Leaving Certificate Orals & Easter Holidays
Best wishes to the Leaving Certificate students who are sitting the Oral component of their examinations during the Easter break. You have worked hard and we wish you all every success.
We would also like to take this opportunity to wish everyone in the school community, students, parents, teachers and management, a very Happy Easter. Enjoy the holidays and we look forward to seeing everyone refreshed for the Summer Term.
TY Students Residential Visit to Barretstown
Day One in Barretstown
A very busy day in Barretstown. We settled in with a tour of the grounds and an information session on the work that Barretstown do. Afterwards, we took part in some team building exercises and workshops on self-awareness and stress-relieving mechanisms. These were very interactive and the students all became involved and really enjoyed themselves. We took part in some dancing before and after dinner. The evening activity consisted of a table quiz and left us all looking forward to Day Two.
Day Two in Barretstown
Another fun-filled day for the Transition Year students in Barretstown. We started our day at a leadership workshop where we learned about the qualities of a leader. We were then tasked with designing our own leader using various different materials. The finished products were very creative with Barry from Barretstown emerging as the winner.
After a quick break, it was on to setting up the cottages for the visitors coming to Barretstown this weekend. This was followed by a biodiversity walk where students learned about the various wildlife that lives in the grounds of Barretstown.
After lunch, students were given the opportunity to make TikTok videos advertising the different services Barretstown offers as part of a marketing workshop. This was followed by some canoe games on the lake. The most enlightening experience came before dinner with students trying to find their way out of a maze while blindfolded. This was all an exercise in learning that it is ok to ask for help. The evening activity consisted of some games and competitions between the different groups.
Day Three in Barretstown
Another very busy day for our students. We started the day with some icebreaker games. Following this, we met with the fundraising staff who thanked us for the generous donation raised by CCM. We learned that one family for every student who attended Barretstown will be able to stay this year thanks to our donation. Students then completed a life skills workshop where we created healthy snack platters that could be made for friends etc. We took part in wall-climbing with most reaching the top very quickly. After lunch, students took part in a public speaking workshop where we designed possible interviews for future promotional videos for Barretstown. We were then presented with our certificates and a group photograph was taken with the cheque. The afternoon was completed with a workshop on diversity and inclusion where students learned about the different challenges people face on a daily basis, and also had a brief lesson on sign language. Their evening activity was to be a camp fire but, due to the weather, we had to settle for musical bingo which was a big hit!
Day Four in Barretstown
Our time at Barretstown has sadly come to an end. We finished off our stay with a workshop on budgeting and finance where we were set the task of planning a holiday for each of the teachers with a budget of €3,000 each. Then the students had the task of solving various puzzles in the hope of getting the opportunity to unlock the box which held the prize which contained their phones at long last. Each student was presented with another cert, this was to recognise their completion of the residential programme. Well done to Ruby Salley on winning 'Barry' in the raffle. We then had our photograph taken at the famous red door of Barretstown Castle where we said our goodbyes to the wonderful staff that have looked after us so well these past few days. The staff at Barretstown spoke very highly about the group of students through their engagement with every aspect of the programme and their behaviour and impeccable manners.
Creative Writing Workshop
Dermot Bolger, one of Ireland's best-known writers, visited the school library on Tuesday, 19 March, to facilitate a creative writing workshop with some of our Third year students. Dermot read a number of his poems first and then talked to the students about how to become a writer and, also, what it takes to get a book published. The students then engaged in some creative writing. Dermot gave each student a photograph and asked them to write the opening paragraph of a novel based on the photo. Students could also write a poem. Students were then invited to read the work that they created. Many thanks to Dermot for remaining on after the workshop to help launch the school's annual Creative Writing and Art E-book which a number of our students created.
Title: CCM Creativity E-book 2024
We are most grateful to Dermot Bolger, the acclaimed novelist, for launching the third annual CCM Creativity E-book with Mr Donoghue, Ms Smyth, Mr Doherty, Mr Martin and Ms Kenny. Showcasing outstanding student creativity in poetry, short stories and art, this year almost 300 entries were submitted, the largest participation yet for the e-book. We warmly thank and congratulate all students selected, including the nine award winners.
Please open the following link to read the book:
https://read.bookcreator.com/zFBfON1cyCPE5jfD5N8w1rgwJ0G3/QjwDqk0ZQ_G-QLN4OmohSg/6fZPUmILQJO1ucBqyK4H9w
St. Patrick’s Day Cupcakes
Well done to our First Year Home Economics classes who put their creative skills to the test when decorating cupcakes for St. Patrick's Day. There was a great variety of ideas on display in the kitchen and it proved to be an enjoyable class for all.
European Money Quiz
On Thursday, 21 March, eighty-four business students from First, Second and Third year took part in the European Money Quiz. This quiz is run annually by the Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland. Over 3,000 students from schools around Ireland took part online, working in pairs to answer business-related questions. Alex Kane and Jack O'Sullivan from Third year made two appearances in the overall Top 5 teams on the leader-board as the quiz progressed.
Great fun was had by all students and our top finishing students overall from the 1500 teams taking place were Jack O'Leary and Toby Keating from Third year in 33rd place, Aislinn Brennan and Eoin Beale Nugent, Second year, were in 45th place with Eoin Mitchell and Jack Healy from Third year in 66th place.
Well done to all students who took part.
Gaisce Trip
We had a great two days on our Gaisce trip on Wednesday and Thursday, 21-22 March. Day One covered 15K and started in Rathdrum, following the Avonmore River on to Trooperstown. The evening activities included archery, map reading and the climbing wall, followed by a movie. Day Two was a 13K walk, this time from the Miners’ Village back once more to Trooperstown. The weather was great, and all the students enjoyed the challenge and were delighted to have completed this part of Gaisce. Special thanks go to Mark, Stephen, Anthony, Morgan and all the staff at Baltinglass Outdoor Education Centre for facilitating the two-day adventure. We also celebrated a student’s 16th birthday with some chocolate cake, ice cream and candles. Every one of the pupils were a credit to the school!
Wrapparound Workshop
A number of First and Second year JCSP students took part in a 'Wrapparound' workshop in the school library on Friday, 22 March. 'Wrapparound' is an annual creative writing programme that takes place in schools around the country. Students who take part on the programme are given the chance to write their own rap song or poem or spoken word performance piece and then perform it at a national event held in Dublin in May. Ten of our students worked with performance poet, Colm Keegan, in the library as he helped them to create their own piece of work which they will perform on stage in May.
Well done to everyone involved!