Sportshall Athletics Training
The students from St. Flannan's College have been busy training the different year groups for the Sportshall Athletics programme. Some of the students are also helping out with a reading programme with second class. Here are some pictures of the children training.
Indoor Camogie
The Holy Family Indoor Camogie team won their first round blitz on the 27th of January. During the blitz they beat Barefield N.S and Clarecastle N.S comprehensively. The team then progressed onto the second round.
In the second round they came up against Knockanean N.S and Ennis CBS on the 3rd of February. They played brilliant camogie on the day but couldn't get the better of the other teams. Well done to their coaches Mr. O' Neill and Mr. Brennan.
Healthy Eating and Physical Exercise
Bernard Dunne ex professional boxer and WBA Super bantamweight champion visited Holy Family on Tuesday16th of December last to promote healthy eating and physical exercise. Bernard Dunne who is an ambassador for Carambola Kids encouraged the importance of healthy eating and physical fitness. Bernard Dunne knew the importance of a healthy diet and being active throughout your life. He talked with the whole school and especially targeted the children in the senior classes encouraging them to follow healthier eating practices and the importance of exercise. Holy Family has a strict healthy eating policy.
This year the school is involved in the
Carambola Kids provide healthy hot food dinners in the Holy Family school canteen. Holy Family School
Cycling Training Course
As part of the Active Schools/Green Schools Travel Flag the school is taking part in a course in cycling training run by the Cycling Safety School Mid-West. Training will take place for the 5th classes on Wednesdays during school hours by their instructor John Clancy.
The course will teach the children to cycle their bicycle safely and also encouraging them to cycle in the course of their everyday lives.
Skipping Workshop
The school is the gone skipping crazy at the moment after a fantastic Skipping Workshop before Christmas. Mark Mc Cabe from Skip n Rope held the workshop over a two day period presenting the children with fun new skipping skills and games using the skipping rope. Skipping is fun and a fantastic way to stay fit and healthy.
On Tuesday morning, 20th October, we all gathered in Mr. Bell's classroom at 9.15am. We were very excited. We got our jerseys and got on the bus. We got to Doora Barefield at about 9:30 am. Mr Brennan got us to warm up and get ready for the first match against Doora School.
We started playing against the wind and Doora got a good amount of scores in the first half. In the second half we scored 1-1 but it was not enough to beat Doora. Final score 1-1 to HFSS 2-6 to Doora.
We had our lunch after the match. Next we were playing Caherea/Clondrinagh. We had the wind in the first half. We scored 2-1 Caherea/Clondrinagh scored 0-0. In the second half we scored 7-6 and they scored 0-1. Final score 9-7 to HFSS 0-1 to Caherea/Clondrinagh.
To get to the semi-final we had to beat Carron/New Quay. We started the match off very even but when Ethan dropped the ball over to Andrew he scored a great goal. Then Jack kicked the ball in and it hit off the goalkeeper and into Andrew's path and it was a goal again. Next Liam got a great point. We ended the match 6-2 to 0-1. We are now in the semi-final.
The people on the panel were Eugene Omoifo, Jack Kenneally, Andrew Casey, David Utuke, Ryan Chung, Joshua Aduasare, Shay Moloney, Mark Donovan, Ethan Mounsey, Liam Kenny, Daniel Chizekeze, Darryl Kenny, Dominic Ulanowski, Chris Esedebe, David Murphy, John O'Sullivan, Alex Dilger and Andrew Ugwueru and the teachers who came with us were Mr. Bell and Mr. Brennan. There was a lot more people on the team but we could not bring them.
COME ON HFSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
By Andrew Casey
Victory for the School's Girls Gaelic Football Team.
On Monday October 13th. the School's Girls Gaelic Team went to Éire Óg for a blitz. The top two teams would qualify for the
semi-finals. We played 4 mini matches against St. Tola's N.S., Clooney-Dangan N.S., Broadford N.S. and Stonehall N.S. We won all four matches and we qualified as group winners.
The first match we played was against Stonehall N.S. They were a very strong team but we managed to come out on the right side and we beat them by 2 goals and 2 points. The final score was 3 goals and 2 points for Holy Family and 1 goal for Stonehall N.S.
The second match we played was against St. Tola's N.S. They were very tough to play but once again we came out on top. We beat them by 3 goals and 1 point. The final score was 3 goals and 2 points for Holy Family and 1 point for St. Tola's N.S.
Next we played Clooney-Dangan N.S. They had great players but we managed to beat them by 1 point. The final score was 1 goal and 1 point to Holy Family and 1 goal to Clooney-Dangan.
