Ballymun Youthreach was delighted to welcome Dublin star Philly McMahon to present our twelve successful FETAC graduates with their full level 4 certs. Congratulations to the twelve students: Aisling Johnson, Erica Farrell, Michael Rickard, Ryan Whittaker, Kim O’Leary, Liam Neeson, Carly Caffrey, Sean Cahill, Lauren Garbutt, John Godfrey, Dean Fuller and Natasha Johnson and the best of the luck to all in the future.
Congratulations to all the students of Ballymun Youthreach who exhibited in the annual CDETB SCC Art Competition 2014.
The exhibition and awards ceremony was held in the Dublin Civic Offices ,Wood Quay.
The exhibition was opened by CDETB CEO Jacinta Stewart with guest of honour Nicky Phelan; director of Granny O Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty, animated film.
Ballymun Youthreach had four prize-winners; Dean Fuller for his Pastel Drawing, James Darley for abstract Print, Erica Farrell for Animation studies and the special mention award for Jade Reddy for Mexican Skull Painting.
Also exhibited on the evening were Dean McGovern, Daniel Maguire, Claire McHugh, Natalie Farrell and Rian Fitzgerald. Well done to all.
Congratulations to the Beauty Class of Ballymun Youthreach on winning their category in the Novice section of the Style It 2014 Competition in Colaiste Dhulaigh.
The theme was Avant Garde and from this the students chose a Futuristic theme. Make-up application was by Megan McMahon and Lynn Darley, costume and accessories were compiled by Megan McGuire and Tanya Judge, hair design and styling was worked on by Amy Byrne, Erica Place and Leah Hanney and Rebecca Place was the model for the competition.
Prior to the competition the group spoke to the judges and explained the look they had assembled and how they had achieved it. Erica Place had written a story board explaining the process of the group project which she presented to the judges also.
Each of the students from the different categories strutted their stuff on the catwalk with great aplomb. Our own Rebecca took to the catwalk like a duck to water and is a natural on the catwalk. The atmosphere was electric and there was a great buzz in the hall among students and onlookers alike. When all the different categories were completed there was break during which there was beautiful food provided.
Four Youthreach Centres participated in the Novice category and Ballymun Youthreach won 1st prize. There was great euphoria and yelps of joy when Ballymun Youthreach were announced the winner in their category.
The Make-up Application and Cosmetic Studies teachers Yvonne Murphy and Deirdre Deegan facilitated the group in this competition.
Well done again to everyone involved
It was with great sadness that Ballymun Youthreach recently bid a sad farewell to two of its staff.
Teresa Broderick left her post of Resource Person recently after seven years of dedicated service. Teresa taught food and nutrition and consumer awareness and ran the kitchen with a professionalism rarely seen outside the finest eateries. She was extremely popular with both staff and students and will be fondly remembered by all.
It is with congratulations that we bid farewell to Deirdre Bigley who arrived to us in late 2012 from the ‘Copping On’ programme. While she will be sadly missed, we can offer congratulations on her new post as co-ordinator of Cabra Youthreach and we hope our paths will cross again soon.
Deirdre is seated below third form the left, while Teresa is seated fifth from the left.
On a trip to Portmarnock Beach, Ballymun Youthreach bumped into Irish football stars Seamus Coleman and James McClean in the local shop. The footballers posed for a photo with the lads before we wished them well for their upcoming World Cup qualifier against the Faroe Islands.
Ballymun Youthreach was delighted to be the host for the launch of Ballymun ‘Wake Up, Take Up’ Week this week. The iniative was attended by our own students, students from Trinity Comp and assorted guests from the area including ex Minister Roisin Shorthall, the Equal Youth Iniative and the Drugs Task Force. Jacqui Caulfield introduced guest speaker John Lonergan, a man well-acquainted with our own Eddie McElligot from the recent RTE series ‘John Lonergan’s Circus’. The assorted crowd listened attentively to an address from Lonergan on the dangers of cannabis before sampling some of the famous Youthreach scones in the canteen.
Events for ‘Wake Up, Take Up’ week include a football blitz in Trinity Comp, cannabis awareness in Trinity Comp and a Ballyrunners Induction.
