Students of Bandon Grammar School in Co Cork, many of whom are now soaking up the sun with their families outside these shores, will return in the near future to learn that they have a new principal.
From August 1st, Mr Ian Coombes (40) will assume the role and is expected to put his own stamp on what has been an outstanding centre of education for the Church of Ireland community in west Cork.
Mr Coombes, B.A., M.Ed., H.Dip Ed, was educated at Ban don Grammar as well as the Kilgarriffe National School in Clonakilty and was a scholarship student at UCC.
He succeeds Dr Jack Carter in a school redolent with historical ties.
Co-educational, Bandon Grammar has both boarding and day facilities for its 380 pupils. It is one of the oldest educational institutions on this island, having been founded in 1641 due to the largesse of Richard Boyle, the first Earl of Cork.
The school has a strong sporting ethic with rugby, hockey, athletics and outdoor pursuits.
The new principal has published papers on education for the education department at UCC and has been active in curriculum development at a national level.
He has also been chairman of the Church of Ireland Youth Council in Cork and youth adviser for west Cork to the Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross.
A few things to mention: Next Friday, at the Aula Maxima, UCC, pianist John Gibson will perform a concert, including music by Chopin, Debussey, Gibson, Field, Gershwin and Scott Joplin. The concert will begin at 8 p.m. and is in support of Edmund Rice Action. It is a new initiative by the Presentation Brothers to train young adults in leadership and organisational skills. The action group also seeks to provide a week of activities for children from disadvantaged areas.
From the Southern Health Board comes a dance event for older people. In the first week of September the board will host "Moving Age," an international symposium on dance "for and with older people".
Many forms of therapy are recognised in healthcare, said a spokesperson for the board, but in this State, so far, dance has not been one of them.
The SHB has changed all that - uniquely for a health board in the Republic or Britain - by establishing a partnership with a dance organisation, in this case the Firkin Crane Dance Development Agency in Cork.
"Contemporary dance for older persons is a new concept in Ireland and is viable for the very frail as well as the very active," Ms Monica Spencer, the Moving Age co-ordinator said.