Pictures: Kilkenny's Abbey Community College celebrates Respect Week

Respect Week recently took place in Abbey Community College, and was a great success.

It was an opportunity for the whole school community to start off the New Year with a positive focus on respect, whereby all members recognised their own uniqueness and engaged in positive relationships with each other. READ MORE BELOW

Each day, activities took place to promote self-respect and respect for others. In preparation, a motto competition was held for all class groups with the winning entry coming from third year Lismore ‘Respect is free. Respect is key to life in the Abbey’. 

Eoin Murphy
Eoin Murphy, Kilkenny hurler and sporting legend, officially launched Respect Week. Eoin spoke to students with incredible thought put into his words. He discussed the importance of self-respect for personal progression and how to be respectful of others’ opinions and views, not just on the sporting field but in all aspects of life. 

On Tuesday, all year groups received a presentation from Chill Out Youth Project who work with LGBT young people in the South East. Here, students learned about support services available for young people who feel isolated or excluded. The key message was that we are all different and quite often not by choice. Each and every one of us has the right to be respected and feel safe in our environment. 

A Chat and Connect event took place on the Wednesday. Almost one thousand students spent time connecting with their peers getting to know them and finding out about their experience of life in the Abbey.

Conversations overheard included first and sixth years reflecting on their time in our school, second and transition year students discussing the benefits of transition year as well as the Junior Cycle exams. Third and fifth year chat revolved mostly around senior cycle options. This was such a powerful community event whereby students practised respect, active listening and engagement with others. 

Wednesday also saw the school rock band put on an electric performance. The band absolutely rocked with tunes chosen around the theme of respect and had the huge audience clapping, singing and dancing. Students and staff came together to form the rock band highlighting the positive relationships that exist and are promoted in Abbey Community College. 

International Day took place on Thursday. With 40 different nationalities and cultures, students showcased and shared theirs and their families’ cultures and traditions with our school community.

Every student in every year group visited the sports hall to soak up the atmosphere and learn more about the countries and cultures of their fellow students. There were also vocal and dance performances. 

Self-care and self-respect were actively promoted throughout the week. Take5at12 activities took place in all classes each day highlighting the importance of respecting ourselves and the uniqueness of each individual. A self-care wall was also created. The aim of this was to ask students to share how they connect back to themselves through one act of self-care they regularly engage in.

Walk to Zambia
Throughout Respect Week, the whole school took on the Walk and Talk challenge of walking the 8000km distance to Zambia, the location of sister school, Sacred Heart of Mary, Zambia. Throughout the week, classes clocked up their distances to see how far everyone could walk as a school community. Students raised €1,000 for RSHM Zambia and Pieta House.