6th CLASS PUPILS MOVE ON:

NEW PUPILS:

Best of luck to the 6th class boys who are heading off to pastures new.

Delighted to welcome our new Junior infants - Dean Fitzgibbon, John Murphy, Jake Kelly, Adam Clancy, Billy Storan, Niall Kiely, Caoimhe Sheehy, Emma McMahon & Katie Ann Mulcahy. Also we welcome Maeve Sherin, who joined First class. Wishing all the students and teachers a great year ahead with no Covid closures hopefully.

CHURCH NEWS:

Sunday 19th: 11am: Fr. Tom will be planting an Oak tree in the grounds, after Mass. Why ? For the Season of Creation, which runs from September 1st (World Day of Prayer for Creation) to October 4th (the feast of St. Francis of Assisi) and the theme this year is "Restoring Our Common Home '' We are more than aware that our world is facing a devastating biodiversity crisis as well as a climate crisis. During this season we are asked to join together to celebrate creation and protect our common home through prayer, reflection and action.

As part of the action, parishes are invited to plant a native Irish Tree as a symbol, declaring our commitment to care more deeply for God’s Creation. This also coincides with National Tree Day on October 7th. In 'Laudato Si’, Pope Francis urges us to listen to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.

Also, there is a 'Season of Creation' display at the back of the Church .

Last Sunday was the final day for the Mass Stewards, who have volunteered their services over a long number of months, we will miss the meeting & greeting now. Many thanks to all for giving their time.

AGM TIME:

Pencil in the date - Tuesday 28th Sept, 8pm. Granagh Development Association will be holding their AGM. We are looking for new members to help us out. There are always projects to be done but we need more people.! Take Patrickswell, for example, they have a small tidy towns group who keep the village looking beautiful, it is a pleasure to drive through. Just recently, you may have seen the beautiful painting being done beside our old creamery. When a few people get to chat together, it's amazing what ideas arise and what can be achieved.

We hope people will seriously consider joining up, without new members, groups can easily go into decline.

PETITION:

As a key action for this Season of Creation, people are urged to sign the “Healthy Planet Healthy People” petition.

We look towards two UN Conferences in the Autumn, COP15 (on Biodiversity, due to take place in China) and COP26 (on climate change, Glasgow), in the hope that world leaders take the urgent action that is needed to Restore Our Common Home. The climate emergency is causing rising seas, a warmer planet, and more extreme weather, it’s devastating the lives of our poorest sisters and brothers.

Ahead of those meetings, it is our responsibility to raise our voices on behalf of the most vulnerable, we must act Now ! Sign the Petition online at - www.thecatholicpetition.org

TRÓCAIRE:

As a result of a conversation I had over the Summer regarding monies being given to charities, does it really get to the people concerned and is the money spent wisely. I checked out Trócaire's annual report - audited by Deloitte - which gives a very detailed breakdown of income & expenditure. Strong governance and transparency are vital and Trócaire has been recognised at The Good Governance Awards which are organised by the Carmichael Centre and judged by a team of independent financial experts.

Trócaire won Best Annual Report in the large NGO category in 2018, 2019 and was one of the five shortlisted for 2020. In 2019 it also won the Best Governance Improvement Initiative award. And in 2019 Trócaire won Best Annual Report at the Chartered Accountants of Ireland Published Accounts Award. For a detailed read, go to www.trocaire.org ( beginning on pg79 ).

GREEN RIBBON.

Each year 'See Change' roll out a month long national Green Ribbon Campaign to encourage people in Ireland to End Mental Health Stigma. By wearing the Green Ribbon – an international symbol for mental health awareness

you show you are committed to influencing positive change. You don’t need to be an expert to start talking about mental health or have all the answers. Sometimes the most helpful thing you can do is to let someone know you are there for them and simply listen !

Stigma has been identified as one of the most difficult aspects of living with a mental health condition for both the person and their families. Stigma is recognised as a barrier to the recovery process as people do not seek help as they fear being labelled as mentally ill. The consequences of stigma are shame and humiliation and can lead people to delay or avoid seeking help. Stigma against those with mental health conditions takes many forms: from the unkind word, social exclusion to higher insurance premiums. Research has shown that stigma makes it more difficult for people to find or return to employment, find somewhere to live, make friends or be involved in social activities. Stigma negatively impacts a person’s self-esteem and they may feel devalued. Stigma against family members is also very common with family members often concealing the mental health difficulties of loved ones. Mental health stigma thrives on lack of knowledge and understanding, negative attitudes and discriminatory behaviour. To challenge and eliminate mental health stigma we need to understand how it develops and is maintained. On their website -www.seechange, they are running five weekly sessions of discussions, Thursdays at 8pm.