St. Colmcille's CS Newsletter

Newsletter is moving!

2010-12-28T19:33:00.000Z

From 10th January 2011, this blog will be discontinued and all news entries will be placed directly onto the school website.

For those of you who are subscribed to this feed, please redirect your subscription to http://stcolmcilles.ie/?page_id=81 where you will continue to see our news as it happens.

Wishing you all a very Happy & Prosperous New Year!

Minister Eamon Ryan launches €13M Broadband to Schools Scheme at St Colmcille's CS.

2010-10-04T15:50:00.000+01:00

The following press release gives the details of todays proceedings! See full article here.

Communications Minister Eamon Ryan today announced that the €13 million Broadband to Schools Scheme has delivered 100 megabit high speed fibre and wireless broadband to 78 second level schools nationwide.

The Renewed Programme for Government sets out that the Scheme will extend to all second-level schools nationwide in the next two years. Ireland is one the first countries in the world to deliver such a programme on a national level.

Over the last year, fibre-optic and wireless networks were installed in the 78 schools - at least one in every county. These networks will allow for speeds of 100 megabits per second, speeds similar to those on offer to multinational corporations based here.

Enhanced ICT facilities, including more than 1500 wireless digital projectors and 2000 laptops, have also been distributed.

At St. Colmcille’s Community School in Dublin today, the students demonstrated the capabilities of the technology by carrying out interactive science experiments, as well as going on a ‘virtual tour’ of the Louvre Museum in Paris. Minister Ryan said:

“The jobs of the future are in the digital economy and our children need to be confident and comfortable in the use of technology. Broadband of this capacity and quality will allow them to see and learn things in school that my generation could have only dreamed of.

We are changing the day-to-day classroom experience. “Chalk and talk” models won’t work any more. Learning needs to be multi-sensory and interactive, allowing students to learn in schools in the same way they socialise and learn at home. Seeing the students today making a virtual visit to the Louvre in Paris, is remarkable – they are stepping beyond the four walls of their classroom into a new world during their school day.

With this Scheme, we are creating the digital citizens - the writers, the inventors and the businesspeople – of the future. I believe the provision of 100 megabits broadband will transform education in Ireland and place our children at the forefront of the digital revolution.

All secondary schools will soon reap the benefits.”

Adult Education Enrolment

2010-08-28T22:39:00.001+01:00

Enrolment will take place in school on Monday 13th and on Tuesday 14th September 2010 from 4:30pm - 8:30pm. Term 1 begins on Monday the 20th September 2010.

Details of School Opening Days

2010-08-20T13:49:00.000+01:00

The following are the details of the programme we have place for the upcoming opening days. If you have any questions please contact the general office.

Wednesday 25th August:

12pm - 1pm 6th Year Students
12.30pm - 1.30pm 3rd Year Students

Thursday 26th August:

10am - 12pm 1st Year Students

Friday 27th August:

9.30am - 11am TY Students
9.45am - 10.45am 2nd Year Students
10am - 11am 5th Year Students
11am - 1.05pm 1st Year Induction
11.10am - 1.05pm TY Induction
1.45pm - 3.05pm Afternoon classes for 1st Year Students as per timetable

Monday 30th August:

8.45am - 1.05pm Classes as normal for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th & 6th Year Students
1.45pm - 3.45pm TY Induction

Tuesday 31st August & Wednesday 1st September:

Classes as normal for all years.

School Book Exchange Forum

2010-08-19T21:15:00.001+01:00

The Parents' Association now maintain a forum on which students or their parents can register and exchange or sell school books and other equipment that is no longer needed. Do check it out!

New look Newsletter!

2010-07-20T15:13:00.002+01:00

We have changed the look of our online newsletter. It will be functional from September '10.

Jump-For-Joy Sponsored Sports Day

2009-05-06T17:47:00.003+01:00

The 2nd Years have been on a crusade raising money for Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin. So far we have raised €3,200 for our Jump for Joy Sponsored Sports Day, which was held on the 5th of May. Well done to all of the 2nd Years and their Class Tutors Ms Kearon, Mr O’Malley, Ms McAleer and Ms Daly for all of their hard work. A big thank you to all of the Parents and Parishioners who supported the students in their fundraising efforts.

Easter Service

2009-05-06T17:47:00.001+01:00

On Friday 3rd April, a lovely group of 4th years celebrated musically the Life and Death of Jesus Christ in St. Colmcille’s Church in front of the rest of the students and teachers in the school. They had worked at this for some weeks before hand and had practised very hard. The performance was excellent. The music was beautiful and they did themselves proud. It was a very touching presentation, and the students were very sincere in their acting.

Some of the students then took part in the Parish Presentation on Good Friday in the Church. This year the whole Group (including some of our students) presented the Musical celebration for the Carmelite nuns in Firhouse Convent. Again, our students did us proud. Let’s hope this continues in to the future. Well done to everyone involved.

Young Social Innovators success!

2009-05-06T17:45:00.001+01:00

The YSI class in St. Colmcille’s C.S. have been chosen to showcase their projects at the final in the RDS on the 6th of May. The ‘First Aid for Life’ group will present their work at a stand and be interviewed by the YSI judging panel. The other groups completed projects on homelessness and children at risk at home and abroad.
They will showcase their work by designing posters that outline their findings. This is the third year that the YSI class have been successful in showcasing their work at the RDS. Well done to all students and their teacher Ms. Gilroy.

Seachtain na Gaeilge 2009

2009-05-06T17:34:00.003+01:00

Bhí Seachtain na Gaeilge iontach againn arís i mbliana. Bhí roinnt mhaith imeachtaí ar siúl againn.

Rinne gach duine sa scoil sár-iarracht ár dteanga dúcháis a úsáid i rith na seachtaine. Bhí Gaeilge le cloisteáil timpeall na scoile. Tharraing na daltaí ón chéad agus an dara bhliain postaer le seanfhocail mar shampla ‘Bí bródúil as do theanga dúchais’ (be proud of your native tongue. Ar an Aoine bhí beirt de na cinnirí le cloisteáil beo ar an Raidió Rí Rá ag caint faoi na himeachtaí a bhí ar siúl i rith na seachtaine.
Ar an Aoine bhí ceolchoirm againn. Chan an chéad, dara gaus cúigiú bliain amhránaí. Rinne dhá rang ón gcéad bhliain dráma beag freisin.
Léigh an chéad bhliain agus an cúigiú bliain an dán álainn, ‘Is leatsa í’.
Bhí seisiún ceoil againn freisin. Bhí damhsóirí gaelacha iontach ag damhsa ar an ardán.
Fuair roinnt daltaí sa chúigiú bliain fáinní airgid. Ta sé de dhlualgas ag na daltaí seo an Ghaeilge a chur chun cinn timpeall na scoile.

Ag deireadh na ceolchoirme rinne na múinteoirí damhsa-Baint an fhéir. Bhain na daltaí ana chuid sult as sin gan dabht. Bhí an-chraic ag gach duine an lá sin.

Míle buíochais do Ms Ní Mhuirí le haghaidh na seachtaine a d’eagraigh sí.

Neu Venture - March 09 Podcast Now Online

2009-03-30T18:39:00.003+01:00

Tune in and hear all the latest news from the school. Our March podcast is now online for you to download.

This months 'Hot Seat' interview is with Mr O'Neill who is interviewed by jeff McHugh on the topic of the pension levy and other cutbacks being forced upon the education sector at this time.

Our battle of the Bands competition continues with another entry that you can vite for. visit our Bebo page and vote for your favourite band. Remember it is free to vote!!

We hope you enjoy the fruit of our labour.

IT Special Report

2009-03-30T18:25:00.005+01:00

On Friday morning 6th of February, visitors to the Computer Room (Room 14) got a very pleasant suprise at the installation of 30 new state of the art PC's. With thanks to the ICT Department, School Management, the Directors of Adult Education and the Parent's Association we have completely upgraded our suite to house the latest in ICT hardware. A few more tweaks are needed in the room, so photos of the new setup will be published here on Monday.

Coupled with this excitement is the news that the older PC's that are still working but cannot serve our current ICT demands will be given a new lease of life as they will be donated to several worthy causes. They have been cleaned up, cleared out and reformatted ready for a more basic application.