The last match we played was against Broadford N.S. We were all tired but we won convincingly with a score of 1 goal and 2 points to Holy Family and 1 point to Broadford N.S.
At the end of the day everyone was exhausted but we finished on top of the leaderboard and are through to the semi-finals. They will be played in two weeks time. We are all very excited and will need to train very hard for the next two weeks if we want a place in the finals.
The players who participated today were Jane, Angel, Emily, Vanessa, Sinéad, Ciara, Shannon, Aoife, Roisín, Sammie, Caoimhe, Wiame, Simran, Lauren, Nicola, Igmat, Evelyn, Dami, Rachel and Zara. Thanks to our trainers Mr. O' Neill, Mrs. Vaughan. Miss Lillis and Mr. Brennan
By Shannon Hegarty, Ciara Sherlock and Nicola Lambo (Sixth Class Students).
All Ireland Under 21 Trophy
Visits HFSS
The school had a really special visitor in Mid-September, the Celtic Cross Trophy. After Clare winning the All Ireland Under 21 Hurling Final, players Shane O' Brien and David Conroy(Past Pupil) brought the trophy into the school. There was great scenes as both players were introduced. The players spoke of the work being done in the school and the talented boys and girls we have in the school. So hopefully in a few more years we see more past pupils on Clare teams.
Cross Country Running September 17th 2014
Cross-Country running was held last month in Lee's Road. The popular event was attended by hundreds of pupils from around the county. We were very fortunate to have such a talented group of athletes to take to the event. With great effort and determination shown by all we were proud to win two individual medals and one team medal.
Running in the over 10, were Shannon Hegarty, Nicola Lambo, Zara Deasy, Jared Sherlock, Jack Kenneally and Igor Sobiecki. They pushed themselves for the entire 1100m race which is a great test of endurance and determination.
Our under 10, team was represented by Sammie Ojulari, Igmat Adiqun, Evelyn Esedebe,
Gabriella Norwicz, David Murphy, Cormac Maher, Samuel Olaoje and Effe Olaoye. They ran the 700m with great determination and they all finished comfortably. Eyelyn Esedebe was a medal winner coming in 9th position with Samie, Gabriella and Iqmat coming in close behind achieving an overall 3rd position in the Girls Under 10 Teams.
Lastly our under 8s team was made up of Hellen McDonagh, Esther Olaoje, Zaheeda Ojulari,
Alexandra Ward, Piotr Mazurek, Aaron Lynch & Frank Esedebe. It was a tough 400m run for these second and third class children and all of them pushed themselves to the very end. We had a great result with Esther winning a medal for coming in 5th position.
We were very privileged to bring such talented and well behaved children running this year.
After Schools activities 2014/2015
Last year we had a very successful year in sport in Holy Family Senior School. In the area of GAA we reached two county finals, in athletics, we were All Ireland Champions in Sportshall Athletics, while in girls soccer we were county champions.
Every year we offer a huge amount of GAA sports and these will include hurling, camogie, boys football and girls football. These sports will be taken by a number of different teachers after school.
This year we will be offering even more sports and these will be happening at different times of the year. The other sports offered during the year will include boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, swimming and athletics. We also organise lunchtime leagues in the area of
basketball and soccer for the senior classes. There will be competitions in each of these sports during the year. It is hoped that as many children as possible will avail of these sports and everyone is encouraged to join. We hope to organise rugby for sixth class boys this year.
All children taking part in after schools activities must bring gear and change into it after school.
A roll call will be taken at the beginning of each training session to keep track of children turning up to training and it is important that children commit to training for the year.
If your child has to be collected early from training make sure to bring in note to inform teacher If it is raining there will be no training and the children have to be collected as normal.
Hurleys and Helmets for Sale:
All classes will be involved in hurling/camogie during the year. There are hurleys and helmets for sale in the school office at very competitive rates. All children must have their own hurley and helmet. Please call in to Lucy in the office.
Skipping Ropes:
There are skipping ropes available to buy from Mr. O' Neill in Room 17 at the cost of €6 each.
Other after school activities:
We will have guitar lessons for third to sixth classes with Michael Varden in the hall on
Thursdays.
Double All Ireland Success for
Holy Family Senior School
No doubt inspired by the county’s senior and U-21 hurling teams’ success last year, Holy Family Senior School has just achieved it’s own set of All-Ireland crowns. The Ennis school took home two national titles as well as finishing runners up in the two other categories at the finals of the National Sportshall Athletics Championships. These national finals were held last week in the Athlone Institute of Technology Sports Arena. Fifteen counties participated in the event on the day.
