News Category: Post Primary

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Lions Visit to Holy Family School for the Deaf

Category : Post Primary

8th February 2024

We were delighted to have Lion Frank O’Donoghue and other Lions from various clubs in Ireland visit our school. They were given a personal tour to meet our students and staff and see firsthand the impact that Lions Clubs Ireland has had on education at Holy Family School for the Deaf. Their continued support is greatly appreciated, and we are grateful for the positive contribution they have made to our school community. The Lions really enjoyed the tour of our school, and they were particularly delighted to see the choir performing and to see one of our students paying the violin!

Check out the video of the Lions signing ‘Lions’ in ISL.😀🥰🤟


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Category : Post Primary

Last week, Holy Family School for the Deaf had the pleasure of hosting the second mini meet as part of the Creative Schools Cluster project, alongside Bishoptown Community School and Mid-West School for the Deaf. We were excited to welcome students from BCS and MWSD to our school and show them our school.
The day started with a tour of Holy Family School, where our visitors had the opportunity to meet our students and staff. Afterward, we took them to Deaf Village Ireland (DVI), where Sylvia Nolan, Martina Kearns, and Rebecca Nelson gave us a wonderful tour of the Deaf Heritage Center, ISL Restaurant – Mad Brothers, and the DVI. We then enjoyed a delicious lunch at Mad Brothers and headed to Trinity College, where we met with Dr. John Bosco and Dr. Isabelle Heyerick.
At Trinity College, we were given the opportunity to visit the Book of Kells and the astonishing GAIA project by artist Luke Jerram. The GAIA project aims to spark discussions about our responsibility to the environment and how we can make our lifestyles more sustainable. Our students thoroughly enjoyed this experience.
Next, we visited the Centre of Deaf Studies, where Dr. John Bosco provided a comprehensive explanation of their college. He also discussed the possibilities of becoming an ISL Interpreter or ISL Teacher. Our students were inspired and who knows, maybe one day some of them will be studying ISL linguistics in room 101. We are incredibly grateful to Dr. John Bosco and Dr. Isabelle Heyerick for the tour.
Following this insightful talk, we headed next door to the National Gallery of Ireland, where Lianne Quigley, a Deaf Tour Guide, took us on a mesmerising tour featuring amazing artists such as Jack B Yeats, Una Walters, William Leech, and Deaf artist Hendrick Avercamp. Thank you, Lianne, for providing our group with such a brilliant tour.

That evening, we enjoyed a delicious meal at Milano’s restaurant on Dawson Street and stayed at the trendy and centrally located Generator hostel in Smithfield.
The next day, we visited Holy Family School for the Deaf’s primary school. Our group had the opportunity to tour the school and meet the first deaf teachers who recently graduated from the Primary Teachers course at DCU. They also learned about the Deaf Flag with Phillip Grehan and his students, and saw the wall of Deaf Role Models. We are incredibly grateful to Sean Herlihy and the entire staff for hosting us and making us feels so welcome. The children at Holy Family School were absolutely lovely!
Afterward, we visited the Hugh Lane Gallery to see the Andy Warhol exhibition, which showcased over 250 of his artworks. It was a truly fantastic experience for everyone involved.
After lunch and some free time, we headed to Henrietta Street to learn about the Tenements in Dublin in the early 1900s. Special thanks to Alvean Jones deaf tour guide for leading the tour. Our students really enjoyed the experience.
Overall, this Creative Schools Cluster was a tremendous success.This couldn’t have been possible without the funding and support from Creative Schools Cluster and ESD (Educational Sustainable Development), Limerick Education Centre, staff from all three schools and members from the Deaf Community.
It provided an amazing experience for all the students involved, allowing them to meet inspiring Deaf role models. These collaborations have a significant positive impact on the students’ self-confidence, self-awareness, and sense of identity. They are brilliant opportunities for our students to connect and broaden their horizons.


