ColáisteChill Mhantáin

BOARD OF MANAGEMENT

The board of management of the school met last Thursday evening, February 16, and the members wished to convey their appreciation to everyone in the school community for the work they do and to acknowledge the wonderful success that the school has achieved in recent months.

The management and staff of the school would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the work of the board, whose ongoing support underpins all of our achievements in the school.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

First Year students participated in a Personal development and Self-Awareness programme this week, on the theme ‘Journey into new beginnings’. It is an opportunity for First Years to stop and reflect on their journey into the new school, and to appreciate who and what has helped them along the way. There was a lovely reflective atmosphere with each of the classes who positively engaged in the experience

YOUNG ENVIRONMENTALISTS

On February 9 our TY4 class group, with our teacher Ms. Murphy, organised for Suzie Cahn, a local organic farmer and educator and our previous teacher, Ms. Minnock, to visit our class and help us organise a day of action in the polytunnel area of our school to complete our ECO-UNESCO Young Environmentalist Awards project.

On a really cold Thursday morning, we all changed into warm clothes and went outside for the day to work on our project. Our class split into teams, each having a different objective. One group was in charge of making bird feeders out of recycled plastic bottles, creating 15 bird feeders which we will distribute around the school grounds.

Another team had to use old wooden pallets to create bird houses and we are currently aiming to make at least 10. Also there was a team in charge of digging the grass up outside for future use in the spring to plant wildflowers. We have begun sowing flower seeds into seed trays to germinate them in the polytunnel because at the moment it is too cold to start them outside.

Lastly we had a team who created a wooden hand-painted sign to put outside a garden we were making for wild flowers to let the public know about our project. We are passionate about this project because we want to help pollinators such as bees who are being threatened by the use of chemical fertilisers among other dangers.

Bees are essential for the pollination of much of the food we eat every day. We also wanted to protect birds as some species are in decline due to habitat loss.

Students could join which ever group they liked so that each person could enjoy learning something new or work with what they are best at.

Each team worked to their strengths and made some amazing products to help the pollinators and birds survive. We hope to present our project in the 2017 Eco-Unesco Young Environmentalist Awards in March this year.

#SCHOOLSGOORANGE

Last Friday, between 11: 20 and 13: 20, all First Year students took part in a Sports Day as part of #SchoolsGoOrange in aid of Cycle Against Suicide. The Mentor Team facilitated a number of different activities which had been set up on the pitch: ug of War ; Sponge Toss ; XOs with Hula Hoops ; Cross Bar Challenge ; Target Practice (Football, Rugby Ball, Frisbee) ; Sack Race ; Spoon/Hurl race ; Sprint (timed) ; three Legged Race ; Big Feet Race ; Shot Put/ Throw-in ; Welly Toss

In the afternoon the whole school participated in a School Walk. A great day was enjoyed by all and the event successfully promoted, once again, the message that ‘It’s OK not to feel OK; and it’s absolutely OK to ask for help’. #SchoolsGoOrange

FIRST YEAR TABLE QUIZ

Last Friday morning, the Mentor team coordinated a table quiz for all First Year students. This event proved to be great fun and gave the students an opportunity to put their general knowledge of a variety of topics to the test. The competition between teams was fierce and very well done to Ffia Driver, Isabelle Vozza, Claire Salmon, Tommy Doherty and Bonnie Bell King, who were the overall winners of the quiz.

ENTERPRISE CO. FINALS

There are five mini-companies representing Coláiste Chill Mhantáin at both junior and senior level on Tuesday, March 28, at the Wicklow Student Enterprise Awards in Clermont. Best wishes to all involved.

TY PAIRED READING

TY Paired Reading begins on Friday, March 4, from 9.11 a.m., for 10 consecutive Fridays in conjunction with St Patrick’s National School, Wicklow.

CAKE DECORATING

First Year students created Valentine’s cakes today in their last class before the Midterm break. Cake Decorating will return every second Monday after the Midterm. New members are always welcome.

SMILEY PANCAKE TUESDAY

On Tuesday, February 28, the Home Economics department are organising Smiley Pancake Tuesday, where students can decorate their own pancake with Smiley Faces, in aid of Mental Health Ireland, promoting positive mental health. All money raised goes towards Mental Health Ireland and Wicklow Mental Health.

GIRLS’ BASKETBALL

The First Year Girls’ Basketball team had their first game last Friday against St Mary’s in Arklow. They girls worked very well as a team and did very well in defence for the first two quarters, keeping St Mary’s to a low score of 6.

Unfortunately, St Mary’s pulled away in the last quarter to win the game. The girls show great potential for a very strong CCM basketball team in the coming years. Training is on Fridays at lunchtime and all First Year girls are welcome.

SCHOOLS’ CROSS-COUNTRY

On Wednesday, February 15, the Leinster School Cross-Country took place in Santry. This tough competition always has high numbers battling it out for a coveted place in the all-Ireland. Six students from Coláiste Chill Mhantáin battled hard in each of their respective races.

Up first for racing were the twins, Bonnie and Aimee Bell-King, for the 1500m race. The girls started off from a huge line up and contested through the run. The conditions on ground were tough after all the rain and they found themselves having to dig deep in some sections. Aimee came home in a very impressive 20th position, with Bonnie fighting close behind in 37th. A massive result for the girls who had been competing at the weekend.

Next race was the Minor Boys’ 2000m race, with Finn Egan-Byrne competing for a space. Finn got off to a great start with a strong run as always, showing great heart and determination with over 130 runners in the group. Finn put in a great performance and came home in 37th place.

The next race was Junior Boys with 3000m – two large laps of the course. Dylan O’Donovan and Daniel Murphy were bursting into the group and pushing strong at the start. Dylan worked hard and put in a strong performance over the two laps. Daniel, who has just taken up cross country, showed huge grit to hang on to the lead group and came home with a fantastic 9thplace – giving him a place in the all-Irelands in Belfast on March 11. A great result for Daniel, who recently took up Cross-Country for the school, and for Athletics in CCM.

The last race for CCM saw Joe O’Shea compete in a very strong group, putting in a tough performance over 4500m. A fantastic display from Joe, over three gruelling laps, brought him home in an incredible 26th place.

Congratulations to all athletes who gave it their all on the day. A big thanks to Ewan, Jack and Oisin, who gave great help on the day, taking photographs and cheering on the team.