Welcome Back
As we settle into a new school year in Coláiste Chill Mhantáin, we would like to welcome all our students and teachers back to school. We extend a special welcome to our First year students and to the new members of our teaching team. We also wish to congratulate our Leaving Certificate class of 2023 on their fantastic exam results and to wish them well in their future paths. We look forward to a new term and to celebrating the various milestones, achievements and successes of our students on our various social media, including Instagram, FaceBook and Twitter, and on the iClass App.
Senior Mentor Team 2023-2024
Congratulations to our twenty-one Fifth year students who were appointed as Senior Mentors for the 2023/2024 academic year. They will work closely with the First Year Pastoral Care Team to assist the First year students to settle into life here in CCM. An amazing group of young adults whom we are delighted to have representing the school!
Senior Mentor Team: Ailbhe Kelly, Alex Dunne, Angela Prince, Ava Cassidy, Caitlin Keogh, Caitlin Merrigan, Caitlin Power, Clodagh Byrne, Ellie Jameson, Emmet Ronan, Jack Lambe, Jason Doyle, John Crowley, Katie Geoghegan, Liam Delaney, Lorcan Byrne, Lucy Hindle, Luke Seery Frier, Matilda Larsson Crean, Peter Quinn, Ross Devlin.
Senior Prefect Team 2023-2024
Well done to the eighteen Sixth year students chosen as Senior Prefects this year. Prefects hold significant positions of responsibility in the school and lead the student body by good example. Their position demonstrates leadership, good teamwork, responsibility and respect for the ethos and standards of the school. Our newly appointed Head Boy, Mike Connolly, and Head Girl, Izzy Richardson, will lead the team and we wish you all well for the year ahead!
Senior Prefect Team: Mike Connolly (Head Boy), Izzy Richardson (Head Girl), Alannah O’Donnell, Aldrin Omana, Alex Dickenson, Alison Kenny, Ben Bowen, Eoin Cleary, Ethan O’Mahoney, Hollie O’Connor, Jack Nestor, Michael Brennan, Nicholas Kane, Olivia McEvoy, Robyn Parkinson, Saoirse McInerney, Seán Ryan, Sophie Kennedy.
Student Leadership Training
Thank you to Yvonne, Aoife and Sean from the Lake Shore Wellness Centre who provided a leadership and wellness programme for our incoming Senior Mentor and Senior Prefect teams on Wednesday, 23 August. Well done to all the students involved - it is great to hear others speaking so highly of the students whom we are so proud to have filling our leadership roles here in CCM. Best of luck for the year ahead.
CCM First Year Induction Evening
On Monday evening, 28 August, we were delighted to welcome our incoming First Year students and their parents/guardians to CCM to begin our induction programme. Our new students heard from many members of our CCM community to aid their transition to secondary school. Thank you, in particular, to our First Year Pastoral Care Team consisting of Year Heads, Ms Crossan and Ms Somers, our Tutor team, Deputy Principal, Ms Smith, and our Principal, Mr Donoghue, who all addressed the students on the evening. Our wonderful Senior Mentors were also attendance and will continue to support the First year students over the course of the year.
First Year Extra Curricular Activities and Coffee Morning
On Friday morning, 1st September, we welcomed our First year students and their parents/guardians to the school to hear about the wide array of extracurricular activities we have to offer here in CCM - from sports to debating, music to art, and everything in between, we have something for everyone to get involved in!
After the extracurricular presentation, we hosted a coffee morning with the pastoral care team - Tutors, Year Heads and Mentors - allowing the students and parents/guardians an opportunity to chat with the team over a cup of tea to discuss their first week in secondary school! Well done to all involved!
A full list of the extracurricular activities in CCM has been posted here on the School App.
First Year Induction Walk
Well done to our First year students who completed their bonding walk as part of our Induction Programme on Friday, 8 September. Accompanied by the Senior Mentors and Pastoral Care Team, they travelled to Glendalough. We had amazing weather and many students rounded off the day with a well-deserved ice-cream! Thanks to Mr McInerney for guiding us through the walk.
Pilgrimage to Lourdes
On Thursday morning, 7 September, Sixth year students, Izzy Richardson, Olivia McEvoy, Alison Kenny, and Annabelle Finnerty, set off on their pilgrimage to Lourdes. Alongside 25 other schools in the Dublin diocese, the students were volunteering to help sick and elderly pilgrims. Unfortunately, their flight was cancelled after a long wait in the airport, but the girls’ positivity never wavered. They sprang into action, moving luggage, helping pilgrims with their meals and transport home, all while making new friends. On Friday, the girls returned to Dublin Airport and were put straight to work assisting the sick and elderly pilgrims. The students were full of high spirits and the pilgrims spoke highly of their kindness and work ethic.