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Creative Schools Collaboration

Category : Post Primary

Students from HFSD, MWSD and BCS in Cork City

From December 13th to 14th, our Transition Year students joined students from Mid West School (Limerick) and Deaf and Bishoptown Community School (Cork) for a Creative Schools Collaboration at Bishoptown Community School. It was a truly enriching experience.

One of the highlights of the collaboration was our students working together to translate the song ‘Rest of our Days’ by Cian Ducrot and Ella Henderson into Irish Sign Language (ISL). They had a great time filming this ISL translation, showcasing their creativity and dedication.

After a delicious Apache pizza lunch, our students enjoyed some free time at the Wilton Shopping Center, soaking in the local atmosphere. Later, they were treated to a spectacular performance of High School Musical by Bishoptown Community School, which had full ISL access, providing an inclusive and memorable experience for all.

To further foster camaraderie, everyone gathered at Sheila Hostel, where students continued to bond and create lasting connections.

The following day, we visited the Cork Deaf Association, where Terence enlightened us about the invaluable services they provide to the Deaf community. Our excursion also included a visit to the Ferris Wheel and the famous English Market. We concluded our adventure with a delicious Christmas-themed lunch at the Marina Market.

The memorable collaboration wrapped up with a thrilling game of bowling, bringing everyone closer together and leaving us with unforgettable memories.

The Creative Schools Collaboration was not only about artistic experiences; it aimed to enhance the wellbeing, confidence, and communication skills of our students. Through shared experiences, our project sought to inspire a sense of community and belonging, foster personal growth and development, and ignite a lifelong passion for learning and self-discovery.

This collaboration was funded by Creative Schools Cluster funding and Education for Sustainability Development Grant. Special thanks to Denise Dowling and Breda Woods for from Bishoptown Community School for hosting this successful creative collaboration.

Overall, this collaboration was a resounding success, leaving a lasting impact on our students and reinforcing the importance of creativity, inclusivity, and the power of shared experiences. We look forward to future collaborations that will continue to enrich and empower our students.


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Brazilian-Irish Lace Exhibition in the Mansion House

Category : Post Primary

We were delighted to receive an invitation from Ambassador Marco Biato and Mrs. Marcel Biato to visit the Mansion House and explore the Brazilian-Irish Lace exhibition. The exhibition featured an exquisite collection of lace, including tablecloths, napkins, scarves, blouses, and more, all meticulously crafted with great skill and precision. Accompanied by our 5th-year students as part of their Arts Education subject in LCA, we were particularly intrigued to learn about lace making because there is also history of lace making within the deaf community. We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to Ambassador Marco Biato, Mrs. Marcel Biato, and Maria Fleming for their warm hospitality and for inviting us to experience their remarkable lace making exhibition. Our visit was truly enjoyable, and we appreciate the opportunity to immerse ourselves in the artistry and cultural exchange.

https://publish.twitter.com/?url=https://twitter.com/HFSchoolDeaf1/status/1727716624235475428


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Lions Peace Poster Competition Winners!

Category : Post Primary

On Monday, November 13th, despite storm Debi, we held the judging ceremony for our Lions Peace Poster art competition. The goal of this competition is to promote peace in the world, with this year’s theme being ‘Dare to Dream.’ It was a pleasure to have Werner Schwanberg and Frank Donoghue as our special guests to present the winners with prizes, which were fully sponsored by the Lions Club. We had winners from the Primary school, the Post Primary school, a Special Prize winner, and winners from the International competition who will now proceed to the next stage of the competition. Congratulations to everyone who participated!”


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CREATIVE DANCE

Category : Post Primary

Well done to all our first, second and third years for participating in this creative dance workshop over 6 weeks and performing in front of the whole school in the DVI (Deaf Village Ireland) We are very proud of you all.

Special thanks to our creative schools mentor Seamus Moran & to our dance teacher Favour Odusola.

This was funded and supported by Creative Schools and JCSP.

Thank you to Jason for filming the performance – He did an amazing job in creating this short video. Enjoy!


