St Joseph’s NS Hacketstown annual fundraiser, sponsored by Londis Ireland, local business and community groups raised over €7’500 for the school. The event, which took part in the school, saw over 120 students take part in a fun run as they were cheered and encouraged all the way by parents and staff. Irish athlete and native of Hacketstown, Molly Scott warmed up students before the race and presented every participant with a customised Break for the Border 2022 medal.

Londis Ireland sponsored the medals and O’Reilly’s Stores, Hacketstown provided a goodie bag for every student. The event was a huge success, enjoyed by everyone involved.

“The incredible support of the local community has exceeded all expectations. Businesses and clubs came out in force as local companies sponsored generously to support our school. I would like to thank everyone who contributed to the event and our local community for all their continued support. We are very grateful to Molly Scott who is always on hand to support St Joseph’s NS and this year was no exception as she encouraged every student to enjoy and complete the race. All funds raised go directly back into the school for much-needed equipment and resources.” said Maria Barron, principal of St Joseph’s NS.

Parents, family members and students from the school also dug deep and filled in sponsorship cards, which raised over €3,000.

Organisers would like to thank local companies and groups for their continued support:

– Bolands Bar 
– Brian Kelly Plant Hire
– Butler’s Organic Eggs 
– Clonmore GAA
– Cullen Nurseries
– Damien Cullen Agri Contractor 
– Duffy Buses 
– Gallagher Medical Centre 
– Gearoid O’Toole & Son Construction 
– Glanmorefoods Ltd
– Hacketstown Community Games 
– Hair Affairs 
– Jackies Florist
– John Connolly Electrical 
– Kennedys Chemist 
– Lamberts Hardware 
– Liffey Meats 
– Londis Petrol Station 
– Mick Smith Haulage & Sons Ltd 
– Monastill Engineering 
– Moorehead Motors 
– Nolan Construction
– Myers Transport 
– Paul Connolly Electrical 

– Perry Oil
– PJ Townsend Transport
– Smith Groundworks 
– SuperValu 
– The Conor
– Woodside Garden Products

Tuesday, November 8^th will be long remembered in St Joseph’s NS as it marked one our greatest sporting success stories in recent years. Our senior boys football team secured victory in a gritty Cumann na mBunscol final against Rathoe NS.

“It’s over 9 years since our school team last enjoyed success in this competition. Following on from last year’s heart-breaking final where we were agonizingly beaten by two points, this victory was just reward for a talented and hardworking bunch of players who’ve shown great skill and resolve not only on the night but on the path to the final.” comments Barry Murphy, Coach & Vice Principal.

Having trained well from the beginning of the year we faced our eventual finalist opponents, Rathoe, in our first match. Rathoe made the better start, but we soon settled into the game, played some fantastic football and won the game comfortably. This victory set the tone for the remainder of our group matches. This followed by comfortable wins against Leighlinbridge, Ballinkillen & Newtown Dunleckney in our next 3 games.

Our 6^th class contingent of players were consistent throughout and produced moments of ‘’Kerry-esque’’ brilliance on the field at times. Jack Kane, Tyler Byrne and captain, Michael Davis, were tigerish in defence and showed great hunger.

In our last group game against Clonegal some of our younger players showed their potential in a comprehensive victory. Adam Doyle led the charge in this thrilling game, ably assisted in the forwards by Ben Keating & Rory Cullen. In defence we saw fantastic performances from Roman Chubei, Kacper Zawadzki and Bogdan Galos. Thomas Codd, Sean Bowes and Patrick Moran Shiels showed great spirit and made the most of every opportunity. Special mention must also go to Emilio Higgins Gentile who suffered an unfortunate wrist injury in an early training session and had to watch the remaining games from the side-line.

After the initial postponement of our final before the Halloween holidays due to bad weather we eagerly awaited the re-scheduled fixture on November 8^th. From the moment the ball was thrown in it was clear we were in a battle. Rathoe played with more composure initially and kicked the first few scores. The experience and hunger of our 6^th class players soon kicked in and the nerves evaporated.

