Principal'S Address
Dear Parents, Students, and Staff, Christmas is upon us and the end of another calendar year. As I reflect on what has been a vibrant, demanding, and deeply rewarding first term at St. Patrick’s Classical School, I must commend the energy, commitment, and pride shown by our students, staff, and wider school community in every aspect of school life.
The past term, in particular, has been rich with learning experiences that extended well beyond the classroom. Our students and teachers embraced the Gaeilge24 initiative in November with tremendous enthusiasm. It was truly uplifting to hear Gaeilge spoken throughout the school for the day, from classrooms to the canteen, where there was plenty of comhrá, cluichí, agus craic. Initiatives such as this, alongside our weekly Ciorcal Cainte, play an important role in nurturing confidence, cultural identity, and a genuine love of language. As the seanfhocal reminds us, “Beatha teanga í a labhairt.”
The Modern Foreign Languages Departments have also had a particularly active term. Our TY students engaged with the national “Think Languages” initiative, enjoying both cultural and creative experiences, while our French students benefitted greatly from their visit to the Alliance Française. These opportunities broaden horizons and reinforce the real-world value of language learning, and I thank the staff involved for their dedication and organisation.
Innovation and enterprise were to the fore as 35 TY students took part in the Student Enterprise Challenge Hackathon. Working alongside professionals from a wide range of industries, our students demonstrated creativity, resilience, and ambition. It is especially pleasing that six of these students have now qualified for the Young Scientist finals in January, a testament to their hard work and the quality of support they received.
Science Week was another highlight, with our students representing the school with distinction at the ISTA Senior Science Quiz in Eureka, Kells. Competing against schools from across the region, they showcased strong subject knowledge, teamwork, and enthusiasm for scientific inquiry.
Transition Year continues to be a cornerstone of personal growth and exploration in our school. TY students have embraced opportunities to challenge themselves, reflect, and grow. The maturity and insight shown in student reflections on the TY experience speak volumes about the value of this programme.
Our sporting calendar has also been exceptionally busy. Our Gaelic Football and Hurling teams continue to excel and do us proud. The Cross-Country teams performed admirably in St. Anne’s Park, with strong team placings across all categories. Badminton continues to thrive, with our U19 teams achieving outstanding success at Meath level and now preparing to represent the county at Leinster level. These achievements reflect not only talent, but also perseverance and teamwork in challenging winter conditions.
The Arts remain a vital part of life in St. Patrick’s. Our Winter Recital was a wonderful celebration of musical talent across all year groups. The standard of performance was exceptional, and the sense of pride among students, families, and staff was palpable. I extend sincere thanks to the staff and students who worked so hard to make the evening such a success.
I would also like to acknowledge the extraordinary support shown during our recent Student Fundraising Draw, which raised an impressive €15,000. This generosity will have a direct and lasting impact on student facilities, equipment, and extracurricular opportunities, and I am deeply grateful to our students, families, staff, and local sponsors for their continued support.
On Tuesday,16th December, our school community came together for our annual Non-Uniform Day and Christmas Charity Fundraiser in aid of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Navan Meals on Wheels, Meath Women’s Refuge, and Jigsaw Navan. The generosity, goodwill, and community spirit shown throughout the day were truly commendable. Sincere thanks and congratulations are due to our Fundraising Team, the Parents’ Council, and Mr. C. O’Reilly for their organisation and leadership, as well as to all students, families, and staff who contributed so generously to the non-uniform day, raffle, and cake sale. We are delighted to report that the total raised was in excess of €8,000. This outstanding achievement reflects the compassion and generosity that are hallmarks of our school community.
Finally, I wish to thank our staff for their professionalism, care, and commitment to our students, and our parents and guardians for the trust and partnership that underpin all that we do.Finally, I wish to thank our staff for their professionalism, care, and commitment to our students, and our parents and guardians for the trust and partnership that underpin all that we do.