Radio Broadcast

2009-03-09T17:34:00.002Z

On the fourth of February this year our Transition Year Speech and Drama class, and our Multimedia class, had the opportunity to broadcast a live radio program from the Institute of Technology in Tallaght. It was a fantastic experience for everyone involved, giving us all a first hand look at the ins and outs of every aspect of a radio station. From brainstorming ideas, to producing and editing material and training presenters in on the mics, we saw it all and quickly learned the ropes. After a huge amount of preparation, we went on air on the day, and gave it our best. We ran a varied number of shows, including music, chat and interviews. The broadcast was a huge success. I think I can safely say that all of the students involved thoroughly enjoyed the experience and it is something we will remember for many years to come. I’d like to say one final thank you to absolutely everyone involved, and would also like to thank all those who took the time to listen.

U 14 Badminton

2009-03-09T17:23:00.004Z

The badminton season started last September with all students who were interested training every Monday. A selection was then made and 4 teams were entered in the Under 14 division- 2 teams of girls and 2 teams of boys.

The Boys Division 1 team secured a place in the Dublin regional finals on Thursday 26th February and easily progressed onto the Leinster finals.

Eoin Hennessy, Adam Raitt, Kevin O Reilly, and Fergal Murray, although nervous, had a comfortable victory in the Leinster semi final and were confident going in to the final as they had defeated this team the pervious Thursday. Disappointingly they lost 4-2. However it was a wonderful year’s badminton and the boys represented themselves and the school very well.

The Division One girls finished runners up in the Dublin regional finals and represented the school on Tuesday 3rd March in the Leinster finals.

In the Leinster finals the girls played a round robin competition with Our Ladies Templeogue and St. Vincent’s Dundalk. They did both themselves and the school very proud.

Ski Trip

2009-03-09T17:21:00.002Z

The annual ski trip of St. Colmcille’s took place over the mid term break. Over 40 excited fifth years headed off to Bansko in Bulgaria. While the more advanced skiers went off to tackle the red and black slopes, the rest spent their first few days tackling the mechanics of the snow plough. Every evening the fun continued with activities such as bowling and discos. By the end of the week everyone was sad to go. Luckily everyone made it back with no major injuries, other then a few aching limbs. A trip never to be forgotten.

French Exchange

2009-03-09T17:18:00.001Z

On the 2nd of February the second years set off for their return trip to France. Despite the long delays in getting there due to the snowy weather conditions, everyone had a great time and enjoyed activities such as mini golf, bowling, visits to Lille and a black and white disco. The Irish students spent the weekend with their pen pals and their families and we learnt about French life which is very different to Ireland. The families brought us to different places for shopping, we went ice skating, some went to Paris and others to Belgium. The Monday we went home was very sad and there were a lot of tears but we were glad we’d taken part in the exchange.

Emma Nolan (2nd Year)

Young Social Innovators are out to change the world again!

2009-03-09T17:18:00.000Z

A group of transition year students who are working on a project entitled ‘First Aid for life’ as part of Young Social Innovators organised that all transition year students would get first aid training. The students took four modules on basic first aid with the hope of teaching those in their own homes these skills too so that more and more people would be knowledgeable in first aid techniques.

The Young Social Innovators projects are well up and running!

The group that are dealing with Homelessness and its causes have organised a Clothes Drive every Monday And Friday morning from 8.30-8.45 in the entrance hall to the school. Any clothes that are clean, folded and put in plastic bags are acceptable. These clothes will be given to the Simon Community to help them in their great work with the 5,000 homeless people that are on our streets. Any clothes that they cannot use will be given to the Mrs. Green shops to recycle and raise funds for Cheeverstown

Two other YSI groups are dealing with the plight of children at home and abroad. The have been involved in various fundraising activities to help these children by donating the money raised to the ISPCC and the Christina Noble Foundation

Their written projects are due for submission mid-march and the groups who have proven themselves to be most innovative in their ideas to bring about change in their chosen topics will get the opportunity to display their work and be judged at the national final in the RDS in May. Good luck to all YSI groups and their teacher Ms. Gilroy!

Science Trip to W5

2009-03-09T16:56:00.003Z

On Monday the second of February the first years went on a science trip to the W5 center in Belfast. Despite the long journey there and back, everyone had a great time.

Through out the building we got to interact with different electrical devices. There were many things to do including the green room which made it look like we were in a movie. There was also a projector with a series of flashing lights that react to touch, computers that showed how e-mails worked and a cube shaped model of connect four.

After lunch we continued on looking at various gadgets. Some of these included cars which ran on metal strips, a magnet on a crane controlled by a joystick and an experiment that showed how propellers worked. We completed a “Knex” workshop. We built cars and rolled them down ramps. Whichever went the furthest won.

Although it was a long day, every pupil had a great day and learnt lots.

Conor Kavanagh 1st Year

Student Higher Achiever Awards

2009-01-12T16:10:00.001Z

Congratulations to our past pupil Darragh Mc Hugh who received a Higher Achiever’s Award in UCD. The ceremony took place on Friday November 21st 2008. This award was given to Darragh for getting the maximum 600 points in the Leaving Certificate.
It was a special occasion for both Darragh and his parents.

Singing in the rain for the Uganda school appeal.

2009-01-12T16:02:00.002Z

On the 11th and 12th of December a group of fifth and transition year students took part in a carol signing event. The event took place on South Anne St. The students braved the freezing condition. For their efforts they raised over four hundred Euros. Aside from this they also managed to appear on Capital D on 20th December 7.30pm. We also had the pleasure of meeting Ruth Lorenzo. On the Friday even though it rained students and teachers braved the conditions to raise over six hundred Euros. Well done to all involved.

Transition Year GAA coaching.

2009-01-12T12:15:00.004Z

Twenty two students have selected to do the Foundation Skills GAA coaching qualification as part of their Transition year course. They completed the theory part of the course in October and have been coaching in local primary schools in November and December. St. Colmcille’s would like to take this opportunity to thank the local primary schools for their continued support and in particular Ballyboden St. Endas who have been running the very successful course for the last four years. Here are pictures of the Gaelic coaches and all the children from St. Colmcille’s primary school.

First Year Boys FAI Futsal Competition

2009-01-12T12:14:00.000Z

On the 2nd December 2008, twelve first year boys travelled to Tallaght Leisure Centre to compete in an indoor 5-a-side soccer tournament against three other secondary schools in the South Dublin region. They won five out of the six games played and are now through to the Leinster Finals on the 21st January 2009. Best of luck to all twelve boys!!

Fundraising

2009-01-12T12:09:00.002Z

Well done to the Young Social Innovators class who raised €1042 from selling holly badges in town in aid of the ISPCC in December. This money will help the ISPCC expand and improve their services for needy children this year.

The Christmas choir which comprised of third fourth and fifth years sang outside Superquinn in Knocklyon. They raised €740 which was also donated to Focus Ireland. The choir continued to help with the festive activities and sang at the parish carol service on December 16th and during the schools carol service on the 23rd of December.

A cheque totalling €3,300 was given to Sr. Stanislaus Kennedy on the last day of our term at our Christmas Carol service. Sr. Stan is renowned for her work with the homeless and Focus Ireland will put it to good use. The money was raised by holding a non-uniform day and coin collecting.

BT Young Scientist Exhibition

2009-01-12T12:03:00.002Z

BT Young Scientist Report

Three groups of students from St. Colmcille’s Community School showcased their projects at the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition. It was held in the RDS from January 6th – 10th 2009. This was a major accomplishment because this year there were only 500 projects selected from a record breaking 1,616 entries.

The titles of the projects are as follows: “Ginger – A Curse or a Blessing?” by Jennifer Murphy, Joanne Alexander and Emma Errity (5th Year)

“Male versus Female Intellect” by Aoife O’Neill, Niamh Creegan and Zara Fagan.

“As Straight as an Arrow” by Cian Rynne (1st Year)

On the 22nd of November a production crew representing TTV on RTE came to interview and film the candidates. The presenter Paul Walsh from the band Royseven quizzed the students on the progress of their projects and how they were preparing for the exhibition. The program was aired during September.

