TY ORIENTEERING
TY students have been participating in an orienteering module and were given the opportunity to practice their map reading skills on the orienteering course in Avondale House last week. They all enjoyed their adventure in Avondale House.
Well done to Nick Kane, Matthew Porter and Denis Berezin on being the quickest team back.
TY SURFING
Transition Year students took to the sea in Brittas Bay last week where they tried stand-up paddle boarding. For most, this was their first time trying this activity. The Brittas Bay Surf School instructors were excellent and explained how to get on and balance on the board. The students took to it straight away and went on a trip along Brittas Bay. They learned about different types of seaweed, the plants in the sand dunes and about the tides and wind when out on the water. A great day was had by all.
LCVP ENTERPRISE SPEAKER
On Wednesday, 13th October, a Sixth Year LCVP class invited local businesswoman, Margaret Hoctor from Kilmullen Farm, to Coláiste Chill Mhantáin as a guest speaker from the Wicklow Enterprise Centre. The visit was organised by the Sixth year LCVP class as part of their portfolio work and was highly engaging and informative.
TY HERITAGE STUDIES
Last Monday afternoon, Transition Year students of Heritage Studies met local historian, John Finlay, who guided them on the newly opened Wicklow Town Heritage Trail. John shared his wealth of knowledge with the students and they were able to visit the following sites: Black Castle, Travilhawk Beach, the quays, Quarantine Hill, the Old Gaol and Market Square. The following is an account of the day by TY student, Nick Kane.
Last week, as part of our Transition Year Heritage module, myself and my class went and explored Wicklow town’s new heritage trail led by local historian John Finlay. The trail consists of 25 stops, starting at St. Patrick’s Church and finishing around Wicklow Gaol. At seven of the stops there are large information boards with a QR code that, when opened on your phone, will lead you to a fantastic video relating to the stop. Mr. Finlay was full of interesting facts and stories about each spot. The stop that stood out to me most was Market Square and in particular the Billy Byrne memorial. We learned a lot about the charismatic man that was Billy Byrne and his escapades fighting for freedom. While many of us knew who Billy Byrne was, we did not know the history around him. It was fascinating to listen to. Mr. Finlay really brought the history of our local area to life with his exciting and interesting stories, for example how Wicklow got its name or how the Franciscan Abbey used to be a jail before the actual jail was built in 1702. We also learned about the Normans, the Vikings and Strongbow himself and how our own clans have been associated with the Black Castle over the many centuries of its existence. I could recount many more stories, but the best way is to experience it for yourself. A big thank you to Mr. Finlay for taking his time to share the history of our local town with us- a town steeped in history.
#BULBSFOR BEES
All TY students were involved in making flower boxes on Thursday, 14th October, as part of the #bulbsfor bees initiative which is being run by Gaisce. Each class got to make their own flower box out of recycled pallets and plant some bee-friendly bulbs which will hopefully bloom for us in the spring of next year.
The TY classes would like to thank the following:
Wicklow & District Lions Club for their generous sponsorship; Burke’s Hardware & DIY and Hopkins Homevalue for donating the pallets; Bolgers of Avoca Coaches Ltd for the transportation of the pallets also.
FIRST YEAR RUGBY
On Tuesday, 12th October, our First year Rugby team played St David's Greystones in a friendly in Wicklow RFC winning on a scoreline of 30-5. This was a very good start to the year and highlighted areas to work on at training which continues on Fridays from 3.10 to 4.15pm.
GAA CHAMPS VISIT THE SCHOOL
A bit thank you to Niamh and Sinead McGettigan, who were part of the Wicklow All Ireland winning team, for visiting the CCM Girls Gaelic training session after school on Monday, 11th October. They brought the All-Ireland trophy with them and answered all the questions the girls had about winning an All-Ireland Final and what it was like playing in Croke Park. They wished the girls' teams well for the coming school year and said they hoped to see some of them playing on the Wicklow county team in years to come.
U19 RUGBY SELECTION
Congratulations to Sixth Year student, Noah Sheridan, who has been selected to represent the IRFU U19s rugby team in the upcoming camp. The camp will be taking place in the IRFU’s High-Performance Centre, National Sports Campus, Snugborough Rd, Deanestown, Dublin and Carlton Hotel Blanchardstown, Church Rd, Tyrrelstown, Dublin from 27th October to 29th October 2021.