As we now pause for the Christmas season, I wish every member of our school community a peaceful and restful break, filled with warmth and time with loved ones. I look forward to welcoming everyone back in the New Year as we begin what I am sure will be a new term filled with opportunity, renewed energy, purposeful learning, and continued success for our entire school community. Nollaig Shona agus Athbhliain faoi shéan is faoi mhaise daoibh go léir, Harry McGarry Principal
Lord, As we come together to celebrate this holy season of Christmas, we thank You for the gift of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who brought hope and salvation into the world. In this season of joy and reflection, we are reminded of the power of love, kindness, and community — virtues that are at the heart of our school. Bless our students, staff, and their families as we celebrate this special time of year. May Your peace fill our hearts and homes, and may we be inspired by the example of the Holy Family to show compassion and generosity to those around us. Help us to see the light of Christ in one another and to share it with the world, especially with those who are struggling or in need. We pray for those who are not with us this Christmas, whether due to distance, loss, or difficult circumstances. May Your comfort be with them and may they feel Your love in a special way this season. Grant us the strength to be sources of support and kindness in our school community, reflecting the spirit of Christ’s birth in all that we do. As we look forward to the coming year, we ask for Your continued guidance and blessing on our school. May we continue to learn, grow, and thrive as a community, guided by Your wisdom and grace. We offer this prayer in the name of Jesus, who is our light and our hope.
Amen.
6th Year Reflection
PREfect Reflection
Bobby Gaffney & Jack Shorten
As we come to the end of the first term, Christmas feels like a well-earned break after a busy and challenging few months. Our recent exams required a lot of preparation and focus, but they provided a good opportunity to reflect on our progress and areas for improvement as we move closer to the mock exams. There has been great success and enjoyment in sports this term also. The dedication and commitment shown by students and staff in training and matches has been impressive and has added greatly to school spirit. Our senior football and hurling teams are doing exceptionally well in the Leinster Championship and are hoping for a very successful year. This term there was a great sense of positivity and togetherness in the school. It will be a time to rest, revise our subject’s courses before the mocks and enjoy the festive season with family and friends before returning refreshed for the next term. As we have reached the end of the longest term in the school year which was packed with studies, sporting events, lunchtime clubs and even musical recitals. Our first years have settled in quite nicely to their new surroundings and they have already been exposed to almost all the sporting possibilities and have been welcomed in lunch time clubs. They have immersed themselves in all of their new subjects and are quickly learning the layout and format of the school grounds and timetables. They have met loads of new classmates and hopefully made some new friends along the way. Our prefects who are assigned to each first year class have played a vital role in the smooth integration of first year students since the beginning of the year and have been a great help around the school. They have further had the privilege to fully experience the high-spec of the school's new building and subjects. Second years have enjoyed the privilege of stepping up a rank in the school with a year experience under their belts. They seem confident young men walking around the school corridors and have become comfortable with their subjects and school activities. Our third years have been busy trying to finish off their subjects' curriculums for the big “Junior Cert”, they have enjoyed playing sports with various Junior teams and wholesomely contributing to our wonderful Christmas Recital which was a night to remember. Tys have been busy…. 5th years have slowly but surely found their feet as senior members of the school population. Whether coming from Ty or 3rd year they have adjusted well to another level of studies and have faced it head on. They are finding a really good balance between school work, school activities and personal life with a helping hand from all their teachers. Happy Christmas to all the students & staff, looking forward to what 2026 will bring.
1st Year Reflection
This Term has seen us first years settle in much more. We have enjoyed this term although we had much more work. Lunchtime football leagues continued and they have been a great way to be active and enjoy lunchtime. We had our Christmas exam recently. A lot of us found that they went well, although it was the first time any of us had to study. We are receiving our results at the moment and hoping we did well. Our first football games took place this term. We have played 3 competitive games and 1 challenge. There has been great excitement over these games to get a chance to wear the school colours. We think our football team is very good and we are hoping to do well. We are out of the group stage having hammered everyone and we hope to continue with these results. Other sports have started too. Rugby trainings have been on on Mondays and Thursdays and we have been enjoying them a lot. Basketball trials took place and there has been trainings since. The people involved have been having a great time with them. In November, we went to mass in St. Mary’s Church. During the mass, we remembered our dead relatives and friends. Students did readings during it. Overall, we have enjoyed this term as it had many sports and activities beginning in it. We are looking forward to seeing what 2026 has in store for us. Ethan Harter and Dylan Knowels 1K.