Oisín Wall and Páidí Connolly got stuck into their opponents and showed tremendous courage and leadership. William Myers, despite being marked by two defenders for most of the game, took off like a cheetah time and again to break Rathoe hearts with some blistering goals when we needed them most. Towards the end of the game Noel Butler was coolness personified in goals with some greats saves and accurate kick-outs whilst Bobby Cullen landed a huge free to help settle the supporter’s nerves. The last 2 minutes of the game were tense with Rathoe putting huge pressure on the Hacketstown goal. Thankfully, Johnny Kelly was there to stand in their way, by any means necessary.

When the final whistle blew our initial relief was soon superseded by joy and delirium. Michael Davis lifted the cup to a huge round of applause from our great supporters who had travelled in large numbers from Hacketstown. This victorious bunch of players are not only talented footballers but great role models both on and off the pitch who’ve shown a tremendous attitude and respect for opponents, referees and each other on this wonderful journey.

ENDS

The was great excitement at St Joseph’s NS as students headed into their mid-term for Halloween break. Staff and students dressed up in an array of fantastic costumes from scary to adorable. Each classroom enjoyed a variety of Halloween based activities including spooky art, cooking and much more throughout the week. The atmosphere was electric.

Check out some of the great costumes worn by staff and students below.

By Michael Tracey – Carlow Nationalist

THE success of Clonmore GFC this year was celebrated at a special gathering in St Joseph’s NS, Hacketstown. The victorious junior team that won the football championship were given a guard of honour and standing ovation as they entered the hall.

It’s been a scrapbook year for Clonmore, with success at various levels. Players from winning U15, U16, U17 and junior C teams also attended.

There are strong links with the club and school, with the vast majority of pupils playing with the club, while there were many past pupils of Hacketstown NS on the team that claimed the junior championship title.

Some of the team members spoke to those gathered offering tips and words of encouragement. There were receptive ears, with the school due to compete shortly in in the Cumann na mBunscol finals, with some of the U15 Clonmore team involved in coaching.

In the run-up to the junior final, there was a Clonmore jersey day, while many of the pupils attended the final at Netwatch Cullen Park.

As a special treat, students were given no homework to mark the occasion.

Deputy principal Barry Murphy said it was important to celebrate the occasion.

“Pupils are seeing the reward of a lot of hard work through the year. They see that it takes a lot of work and training to get to that point, but the joy it can bring to the town and people locally when that hard work is rewarded.”

THE tally is in and the principal, staff, pupils and parents of St Joseph’s NS, Hacketstown are delighted to announce that this year’s Break for the Border has raised over €7,000.

The annual fundraising run welcomed the incredible support of the local community, which exceeded all expectations. Businesses and clubs came out in force as local companies sponsored generously to support the local school.

“I would like to thank everyone who contributed to the event and our local community for all their continued support,” said Doireann Hester, principal of St Joseph’s NS.

“Unfortunately, due to Covid restrictions, we were confined to the school this year for our annual Break for the Border race. As always, we had great weather and every student in St Joseph’s NS ran the race class by class and received customised medals and goodie bags sponsored by O’Reilly’s Service Station and Londis Ireland. All funds raised go directly back into the school for much-needed equipment and resources,” she added.

Hacketstown native Molly Scott is always on hand to support St Joseph’s NS and this year was no exception as she completed a fun warm-up session with each class before their race.

Parents, family members and students from the school dug deep and filled in sponsorship cards, which raised nearly €3,500.

Members of the Hacketstown running club also took part in the event and completed the original Break for the Border route themselves, which further contributed to the fundraiser.

Organisers would like to thank PJ Townsend Transport, The Corner Pub, Damien Cullen Agri, Mick Smith Haulage, Perry Oil, Appletree Preschool, Equip, Monsatill Engineering, Myers Transport, Jackie’s Florist, Clonmore GAA, Butler’s Organic Eggs, O’Reilly’s Service Station, Londis Irl, Paul Connolly Electrical, John Connolly Electrical, Cullen Nurseries, Ellis Well Drilling, Gallagher’s Medical Centre, Kelly Civil & Construction, Moorehead Motors, Let’s Talk About Coffee, Smith Groundworks, Kavanagh’s Garage, Hacketstown Athletic Club, Glanmore Foods, and O’Toole & Sons Construction.

24^th June 2021 – The sun shone on over 140 students from St Joseph’s NS, Hacketstown for a week of exciting fun activities to celebrate wellbeing week. It has been a year with a difference and the memories created during the fun filled week will last forever.

