When it was founded, and why? Well, I'm here to tell you just that!

The Lunch Bag was set up in 2019 by Ray Nangle and Ger Killian to deliver hot, packed lunches to schools all around Ireland. And wow, have they done just that! Today they are delivering to over 500 schools nationwide, and their numbers are increasing rapidly! And with the Business All-Star Entrepreneurial Partnership Of The Year 2022 accreditation, it doesn’t look like they’ll be going out of business any time soon!

Welcome to our report on our confession! We hope you enjoy the report! Lets get started.

A lot of children enjoyed the singing. We enjoyed circle of friends because in Pope John Pauls we all have friends. We also enjoyed the readings because they were a lot of fun. We all enjoyed talking to the priest because now we know to be nicer to our siblings, friends, cousins guardians, family and teachers. In school we got to wear our own clothes and all the second classers got no homework!

Mums and dads enjoyed watching and other people could watch on the web cam. We were all excited to make our confession and see our friends in the church. We are all trying our best to be good and kind and recognise our sins. Kind regards,

Isi and Norah from Ms. Clinton's second class, with the help of Abigail and Izzy from Mr. Murphy's fifth class.

First, Rhys and John’s class walked to mass and they all sat down and they sang the opening prayer. Then the priest started to talk and say some prayers. Then we sang another song and everyone enjoyed and all the parents clapped and cheered and then we sat back down. Then they all said a few more prayers. We had a very good night.

By Rhys and John in Ms. Kieran’s Class with help from Mason and Gavin in Mr. Murphy’s Class.

On the First of March 2023, Ms McCarthy’s Fifth Class went to the RDS to present our Science Blast question- “How Do Fish Breath Under Water?”. We were the first class from Pope John Paul II N.S. to do this. With the help of Ms Hayden, our STEM teacher, we did lots of fun activities to help us research our question. We managed to put together a great presentation and we all had an amazing time.

To decide our question, we all came up with one question. Then we narrowed it down until we had three left. Finally, we had a vote and decided on “How Do Fish Breath Under Water?” as our question.

To prepare, we made PowerPoint presentations in groups to compile our information. Then we brought it all together and put it on a a large sheet of paper. We had a scratch diagram, an experiment and even a robotic fish!

Our class took a bus to the RDS and when we arrived, we all looked at all the brilliant things that there was to do. There was a photo booth, some food stalls, science shows and lots more activities.

The first science show was “Smash Your Goals” sport show. It was about the science behind all your favourite sports. Mark, the science guy, was talking about lots of different things you can do to improve your sports skills. He showed us how to position your foot, so the ball goes a certain way. How to hit a knuckle ball, and how to hit a ball with “magnus” effect (when a ball curves).

The second show was “The Secret World of Gases”. IT might sound strange, but it was very interesting. It showed us all sorts of gases in our ordinary lives and the incredible things that can happen. Have you ever used a banana as a hammer? This is just one of the incredible things you can see at the gasses show.

Other fun things to do at the Science Blast include a mini-space observatory and looking at other schools' projects from all over the country.

When the judges gave feedback to our stand, they said they were very impressed with how we presented our project and that all of us could talk about every area of the subject. They liked that we had done so much research and were impressed that we even went on a field trip to Sealife in Bray as part of our research. One of the judges was a marine biologist and he said that our project was his favourite! We were given a trophy which is now displayed on Ms. MCCarthy’s desk.

Overall, we had an amazing time at the Science Blast. From the great stands and the activities to all the fun in preparing our project, Science Blast was a brilliant experience. I would highly recommend it to everyone.

By Mary-Kate Kelly

On Saturday the 25th of March I was dancing in two ballet shows in the Helix they are The Wizard of Oz and Sleeping Beauty.

In The Wizard of Oz I am the Scarecrow.

My favourite costume is my pink tutu for Sleeping Beauty which you can see in the photo.

I was super exited. Nothing beats that feeling of waiting to go on stage to show of all we’ve been working so hard on in rehearsals over the past six months.

It has been ages since I have performed in such an impressive venue.

I really hope the audience loved it.

By Lara Crowley, Ms. Bennetts's 5th class

On Friday10th March, we had a very special visitor, Garda Paul. He was in to tell us all about online safety. He told us all about how when you send something it can be retrieved even if you believe it is gone. You should be very careful about what you send, whether its a picture or a text to any of your friends or even your relatives. He told us about always being careful about what we post and send on social media platforms like Snapchat, Whatsapp, Tik Tok and Instagram. He also showed us his pepper spray and handcuffs as well as other parts of his uniform. He told us a bit about how he does his job every day. He was really nice and we all learned so much about online safety. We really enjoyed his visit. It was very interesting.

By Sarah Farrell and Amer Costello, Mr. Murphy's 5th class

The school choir are busy rehearsing with Ms Magner and Ms Lonergan for the upcoming First Holy Communion ceremonies. Their singing will greatly contribute to the sense of celebration and add to what is a very important occasion in the life of the school.

Once again, there has been a huge interest in the choir this year with more than one hundred and twenty children coming to rehearsals. Unfortunately, due to the limited amount of space for the choir to sit in the church, we cannot bring this huge number every day. As a result, we will be making smaller groupings. This means that every child will be able to sing at least one ceremony.

All children, in the choir have been informed of this and have received a note with further information, dates, details of the masses etc. They have also received a permission slip to confirm their availability for the masses. It is vital that children return the completed permission forms NO LATER THAN FRIDAY MARCH 31ST to the box outside Ms Magner’s room (11B).

We will inform the children of the masses they are singing at after Easter. If you have any questions regarding the choir please contact Ms Magner (msmagner@pjp.ie ) and/or Ms Lonergan (o.lonergan@pjp.ie) . Thank you for your co-operation.

All members of Student Council have been busy since Christmas conducting a literacy survey with representatives from each of their ‘Buddy Classes’. They created focus groups of 4 children from every class in the school and we hope to have the results very soon.

In early March, we were contacted by our junior school St. Sylvester’s Infant School to inform us that a group of teachers from Estonia and Spain were visiting St . Sylvester’s and as it was a junior school, they wanted to experience life in a senior school too. They asked if we would be able to meet with them and answer a few questions. St . Sylvester’s N.S. are involved in an ERASMUS training programme with schools around Europe. Members of the Student Council from 5th and 6th class in our school gave them the guided tour of Pope John Pauls and answered questions comparing and contrasting school life in the different countries- it was fascinating!

We were also contacted by a school in Poland as part of Seachtain na Gaeilge and our student council representatives in Ms. Millar’s and Ms Mc Daid’s 6th class along with their classmates met with the school in Poland over Zoom and they compared and contrasted how we celebrate festivals in Ireland and they taught the Polish children about Gaelic Games, Irish Music and even a cúpla focail !

The boys and girls from 6th class recently had a very interesting guest speaker from the RNLI. We learned all about water safety especially as the Summer is getting closer. We learned how to be safe in the water and what to do if you are in an emergency. If you see someone in trouble in the sea, you should call 999 or 112 and ask for the Coast Guard.