The girls’ first day in Lourdes began with an early group training session. Following this, Alison, Annabelle, Olivia and Izzy were assigned to Reception where they helped the pilgrims put on sun cream in the sweltering heat or wrapped blankets around the colder pilgrims as they left the hospital wards to venture outdoors. There were two masses, a Penitential Service and an Anointing of the Sick Mass. At both masses, the students sat in a prominent location and were readily available to help pilgrims if necessary. The evening was spent at the Candlelight Procession and Vigil, where Annabelle and Olivia wheeled pilgrims and Alison and Olivia held crosses onstage. The girls all found this procession extremely special and moving.
Sunday was a very special day on the students’ pilgrimage to Lourdes. They rose early and watched the sun rise over the grotto. Afterwards, the students spent the day working as hotel support, collecting pilgrims from their hotels, bringing them to the Youth Mass and returning them safely. The Youth Mass was a beautiful celebration of the student helpers’ amazing work in Lourdes. In the afternoon, the girls had a fantastic time with the pilgrims at an indoor picnic, dancing, telling stories and even getting involved in a singsong! During their free time, the girls had the opportunity to visit the underground basilica where they filled water bottles with holy water from the grotto and took some time of reflection to think of their loved ones while visiting this holy place. In the evening, the girls joined forces with St Killian’s, Bray, for a group dinner in a lovely Italian restaurant. Pizza was the firm favourite and it was lovely to meet students from another Wicklow school!
The students then attended the Medal Ceremony, with Olivia, Izzy and Annabelle all carrying gifts to the altar during this ceremony. This was a wonderful event to witness, as the girls met helpers who have been coming on the Dublin Diocese Pilgrimage for years - Izzy’s aunt has been volunteering here for 53 years and has loved watching Izzy continue the family tradition this year. After the ceremony, the students gathered for a communal reconciliation as well as a good old-fashioned sing song. Alison brought forward a blessed school candle, with our school crest. While lighting the candle together, all four girls wanted this candle to bring good luck for each one of us in this new school year.
Monday was the final day of the pilgrimage, with schools attending the holy water baths for a water gesture. Many miracles have been attributed to bathing in or drinking the water at Lourdes. The students then brought the pilgrims to a live re-enactment of the Stations of the Cross, performed by the student helpers. Our girls represented the seventh station of the cross, and it was clear that this was a huge highlight for the sick and elderly. The students did a fantastic job and undertook the entire task very seriously for the pilgrims whom it meant so much to. Well done to everyone! In the afternoon, the girls attended a farewell mass in St Bernadette’s Church. Archbishop Dermot Farrell led this mass, a wonderful opportunity for the entire pilgrimage to join together and reflect on a wonderful experience.
On Monday evening, Ms Lyons and the girls went for their last supper in a beautiful restaurant that they had been wanting to visit all week. At dinner, they reflected on their experience and shared the highs and lows. The girls received a pin for their 'blue shirt' which symbolises the first trip to Lourdes. If the students return, they will graduate to a 'white shirt' and have more responsibility. The girls all spoke so highly of their time and hopefully we will see them all in 'white shirts ' at some point in Lourdes.
At the pilgrims’ farewell party in the hospital, some beautiful renditions of songs, such as 'The Rare Old Times' and 'Grace', were performed. The pilgrims played instruments, told stories and said some prayers as the students mingled and said their goodbyes to the people at the heart of this pilgrimage; those they cared for. Finally, Alison, Olivia, Annabelle and Izzy visited the grotto, the epicentre of this entire pilgrimage, as the stars began to light up the sky.
Alison, Izzy, Olivia and Annabelle would like to say thank you to Ms Lynch for organising this trip and Ms Lyons for accompanying them. This trip was only able to go ahead with the help of the girls’ fundraising efforts. A big thank you to the girls’ parents, wider family, friends and the school and local community for supporting them on this journey.
And finally, well done to the four girls for being such brilliant ambassadors for our school and working so tirelessly from the moment they arrived in Dublin airport to the moment they left six days later. We hope you take the kindness and humility you showed to the pilgrims into your own lives and pay it forward to your classmates back in school.
Ember Leadership
Coláiste Chill Mhantáin’s R.E department is delighted to announce that we have joined the Ember Leadership programme. This programme will allow selected students to be spiritual leaders within the school and help with events throughout the school year. These students spent several days in Ovoca Manor during the week beginning 4 September, training with five other schools and learning how to work together effectively. Team-building activities ranged from hockey to group work with a meditation prayer service to round off each night.
Well done to the students involved in this programme who are:Clodagh Byrne, Oliwia Leszkiewicz, Katie Russell, Matilda Larson Crean, Ross Devlin,Luke Seery Frier, Raphael Carlos Balisi Geoghegan.
They have been fantastic ambassadors for the school and we have every confidence that they will become excellent leaders within the school community.
Wicklow Shield
Well done to the winners of the U16 Ladies Wicklow Shield who include several CCM students:
(L to R) Grainne Murphy, Aoife Hunter, Caoimhe Lawlor, Caoimhe Doherty, Emily Carey, Reece Hughes, Kayla & Freya Renwick, Lily Neville and Cadhla Teevan.
