Today is Safer Internet Day. This year’s theme is AI Aware: Safe, Smart, and in Control.

You can access more information here.

To mark this annual day of awareness, we organised a ‘Design a Poster’ competition. We had a great response as more than a hundred pupils got involved.

The girls and boys made posters about the benefits and potential dangers of AI.

Many of these posters are on display in the Senior School foyer at the moment.

Congratulations to David (Ms Horan’s 3rd) and Iarlaith (Mr Lynch’s 6th) who were the overall winners.

Well done to all who took part; you have helped to raise awareness about AI amongst the whole school community!

Last Sunday evening was a special occasion for the boys of 4th class. It marked the culmination of many months’ practice.

Accompanied by their teachers, the lads arrived by bus to the RDS in time for their Peace Proms dress rehearsal. After that they took a well-earned break and enjoyed their packed lunches before the actual show commenced.

They were absolutely brilliant throughout – they sang and danced their hearts out!

We are so proud of them all for the way they represented the school – no doubt their families were also thrilled with their performance.

Thanks to the class teachers, Mr Doyle and Mr Comerford, and to Ms McGinty as well.

Once again St Pat’s Parents’ Association hosted a fabulous afternoon for the grandparents of pupils in 3rd class.

This annual gathering, coinciding with Catholic Schools Week, is a much-loved event in our school’s calendar.

Our thanks, as always, to Audrey (PA Chairperson), and her dedicated team of parent volunteers for the amazing hall transformation, and the delicious treats.

The 3rd class pupils under the supervision of their teachers, Mr Ryan and Ms Horan, behaved impeccably and represented the school admirably.

Thanks, most of all, to the wonderful grandmothers and grandfathers who joined us to celebrate the occasion.

It is a truly special event for all involved!

Our 5th class recently enjoyed a school tour to Dublin Castle, linking perfectly with their recent study of the Normans. The pupils explored the castle grounds and learned how the Normans built the original castle and why it was important for defence and control. They visited historic rooms, listened carefully to the guide, and discovered how the castle was used throughout Irish history. Everyone had a fantastic day and really enjoyed bringing their learning to life.

Oh Brother, what a day of cross-country success!

St Pat’s entered its biggest ever team in the Clonliffe Harriers Brother Cross-Country races on Wednesday, 1 October and reaped the reward with a rich haul of medals.

As well as several outstanding individual performances, St Pat’s took the overall best team prize in the fifth-class race.

Despite the heavy rain the night before, the day was warm and sunny and the grass at the Trinity Sports Grounds on Santry Avenue offered a perfect surface for fast running. Hundreds of fit and enthusiastic students from primary and secondary schools all across Dublin and beyond competed in the event. There were three primary school races – for fourth class, fifth class and sixth class. Each race saw upwards of 200 runners competing for the medal places and overall team prize. 

First up was our fourth class team. Despite the blistering pace, all seven boys ran their hearts out over the 1000m course with Odhran Reynolds coming home in an incredible fifth place with the other boys not far behind.

Then it was the turn of the fifth class boys. Half way around the course, Fionn Coghlan-Smith and Daniel Corrigan were well up with the leaders while their teammates were also doing well in the chasing pack. As the runners rounded the final bend, Fionn sprinted clear to cross the finish line in first place with Daniel a close second. With their teammates also putting in brilliant runs, the team won the overall best-team award. Amazing stuff! 

In the sixth-class race, our runners again did themselves proud with Bobby Ryan just out of the medals in fifth place and his teammates all running their hearts out for their team.

In all the races, the boys were cheered on by a large group of St Pat’s family members who helped push them on to even greater feats!

When it was all over, the boys could reflect on a memorable day’s racing that could only whet their appetite for next year’s event, either in the primary school section or, for the sixth class boys, as runners in their new secondary school. 

Representing St Pat’s were: 

Fourth class: Aidan Maguire, Josh Byrne, Marcus McArdle, Odhran Reynolds, Sean O’Toole, Daniel O’Hara, Dominick Tuite O’Shea.

Fifth class: Fionn Coghlan-Smith, Daniel Corrigan, Nathan Popa, Peter McDermott, Matthew Pollard, Austin Moore, Max Gradov.

Sixth class: Ted Kelleher, Aidan Browne, Jack Kiernan, Daniel Daly, Bobby Ryan, Conor McAnulty, Hugh Counihan.