Page 13 - The Gonzaga Record 2004
P. 13
Maire O’Kelly in her office in 1992
was the first Teacher whom the boys experienced when they came to Gonzaga. And
she fulfilled that role for nearly thirty years. Because early impressions are so sig
nificant, many Past Pupils invariably remember ‘Mrs. O’Kelly’ very clearly!
The actual truth is, that for a generation before Lord of the Rings became pop
ularised cinematically, Maire was initiating young minds into the wonderful world
of imagination through her yearly reading of the Hobbit.
How many Gonzagans therefore have evolved into ‘literary men’ thanks to the
evocation and the education of Maire O’Kelly? Given the number of Gonzagans in
the Law Library, it should in truth have an ‘O’Kelly Room’ or at least an ‘O’Kelly
Nook’!
Maire did not as so many of us do, merely espouse reading as a worthy human
pursuit and ideal. She structured it into daily learning - where pupils both read and
were read to. This has engendered in many of our past pupils a life-long love of
reading.
For the less literary-inclined, Maire pioneered the MS Readathon, which lured
pupils into practical monetary rewards to be obtained from reading. Maire was
involved from the very outset in establishing and promulgating the Readathon ini
tiative for schools in the 1980s, which was launched by one of her literary
boyfriends, Roald Dahl!
Many of our pupils enjoy or even love school - an extraordinary mentality! But
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was the first Teacher whom the boys experienced when they came to Gonzaga. And
she fulfilled that role for nearly thirty years. Because early impressions are so sig
nificant, many Past Pupils invariably remember ‘Mrs. O’Kelly’ very clearly!
The actual truth is, that for a generation before Lord of the Rings became pop
ularised cinematically, Maire was initiating young minds into the wonderful world
of imagination through her yearly reading of the Hobbit.
How many Gonzagans therefore have evolved into ‘literary men’ thanks to the
evocation and the education of Maire O’Kelly? Given the number of Gonzagans in
the Law Library, it should in truth have an ‘O’Kelly Room’ or at least an ‘O’Kelly
Nook’!
Maire did not as so many of us do, merely espouse reading as a worthy human
pursuit and ideal. She structured it into daily learning - where pupils both read and
were read to. This has engendered in many of our past pupils a life-long love of
reading.
For the less literary-inclined, Maire pioneered the MS Readathon, which lured
pupils into practical monetary rewards to be obtained from reading. Maire was
involved from the very outset in establishing and promulgating the Readathon ini
tiative for schools in the 1980s, which was launched by one of her literary
boyfriends, Roald Dahl!
Many of our pupils enjoy or even love school - an extraordinary mentality! But
Page 11