European Youth Parliament: Strasbourg Trip

2008-12-22T14:20:00.003Z

Our school has a tradition of participating in the European Youth Parliament conferences each year and the representing delegates are renowned for their high standard of participation. As a result our school was chosen as one of four across Dublin to compete in an EYP sponsored competition.

Twenty five 4th and 5th year students split into groups of five and spent two months researching a specific environment related project. Though the standard was high, we were delighted when one of the groups of fourth year boys were awarded the winners for their project on Transport. The prize was a subsidised trip for all 25 students and teachers to Strasbourg in France.
In order to prepare for this parliament visit, we split up into groups once again and researched new current affairs issues so that we would be ready for the simulation of a real parliament meeting which would take place during the course of the Friday in the European Parliament itself.

We departed for France on Thursday November 20th and arrived in Ciarus Youth Hostel just in time for dinner followed by a crepe party. Early the following morning we donned our formal wear and headed to the parliament. We were treated to breakfast and then we split into our groups. We spent hours debating and discussing our topics with our fellow European Delegates. In the afternoon we participated in the Euro Quiz and then we were brought to the hemisphere itself to present our conclusions before the representatives from every country. Each resolution was voted on and after a hard day’s work we returned to the hostel for a ceilidh hosted by our Scottish friends!

Saturday was spent expanding our cultural knowledge and visiting the sights Strasbourg had to offer. After a walking tour of the city (during which it snowed!), a trip to the museum, a boat ride, and ice skating we were worn out. We just had time to pack our bags and play a quick game of charades before heading to bed. The following morning we departed for home, tired but content after a successful and enjoyable trip.

Amanda Keegan 6F

Science Week

2008-11-24T13:13:00.001Z

To celebrate Science week in our school last week we did some fun experiments.
They were broken down into Physics, Chemistry and Biology.

In the Physics lab we learnt about sound vibrations, by pouring salt on speakers and watching it dance up and down.

In Biology we saw how the five senses worked. For touch we had to stick our hands in boxes that had different substances inside and guess what we were feeling. I never want to eat beans again! For taste we had to drink some well known soft drinks that had been dyed a different colour to their normal one and tried to guess what we were drinking.

In Chemistry we made a plastic cup dissolve in acetone, but my overall favourite experiment had to be setting my hands on fire (in a controlled way of course!).
I hope we can do it again next year.

Stephen Goulding 1st Year.

Operation Christmas Child

2008-11-17T14:32:00.000Z

Operation Christmas child is a project to bring Christmas presents to children who have been caught up in war, a natural disaster or children that live in poverty. This project is run by an organisation called Samatitans purse, who work in countries all over the world like Belarus, Romania, Moldova, Mozambique and Ukraine.

Some of St. Colmcille’s Community School’s first years filled shoe boxes with gifts including toys, educational supplies and hygiene items. The boxes were wrapped with colourful wrapping paper and brought into school to be sent away to the operation Christmas child centre. They would be sent on to needy children around the world. There was a great response from the first years; they brought in loads of shoeboxes filled to the brim with gifts.

Cathal Bergin 1st Year

1st Year Breakfast Morning

2008-11-17T12:31:00.002Z

On Friday 10th of October the first years took part in a breakfast morning in aid of the ISPCC. Each first year paid a small amount of money towards the cause. A group of 4th years helped out by bringing in food such as cakes, biscuits and drinks. They also came into school early to set up the tables for the 1st years and to arrange the food tables.
Just before the bell rang, we were put at different stations around the hall. At 9am the doors opened and the 1st years crowded into the hall. Naturally, the cakes, biscuits and hot chocolate went first, but soon enough there was nearly no food left. We raised an amazing amount of money for the ISPCC and everyone had a great morning.

Katy Copland 4th Year.

Fiddler On The Roof; Continuing our musical Tradition.

2008-11-17T12:06:00.001Z

Broadway comes annually to St. Colmcille’s and this year it arrived in the form of Fiddler on the Roof. Yes, it was that time of year again. From the moment we arrived back in school in September it was straight into rehearsals for this year’s musical. There were lines to be learned, dances to be practised and songs to be sung.

In the beginning we were all daunted by the seemingly insurmountable task of transforming this famous show into a St. Colmcille’s production and of course putting our own stamp on it. However, with Ms Kelly at the helm the rehearsals and production ran smoothly and was a great success. That’s not to say that a lot of time and work wasn’t involved!
It was very much a whole school effort. Cast members ranged from first to fifth year. Many other students got involved with helping backstage or with the orchestra who provided great music for the show. Finally, the week before the mid-term, with no rehearsals left we stepped out onto the stage for our first show…

We opened on Monday morning with a performance for the students of sixth class in St Colmcille’s National School. They were a brilliant audience and really got the musical week off to a great start. We performed every night until Thursday and had a great time. Often the audience was so packed that extra seats had to be provided. We were encouraged by their support and our performances soared as a result. The atmosphere every night was infectiously positive and made for an incredible week.

Now it’s all over but we all look back on it with good memories. I wish to thank everyone who was involved. While this will be my last musical I look forward to seeing what future productions will be coming our way from St. Colmcille’s. One thing’s for sure, next years show will be hard pressed to meet the standard of this one.

Michael Ward 5th Year

Colours Day

2008-10-23T12:53:00.001+01:00

On Friday 3rd of October St. Colmcille’s Community School held a non-uniform Day in aid of Canteen Ireland- a Support Service for teenagers with cancer. Pictured below are Ciara Barr & Louise Coburn of 6th Year presenting Canteen Ireland with €1000 cheque.

Debs

2008-10-23T12:49:00.003+01:00

On Tuesday 14th of October the Class of 2008 had their Debs Ball. The Parents Association hosted a pre-Debs Reception for the students, their families & the school staff in the school. Below are some photos of the students at the reception

French Exchange

2008-10-23T12:48:00.001+01:00

During the first week of October the 2nd Year students of St. Colmcille’s C.S. had a very exciting time. French students from all around the town of Lille in the north of France arrived on the 30th of September to be greeted by some very excited second years. They were paired up and then set off home to get to know each other. Over the next week the Irish and their pen pals took part in many fun activities such as bowling, shopping, Carlingford Adventure Centre and a school disco. At the weekend the Irish had the job of entertaining their French students. The French were brought ice-skating, to Dundrum Shopping Centre, to the zoo, on tours and to the National Aquatic Centre. Both the Irish and French really enjoyed their time together and were sad when the week was over. But now the Irish students are looking forward to their visit to France in February.

Emma Nolan

Girls GAA

2008-10-23T12:47:00.004+01:00

The U14 B’ 2007/2008 Leinster final took place in Arklow Rocks GAA grounds. This was the half way point between the two teams that reached the final, St. Colmcilles C.S from Knocklyon and Colaiste Bride from Enniscorthy.
Colaiste Bride got off to a flying start scoring two goals and a point in the opening minutes. St. Colmcilles fought back hard with great defence from Eimear Duffy and Claire King. At half time St. Colmcilles trailed by 6 points.
Second half goals from Orlaith Keane, Jessica Nugent and Maria Mc Grath brought St. Colmcilles within 3 points. Unfortunately two more goals from Colaiste Bride secured their leinster crown. Palyer of the match was rewarded to Ann-Marie Kane form Colaiste Bride who scored 3 – 3. The final score was 5 - 4 to 3 - 5. Good luck in the competition this year.

Girls Basketball

2008-10-23T12:47:00.002+01:00

The Senior girls basketball team have been training hard since September. Although they didn’t get to the final last year they are competing in a higher division this year as the whole school were promoted. They lost their first match to Presentation Terenure. They got back to their winning ways to beat Malahide. The following week they put in an excellent performance but had a narrow defeat to High School Rathgar. Good luck in their remaining matches against Mount Annville, Loreto Bray and Columbas College.

Podcasts

2008-10-23T12:46:00.000+01:00

St Colmcille's Community School will soon be 'on the air' when the Transition Year podcast is revealed to the world in October '08. Currently we are working hard to prepare and present only the best in local news stories, the low down on all school based activities, interviews, alternative music reviews, competitions and much much more. You will be able to download the show from http://www.knocklyoncs.ie which will be produced on a monthly basis starting mid-October, so keep your eyes peeled and make sure the battries in the iPod are fully charged. This is going to be different!!

