ColáisteChill Mhantáin
TY CAUSEY FARM VISIT
From baking brown bread to Irish dancing, from Gloria the pig to Nancy the goat to Henrietta the selfie Hen, not to forget Daisy the cow. There was plenty to see and do during the TY students’ visit to Causey Farm in Navan, Co Meath last Thursday. But perhaps the highlight for some was the bog jumping, hard to believe so many would be so happy to literally roll in the muck. A thoroughly enjoyable day was had by all, topped off by eating the brown bread made earlier. The staff at Causey were very complimentary of both the manners and enthusiasm of all on the trip. The TYs would like to thank Causey Farm for hosting us, and the teachers for organising the trip.
ENTERPRISE AWARDS
The Local Enterprise Office Student Enterprise Awards Final took place last week in Clermont College, Rathnew. In total 39 mini-companies took part in the senior category, four of these representing CCM. Jack Kennedy from TY4 was awarded a Commendation Award for the web page, Panpact, he has built from scratch that allows users to upload both video footage and text which is its unique selling point and allows him to compete with websites like You.Tube.
James Byrne from TY1 exhibited his mini-company Wicklow Bed and Mattress Disposal and, from the outset, he was one of the favourites. In the end James came second with the judges emphasising how close the top two were.
In the intermediate category Cillian Scott won his category outright with his Engine in Tables. He will represent CCM on May 3 in Croke Park at the National Student Enterprise Finals. The judges were very impressed with the process of stripping the engine, cleaning and the very professional finish given to the engine. They were also very impressed with the link he has made to local businesses he sources his materials from. We wish Cillian the best of luck in the final.
Also featuring at the Awards Final were Kayleigh Clare Malone and Chloe Doyle with their enterprise KC Inspirations. Kayleigh and Chloe created Christmas-scented pot-pourri and book marks and have sold their products in different craft fairs in the run-up to Christmas. Both products proved to be very popular.
Nasareen Koraim, Sarah Jane Hayes, Adelaide Kane and Isabel Balogh created a super company called Uisce Beatha Bath Bombs producing extremely attractive, well-packaged, pampering bath bombs. These products have been stocked and sold in several pharmacies in Wicklow.
Well done to all involved in the Enterprise Awards’ Final.
YOUNG ENVIRONMENTALISTS
As part of Transition Year, students take part in an Education for Sustainability module. TY4 entered their biodiversity project into the ECO-UNESCO Young Environmentalist Awards and were selected to present their project at the Eco-Den for the semi-final in Europe House, Dublin.
Five students, Brandon Kelly, Sam Porter, Zoe Byrne, Siobhán Irons and Julie Carey, represented the class and presented the work they have done do date through a PowerPoint presentation and an interview. The class have created six bird houses that will be placed on the school grounds, made bird feeders from recycled materials and planted wild flowers that in the coming weeks will add colour around the school but also encourage wildlife.
SKY SPORTS FOR LIVING
The TY 4 class have been participating in the Sky Sports for Living program. The students were given a talk by Irish basketball player Aoife McDermott. She talked to them about how to motivate themselves, challenge themselves and have goals. She did some team building activities with the class to help them get ready for the Sky Sports task they had set themselves. The class decided that they would develop an Olympic Handball coaching program and coach 6th class students in Educate Together National School.
Their first coaching session was last Wednesday when the students taught a group of 10 pupils the basics of Olympic Handball. The TY students excelled at coaching the students, giving them tasks and watching how they could improve their throwing and catching skills. Each group of TYs delivered a great lesson. The teachers were very impressed with the plans they had developed and how they managed the pupils who really enjoyed learning a new sport and had great fun doing it.
TY KAYAKING
The TY students in CCM have started a kayaking module with Baltinglass Outdoor Education Centre in Wicklow harbour. The students are completing the Canoe Ireland Level one kayaking course and will complete three kayaking session, the final one after the Easter holidays, hopefully in warmer weather.
MARTIN FAMILY FUNDRAISER
Five Slaney did a fantastic job preparing for the bake sale in aid of the Martin Family of Rathnew last Thursday and Friday at break and lunchtime. The Martin Family have two seriously ill children, a one-year old and a three-year old, and they need to raise €250,000 for medical treatment for their children in Italy. Thank you to all who kindly donated money to this worthy cause.
JCSP SCIENCE INITIATIVE
All 168 Firsts Years participated in a Science Workshop last week facilitated by Christine Campbell of Anyone4Science. The workshop was based on forensics and crime scene investigations and saw the students become forensic investigators whilst trying to solve a mystery crime.
Activities such as learning about crime investigation methods and studying and collecting evidence at a crime scene will help improve students’ ability to apply logical thinking in different situations and to help find solutions to problems. Learning to think critically and work collaboratively are important life skills.
Overall this was an enjoyable experience for all involved. Well done everyone!
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL
Coláiste Chill Mhantain 18 St Mary’s, Arklow 28: The First Year girls played St Mary’s, Arklow, in a friendly match on Friday, March 24, in Coláiste Chill Mhantáin. It began as a thrilling and exciting start with the girls from CCM dominating the first quarter. Unfortunately this was cancelled out in the second quarter as St Mary’s pushed ahead. The girls from worked hard in defence and made some super passes offensively to stop the threat. Further baskets from St Mary’s gave them the lead going into the third quarter. Strong rebounding put points on the scoreboard for CCM and they stuck to their game plan, adding baskets to the board. However, it was not their day. All present agreed that this was a good game of basketball and the standard of the girls’ play is improving. Thanks to Emma Cruise, Conor Curran and Fionan Teevan, who helped out on the day. Best of luck in their next match.
GAA JUNIOR GIRLS’ BLITZ
The CCM Junior Girls’ team took part in a blitz in Balinakill yesterday. Their first match was against East Glendalough. It took the girls time to settle into the match and so they were behind at half time. They worked very hard in the second half against the wind and kept pressure on East Glendalough. Laura Newsome came on in the second half and made a huge difference to the team. She scored some lovely points and brought the team back into the game, however it wasn’t enough and the girls lost the match in the end.
They didn’t have long to recover before their next game against St Mary’s, Arklow. The girls started strong. Millie Tierney and Shelley Carr Culbert put in great performances in mid field, working the ball up to the forwards. There were some great scores from Eabha Mooney and Orla Kenny in the first half and the girls were on top at half time.
St Mary’s worked hard in the second half, forcing Holly O’Toole in goals to make some impressive saves. Amy O’Doherty did well in the backs also. Unfortunately the girls lost in the end to a last minute goal by St Mary’s.
This is the girls’ last match this year. They are always so positive and put a great effort into training and their matches. They will be a team to watch next year.