The victorious school was selected to represent the county following the intense county finals between schools from Clare that participated in the competition run by Clare Sports Partnership. At the county finals, Holy Family won the third and fourth class boys and girls sections as well as the fifth and sixth class boys and girls sections. Thus they proved triumphant in an unprecedented clean sweep of all categories.
Sportshall Athletics is a unique programme designed to combine running and field events. Each child is allowed to compete in a maximum of two running and two field events with each team consisting of a maximum of fifteen athletes. The running events consisted of a number of different distance relays while the field events consisted of javelin, long jump, triple jump, vertical jump, speed bounce and chest push.
The pupils put in intensive practice leading up to the National Finals. This was a huge achievement for any one school to have four teams participating in the National Finals. On the day, Holy Family represented Clare and was up against stiff opposition. After the days competition, when the results were announced third and fourth class boys and girls finished runners up in the country. While the fifth and sixth class girls were crowned All Ireland Sportshall Champions. To add to that, fifth and sixth class boys were also crowned All Ireland Sportshall Champions. Seán O' Neill and Stephen Mc Namara, co-ordinating teachers at the School said "We are absolutely thrilled with this result. All the effort, dedication and hard work put in by the children really paid off. We have some really talented athletes in the school and our students excel in this area. It was unbelievable to bring back two national titles to the school and to Co Clare. Incredibly, this is as well as bringing back two 2nd place trophies in two other sections. The children will remember this forever".
Mrs Sarah Barnes Principal commented that the competition from the other schools in Co Clare was very stiff as was the competition from the 14 other counties in Athone. She said “This was a team effort on behalf of all the teachers, pupils and trainers from Clare Sports Partnership who all recognised the innate talent we have in our school. We are so proud of all our 55 students who participated on the day”.
Holy Family Senior School offers a wide range of sports including GAA, Basketball, Athletics, Swimming and golf and is fortunate enough to have a staff of talented sports people to encourage and train the pupils.
The school held a reception in their hall on Thursday 3rd April and each team were presented with their medals. John Sweeney from Clare Sports Partnership was on hand to make the presentations with Patrick Kelly Clare All Irealnd Winning Goalkeeper . Representing Clare Sports Partnership was Michael Mc Namara and representing the BOM of Holy Family Senior School was Mary Howard (Ennis Town Councillor). Also attending was representatives from Clare Athletics who were delighted with the success for the school.
Girls Basketball March 2014
The Girls Basketball Team had a fantastic win over Ennis N.S on Monday 3rd of March. In the first half, they defended brilliantly and went in level at half time. Sonia Petric managed to get a brilliant basketball to keep the game in the balance. In the second half brilliant displays from Bianca Swente, Deirinn Finnerty and Aodha Marrinan extended the lead and the game finished with Holy Family winning by three baskets. In their second game, on the 11th of March they played gainst a very strong Knockanean N.S team. It was really close in the first half with a fine basket by Jelena Macura. In the second half Knockanean pulled away winning by 6 baskets to 3. In the third game, they played against Scoil Chriost Rí. Our girls were very dominant and scored some super baskets. Unfortunately overall it meant they finished second in the group. Bianka Szente was outstanding in all games. Well done to their coaches Mr. O’ Neill & Mr. Mc Namara.
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Boys Basketball
Boys Basketball March 2014
The Boys Basketball Team had a narrow loss against Ennis N.S on Monday 3rd of March. In the first half Jason Sherlock had a basket ruled out which was the difference in the first half. In the second half, Holy Family defended well but conceded three baskets. Efosa Osaretin got a fine basket in the closing stages. Gabriel Kehinde, Niall Walsh and Shane Kenny played very well for the boys. In the second game they came up against a really strong Knockanean N.S team who ended up winning the game by 2 baskets. In their final group game they played against Scoil Chríost Rí in a close encounter with Holy Family winning by a single score. Well done to their trainer Mr. Mac Namara.
Girls Football Final
The Girls Football team who played against a strong, physical and athletic Scoil Chríost Rí team. Holy Family started brightly with three points in the opening half from Bianka Szventa but this was cancelled out by two attacking goals from Scoil Chríost Rí. Holy Family dominated the second half and got two further points with Scoil Chríost Rí adding an additional goal. Aodha Marrinan, Claudia Ryan and Laura Walsh were superb in defence while Bianka Szenta, Sonia Petric and Grace Russell were constant threats in attack. The girls were really disappointed at the final whistle but looked back on a very promising start to the year. A special word of thanks to theirs trainers Mr. Corbett, Miss Hennessy, Mr. O’ Neill and Miss Lillis.
