NAAS, 7 June 2002: by Trish Whelan. The principal of St Patrick’s Community College has called for the support of everyone concerned with the school to have a decision on its future arrived at before the end of this month.
Speaking at the annual student awards presentation ceremony, Tom Keegan said he ‘was encouraged’ by the ‘forthright manner’ in which the new Board of Management of the school were addressing the problem, and that there was evidence their role was ‘beginning to take efffect’.
The school’s future location has been on a see-saw for a number of years, with proposals for a ‘swap and cash’ deal to have it located on lands at Oldtown in exchange for developers being given the school’s present site being held up by the Department of Education’s concerns that it it didn’t appear to be a good deal.
Meantime, a planned refurbishment and extension of the school on its present site has been delayed, with adverse consequences for the facilities in the school. At last year’s awards ceremony, Mr Keegan had expressed strongly his annoyance over the continuing delays.
The chairman of the school’s first Board of Management, Paddy Behan, said said the committee will ‘leave no stone unturned to provide excellent facilities in a new school, on the present site or elsewhere, and in the shortest possible time’.
Awards were presented to:
1st Year
Sarah Higgins, Damien Nolan, Louise Tompkins, James Tracey, Lorna Sutton, Noel Murray, Suzanne Farrell, Tara Curtis, Dawn Murray, John Paul Higgins, Kevin Doyle, Julian Crossen, Carrieanne Cloke and Brian Dunne.
2nd Year
Laura Fox, David Kerr, Carl Wilson, Brian Tyrell, Ashley Styne, Niamh Flood, Chris Maher, Jennifer Carroll, Steven Lawlor, Noel Burke, Michael Byrne, James Dunne, Samantha Higgins, Robert Doyle, Louise Morris, Vincent Murphy, Andrian Ciucicov, Frederik Tylicki, Elaine Behan, Kevin Lynch, Toni Murray, Donal O’Brien, Ian O’Rourke, Esther Doyle, Steven O’Neill, Melissa Durney, Martin Kelly (PE).
Junior Cert:
Sarah Rowley, Lisa Higgins, Christopher Maye, Ultan Burke, Alan Dunne, Orlagh McCauley, Emma Edmonds, Joanna Wright, Dolores Behan, Davin Casey, Jefferey White, Michael Mulhall, Thomas Doyle, Ike Ijeh, Gavin Horgan, Brian Lawlor, Noel Byrne, Brian Hennelly, Martin Tompkins, Mark Keenan, Jennifer Pender, David Moore, Catriona Mooney, Linda Brady, Rosaleen Murray.
5th year Leaving Applied:
Jacqueline Kilduff, Ann-Marie Barry, James Morris, Edward Flood, Graham McBride, Wesley Donohoe, Kevin Maye, PJ Moran.
5th Year class:
Lorraine Faherty, Edward Doyle, Barbara Daly, Hugh Carlile, Roisin McCauley, Patrick Brennan, Amanda Molloy, Stephen Kavanagh, Thomas Burke, Jamie Farrell, Cilla Higgins.
6th Year applied:
Dermot Burke, Anthony Hayes, Brian Bagnall, Sarah-Jane Tracey.
6th Year Leaving Cert (traditional):
Denise Carroll, Debbie Higgins, Siobhan Galloway, Eoin Counihan, David Roy, Emer Coakley, Barry Crosbie, Patricia McMahon.
Repeat Leaving: Student’s of the Year Award:
Katie Brennan and Emer O’Donnell.
Student of the Year Awards:
1st Year, Sarah Higgins
2nd Year, Ashley Steyn
3rd year, Orlagh McCauley,
5th year Applied, Jacqueline Kilduff
5th year, Lorraine Faherty
6th year applied, Anthony Hayes
6th year traditional, Siobhan Galloway
Best Project Awards:
Engineering, and for Construction Studies, Eoin Counihan
Patricia McMahon, a 6th year student, was the winner of the first Naas Credit Union secondary school bursary set up to help students pay for third level education.
Patricia has won 1,269 euros a year for three years, provided she remains in third level education for that period.
The competition was open to secondary schools in the Naas Common Bond area of the Credit Union.