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Animation created by Holy Family Students

Category : Post Primary

For Creative Schools project our students participated in an animation workshop with Pádraig from MatchBox Mountain Animations. The worked together using their imagination and being creative in story telling. Check out their amazing animations!

http://matchboxmountain.ie/

SKILLS STUDENTS HAVE LEARNT

Creativity and Imagination skills
Story – Telling Skills – creating a story plot. Planning each scene
Drawing skills

Timing and Spacing: Animation is all about timing and spacing, knowing how to create the illusion of movement and make it feel natural and believable. This involves understanding things like the principles of animation, key frames, in-betweening, and the use of frames and intervals.

Computer Skills: Many animations today are created using digital software, so having basic computer skills is important. This includes being able to navigate animation software, use drawing and editing tools, and understand the principles of digital animation.

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Special visit to HFSD by the Education Committee in the Oireachtas

Category : Post Primary

We were delighted to welcome members of the Education committee in the Oireachtas to visit the three sections of our school today – Post Primary, Primary and Early Intervention. During the visit, the members of the Joint Committee were able to witness the challenges that our students and staff face on a daily basis due to the inadequate school building and impractical location. They saw first-hand the limited space and facilities that hinder our students’ learning experience.

They enjoyed meeting the staff and students in our school and commented we have a wonderful ‘vibe’ friendly atmosphere.  It was great to have the opportunity to showcase our schools and demonstrate the pressing need for improvement. With the support of the Joint Committee and TDs, we are hopeful that our dream of a new, purpose-built building will become a reality in the near future. This would not only benefit our current students but also future generations of deaf students, ensuring they have equal access to excellent quality deaf education. 

https://x.com/HFSchoolDeaf1/status/1724474555463287142?s=20


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Lions Peace Poster Competition 2023

Category : Post Primary

We were thrilled to have a successful Lions Peace Poster competition despite the weather conditions today.
The judging took place as scheduled, and we were delighted to have Lions representatives Hilary Moylan and Werner Schwanberg in attendance. We also had the pleasure of welcoming representatives from Holy Family School: John Canning, Lorraine Creed, Ray Watson, and June.

The competition consisted of three categories.
Firstly, the International category, where the first-place winner will progress to the next stage.
Secondly, we had the Internal category for Post Primary seniors and juniors.
And finally, we had the Internal category for Primary seniors and juniors, along with a special commendation award.

We are grateful to all the participants and supporters who made the event a success, and we look forward to sharing the results and celebrating the talented artists who participated in the competition.

Thank you to everyone involved for their contribution and enthusiasm.

https://x.com/HFSchoolDeaf1/status/1724086397017956453?s=20

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TY competes in F1 in Schools National Finals

Category : Post Primary

Fire Dragon and Speed Eagles team with Maggie Owens, Niall Keenan and John Canning

Well done to both Fire Dragon and Speed Eagle teams in the F1 in Schools IRL National Final competition in Galway, where they planned, designed, created and analysed a miniature F1 Car. It was brilliant watching the two teams race against each other. The students done brilliantly in the F1 in Schools this year.

Both teams performed outstanding on the day selling their Teams brand. Team Speed Eagles car ran flawlessly all day and was one of the fastest cars on the day! Unfortunately team Fire Dragon suffered an axel breakage on its third race knocking it out of competition, but, it didn’t hold them back as they done brilliant presentations explaining the whole story of how they got to the National Finals.

We are so proud of both Fire Dragon and Speed Eagles, Both teams really impressed the judges at the verbal presentation and enterprise and engineering interview. They really showed their skills and knowledge on the day, making our School very proud!

Speed Eagle was placed 19th place out of the top 42 teams and Fire Dragon was placed 30th place out of the top 42 teams.


Special thanks to all the organisations that helped us with our project, Lions Club Ireland, Lions International, Irish Deaf Society, Chime, Deaf Sports Ireland and Holy Family School for the Deaf.

#STEM#STEMeducation#transitionyear@FireDragon_F1@IrishDeafSoc@ChimeFor@DeafSportsIre@lionsclubs