Boys Football Final
The boys were up against a much fancied Kilnaboy team. The opening half was very opening with good scores coming from Shane Kenny, Jack Kenneally and Jason Sherlock. Holy Family went in at half time only three points behind. For the opening ten minutes of the second half Holy Family dominated with great work from Niall Walsh and James Mc Donagh in defence. The score of the match came from a well worked goal from Jason Sherlock. However, Kilnaboy took over the final ten minutes and pulled away in the end. John Moloney had an outstanding game in midfield while Eiyowasa Enofa pulled out brilliant saves in goal. To their mentors Mr. Bell, Mr. Ryan, Mr. Mc Namara and Mr. Darmody we owe much gratitude for training the team.
Cross Country Success For Holy Family
Well done to Samuel Olaye for finishing in second place in the U8 Clare Primary Schools Cross Country Race held in Lee’s Road last Thursday. This is a remarkable achievement for this third class athlete. I’m sure we will hear more from this remarkable athlete in the coming years. Miss Gill his coach accompanied him on the day.
Skipping Workshops a Great Success
Pupils in the Holy Family had the fantastic opportunity to participate in the skipping workshops on the 2nd and 3rd of October with Skip Hop. During the workshops all the children from 2nd to 6th classes had the chance to take part in one of the workshops and they learned a selection of individual moves on normal skipping ropes, double dutch, long rope and partner skipping. Skipping is a fantastic source of exercise and improves co-ordination and rhythm.
The two day workshop culminated with a whole school demonstration of skipping skills. The instructor Mark Mc Cabe from Skip-Hop selected children from each class grouping around the school to come up to the stage and perform the different skills. The children were captivated and fascinated by the wonderful tricks and skills that could be performed.
The children in the school now are skipping in the playground during breaktime and lunchtime and showing off their new tricks to their friends. There are even some children who have come up with their own new tricks. Pictures and footage of the fantastic day are now available on the school website.
Comments from children about day included:
Also if your child would like to buy a skipping rope they are available for sale at a cost of €6.
Happy skipping children!!!!
Cross Country Running September 2013
The school recently participated in the Cross Country Running Championships in Lee's Road. The school participated in the U8, U11 and Over 11 age groups for large schools.
We had fantastic success in the U8 boys section as Samuel Olaye came in First place in his race. This was a fantastic achievement. Well done also to the sixth class boys team who worked very hard as a team and narrowly missed out on a medal. Also to their teachers Miss Gill and Miss Ford who trained them. Mrs. Barnes was very proud of the entire team and awarded them homework passes at assembly.
Boys Hurling Final
There was heartbreak for the Holy Family Senior School Boys Hurling team on June 18th in Cusack Park as they narrowly lost of to Bodyke/Tuamgraney N.S'. They played their hearts out in the final as they couldn't get the scores at the vital times. The final score was 4-7 to 2-7. In the group stages they beat Doora N.S and Clooney N.S and in the semi final they had a fine win over Mountshannon N.S. Well done to their trainers for all their hard work and dedication(Mr. O' Neill, Mr. Bell, Mr. Ryan, Mr Mac Namara and Mr. Corbett). A special thank you to all parents who helped out during the year.
Heartbreak for Girls Soccer Team
There was heartbreak for the Holy Family Girls Soccer team when they were knocked out in a penalty shootout in the Clare Primary Schools Soccer Competition held in Lee's Road on the 23rd of April. The girls reached the semi finals and were knocked out by the eventual winners of the competition. Aisling Kenneally particularly excelled in goals.
Boys Soccer Team Finish in Third Place
The boys soccer team recently participated in the Clare Primary Schools Soccer Competition held in Lee's Road on the 23rd of April. The boys played really well in both of their games but lost by one goal. Well done to all involved.
Boys Reach Football Final
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The boys football team have reached the Boys Football Final for the first time in years. They comprehensively beat Stonehall N.S on a score 3-5 - 0-3. The team was captained by Jordan Sherlock and they were trained by Mr. O' Neill, Mr Bell and Mr. Ryan.
The team in full was:
1. Luke Hogan
2. James Mc Donagh
3. Killian Hamell
4. Niall Walsh
5. Jason Sherlock
6. Efosa Osaretin
7. David Carroll
8. Jordan Sherlock
9. Shane Kenny
The subs also made a big impact on the day. The final is scheduled for 16th of November at 11am in Clarecastle. Best of luck to all.
Girls Football Semi-Final Result
On Wednesday the 4th of November the Holy Football Girls Football Team narrowly missed out on reaching the final. They lost to Clonmoney N.S and the girls were really disappointed. Well done to their trainers Mr. Corbett, Miss Nyhan and Miss Lillis who have worked hard with them.
