Ballinrobe Community School 094 9541777
Ballinrobe Community School
Easter 2016 Newsletter
Concern Silence and Fast
On 25th and 26th of February TY
students took part in a fast or silence for
Concern. The students were given
sponsorship cards and tried to raise as
much money as they could for the
charity. It was a worthwhile experience
for the students which gave them an
insight into life for the
people who face
poverty and starvation.
www.ballinrobecommunityschool.com
Congratulations!
Congratulations to Maggie Varley
and Ante Masnic who recently
made their Confirmation. Thank you
to their families, Fr. Gilligan, their
teachers and students who helped
to prepare them for the Sacrament
and make their day special.
Aware Talk On the 26th of February, all Transition Year students had a talk delivered to them by Colm from the organi-
sation ‘Aware’. Aware is an organisation that was founded in 1985 to help people cope with depres-
sion. The talk was very beneficial and taught the stu-dents coping mechanisms that they may find useful during exams or stressful times in their lives. Colm
also spoke to the students about the signs and symp-toms of depression and all students said they found the talk very informative On behalf of all Transition Years we would like to thank Colm from ‘Aware’ for coming into the school and taking the time to talk to
the students.
Marian Harkin
Visit
Irish politician and
MEP Marian Harkin
came to the school
to talk to students
in Transistion Year
and Leaving Cert
about her job and
how she became
successful. She
answered the
students questions
and took photos
with some of the
students and
teachers.
Mock Examinations The Mocks were recently held in B.C.S. for Junior Certificate and Leaving Certificate students. We hope the students received their desired results and it proved a learning experience in preparation for the main ex-ams in June.
National Flag Presentation On Monday March 7th, three
Transition Year students,
Brianne Hayde, Alanna
McGrath and Laila Egerton travelled to Croke
Park to represent the school at the National
Flag Presentation. During the ceremony,
which was hosted by Ryan Tubridy, members
of the defence forces presented second level
students with the National Flag and a copy of
the 1916 Proclamation. President Michael D.
Higgins was also in attendance and delivered
the key note speech.
Daffodil Day On Friday the 11th of March TY students on be-half of the Irish Cancer Society sold Daffodil Day pins in Ballinrobe. Each daffodil pin cost €3. There was a large num-ber sold by the TY’s who were delighted to be in the position to help such a worthwhile cause.
The Addams Family Musical Congratulations to Ballinrobe Musical Society who embraced the Halloween
atmosphere in February by launching their 2016 production ‘The Addams Family’.The talented cast, including Michael Coen as Gomez, Niall Conway as Lurch and Siobhan Campbell as Alice, took to the stage from February 14th to February 20th. With music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa, the musical was a side
splittingly funny show that brought the audience through a roller coaster of events. The show itself was weird and wonderful with fantastic lead actors
supported by an equally amazing chorus of ‘ancestors’. The performance was full of comic humour and had explosions of song and dance.The Addams
Family was a major succes in Ballinrobe, selling out almost everynight to halls full of people.We are already looking forward to their next show!
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TY Ski Trip 2016
On the 6th of February the TY students and their teachers set off on their long day travelling to Prato Nevoso, Italy.They flew to Milan from Dublin Airport and from there they travelled by bus to the hotel. In the mornings the students enjoyed
breakfast at 8 am and then afterwards they took part in two hour long ski lessons at 9am. At 11 am the TY’s enjoyed a leisurely lunch and then headed back to the
slopes for another two hours of ski lessons. There were a number of highlights for the students on the trip. On the second night
in Italy everyone went ice skating and seemed to really enjoy the experience. On the fourth night we all went tubing.The TY’s thoroughly enjoyed that and the great
night was caped off with delicious crepes before we went back to the hotel. On the fifth night at the resort there was a sing along with Mr. Conlon. Again
everyone had a great night and the Italians seemed to have really enjoyed it too. Day six was our final day of skiing. It was a sad day for the TY’s as we all had to say goodbye to our instructors. The staff of Scuola Ski ZeroNove and Bump Cafe
organised a party for our final night for all the Irish students. We enjoyed it imensely and were very sad to leave.
At their final dinner in Italy the TY’s had a sing-a-long for the staff at the restaurant and at 3 am the next morning the TY’s and their teachers left the hotel and set off
for home. It was a long journey. Overall it was an amazing experience and most of the TY’s wish they could do it all
over again and would thouroughly recommend the trip to all new Transition Year students!
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Trip to Ambassador Theatre 1916 Revolution
A group of TY and 5th year students went to Dublin on
Monday 7th of March for the centenary anniversary of the
1916 Rising. The group went to the Ambassador Theatre
with Ms Flynn. They spent time going around the theatre
looking at all the different exhibitions. There were many
different paintings depicting the main women of the rising.
Each painting had a short biography on the women and
what their impact was on the rising. The students then
continued to where there were pictures and biographys of
both men and other women involved in the rising. There
were old uniforms and medals on display belomging to
the people from the rising. They also had other items
such as guns that were used. Michael Collin’s car was
another item on display in the theatre. A short
documentary was shown to the students which focused a
lot again on the women involved in the revolt and showed
footage of the rising itself. There was a reconstruction of
Kilmainham jail and it showed where the signatories
would have been executed in the yard at Kilmainham jail.
There was also a reconstruction of a house that
contained a letter from Joseph Plunkett to his wife Grace
whom he had married while in jail. The students learned a
great deal about the rising and what it was like for the
people involved. The day was enjoyed by all!
