Coláiste Chill Mhantáin
HIKE FOR LIFE
Last Tuesday CCM was one of the 20 participating schools in this year’s Kildare Wicklow Education Training Board’s (KWETB) Hike for Life. This initiative began four years ago when the Kildare and Wicklow Vocational and Educational Committees (VEC’ s) amalgamated. The importance of positive mental and physical health is central to what the combined schools aim to highlight when student and teacher representatives walk the 10km Spinc Loop in Glendalough. The hike was part of an initiative to raise awareness of Positive Mental Health as well as raise some money for Kildare Mental Health Association and Pieta House.
This year the autumn sun shone, energy and spirits were high as students and teachers chatted and laughed together. A total of €5,800 will be donated to Kildare Mental Health and Pieta House because of their efforts. Thanks to Ms Fitzgerald and sixteen senior mentor students from fifth Year, who participated in the ‘Hike for Life’. Over a hundred students from KWETB schools completed the 10km hike in under 2.5 hours.
SCHOOL MUSICAL
Any students interested in taking part in this year’s musical ‘All Shook Up’? We are looking for talented singers, dancers and actors to sign up with Ms McAdam, music teacher, for CCMs first Musical which will be staged this year.
TY COFFEE FOR HOSPICE
A big thank you to everybody who planned, organised and donated to the TY fundraiser last Friday. In particular thanks to the TY tutors and the TY students who brought in all the goodies; to the Home Economics department who both baked and provided us with jugs, plates and teapots and to Centra Rathnew, who donated some recyclable coffee cups. Thanks also to Ms Murphy and the hard working TY committee who ensured the event ran smoothly.
Finally, sincere appreciation to all the students and teachers who supported the event.
GAISCE AWARD
A total of 45 Transition Year students completed their Adventure Journey for their Gaisce Award last Wednesday and Thursday. They covered a total of 30 kms over the two days. They walked from Glendalough to Glenmalure having to take a detour over rough terrain. The rain held off till the students reached the top of the hill, in time to cool them down.
The students stayed in Baltinglass Outdoor Education Centre where they enjoyed activities like rock climbing, team games and map reading. On the second day students walked from Aughavanagh to Glemalure with an extra unplanned detour thrown in for good measure. The students remained positive for the whole trip and are to be complimented for their behaviour and attitude over the two demanding days.
24 HOUR NO PHONE
TY students are organising a ‘24 Hour No Phone Challenge’ in Coláiste Chill Mhantáin on Thursday, October 19, in aid of Enable Ireland. This involves students giving up their phones from 8.50 a.m. on Thursday morning till 8.50 a.m. on Friday morning. So that means... no calls, texts, tweets, snapchats etc. for 24 hours.
The purpose of this challenge is to teach students that we take technology for granted a lot of the time as some people rely heavily on technology to survive and go about their everyday lives. All money raised will be going towards Enable Ireland. All support would be much appreciated.
CCM FUN RUN
The time has finally come to announce that the CCM Fun Run will go ahead on Wednesday, October 18, at 11.30. This event caters for students and teachers of all abilities, from crawlers to walkers to runners. The Fun Run will cost €4 to enter and we would encourage the whole school to take part in this school event.
The event is to raise money in conjunction with the parents’ association and all money raised will be used to fund initiatives within the school. On the day, there will be a DJ for the warm up and to play music throughout the event, and refreshments on completion of the course. The route is a double loop of the bicycle track around the school.
Prizes will be awarded to the following placings – First, Second and Third for every year group, overall male and female student and overall male and female teacher. Forty medals in total.
CRAFT CLUB
Craft Club began this Monday between 4-5 in G70. The club will run every second week alternating with Cake Decorating and is open to all students who do not need to study Home Economics.
SCIENCE CLUB
This year our very popular Science Club will run once more. All Junior students who are interested in joining the club should enquire with Ms Smyth, Science teacher.
WORLD RECORD ATTEMPT
FROM THE GUINNESS BOOK OF RECORDS: DYLAN O’DONOVAN the aim was to raise €100 or as close as possible for my charity Guinness World Record attempt at the 100x50m relay at the National Aquatic Centre on Friday, September 29. The charities involved were the Northern Ireland Hospice and Irish Cancer Society and both charities will benefit by €5,000 each as a result. The outcome was an overwhelming success and I would like to thank the staff who contributed so generously, but in particular Ms Doorley for her huge amount of help and support.
Well done Dylan on a fantastic achievement.
YOUNG CARERS
Last Tuesday Pádraig McGrath from the Young Carers Association gave a very interesting presentation to TY students about the challenges and benefits of becoming a young carer during their SPHE class. The students thoroughly enjoyed the presentation and learning more about the experiences involved in this worthwhile occupation.