The students and staff of Ballymun Youthreach were delighted to be part of a speaking tour which brought three of the most eminent church figures from Palestine to Ireland to discuss the deteriorating situation of the Christian community in the Holy Land, particularly in Bethlehem and the surrounding areas. Our eminent visitors included His Excellency Archbishop Theodosius Hanna of the Greek Orthodox Church, the Rev. Canon Dr. Naim Ateek of the Anglican Church in Palestine and founder and head of the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Centre in Jerusalem and Rev. Fr. Dr. Peter Madros, representing the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. These representatives are of highly significant stature in religious and socio-political terms – not just in Palestine but in an overall Middle East context. They are unequivocal in their quest for justice, truth and peace and were determined to bring that message to Ireland.
The visit to Ballymun Youthreach took place from on the 16th April and the guests informed the students and staff of the plight of Palastine and answered questions from curious students. It fitted in seamlessly with the development education programme of Ballymun Youthreach as well as the FETAC level 4 History course as well as engaging them in social justice issues.
Ballymun Youthreach and especially Lionel and Jacqui would like to thank Sadaka for their invaluable help and co-operation in organising the event and we hope to work with them in the future on a proposed student trip to Palastine. We also hope to upload a video of the talk online shortly.
Pictured below are Group C on an outdoor excursion to Crone Forest. The group from left to right is Glen Maloney, Lee Chalkey, Liam Neeson, Dean Fuller, Ryan Whittaker, Sean Meehan, Michael Dean. Front Row: Lionel Duffy, Natalie Farrell, Natasha Johnston, Sean Cahill.
Maryam Carpenter, an ex-student of Ballymun Youthreach will shortly head to the U.S. on a soccer coaching scholarship. The 28 year old will be involved in coaching an academy of recreational teams at U4 – U8 level and competitive sides at U8 – U14. The academy is run by the North Kingston Soccer Asssociation in Rhode Island which is alligned with MLS team Chicago Fire.
Maryam is looking forward to immersing herself in the American soccer scene as she feels opportunities are still limited in the Irish game. However she definitely feels standards in our domestic game are improving although she still sees her future in the more developed soccer leagues of England, Canada and the U.S. Hopefully one day she will make as equal a mark on the game as her hero Ryan Giggs.
The author of Great Moments Of Sportsmanship, PR Smith, ran an inspirational Great Sportsmanship workshop for Ballymun Youthreach which was attended by all staff and students during Easter Week 2013.
This collection of true two minute stories are now in the Ballymun Youthreach library
Paul said: “The students are fantastic, full of energy, chat, questions and, most importantly, a real understanding of the importance of embracing sportsmanship values. They got it very quickly.”
Paul suggested a simple way to remember the seven values of sportsmanship (Honour, Honesty, Humility, Enjoyment, Friendship, Fair Play and Respect) was to use the acronym HHHEFFR which was a mis-spelling of the word Heifer. When Paul asked what was a heifer (pronounced ‘heffer’), he was told it was a ‘fat girl’ (as opposed to a young cow)!
Paul told stories about sportsmanship from last week in the Premiereship to the London 2012 Olympics boxing and right back to the Ancient Olympics. This video, ‘Anyone For Olympism?’ summarises these stories and the Great Sportsmanship Programme which is an educational programme based on true two minute stories about sportsmanship. Delivered via seminars, webinars, workshops, the book and a massive online platforms of the sportsmanship blog, facebook, twitter, youtube, pinterest. The workbook and tutor guide extend the programme which also boosts literacy.
Paul encouraged all students to change the world little by little with acts of sportsmanship whether on the pitch or in life. He also invited students (and staff) to become student ambassadors – several already have. They can now add ‘2013 – Ambassador to the Great Sportsmanship Programme’ onto their own CV which will make it stand out from all other CVs – whenever they are looking for a job.
Finally, Paul asked the students to keep sending in their sportsmanship stories, to ‘like’, ‘share’ and ‘comment’ on the online true 2 minute stories. Paul said he was inspired by the students who were “absolutely brilliant as they are a new generation who can become whatever they wanted if they keep learning and also embrace the sportsmanship values both on the pitch and in their future careers.”
Paul promised to come back in July. But meanwhile, the take away thought was best expressed by this lovely old verse that used to be framed and hung on the wall of his home in Dublin………it’s the acid test of whether you believe in sportsmanship…….would you download this, print it and then post it on your wall?
Download this ornate verse from the Great Sportsmasnhip Free Poster Page and/or join the discussion about the mystery of who actually wrote these great words
Be inspired:
www.GreatSportsmanship.org
www.facebook.com/GreatSportsmanship
www.twitter.com/GtSportsmanship
www.youtube.com/user/GreatSportsmanship
http://pinterest.com/prpgsmith/sportsmanship-posters/
http://linkd.in/XjLVL7