Boys Football Match: HFFS vs Doora N.S
17th October 2012
In the second game of the blitz the team played against Doora N.S. The opening half was really tight and well matched with both midfield's on top. Jason Sherlock did great work in midfield. In the second half, Holy Family had lots of chances in front of goal. Shane Kenny and Efosa took good scores to win the game for HFSS on a final score of 3-3 to 2-2. This meant that Holy Family reached the semi-finals of the boys football division.
Boys Football Match: HFFS vs Lahinch N.S
17th October 2012
The boys football team played their first match in the blitz against Lahinch N.S. In the opening half, HFFS played really well with well taken points and goals and led by a goal and a point at half time. In the second half HFSS struggled to contain the Lahinch forwards and lost out by just four points. The team played really well with great performances in this game from Jordan Sherlock, Luke Hogan, David Carroll and Shane Kenny in the forwards.
Boys Football Challenge Match 15th October 2012
The boys football team travelled to Gaelscoil Mhicíl Ciosóg to play them in a challenge match on Monday 15th October after school. This was the team's first game of the year. The game ended in a draw with all members of the panel getting an opportunity to play. Mr. O' Neill and Mr. Bell accompanied the team on the day and were very impressed with the team's performance.
Hurling/Camogie Day on 12th October 2012
Twelve children from third and fourth classes were selected to represent the school in a special hurling and camogie day help in Gaelscoil Mhicíl Ciosóg. It was a great honour for the school to be invited to this special day. The children were involved in different drills for part of the day and then played in mini-games later on. The children were provided with lunch and were all presented with a special commemorative medal. Mr. O' Neill accompanied the children on the day and all the drills were completed in Irish. The children made a fantastic effort to speak Irish throughout the day. Well done to all involved.
Third Class Football Blitz Day 10th October 2012
The three third classes attended a football blitz in Eire Óg GAA Grounds on Wednesday 10th October 2012. The children along with other children from schools from Ennis were involved in a football blitz. The children who attended the blitz were from Mr. Ryan's Third class, Mrs. Vaughan's Third Class and Miss Brady's Third Class. A special thanks to a number of parents who helped out on the day. The children really enjoyed the day learning the skills of gaelic football and playing in games organised by GAA coach Ronan Keane.
Ennis Parish School Sports Medal Winners 2012
26th September 2012 Lee’s Road
2nd Class
300m Girls
2nd Place- Iqmat Adigum
Ball Throw Girls
1st Place- Iqmat Adigun
300m Boys
2nd Place- Samuel Olaoye
Ball Throw- Boys
2nd Place- Joachim Surowiec
3rd Class
300m Girls
2nd Place- Gabriella Norwicz
Long Jump Girls
2nd Place- Gabriella Norwicz
100m Boys
2nd Place- Andrew Barton Ugweru
300m Boys
2nd Place- Efe Opuoro
Long Jump- Boys
1st Place- Dominik Padkula
2nd Place- Efe Opuoro
Fourth Class
100m Girls
2nd Place- Vanessa King
100m Boys
2nd Place- Daniel Ohiku
500m Boys
3rd Place- Fintan Caulfield
Long Jump Boys
2nd Place- Fintan Caulfield
Swimming Gala March 2012
The school participated in the Primary Schools Swimming Gala on 26th March 2012 in Ennis Leisure Complex. The children performed really well and were a credit to their school. They competed against the larger schools around the county. There were a number of outstanding performances. The sixth class boys came within inches of claiming the gold medal. Well done to Mr. O' Neill, Mrs. Whyatt. Miss Horgan and Mrs. Cotter for organising and helping out on the day.
Here are the following results from the diiferent classes.
Third Class Boys: 4th place
Third Class Girls: 3rd place bronze medal winners.
Fourth Class Boys: 2nd place silver medal winners.
Fourth Class Girls: 3rd place bronze medal winners
Fifth Class Boys: 5th place
Fifth Class Girls: 5th place
Sixth Class Boys: 2nd place silver medal winners
Sixth Class Girls: 2nd place silver medal winners
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Holy Family Senior School offers a wide variety of sporting activities to the children. These activities include hurling, boys football, ladies football, camogie, basketball, cross-country running, swimming and soccer. In Holy Family Senior School it is hoped that the children will become enriched from the sports, through enjoyment and participation.
Each class from second to sixth class takes part in physical education classes during the week with their teacher. The school also provides swimming classes for all the children in the school, during the year, which gives all children the opportunity to learn how to swim. Two GAA coaches (Gerry Fox & Ronan Keane) work with the children during the year. Gerry Fox trains fourth, fifth and sixth classes on a Monday, while Ronan Keane takes second and third classes on a Friday. Ronan Keane also takes the different school teams for extra training after school on Fridays.