16th of DEcember CHRISTMAS JUMPER DAY FUNDRAISER
On Tuesday,16th December, our school community came together for our annual Non-Uniform Day and Christmas Charity Fundraiser in aid of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Navan Meals on Wheels, Meath Women’s Refuge, and Jigsaw Navan. The generosity, goodwill, and community spirit shown throughout the day were truly commendable. Sincere thanks and congratulations are due to our Fundraising Team, the Parents’ Council, and Mr. C. O’Reilly for their organisation and leadership, as well as to all students, families, and staff who contributed so generously to the non-uniform day, raffle, and cake sale. We are delighted to report that the total raised was in excess of €8,000. This outstanding achievement reflects the compassion and generosity that are hallmarks of our school community. There was lots of Christmas cheer around the school on Tuesday the 16th of December. Our school musicians and singers under the expert guidance of Ms. Bowens brought a festive feeling to our corridors. Tickets sellers from 5th year and our Student Council were busy selling last minute purchases for the draw later today. A big thank you to all our Parents Council members who helped collect the money donations at the bake sale. Your generosity of your time is much appreciated. A special word of thanks to all our parents and guardians who kindly dropped in all the tasty treats for the bake sale today, they were thoroughly enjoyed by all.
Ghlac daltaí (thart ar 100 dalta) agus múinteoirí ó Scoil Chlasaiceach Naomh Pádraig páirt i nGaeilge24 i mbliana i mí na Samhna. Is dúshlán é Gaeilge24 chun daltaí scoile a spreagadh Gaeilge amháin a labhairt ar feadh 24 uair an chloig. Bíonn an dúshlán á eagrú ag Conradh na Gaeilge agus is deis iontach í do na daltaí a gcuid Gaeilge a fheabhsú agus a chur chun cinn sa scoil. Cuidítear le haigne na ndaoine óga a spreagadh agus eispéireas dearfach a thabhairt dóibh maidir le húsáid na Gaeilge ina saol féin. Bhí tae agus plé (seacláid the agus brioscaí) againn, caint, comhrá, comórtas agus craic. Bhí an ceaintín dubh le daoine agus an Ghaeilge á labhairt ag gach duine le chéile. Bhain 'chuile dhuine spórt agus spraoi as! B’iontach an rud é teanga álainn na Gaeilge a chloisteáil ar fud na scoile ar feadh an lae. Bronnfaidh teastas orthu siúd a ghlac páirt san fheachtas tábhachtach seo go luath. Comhghairdeas leo go léir. Mar a deir an seanfhocal “Beatha teanga í a labhairt”. Students and teachers took part in Gaeilge24 this November. Gaeilge24 is a challenge to encourage students to speak Irish only for 24 hours. The challenge is organised by Conradh na Gaeilge and it is a wonderful opportunity for students to improve their Irish and to promote the use of the language in the school. This challenge helps to open the minds of young people and allow them to experience the Irish language in a unique and positive way. We had hot chocolate and chats in the canteen, competitions, games and craic. The canteen was packed with people chatting as Gaeilge together. Everyone enjoyed the time and it was wonderful to hear our beautiful Gaeilge being spoken around the school. Those who took part will be awarded a certificate of achievement. Congratulations to all. As the old saying says, "The life of a language is to speak it" Bíonn Ciorcal Cainte ar siúl gach Déardaoin ag am lóin i rith na bliana agus cabhraíonn sé sin leis na daltaí feabhas a chur ar a scileanna labhartha. Mar a deirtear, cleachtadh a dhéanann máistreacht! Fáilte roimh chách. There is a Language Circle on every Thursday at lunchtime during the year and it helps students improve their oral skill. As the saying goes, "Practice makes perfect!" (Ms. Crosby)
Foreign Languages
It has been a busy few weeks for the Languages Department in St. Pat's. From the 17th-21st November the TYs took part in a national languages initiative "Think Languages" which was facilitated in school by Ms. Geraghty. They enjoyed a free viewing of the film "Ballon" courtesy of the IFI and also took part in a Bellydancing workshop! On the 4th December Ms Mary O' Brien and Ms Hogan accompanied a group of 3rd year French students to the Alliance Française. The Alliance runs linguistic and cultural programmes for French learners of all ages. The day involved a guided visit to the Alliance library and a revision programme in the afternoon with native French speakers. Thanks to Ms Geraghty for the organisation. Look out for our future trips to the Alliance in the New Year for our 2nd and 5th year students!
