Sport
Is fear an tsláinte ná na táinte – Health is better than wealth
Here at St. Francis S.N.S, sport is a big part of everyday school life. We have an Active School’s flag and participate in active school’s week annually .We are so lucky to have a range of coaches coming in to teach our pupils new skills. We have coaches from GAA,boxing, cricket , dancing and ultimate frisbee.
Soccer
Luckily in our school, the pupils can play football during yard times which is great for getting their mind off schoolwork, learning how to be part of a team, and staying active. These games are run by the pupils themselves therefore they must learn how to referee the games fairly themselves. Throughout the year, our school send soccer teams to 5 aside tournaments. We also have a senior boys soccer team who play in 11 aside tournaments.
Gaelic Football
Gaelic football plays a big part in school life for the pupils here, especially in the senior end.
It is the ambition of a lot of the boys and girls to represent the school team against other schools in the area. We are lucky to have an affiliation with O’Tooles G.A.A Club. Their GPO David comes in and trains the pupils, teaching them the basic skills of Gaelic Football.
This has played a significant role in the success of both our boys’ and girls’ teams. In recent years, our boy’s teams have had great success reaching the final of the Fingal Leagues.
Athletics
The school sends a team of pupils to Santry National Athletics Stadium every year to take part in the track and field events. We are lucky to have facilities to practice high jump and relays in the school leading up to the events. This is always an exciting time in the school when the pupils are taking part in trials to represent the school.
Teachers v Students
There is also a tradition in the school of the teachers versus students (6th class) at the end of the year in rounders. This is one of the things the 6th class pupils really look forward to at the end of the school year. The whole school come out to the yard to see the teachers compete against the students, it’s great fun and children look forward to it in their final year.
Boxing
In 6th class, our pupils get the opportunity to get boxing coaching from Noel Burke, a world-class boxing coach. Noel is the coach of world, lightweight champion, Kellie Harrington. He comes into the school and does a 6-week beginner training programme with the pupils. At the end of this session, the pupils earn a bronze boxing certificate. The children can then go on to go for the silver certificate for another 6 weeks. The pupils go down to the Glin Centre where they start putting on headgear and get a chance to learn how to spar.
After this, Noel selects a few pupils to progress to training for the gold certificate. These students get the chance to go and train in the National Boxing Stadium once a week and are trained by famous Irish boxers such as Oisin Fagan and Michael Carruth. At the end of this process, students from a variety of schools go and watch these students boxing against each other in front of a big crowd. This is a great experience for any of the pupils who are lucky enough to get selected.
Ultimate Frisbee, Dancing and Cricket
Our school also provides ultimate frisbee and cricket coaches to train the pupils. These coaches do 6-week blocks with each class, coaching them the basics of both games. We also provide dancing instructors to give a welcomed break from classwork and don’t forget about our Ceilí during St.Patricks week. We have experienced Dancers on our staff that show the pupils and parents the steps for the dances.