The week started with an art class provided by Rose from Tribal Art Studio. Every student had their own canvas and easel and created some fantastic pieces of art under the instruction of Rose. This was followed by outdoor fitness fun with Louise and to finish off a great day there was sausage and chip for everyone.

“We wanted to do something for the students to take their mind away from pods, bubbles and covid 19. The staff are amazing and pulled together the best week every for every student in the school. The excitement, fun and happy faces made the whole week and we were delighted to create these memories for everyone.” Commented Doireann Hester, Principal.

Day two saw 5th and 6th class students take a trip up Hacketstown’s beautiful Eagle Hill, while the younger classes paid a visit to the Biodiversity Garden Hacketstown. The sun was shining and there was happy faces all round.

The following day there was great excitement as the reptile zoo arrived to St Joseph’s and the children were a mixture of excited and nervous. Their faces said it all! This was followed by fitness with Louise which was a huge hit with all of the children.

Day four of Wellbeing week and students were treated to an African drumming class. This was brilliant. Check out the school facebook page to see the final result as music was created. Students were delighted when Rockfield Ice Cream rocked up to the school in the afternoon. A lovely refreshing homemade ice cream prepared by Gary after a basketball blitz.

Friday morning couldn’t have been better as 3^rd class performed an energetic, enthusiastic dance for the whole school. It’s all the kids could talk about as they prepared to showcase their moves. Spotlight eat your heart out – St Joseph’s NS, Hacketstown have some pretty nifty dance moves! Sports day was held in the afternoon and there was fierce competition as the 6^th class students raced across bales in a bid to be crowned champ. 

During the week all students wore their favourite jersey and brought €2 each to school for a local charity. Also 3rd and 4th class documented their experience during the past year and created a beautiful memorable booklet. Each student wrote up and typed out their own personal story, accompanied by fabulous illustrations. 

There is no doubt the students of St Joseph’s NS, Hacketstown will leave school for the summer holidays on a high.

ENDS

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October 2020 – Students were invited to dress up in their favourite costume for Halloween again this year. However, with social distancing the usual celebrations were slightly adjusted to ensure everyone had great fun and saw each others costumes. Ms O’Connell and Ms Caroline created an amazing Halloween themed run way where each class enjoyed walking through to some haunting tunes as all the other classes sang, clapped and enjoyed the show. Well done to everyone for making Halloween as super as ever.

December 2020 – The excitement hit an all time high in St Joseph’s NS on the last day of school before the Christmas holidays as Santa arrived to the school. From junior infants right through to sixth class everyone had a great time as we greeted Mr Clause from a distance!

There is great excitement in St Joseph’s NS this week as final preparations are underway for class performances for their virtual Christmas concert. Each class has had great fun preparing a song or poem for our social media platforms for parents and family to enjoy. The video link below is our 4th & 5th class students.

https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fstjosephsnshacketstown%2Fvideos%2F1037006763442027%2F&show_text=false&width=560

12^th November 2020:  The tally is in and the Principal, staff, students and parents of St Joseph’s NS, Hacketstown are delighted to announce that this year’s fundraising event has raised €8,500. 

“This year we were doubtful if we would go ahead with the event and thought we might be at the loss of the cost of the fabulous 2020 medals which were ordered long before covid started. The initial sponsorship from Londis and O’Reilly’s Service Station set the scene to what became one of our most successful fundraisers to-date. We ran two events, one was a virtual online run where over 100 people took part and the other was a mini Break for the Border race where every student in St Joseph’s NS ran a race, class by class and all received their customised medal and goodie bag sponsored by O’Reillys. I would like to thank everyone who contributed to the event and our local community for all their continued support.” commented Principal, Doireann Hester.

The support from the community exceeded expectations. With over 40 businesses in Hacketstown who came out in full-force with support for the school. Parents, family members and students from the school were also no exception as they dug deep and filled in sponsorship cards which raised nearly €4’000.

Over 60 members of the Hacketstown running club also took part in the virtual event, along with clubs from Carlow including Dolmen Athletic Club which made a huge contribution to the fundraiser.

“We are delighted the virtual event and school event went off so well, especially in the current climate. It is a brilliant good news story where the community gathered together “virtually” and raised so much money for St Joseph’s NS, all of which will go straight back into much needed equipment for the school.” commented event organiser Paula Butler.

ENDS