STUDENT ENTERPRISE
35 TY students participated in a Student Enterprise Challenge Hackathon from the 17th-20th November. The event was organised by GEN Ireland and Gary O’Meara in conjunction with Enterprise teacher Gareth McMahon and was held for the first three days in Navan Enterprise Centre. During the Hackathon the participating students worked with engineers, entrepreneurs, chartered accountants and communications professionals. It all culminated in an awards ceremony in a dragon style event in the Kells Tech Hub in front of judges Gary O’Meara, Valerie Moran, Keith Finglas and Rosita Moyles. St. Pat’s would like to thank all the participants who helped our budding entrepreneurs in their entrepreneurial journey. They included Gary O’Meara (CEO of Meath Enterprise and Managing Director of the Boyne Valley Innovation District), Valerie Moran (Bective Stud), Keith Finglas (Engineering Lecturer UCD and author of an Intel Paper on Innovation in Software Development), David Downes (Director of UMAC Systems), John Cunningham (Managing Director, Epicom), Conor Woods (Chartered Accountant, Kells). Six of the participating students have qualified for the finals of the Young Scientist in January and the Hackathon has been fantastic preparation for the event.
ISTA SENIOR SCIENCE QUIZ
The students from St Patrick's classical school took part in the ISTA Senior Science Quiz along with their teacher Ms Egan hosted in Eureka, Kells during science week . With twenty-two other schools competing, the atmosphere was energetic and inspiring. Our team represented the disciplines of Physics, Biology, and Chemistry with confidence and curiosity. They tackled challenging questions, collaborated under pressure, and demonstrated impressive scientific understanding. The event not only showcased their knowledge but also strengthened their teamwork and enthusiasm for science. We are incredibly proud of their performance and their commitment to learning. Participating in such a vibrant competition was a valuable experience that will motivate them in their future scientific studies ahead.
Athletics
Well done to our Cross County Team who competed in St.Anne’s Park November. Our Junior team placed 2nd team, Minor team placed 3rd and Intermediate team placed 4th overall. A great competitive day out in preparation for the North Leinsters. Our team have been out in the worst of the winter weather and have enjoyed a few runs in Blackwater park. The team are busy training for their next event and the North Leinsters.
Transition Year winter Term Highlights 2025
TY Winter Reflection
TY Term Reflection - ‘Twas the week before Christmas and all in TY …
‘Twas the week before Christmas, and all in TY Were thinking that Transition Year Term 1 did fly. September to December went by in a flash With experiences and activities that made the time dash. It began with an action-packed bonding trip lark When we went as a group to nearby Emerald Park. Between trips on Cú Chulainn and Na Fianna Force A great time was had despite the G-force. The excitement continued without one lamenter In a trip to Carlingford Adventure Centre. The overnight visit to Louth was a hit With ziplining and kayaking making us more close-kit. But it hasn’t been all high octane pursuits We have had some great talks to change our attitudes. We learned about business and dealing with strife And about driving with care in the talk ‘Just 1 Life’. We saw public speaking performed and in action In a class in which few were reduced to distraction. But none could compare with the legend and Co. - Mr Colm O’Rourke who with guests stole the show. In between all the fun we somehow included Work experience and workshops before semester concluded. We were challenged to work for a week and be cheery, And to think about JFK conspiracy theory. Though we wondered if December might be touch-and-go It turned out just great with school-made espresso! We all trained as baristas and got many hoorays From teachers who were gifted TY-made lattes. To finish it off this week we went skating And survived the exploits without anyone breaking A leg or an arm, or getting a sprain Though falls on the ice did leave us with some pain. It’s been super so far and we’ve ‘thank yous’ to say To the teachers who planned it all day-after-day The bar is set high for the rest of the year But if these standards keep up we have nothing to fear! We TYs are grateful, as is only right. So Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!