ATHLETICS CLUB
The new crop of CCM athletes got their chance to put on the red singlet as Cormac Byrne, Adam Daly, Paul Doherty, Charlie Phelan and Ben Ryan all ran brilliantly to finish second place overall at the first Avondale Cross Country Relay Meet in the first Year race.
The second Year Boys’ race saw excellent runs from Ewan Carr Culbert, Finn Egan Barron, Mark Melia and Taylor Cahill to finish third overall in their race. The Second Year girls proved to be too strong for their competitors on the day.
The girls worked brilliantly together as they pulled off a stunning win for their third Year team. The team consisted of Aimee Bell King, Bonnie Bell King, Genevieve Codd White, Malwina Wesolowska and Caoilfhionn Ni Dhubhslaine.
The third Year boys worked a magical master class, utilising tactical genius to level up their relay teams to perfection. All runners ran exceptionally well, some proving they have stepped up their fitness hugely from last year. The teams consisted of Aidan Hennessy, Dan Murphy, Oisin Timmons, Liam Connolly, Thomas O’Neill and Aaron Byrne.
The TY girls had not one ounce of energy to spare as they left everything on the course, fighting to come away with second in the new addition of the TY category. The team consisted of Wiktoria Dolgoruki, Labhaoise Ryan and Cara Sellars. This was the first time that each of the girls has run for CCM AC, we wish them many more outings ahead.
The final event of the day was the Boys’ TY race which saw Joseph O’Shea, Jack Byrne and Tom O’Shea run superbly to come home first in the TY category, fighting all the way to the line.
Well done to all athletes involved and especially to Jack O’Neill and Cian Kelly, who assisted in coaching roles on the day itself.
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL
The under-19 girls played their first game this season against a strong St Mary’s of Arklow team. The CCM girls started well winning the first quarter. Alba Galban and Emma worked well together creating some lovely passes and baskets. St Mary’s came back in the second quarter and Kerry O’Toole, Katie McAulay and Siobhán Irons did well in defence but by half time, St Mary’s were ahead byonebasket.
The second half of the game was very close. Lucy Hobbs and Lucy McGettigan worked well together to stop St Mary’s from getting too close to the basket. The girls worked well moving the ball forward; Alison O’Shea, Niamh O’Toole, Julie Carey, Shelly Carr Culbert and Amber Synnott all contributed to a great team performance from CCM Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough and St Mary’s won the match 43-40.
Well done to the CCM girls who are looking forward to an exciting season ahead. Alba Galban was praised by St Mary’s and the referees for a fantastic performance.
GIRLS’ RUGBY
As part of the Girls’ Rugby Initiative running within the school over the next four weeks, training began last Wednesday from 11.30 to 12.30. Any students who would like to try rugby are welcome to sign up with Ms Kavanagh or Mr Duffy before commencing training this week.
Congratulations to everyone who participated in the annual 10k walk that took place on Wednesday, October 4. The event was organised by the CCA parents’ council, with staff, parents and students enjoying the opportunity to get out and take in the coastal air.
The PE department organised a number of sports events for the senior students on the school grounds, while two students, Troy Scully and Colm Flynn chose to run 12k as part of the event. We hope that this event will raise funds that will go towards other school based events and activities. Thanks to everyone involved.
MATHS WEEK
From Monday, October 2, to Friday, October 6, Coláiste Charbh Abhann students celebrated maths week with numerous activities and events taking place throughout the week. Under the direction of the Maths Department, students were encouraged to see how maths influence so many aspects of our daily lives, with the focus of taking maths out of the classroom and into our everyday surroundings.
Events included treasure hunts, quizzes, a TY ‘build a farm’ activity and a scale measure of the heights of celebrities, with some interesting heights for all students to gauge themselves against. There were daily maths puzzles and posters on display in the GP Area too. Well done to all involved.
MUSICAL CAST ANNOUNCED
The first Parent/Teacher/Student meeting will take place next Thursday, October 12. The meetings will take place in the school between 4.15 p.m. And 6.45 p.m. We look forward to discussing your child’s progress to date and to explore areas in which we can strive to reach the best results possible in this important examination year.
CAPTAIN FANTASTIC
And finally, congratulations to our very own Mr Staunton, who captained the victorious Glenealy team, who beat Bray Emmets 2-12 to 0-11 to claim the senior hurling championship in Joule Park last weekend. Bray Emmets were hoping for four in a row, but Glenealy managed to claim their 15th championship win by an impressive seven-point margin. Mr Staunton was presented the coveted trophy from county chairman Martin Coleman before making a rousing acceptance speech, thanking the club and supporters for all their efforts.