The Two groups with their teachers in the Convent Chapel after the Liturgy.
Anam Cara Link Day (Thursday 19th January):
St. Mary’s, Glasnevin and St. Louis High School, Rathmines
An historic link was formed with another Le Chéile school ‘St Louis Rathmines’ last year when a group of our students was invited to visit their school for an afternoon of interaction and reflection. Today, we returned the compliment, when twenty students along with three teachers from St Louis Rathmines visited our school. They were accompanied by John Scally (Faith and Ethos Development Coordinator with Le Chéile), and were met in the Spirituality Centre by the Ember team, Mr Coll, Ms Murtagh and Mr Farrell. After the welcome address a team member from the Hope Foundation spoke to the assembled group. Later the students and staff from St Louis were given a tour of the school and grounds before lunch which was provided for the group by Glanmore Foods.ie
Chéile Schools Collaboration
On Thursday the 19th of January St. Mary’s and St. Louis joined together to celebrate Catholic Schools Week 2017. Last year, St. Louis hosted a wonderful, collaborative event in their school so this year, St. Mary’s had the opportunity to return the courtesy.
St. Louis’s students, accompanied by their R.E teachers, A. Doyle and J. Moran and their music teacher, M. Kehoe, travelled to Glasnevin and arrived with great energy and enthusiasm for the day ahead.
As the theme for this year’s Catholic Schools Week is ‘Catholic schools: Learning with Pope Francis to care for our common home’, what better place than in the grounds of the Holy Faith Convent, to host the event.
The morning began with an energy infused icebreaker on the convent lawn, overlooking the National Botanical Gardens. This afforded students the opportunity to mingle and have fun together before returning to the Margaret Aylward Spirituality Centre to listen to a talk delivered by Evelyn from The Hope Foundation.
While keeping with the theme of caring for our common home, The Hope Foundation reminded us that at the centre of our shared home are the many people around the world who suffer greatly due to poverty. Sitting in such beautiful surroundings, it was easy to forget how fortunate we are. The Hope Foundation reminded us to use the gifts we have been given to care for those less fortunate in the world.
The talk was followed by some time to reflect on the commitment both schools have towards encouraging students to look outwards and take responsibility as global citizens. Students and teachers then enjoyed refreshments and continued discussions around some of the issues raised by The Hope Foundation. The St. Mary’s Ember Team then led the St. Louis students on a walking tour of the school building and grounds. This allowed students to get an insight into the daily life of another Le Chéile school. Lots of similarities and comparisons were drawn and all involved were able to connect with and get to know other members of the Le Chéile community.
The day’s events concluded with a prayer service which was prepared by both schools in the weeks leading up to the event. Students read prayers and sang hymns centred on the importance of hope for the future and the plans God has for us and our global community.
The day was a very enjoyable experience and something that we hope the tradition will continue over the coming years.
Sincere thanks to the Religion and Music departments in St. Louis for helping to facilitate this wonderful Le Chéile School’s collaboration. (Ms Murtagh)
The visit concluded with a Prayer Service in the Convent Chapel. The liturgy was based on the Margaret Alyward quote ‘Under God it began – through God it has Grown’ –