Senior Football
Highlights of the Senior Football
IThe 1st St Pats U19 blitz was a great success in November. With 8 school from Meath taking part and over 70 students playing badminton on the day. Congratulations to our St Pats boys teams who won the over meath U19 boys at both divisions and will be going forward to represent Meath at Leinsters in both division 2 and division 3 in January. A great display of skill was shown on the day.
SPREADING CHRISTMAS CHEER!
St Patrick’s Classical School Winter Recital 2025
A Winter Recital, hosted by Ms Laura Lynch and her music students was held on November 27 th in our school oratory. It was a memorable occasion, and every performance was a celebration of student’s musical talents. This occasion marked another musical milestone for our wonderful students, and their diligent preparation and practice was evident in the standard of their performances. Their success on the night is a source of great pride for the entire school community. The programme featured a variety of musical performances, with students from 1 st to 6 th year performing in front of a special audience of family and friends. They also enjoyed a very special performance by the school’s Trad Group and our school House Band. Each student rose to the occasion, demonstrating not only their developing musical skills but their passion and love for music. The oratory provided a fitting and reverent backdrop for their performances, enhancing the sense of occasion and allowing the music to be enjoyed in a warm atmosphere. Sixth year music students Bradley Kirwin and Fionn Breathnach did a stellar job of MC for the evening, welcoming each student to the stage for their performance. The evening was further honoured by the attendance of our Principal Mr Harry Mc Garry, who addressed the gathering and expressed his appreciation for students’ efforts and the staff who guided them. His words highlighted the importance of music within our school community and commended the boys on their exceptional performances. A special word of thanks to Brian and Michael Donnellan who did anexcellent job managing light and sound for the evening, and Home Economics students, Fionn Power and Patrick Shorten, who welcomed our guests and looked after the interval refreshments. The efforts of all those involved reflect the whole-school spirit that makes St. Patrick's Classical School such a special place. Thanks to Ms. Laura Lynch for her work in preparing the students and organising the recital, and to Ms. Sinéad O’Hagan for her support with the preparations, our programme for the evening and the interval refreshments. Warm thanks to Ms. Claire Brady and Mr. Ryan Murphy for their help on the evening. St. Patrick’s Classical School is committed to nurturing the individual strengths of our students so that they may flourish and achieve their very best. Recitals such as this one are truly collaborative endeavours, moments that help shape not only skilled musicians, but also confident, creative individuals who know the value of working together toward a shared goal. Overall, the Winter Recital was a fitting conclusion to the term’s musical work and a testament to the value placed on music in St Patrick’s Classical School. It was an evening marked by fine performances, strong community spirit, and a shared appreciation for the talents shared by our young musicians.
Student fundraising draw
Dear Parent/Guardian, We are delighted to share the results of our recent Student Fundraising Draw and to express our immense gratitude for the tremendous support shown by our school community. Together, we raised €14,900—an incredible achievement that will go directly towards improving student facilities and equipment, as well as supporting extracurricular activities here at St. Patrick’s Classical School. We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone involved:
- Students: Thank you for your commitment, enthusiasm, and energy in selling lines.
- Teachers, Parents & Families: We sincerely appreciate your generosity in purchasing lines and your ongoing encouragement of our students.
- Local Businesses & Sponsors: Your generous prize donations played a key role in making this draw such a success.
Well done to Mr. Killeen for organising such a successfull draw.