Lourdes

2008-10-09T14:13:00.012+01:00

Transition Year Trip to Mull/Iona

2008-09-12T15:01:00.001+01:00

A group of 16 Transition Year students accompanied by Ms Loughman, Mr O’Hora & two parents Breda Fitzharris & Deirdre Farrell journeyed to the Isle of Mull & Iona. It was an experience in community living. We walked in the footsteps of Colmcille on Iona. We celebrated Eucharist in the House of Prayer there with an eighty year old Indian Archbishop. We had night prayer in the restored Abbey on Iona followed by a Ceili in the village hall.

Below are some comments from students about the trip:

“The Mull & Iona trip was an incredibly enlightening experience & brought us closer to God”.

“This trip was a once in a lifetime experience. It was brilliant living without electricity and meat! It was hard but at the same time manageable”!

“The pilgrimage inspired me”!

“Our trip taught us to appreciate our luxuries at home and we learned the strengths of our friendships”.

Junior Cert Celebrations

2008-09-11T16:37:00.003+01:00

There were tears of joy and hoots of celebration as the Junior Certificate students received their results on Wednesday 10th September.

There was great excitement as they counted the number of honours grades they achieved. The mobile phones were busy contacting anxious parents as the school relaxed its rule on this occasion.

Congratulations and well done to all our students on their excellent results

The Class of 2008

2008-09-11T16:35:00.002+01:00

On May 22nd 2008, the St. Colmcille’s School community gathered to say goodbye to a wonderful group of sixth year students.

The Graduation Evening began with a Mass offered by Bishop Eamonn Walsh. Following this we reflected on and celebrated the many achievements of the group over their six years at St. Colmcille’s.

On August 13th these same group of students gathered to receive their exceptional Leaving Certificate results.

As always the number of students sitting higher level papers exceeded the national trend. We are also very proud to have so many students scoring 500+ points.

The vast majority of our students have already progressed to Third Level Colleges and Universities and we were delighted that they were accepted onto the courses of their choice. Some of our highest achieving students have taken up college places such as Actuary, Pharmacy, Medical Chemistry, Engineering and Primary School Teaching.

Principal, Mr. John Mc Kennedy was particularly pleased that the students achieved significantly higher proportions of A and B grades on higher level papers than was achieved nationally.

Congratulations to the Class of 2008. We wish them every success as they embark on this new phase of their lives.

Go n’éirí an t’ádh libh go léir.

Below: Mr McKennedy congratulating Darragh on his results (6 higher level a1's) -600 points

New First Year Students

2008-09-05T10:44:00.003+01:00

6th Year Graduation & End of Year Awards

2008-05-23T11:34:00.005+01:00

The 6th Year Graduation took place on Thursday 22nd of May. All 6th Year students gathered in the P.E. Hall with their families, tutors, teachers, year head Ms. Harrington and Mr McKennedy and Ms Meany to celebrate their last 6 years in St. Colmcille’s. The theme of the Graduation was Forever Young. On the evening Bishop Eamonn Walsh celebrated mass and that was followed by all students receiving their graduation certificates. There were also Awards given on the night for Academic Achievement to Chi Keung Wan, Sports Achievement to Seamus Keane and Student of the Year to Orlagh O’Leary.

At the end of each academic year each year group meets together with their Year Head, tutors and principal for an awards ceremony. In each year group individual teachers give awards for their individual subjects and there are also awards for students with full attendance and perfect punctuality, awards for academic achievement, sports achievement and overall Student of the Year. Here is a list of the main awards in each year group:

5th Year:
Student of the Year- Dearbhla Brennan
Academic Student of the Year- Amanda Keegan
Senior Sports Award: Natalia Hyland

Transition Year Student of the Year: Michael Ward

3rd Year:
Student of the Year- Jeffrey McHugh
Academic Student of the Year: Stephen Jordan

2nd Year:
Student of the Year-Zara Hamzawi
Academic Student of the Year- Katie Greene, Alan Kelly

1st Year:
Student of the Year- Emma Cooney
Academic Student of the Year- Conor Ryan

Comórtas GLEO

2008-05-21T09:25:00.001+01:00

Is cúis áthais dúinn cur in iúl daoibh go bhfuil ár scoil roghnaithe ag moltóirí GLEO mar cheann de na scoileanna a bhuaigh an comóras GLEO

The primary aim of this scheme is to recognise best practice which promotes oral Irish in English-medium post-primary schools on the island of Ireland.
The aim is to identify practices which create a positive and encouraging atmosphere for the speaking of Irish among the pupils and the school community.
The award will be divided as follows:
€1,750 for Irish-language teaching resources for the school
€1,250 to fund projects or events which promote spoken Irish throughout the school

5th Year Trip to Berlin

2008-05-21T09:20:00.003+01:00

A group of 5th year students went on a four day school trip to Berlin in April. The trip included a guided tour of the many wonderful and famous sights such as the Brandenburg Gate and the Berlin Wall museum. The group also experienced a very special and moving visit to the Jewish memorial and exhibition to the 6 million Jews murdered during the Holocaust of Work War 2. A very interesting visit to a German secondary school took place where the fifth year chatted with a similar group of German teenagers who are due to come to our school this May. Shopping, bowling, cinema and theatre were also very much enjoyed - a hectic but enjoyable trip was had by all.

1st Year Sports Day

2008-05-21T09:12:00.003+01:00

On Thursday 15th of May our 1st Year students had their sports day. All four classes along with their Year Head Ms Gilmer & their tutors Ms. Cotter, Ms Hayden, Ms Kearon & Mr O’Malley & teachers Ms Doherty & Ms Beaty went outside to the astro turf & to the sports field to enjoy a morning of sporting activities. They were blessed with a beautiful sunny day and all students had a great few hours of fun.

W5 Science Trip

2008-05-21T08:41:00.003+01:00

On Monday 28th April all first year students attended the W5 (Who? What? Where? When? Why? ) Centre in Belfast. W5 is an interactive science centre.

On arrival the pupils were greeted and advised on the safety precautions by the staff. This was followed by a visit to the larger interactive science rooms. All pupils participated in workshops in ‘technology trials’ and ‘chemical reactions’ and had a very enjoyable and educational day. Thanks to the science teachers and parents who came along on the trip.

Below are some photos of the students enjoying the day.

Prefects

2008-05-20T16:57:00.005+01:00

The prefects for next year were announced and presented with their badges at assembley with Mr McKennedy today. Well done to all those involved. Caoimhe & Alex will be our Head Girl and Head Boy.

Maths

2008-05-17T13:54:00.000+01:00

On Friday 9th May, two first year students, Rachel Kirwan and Conor O'Brien represented the school at the finals of the Irish Junior Mathematics competition in St Andrew's College Booterstown. After an hour long - 25 question paper, the results were announced and we were delighted to hear that Conor had earned a perfect 150/150 points, with Rachel not trailing too far behind him! Conor was awarded first prize and received a plaque whilst Rachel received a certificate of merit. Well done to both, the school is proud of you!

Battle of the Bands

2008-05-09T11:34:00.001+01:00

A group of 5th Year Students are holding a Battle of the Bands Night in the school in aid of the Niall Mellon Project in the school on Friday 9th of May at 6.30pm

YSI Showcase

2008-05-09T11:33:00.002+01:00

Congratulations and well done to Ms Gilroy the YSI class in St. Colmcille’s Community School. They recently competed in the national showcase final in the RDS on the 7th and 8th of May. Both groups showcased their projects: the Rights of the aged and Fair-trade. The Rights of the Aged group had to pitch their ideas for funding computer courses for the elderly to a panel of experts in the YSI Den. They won 500 euro! This money will be used by the Active Retirement Association based at Terenure Enterprise Centre to fund computer courses and outings.

1st Year Camogie

2008-05-09T11:32:00.001+01:00

Well done to Ms NiMuiri & the 1st Year girls camogie team who won the inter schools camogie blitz which was held in St. Marks Community School on Thursday 8th May.

