2019-2020
Students from 2018-19 TY Class pictured recieving their awards in Knock Shrine.
2017-2018
The Pope John Paul II Award was created to commemorate the late Pope John Paul II who was so committed to young people and who had such belief and confidence in them. Through the JPII Awards, young people can actively take part in the life of the Church and the life of the Community. Two years ago we had 16 students from GCS who took part and all received the Silver Medal. Last year, the TY students decided to participate in the Award all achieved a gold medal. This year’s TYs will also go for gold and they are working hard to achieve it. They have organised many very successful Youth Masses here in the Parish of Glenamaddy and will continue to do so. They are also involved with Dóchas and the elderly which all applies to the 3 strands of the Award: a) Parish Involvement, b) Social Awareness and c) A presentation. During the first year the group visited Áras Bríd and interacted with the elderly by playing games with them, reading to them and perhaps most importantly, listening to their stories. Last year’s tradition of visiting the Day-care centre has been continued where students teach the elderly how to use computers and they sometimes play bingo with them.
The youth have so much to offer, and being the future of the Church, this project helps them to get more involved in ways that can make having a faith a little more appealing. The participants all feel that they really gained in insight into who they are and what they’re about. They learned valuable lessons that won’t be forgotten and feel that they have achieved something useful that will help them through their journey in life.
Ms. O’Flanagan, our school Chaplain is the Award leader.