TY Sleevez Student Enterprise Awards
On Tuesday, the 1st of March, five transition Year students, Shauna McDonald, Orna Walsh, Cara Moran, Allannah Duffy and David Hughes, took their Mini Company product, ‘Sleevez’, to the Student Enterprise Awards in Hotel Ballina.
There were a total of 25 schools who were also there all competing to get through to the National Finals of the competition in Croke Park on the 21st of April. It was a great day for all the students and for Mr. Gallagher, who was deputising for their Mini Company, Teacher Ms Costello and Andy Walsh, their driver for the day. The students got the chance to promote their product on Midwest Radio when Midwest’s very own Tommy Marren interviewed the students about their product for all the Midwest Radio listeners. The students, who were all kitted out in their Mayo gear and their ‘Sleevez’ product, had to impress two very intrigued judges in order to win that golden ticket to Croke Park on April 21st. Unfortunately, the students were unlucky not to get through to the National Finals. However, they did not come away empty handed. The students brought home the the “Most Innovative” Award and they were all thrilled with the achievement. However, this is not the end for Sleevez as the group are continuing the promotion of their product both in and outside of the school and will continue to grow their unique and innovative company to new levels. We want to congratulate the group on their achievements thus far and we wish them all their very best of luck in the future with Sleevez from all students and staff at Ballinrobe Community School.
5th Year Agricultural Science Trip Fifth Year Ag Science students donned their wellies and their raingear for a recent farm visit to Mountbellew Agricultural College. The farm con-sists of 200 ha of land and has a number of enter-prises run as farmlets on a commercial basis. Stu-dents were given a tour of the farm buildings and shown the dairy, beef and sheep enterprises. This trip provides practical experience for the students as well as material for inclusion in project work – worth 25% of their final grade.
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This Easter edition of the school newsletter was brought to you by Editor, David Hughes and Assistant Editors Orna Walsh, Cara Moran and Shauna McDonald.
Thanks to the TY1 Students who contributed.
Driving Instructing
On the 3rd and 4th of March, the T .Y’s took part in a driver safety tutorial .Here, the students learned
about driver safety, replacing a flat tyre and checking the oil in a car. Each student got the
opportunity to sit behind the wheel and for some it was a new experience. Students also learned of the dangers of drink driving through the wear-
ing of ’beer goggles’. These goggles allowed them to experience what a driver under the influ-ence might experience and students quickly be-came aware of the dangers of this decision as
even the easiest of tasks became quite difficult. It was an enjoyable and interesting demonstration.
5th
Year Biology Trip
On Wednesday 24th Febru-ary and Thursday 25th Feb-ruary the 5th Year Biology Classes accompanied by Mr. Connaire & Ms. Burke
and Mr Murphy & Ms McGrath travelled to Dublin
Zoo.
The groups were attending a Conservation Module or-ganised by the Zoo which allowed students to learn about endangered species and the role of modern day Zoos.
All Island ‘Decade of Centenaries’ History
Competition
The best of luck to Anna Campbell and Ellie Walsh,
5th Year, who entered the All Island ‘Decade of Cen-
tenaries’ History Competition on behalf of the school.
The girls entered a project for the Regional/Local Stud-ies Theme, 1916-1922 cate-
gory of the competition based on their research and study of the Tourmakeady
Ambush of 1921.
Proclamation Day
On Monday, March
14th, Ballinrobe Com-
munity School will be
hosting Deputy Eamonn
O’Cuiv as Proclamation
Day is celebrat-
ed. Proclamation Day
will allow the school to
reflect on and commem-
orate, the events of the
1916 Rising as well as
showcase the range of
projects that students
have undertaken over
the past few
weeks. Students will
also have the opportuni-
ty to take part in a num-
ber of activities which
will be focused on the
1916 Rising in the run
up to the Easter Break.
German News
Congratulations to Sibéal Finnerty, TY, who did exceptionally well in her Junior Certificate German Exam. As a result Sibéal has been invited by the German Embassy to attend an Interview in the Goethe Institute, Dublin, in April. This interview will be conducted entirely in German, and if success-ful, Sibéal will be eligible to participate in a scholarship programme to Ger-
many for three weeks during the summer. We are all very proud of Sibéal’s great achievement and wish her the very best of luck.
Viel Glück Sibéal!!
Congratulations Junior boys!
Well Done to the Junior Boys football team who reached the Connacht
Final after beating St.Endas of Galway in
the Semi-Final on a scoreline of 5-10 to 3-8
in the Centre of Excellence in Bekan on Wednesday, March 9th.
The Final will be played on the 11th April where
they will come up against St.Aloysius
College of Athlone. We wish Mr. Egan and all
the lads the very best of luck!
Junk Kouture On Wednesday the 9th of March three Transition year students, Allannah Duffy, Amy Keane and Roisin O’ Brien went to the TF in Castlebar for the Western Regional Finals of the Junk Kouture Fashion Competition. The odds were in the girl’s favour as they had recieved a silver ticket to the event and had come in the top 5 designs out of eighty on the online votes. The show in the TF featured all eighty designs on the cat walk with a choreographed dance routine to their chosen song. Unfortunatley it wasn’t to be for the girls that night. They did not get selected in the top 19 to progress to the National Finals in the 3 Arena, Dublin. They had a great experience though and thoroughly enjoyed the day.