Girls Football

2008-05-01T10:32:00.001+01:00

Congratulations to Ms Kearon & the girls football team who won the inter schools 7 aside Gaelic football competition that was held in Tallaght I.T. on Wednesday 30th April.

Hurling Final

2008-05-01T10:30:00.002+01:00

Well done to the U14 Hurling team who won the U14 Dublin Shield Final against St. Declans last week. Further details to follow!

Energy Angels

2008-05-01T10:28:00.001+01:00

Well done to the Energy Angels Caoimhe, Kirstyn, Fiona and Lauren who won the Marketing Section of 'One Good Idea' Competition, which is part of the Energy Awareness Campaign the Power of One. They presented their project in Croke Park on Wednesday 30th April. All four girls won a mobile phone for their efforts.

Business 2000 Quiz

2008-04-24T10:23:00.002+01:00

Well done to the 5th Year students who participated in the Business 2000 Quiz in the Dominician College on Wednesday 23rd April.

Ronan O'Reilly on the night won an ipod for winnng the Individual Questions round after a tie-break.

Also on the night a St. Colmcille's team came in 3rd.The team in 3rd place consisted of Niall Wallace, Daniel Matthews, Oisin Cannon & Cillian Walsh.

Transition Year Trip

2008-04-16T13:08:00.002+01:00

Transition Year students visited Killary Adventure centre in Mayo for four nights before the Easter Holidays with Mr & Mrs Coolihan, Mr O’Hora, Ms Doherty & Ms Beaty. Unfortunately it was probably the worst week weather wise we have seen for a long time, but this didn’t put a stop to the activities or the fun! Below are some photos of the students enjoying their week

2nd Year News

2008-04-16T12:02:00.001+01:00

During March 30 2nd year students visited their French exchange partners in Lille in France with Ms. Hanlon & Ms Daly. The school in Lille had many trips organised for the students & they all had a brilliant week and improved their spoken French.

The remaining 2nd Year students visited Causey Farm with their class tutors and year head for a day trip. There they had a Bodhran class, participated in ceili dancing, made brown bread, visited a bog & learned how to cut turf along with many other activities. Below are some photos of the students enjoying the day.

Energy Angels

2008-04-15T10:56:00.001+01:00

As part of our Transition Year multimedia course we all entered the ‘One Good Idea’ competition which is related to the ‘Power of One’ campaign. This year it is a pilot competition so there were only twenty-two schools from all over the country selected to enter. Numerous teams entered from each school and we were one of the lucky ones who got through to the final. Our group is called the Energy Angels (Caoimhe, Kirstyn, Fiona and Lauren).

There were hours of hard work involved to get where we are today. We had to come up with a campaign to save energy. We had three target audiences (children, teenagers and adults). Our project needed to stand out if we were to stand a chance and catch the judge’s attention. We came up with a distinct name, logo colour scheme and slogan for our campaign.

Now that we have succeeded in reaching the final a daunting task lies ahead of us. We have a lot more work to do and we need your support. In Croke Park there will be TDs present and we will be representing our school. There will probably be plenty of media coverage also so keep an eye out for us!

We are really looking forward to our day in Croke Park. Although we are delighted to get this far it would be an amazing achievement to win! Between now and the end of April we’ll be organising and preparing our project for Croke Park. We would like to thank Ms Delany our teacher who has given up her free time and put a lot of effort into helping us.

Maths News

2008-04-15T09:38:00.004+01:00

On Friday 4th of April, Gavin (TY), Stpehen (3rd Year) and Daniel (2nd Year) attended the awards ceremony at NUI Maynooth to receive their prizes from the Hamiltion Institute. Mr O'Neill (Head of Mathematics) and Mr McKennedy (Principal) attended the event also. One other piece of news that had evaded us until this day was the fact that we were the only school that entered the competition that produced a winner in all three categories. Once again on behalf of the entire Maths team, many congratulations and thanks for representing the school so well.

YSI Class

2008-04-14T15:13:00.002+01:00

Our Young Social Innovators class have been working on two different projects called “The Rights o the Elderly” and “The Right to Life- Fair Trade”. Both our groups have gotten through to the YSI showcase in the RDS on the 7th & 8th of May. At the showcase the groups will present our projects in various forms to win in different categories.

Also Well Done the to he YSI Class for organising a Colours Day which raised €1800 for the Niall Mellon Trust and a local man injured in a tragic accident.

Basketball

2008-04-07T16:43:00.003+01:00

Congratulations to Ms. Kearon & the Girls 1st Year Basketball team who won the Dulbin league final on Friday 4th of April against Rathoath.

Well done also to Ms NiMhuiri & the 2nd Year Girls basketball team who also reached the Dublin league final. They were very unfortunate to lose out in extra time to Ashbourne.. Photos of both games to follow shortly.......

Seachtain na Gaeilge 2008

2008-04-03T10:27:00.002+01:00

Bhí Seachtain na Gaeilge iontach againn arís i mbliana. Bhí roinnt mhaith imeachtaí ar siúl againn.

Rinne gach duine sa scoil sár-iarracht ár dteanga dúcháis a úsáid i rith na seachtaine. Bhí Gaeilge le cloisteáil timpeall na scoile. Bhí postaeir, seamróg agus pictiúrí crochadh suas i ngach áit.

Ghlac an chéad agus an dara bhliain páirt i gcomórtas na bpostaer. Tharraing na daltaí postaer le seanfhocail agus nathanna cainte orthu, mar shample ‘Bí bródúil as do theanga dúchais’ (be proud of your native tongue) agus ‘Tír gan teanga, Tír gan anam’.(a country without a language is a country without a soul).
Ghlac roinnt daltaí ón gcúigiú bliain páirt i gcomórtas ráidió, chuir siad clár raidió le chéile bunaithe ar thabhacht na teanga agus cúrsaí samhraidh.

Ar an Aoine bhí ceolchoirm againn.
Ghlac daltaí ón gcéad bhliain, dara bhliain agus cúigiú bliain páirt ann. Chan an chéad, dara gaus cúigiú bliain amhránaí éagsúla cosúil le ‘Tír na nÓg, Bean Pháidín’ agus amhránaí nua-aimseartha as Gaeilge mar shampla Meicsiceo agus Cailín na Gaillimhe le Mundy. Bhain na scolairí an-sult as na gníomhaíochtaí seo.
Léigh an chéad bhliain dán álainn, ‘Is leatsa í’.
Bhí seisiún ceoil againn freisin. Bhí damhsóirí gaelacha iontach ag damhsa ar an ardán.
Bhí bronnadh na nduaiseanna againn freisin. Fuair gach dalta a rinne a seacht ndícheall Gaeilge a labhairt duais.

Ag deireadh an ceolchoirm rinne na múinteoirí Damhsa na hAbhann (Riverdance). Bhí na scoláirí sna tríthe ag gáire. Bhí an-chraic ag gach duine an lá sin.

An tseachtain roimh seachtain na Gaeilge tháinig beirt mholtóirí chuig an scoil chun breitheamh a dhéanamh ar an méid Gaeilge atá á úsáid sa scoilphobal. Chuir an scoil isteach ar an gcomórtas i mí Meán Fómhair agus roghnaíodh an scoil don ghearrliosta. Is rud iontach é seo, tugann sé aitheantas do na scoláirí a dhéanann a seacht ndícheall an Ghaeilge a úsáid chomh minic agus is féidir.

Míle buíochais do na daltaí go léir a ghlac páirt in imeachtaí na seachtaine.

Badminton

2008-03-31T14:16:00.003+01:00

Well done to our 3 badminton teams (Boys U19, Girls U14 & Boys U14) who represenedt the school at the Badminton All Ireland Finals on Wednesday 12th March in Gormanstown College.

This was an exceptional achievement for all 3 teams to reach the final.
Well done to the Boys U14 team who on the day were runners-up in the competition.

Basketball

2008-03-12T08:39:00.001Z

Well done to the Girls 1st Year Badminton team who won the semi-final of their competition on Tuesday 11th March against Ballyfermot.

They will now play in the final after the Easter Holidays against Rathoath.

Hamilton Maths Competition

2008-03-12T08:38:00.001Z

We have received wonderful news from the Hamilton Institute of Mathematics based in Maynooth! The final results of the 8 week online competition have just been released and are as follows:

Best Schoolwide Performance: Stephen Jordan 3C
Best Junior Student - Daniel McCormack - 2N
Merit Award - Gavin Troy - 4T
All the above students will be representing St Colmcille's Community School at the prize giving ceremony in March '08. Further details later.
Welll Done to all!

Transition Year Student on Radio Show

2008-03-06T12:48:00.002Z

Well done to Gareth Walsh from Transition Year who while on work experience with the Irish Times put an advertisement in the newspaper congratulating our Transition Year Students on their hard work while on Community Care Week.

The advertisement was seen by Ryan Tubridy & Gareth will now be interviewed on Ryan Tubridys Radio Show about TY in our school in 2 weeks time!

County Enterprise Awards

2008-03-06T12:47:00.007Z

Best of Luck to "B2" Transition Year mini-company who will represent the school at the South county Dublin Enterprise Awards on Friday 7th March. The group consists of Michelle, Justine, Sorcha & Rebecca.

Trocaire Football Competition

2008-03-06T12:46:00.002Z

Well done to the group of 5th Year students who competed in the Soccer Competition in aid of Trocaire in UCD on Tuesday4th March. All students had a great afternoon & one of our teams won the Shield!

Another highlight of the afternoon was the students got to the meet the Irish Rugby team who were training in the pitch beside the competition!

Badminton

2008-03-06T12:45:00.001Z

Good Luck to our 3 badminton teams (Boys U19, Girls U14 & Boys U14) who will represent the school at the Badminton All Ireland Finals next week.....

Pancake Tuesday

2008-02-21T13:15:00.005Z

Before Lent began our first year students were treated to Pancakes on Pancake Tuesday! Here are some photos of Mr. McKennedy & Ms. Gilmer with some of the first year students enjoying their pancakes!

Skiing

2008-02-21T13:04:00.005Z

Forty two 5th Year students along with Mr McKennedy, Ms Farrell, Ms NiMhuiri, Ms Madigan & Mr Agnew headed off to Pamporovo ski resort in Bulgaria during the February mid-term break for a week long ski trip.

The skiing conditions were excellent and by the end of the week the novice skiers were skiing like pros on green, blue, red and even some black slopes! It was a fun-filled trip with activities arranged every evening for the students including discos, quizzes and sledging. Everyone on the trip had a brilliant week & we were all very sorry for the week to end. Above are some photos of the students enjoying themselves on the slopes!

Cross Country- West Leinster Champs!

2008-02-01T12:07:00.000Z

Well done to the Minor Girls Cross Country Team who won Gold at the West Leinster Championship in the Phoenix Park on Thursday 31st of January. The team consists of Sinead Crowley, Orla Knight, Amy Troy, Jenny Troy, Ruth Cassidy & Maria McGrath. Congratulations to the whole team!

Leinster Champions

2008-02-01T11:47:00.001Z

Well done toAlan, Karl, Eoin & Stephen, the Under 19 Boys Badminton Team who are now Division 1 Leinster Champions. They will now represent Leinster in the All Ireland Finals on the 12th of March. Best of Luck to the team!

Young Scientist Competition

2008-01-17T14:45:00.001Z

Congratulations to Eoin Rogers, Lydia Flynn and Amanda Keegan, whose project on teenager's personal music tastes and social acceptance was highly commended by all judges.
Well done too to Darragh Kelly-Murtagh for all his hard work. Thanks for representing the school so well.

Girls Gaelic Football

2008-01-17T14:39:00.002Z

U16 girls had tough opposition in their group. They drew against local rivals Santa Maria and Colaiste Iosagain. With a win over Castleknock Community College they came a close runner up and qualified for the knock out stages. The journey to Athy to play St. Brigids of Kilkenny in the Leinster Quarter finals brought us a disappointing result. The girls were very disappointed, but out of the squad of twenty, seventeen are eligible for the team next year and they all hope to do one better next year.

Girls Basketball

2008-01-17T14:39:00.001Z

The U16 girls had an excellent season this year. They finished joint top of their pool along with Tallaght Community School and Our Ladys Grove. On points difference St. Colmcilles came through as runners up. We had a narrow victory of one point in the semi finals to Pobail Scoil Neasain. The finals took place in the Oblate Hall in Inchicore against Tallaght Community School. The girls were confident going into the match as they had beaten the team in the group stages. However on the day Tallaght were the stronger team. The girls were very disappointed but did extremely well to reach the final.

The senior team did one better in the group stages and came out winners. However they came across tough opposition in the semi finals and lost to Lucan Community College by one point. It was an extremely exciting and challenging match to watch. The girls are very dedicated and were very disappointed with the loss, but luckily they are all eligible to play for out senior team next year

Ministers Visit for Official Opening

2008-01-17T14:38:00.000Z

Friday 14th December was a very special day in the life of St. Colmcille’s Community School as it marked the final chapter in the long and often challenging journey to the successful completion of the much needed extension.

The extra space was required in order that all students of the school would have the opportunity to access a place in Transition Year. The TY programme was initially offered as an option to a small number of students. However as a result of the very positive reputation it developed almost all students wished to participate in it and so the Board of Management, Parents Association and Trustees set about the arduous task of extending the school in order to facilitate them.

We were most fortunate that Minister Mary Hanafin took a personal interest in this project (she was previously a TY co-ordinator herself) and through the DES a very substantial grant was approved. However this initiative would have not been possible without the extraordinary commitment of the Parents Association, Board of Management and the Carmelite Trustees. The completion of the extension is a testament to their courage and will to succeed and the manner in which these groups worked together provided a model of best practice in how partnerships should operate.

The extension itself consists of two general purpose classrooms, two specialist small group teaching rooms, two offices, a purpose built design and communications graphics room and a most exceptional meditation/prayer room. There is also a courtyard garden adjacent to the Home Economics Room which will be developed as a herb garden.

Given Minister Hanafin’s interest in and direct involvement with this project it was appropriate that it was she who officiated at the opening ceremony. Bishop Eamonn Walsh also has had a close relationship with our school and he performed the official blessing. The whole school community assembled in the gym. We were all treated to outstanding performances from the schools choir, orchestra and traditional Irish music group. Head boy, Shane Lucy and head girl, Sally Medbury opened the official proceedings, the highlight of which was the Ministers address. Following the cutting of the ribbon and the unveiling of the plaque there was a tour of the rooms which included an exhibition and display of students projects and activities. At a special liturgy in the new oratory the extension was dedicated to the Carmelite Community in acknowledgement of the invaluable support they gave to this project and in honour of their guidance, vision and spiritual direction that they continue to provide to our school. The extension was named ‘Gort Muire’ after the Carmelites provincial house in Ballinteer.

We are delighted to have our own piece of ‘Gort Muire’ here in Knocklyon and we look forward to the further development of our students through these extra new facilities for generations to come.

Hamilton Maths Competition Update

2008-01-17T14:37:00.001Z

17-01-2008 We have received wonderful news from the Hamilton Institute of Mathematics based in Maynooth! The final results of the 8 week online competition have just been released and are as follows:
Best Schoolwide Performance: Stephen Jordan 3C
Best Junior Student - Daniel McCormack - 2N
Merit Award - Gavin Troy - 4T (Gavin came within a point or two of the overall winner)
All the above students will be representing St Colmcille's Community School at the prize giving ceremony in March '08. Further details later.
Welll Done to all!

Maths News

2008-01-10T15:15:00.001Z

The Hamilton Maths Grand Challenge
The Hamilton Maths Grand Challenge is an online mathematics contest, the main goal of which is to promote awareness of mathematics and its exciting application among second-level students, and to help identify latent, untapped mathematical talent within the school system. The contest consists of twenty-four puzzles, posted on the challenge website, over eight weeks, and there are prizes for the best student in each school.

Congratulations to Stephen Jordan from 3C who came first in the Hamilton Maths Challenge in our school and a huge ‘Well Done’ to all those students who stayed the course through the eight weeks. The competition raised a Maths buzz about the school.

PRISM Maths Challenge
All of our 2nd and 5th year students took part in this years NUI Galway PRISM Maths Challenge on Thursday the 18th of October. The results were been compiled and returned to NUI Galway. Congratulations to Amanda Keegan from 5th year who was our best performer on the Senior Level paper and to Andrew Tighe, Daniel McCormack and Matthew Brazel from 2nd year who were joint best performers on the Junior Level paper! All scored a whopping 15/20 points on their respective papers. Well Done!

Sri Lanka Fund-raising Committee

2008-01-10T12:17:00.000Z

What started merely as an idea has continued to grow and grow!

This time last year this project was merely an idea but due to the sheer determination and the incredible dedication from a group of 5th year students and a number of teachers, in particular Trish O’ Doherty and our year head Ms Ryan, it has become a huge success. With the help of the charity organisation 2win aid we are aiming to build a school in the deprived mountainous region of Haputalle,in central Sri Lanka.

To date we have raised over €30,000 which will enable us to build the school & also a number of houses in the surrounding area. This school will give the local children the chance to receive an education, which will open up doors they never thought possible. Presently, the children must spend 9-10 hours a day picking tea leaves on the tea plantations. Without this school these children will be condemned to this life of poverty.

Come Easter, we plan to travel over to help with its completion, which will include the painting, decorating & furnishing the school. We are hoping to raise the remaining funds through golf classics, bag packing, variety show, pub quiz and a waxathon! Of course, any extra help you would like to offer would be greatly appreciated. You can contact the team at stcolmcilles.srilanka@gmail.com,

Young Social Innovators

2008-01-10T10:33:00.001Z

Ms Gilroy’s Young Social Innovators class are this year researching the rights of the aged and the right to life- fair trade. The students are preparing to highlight both issues with various organised activities in school over the next few months.

The class also travelled into the city with Ms Gilroy in December to sell holly badges for the ISPCC. The students braved the elements on the day and raised €642.12

Christmas Carol Service

2008-01-10T10:28:00.000Z

On Friday the 21st of December the whole school community gathered together in the P.E. Hall for our annual Carol Service. The theme of the service this year was Shine a Light. It is always a very special occasion for us in the school as it is one of the few occasions we all get together as a whole school community each year. A representative from the Simon Community spoke to us at the service & we presented him with hampers for the homeless.

Official Opening of the New School Extension

2007-12-14T12:52:00.001Z

On Friday the 14th of December Minister for Education Mary Hanafin visited St. Colmcille’s Community school to officially open the new school extension. Bishop Eamon Walsh was also here to celebrate the occasion with us. The whole school community gathered with the Minister & Bishop Walsh in the Hall to celebrate the occasion and afterwards the Minister & Bishop Walsh visited the new extension where students greeted them & displayed some of our students project work.

After the cutting of the ribbon Minister Hanafin visited some of the classes where students & teachers got a chance to meet & chat with her about our school. It was a lovely occasion & we were all very proud to have Minister Hanafin & Bishop Walsh visit our school.

Sri Lanka Fundraising

2007-12-11T20:08:00.000Z

A group of 3rd Year students for their C.S.P.E Action project decided to help to raise funds for the school in Sri Lanka our school is fundraising to build. They decided to have a Waxathon where three brave male teachers volunteered to have their legs waxed for this worthy cause! The waxathon took place on Friday the 7th of December & the group were overwhelmed with the donations they received!

Colours Day

2007-12-10T16:07:00.000Z

On Friday the 7th of December we held a Colours Day where students were allowed to wear in their own clothes to raise money for the Simon Community & the D.S.P.C.A. We were delighted with the generosity of the students and in total we raised over €2500! Over €1000 was spent on buying food for the Simon Community who then distributed hampers to the homeless. Donations were also given to the Simon Community to help them in their work with the homeless and to the DSPCA to aid them in their work with abandoned and abused animals.

November Exams

2007-11-30T15:11:00.000Z

The 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 5th Year students had their Term 1 examinations from the 19th- 22nd of November. During this week Transition Year students were on work experience placements and Leaving Certificate students continued with classes as normal. This is the first formal set of examinations our first year students sat in secondary school and they all did extremely well!

The Emissions for European Environmental Project

2007-11-30T11:39:00.000Z

The E-missions for European Environmental Project was a National Competition which our school along with four other schools was chosen to enter by the European Youth Parliament. We were chosen as a result of our ongoing success at EYP. The competition consisted of a research project and an interview with four highly esteemed judges including Frank McDonald from the Irish Times.

There were five topics, one for each group, transport, energy consumption, waste management, public awareness and destruction of green spaces. The event took place in the Royal Kilmainham Hospital at an EYP international session on Tuesday 13th of November. After presenting our projects to the Judges and meeting the other schools the winning project was announced by Minister John Gormley. The transport group from our school consisting of Brian, Gareth, Michael, Robert, & Daragh won the overall prize. The prize was a sponsored trip to the European Parliament in Strasbourg for all 25 students from our school to take part in the Euroscola programme.

Strasbourg here we come! We would like to thank Mrs Coolahan for helping us all with our projects.

LCVP Visit Out

2007-11-29T10:18:00.001Z

Ms Farrells & Ms Philbins 6th Year L.C.V.P. classes visited O'Neills House of Sport in Walkinstown on Wednesday 28th of November. As part of the course students study enterprise and must do a local enterprise investigation as part of their portfolio of work.

In class we learn all about the production process so it was invaluable to see the whole production process for ourselves in O'Neills. We got to see first hand our county jerseys, tracksuits etc being designed by the designers, the raw materials being manufactured, the material being dyed & the jerseys being sewed and packed for delivery.

We also were shown how they hand-stich the footballs & sliotars in the factory. We found it hard to believe that still in this day and age that the leather of the balls is still handstiched! Each stitcher would sew only 4 balls per day! We presume this is why it is only O'Neills footballs & sliotars that are used in Croke Park today.

During our tour of the factory we got to see all the stages involved in getting our clothes to the retailer & we also had a chance to ask any questions we had to all the staff.

We all thoroughly enjoyed the day. We would like to thank O'Neills for kindly giving us the tour of the factory & for the goodie bags we all got on our way home!

Friendship Week

2007-11-29T08:49:00.000Z

This week in the school we celebrate "Friendship Week". This is a week when we take time to reflect on our relationships with all our friends and people in our school and community. This week we plan to center our SPHE classes around Friendship. Our first year students will have an anti-bullying workshop with "Sticks & Stones"on Thursday and they will also have a quiz organised by their 5th Year Buddies on Friday. We hope that this week will raise students awareness of the importance of being friendly & kind to all their peers.

Science Week

2007-11-14T15:36:00.000Z

What a fun week is in store in the school this week for Science Week! The science teachers have organised events to show students how fun & exciting science can be! On Monday there is a table quiz for second year students and on Wednesday there is an afternoon of fun experiments for all first year students in the science labs.

On Thursday evening there is a Table Quiz in Trinity College where we have two teams representing our school. Then on Friday to bring a close to the week we have a table quiz for first year students. We would like to thank the teachers in the science department for organising all the events during the week.

Charity Concert - THE CORONAS

2007-10-26T15:16:00.000+01:00

On Thursday 25th October our school was visited by “The Coronas” an up and coming band from Terenure. They played a lunch-time concert in aid of The City of the Poor in Lourdes and the Niall Mellon Project in South Africa. One of our own past pupils Conor Rynne is travelling out to South Africa in November with the Niall Mellon Project.

The whole school packed into the P.E. Hall & were entertained by the band. In total we raised €1800 and had a super time in the process. A special thank you to Ms. Loughman, Karl Fitzharris & Sean Gibbons for organising the event for us & to the Coronas for their performance.

Transition Year Blessington Trip

2007-10-17T16:34:00.002+01:00

On the 24th and 25th of September, each of the transition year classes departed on a visit to the Blessington Adventure Centre. As it was the first major trip of the year, hopes were high for sunshine and little traffic. Unfortunately we received neither! As we were tight for time, activities began upon arrival. The two classes were split into three groups, each group participating in a different activity. My group’s first activity was water sports. We were each given what appeared to be a wet suit and we were then instructed on how to use a paddle. After some virtual paddling we were ready to hit the water where we spent a fun filled hour in our canoes.

We then moved on to wall climbing. Each of the students took a practice climb and we then began to do races…blindfolded. Unfortunately, this was as difficult and as humiliating as it sounds!

After lunch, we began our final activity of the day, archery. Unfortunately, the heavens began to open, but most of us came prepared with a nice warm coat. Those who didn’t were given plastic ponchos, which were basically ripped open bin liners. Well, it could have been worse, we could have been doing water sports. After a short tutorial on what not to point a bow at, countless arrows began to litter the sky, most of which not going within a hundred meters of their designated targets!

All in all, everyone had a great day out and I believe that this trip brought the classes closer together as a group!

Girls Basketball

2007-10-17T16:34:00.001+01:00

The cadet girl’s basketball involving a mixture of third and fourth years, got off to an excellent start. They are unbeaten in their league with victories over St. Aidans Community School 22-20, Newpark Comprehensive 35-5 and Tallaght Community School. They had a narrow defeat to Our Lady’s Grove by 1 point. With two more matches to play after mid term the girls are hoping to reach the semi-final stages.

The senior girls team also got off to a great start with a very convincing win over John Scotts 37-20. Unfortunately they had a very narrow defeat 23-22 to Newpark Comprehensive but had a very convincing win over Our Lady’s Grove. With only one more match to play the girls are hoping to make the semi finals also.

World Kickboxing Championships 2007

2007-10-15T12:53:00.000+01:00

Shane Malone from St Colmcilles Community School
Just returned from Karlsruhe, Germany where he successfully won
Gold, Silver and Bronze in the World Kickboxing Championships 2007.

Shane now holds 9 world title medals and has participated at this top-level
competition, in countries such as Canada, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Ireland
and Spain. Shane is an instructor in the Malone Martial Arts Kickboxing Club in
St Colmcilles Community School, Scholarstown Road.

French Exchange

2007-10-15T11:49:00.000+01:00

On the 9th of October 30 French students from Lille in France arrived in St. Colmcille's Commounity School not knowing what the next week held for them. The 40 Irish pupils participating in the exchange were eager to finally meet their French student. We gathered in the hall where the atmosphere was buzzing. We were paired up with our exchange partners and then preceded down to a classroom to show the French studnets what Irish culture was all about. There were Irish dancers awaiting our arrival along with a group of studnets with their traditional Irish instruments. After the reception we went outside to play Gaelic games. It took a while fo the French pupils to catch on but they eventually did!! Afterwards we went home; the French Students were a bit upset as they missed home! That evening we brought them all out together and soon they forgot about missing home!

Every day the school kindly organised days out for the students to Grafton Street for shopping, The Zoo and Carlingford Adventure Centre.

For the weekend the exchange partners were left together and the fun started to roll! We generally brought our partners out in groups and my goodness, I don't think the French could have gone home saying they left out anything! We brought them to places like the National Aquatic Centre, Fort Lucan, Dundrum Town Centre, and Tennis in Bushy Park.

On Saturday night we all got together to watch the France V England rugby match; there was most definitely a great amount of tension in the house. Although the French lost it didn't dampen their night!

Sadly on October 16th the French Students departed and no longer was the atmosphere filled with joy and laugher. Tears were streaming down the participants faces and hugs and "bisous" (kiss on the cheek) wer being handed out left, right and centre. When the French partners reluctantly got on the bus and departed, the rest of us sadly returned back to class.

The week was one that will remain fond in all our finds forever. We would like to thank Ms. Hanlon, Ms. Daly & Ms. Waters for organising the French Exchange for us.

By Cliodhna O'Sullivan & Ciara Darker

Carmelite Pilgrimage to Lourdes

2007-10-11T10:37:00.001+01:00

A Holy Good Time!
It was 4.30 in the morning that sixteen students from St. Colmcille's Community School gathered in a deserted car park outside the church to await the trip of the year! The destination....Lourdes.

I was luckily able to count myself as one of those sixteen! We were all buzzing with excitement. Dublin airport was manic at that time in the morning but we were soon in the sky on our way to the South of France, which was to become our home for the next six days.

We were accompanying the Carmelite Pilgrimage. Over 1500 pilgrims and priests joined us from all over the country.

There was so much to do in Lourdes. Every day we celebrated mass and also took part in other religious ceremonies. Some days we had Confession, other days we walked the Stations of the Cross. We went on a walking tour of Lourdes where we saw the huge underground basilica and the birthplace of St. Bernadette. We visited the City of St. Pierre and had a prayer service.

There were also many processions, such as the candlelight procession, which was unforgettable. About 200 people walking to the basilica and singing the rosary. The light was provided by the hundreds of candles and one of the most obvious sights was that of the St. Colmcille's Community School Banner which was held high near the front of the procession. Another procession was that of the Blessed Sacrament.

Our group also helped by assisting elderly or infirm people in wheelchairs. Every day we would push the wheelchairs to the church or along in a procession. This was no task however. Most of the wheelchair bound people were very lively and cheerful. We met some great characters.

One highlight of the trip was when we visited the Grotto at around 1am. At night the grotto is adorned with light and the many reverent pilgrims praying around it gave a great atmosphere of being somewhere special. There was also an area nearby where candles could be lit for different intentions.

Another unforgettable experience was the baths. We were all unsure of what to expect but we all came out renewed and relaxed.

The last night of the trip we had a big disco for the youth of the pilgrimage. We all thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience in Lourdes and it was with heavy hearts we departed for home the next day. We would all love to go back again soon!

By Michael Ward

Junior Certificate

2007-10-10T16:51:00.000+01:00

Congratulations to our students who received their Junior Certificate Results in September. The results were excellent & very well deserved after their 3 years of hard work and dedication. Special congratulations to Sarah, Roisin, Siobhan & Michael (pictured above) who achieved 10 A's in all higher level papers. This is a remarkable accomplishment as they are among only 80 other students in the country to achieve this.

School Reopens

2007-07-05T16:50:00.000+01:00

The school re-opens on the following dates:

Tuesday 28^th August
6^th Years- 12 noon.
3^rd Years- 1.00pm- 2.00pm

Wednesday29th August
1^st Years- 9.30- 11.00am

Thursday 30^th August
2^nd & 5^th Years 9.30am-3.45pm
1^st, 3^rd, 6^th Years 11.00am-3.45pm
Transition Year- As per information letter

Friday 31^st August
1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 5^th, 6^th Year 8.45am-1.05pm
Staff Meeting 2pm

Leinster C School Swimming Gala

2007-07-05T16:43:00.000+01:00

Congratulations to Alexander Murray (1st Year) and Jennifer Murphy (3rd Year) who represented our school in the Leinster 'C' Schools swimming competition in the National Aquatic Centre on Sunday 27th of May.

Alexander took part in the 50 metre back-stroke and picked up a Silver medal.
Jennifer received a Gold medal in the 50 metre freestyle and the 50 metre butterfly.
Well done to both students!

End of Year Student Awards

2007-07-05T16:35:00.000+01:00

At the end of every school year each year group have an awards ceremony. Awards are given to students not only for academic performance but also for their participation in extra curricular and sporting activities in our school.

Congratulations to the following students who received the following awards this year:

Academic Student of the Year Overall Student of the Year
1st Year- Zara Fagan
2nd Year- Grace McCarron
3rd Year- Darren Morrell
5th Year - Lara McFeely

Overall Student of the Year
1st Year- Anna Stafford
2nd Year- Stephen Jordan
3rd Year- Sarah Cummins
Tranisition Year- Alex Fletcher
5thYear- Shane Lucey

6th Year Graduation

2007-07-05T16:28:00.000+01:00

The 6th Year Graduation took place in the school on Tuesday 22nd of May. Students, parents & teachers gathered in the school gym for their graduation mass followed by an awards ceremony. This years theme was "We hope you dance". Afterwards all students received a certificate & a gift to remember their time in St. Colmcille's . Mr McKennedy spoke of what wonderful leaders this group were to the rest of the students in the school.

This was followed by an award ceremony at which "Student of the Year" was awarded to Leanne Gaughran. Leanne has never missed a day of school in her six years at St. Colmcille's. Keith Jackson took home the "Academic award" and Sinead Walsh & Brian Duffy were presented with the sports awards.

Congratulations to all our 6th years & we wish them all the best for the future.