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2008/2009 School
tour 2008 A hugely enjoyable and highly successful school tour to
France took place over the mid term break at Hallowe’en. A group of 82
students from 4th and 5th year along with 12 teachers
spent 5 action packed days in Normandy and Paris. While in Normandy some of the many highlights included a
visit to see the Bayeux tapestry, The D-Day landing beach at Arromanches, the
American cemetery at Omaha beach and a 360 degree cinematic presentation of the
actual D-Day landings on 6-06-1944. In Paris we enjoyed a guided bus tour as well as a boat trip on the Seine at night. We went to the top of Montparnesse tower and the Eiffel
tower. As well as loads of shopping we visited the Sacre Coeur and Montmartre. At night students also had bowling a disco and a table
quiz. Great thanks must go to Mrs. Phil Earley on organising such a fantastic trip. Thanks also to all the teachers for giving up their time and to all the students and parents involved.
2007/2008 Second Year Trips May 2008 On 16th May 2008 second years visited Dublin on a school outing. They visited the National Museum and went shopping in Blanchardstown after. A great day was had by all. On 23rd May 2008 both second year classes and their Science teachers visited Rossinver Organic Centre to study ecology and wildlife habitats as part of their Junior Cert. Science course. They completed a Nature Trail that was set up by students from our school and from Drumkeeran. It was a very enjoyable and worthwhile day.
Newgrange This was the first year ever that there has been a leaving cert exam religion class. As part of the religion course the religion class studied ancient cultures and burial rites. This is a very important part of our course so our religion teacher Mr Cunnane decided to take the class to Newgrange a burial mound in Co Meath. The class set of from the school at 9.30am and arrived and had something to eat at 12.30pm. They had to get a bus from the centre to the burial site. When they arrived they got a chance to view the outside of the impressive structure and admire the beautiful surroundings. The guide then gave them a talk about the history of the site, inside the tomb there was no photography allowed. The passage was narrow but led to a larger room. It was decorated with very beautiful spiral patterns. Then they returned home after a tiring day. All involved agreed it was a worthwhile and interesting trip and that a few more religious outings are expected.
2006/2007 Comenius Trip to Luxembourg
As part of an ongoing Leargás project two students, Nora McGovern & Finbar Smith and Frenchteacher Mrs. Phil earley spent almost a week in their partner school in wiltz, Luxembourg. Ehile there they met students and teachers from the other partner countries- France, Spain, Romina, Turkey and Belgium. They made presentations in English and French, radio programmes in the schools radio station, attended class, and visited the region, including one full day in the capital city Luxembourg. despite the early mornings- school starts there at 8 am! Everyone had a very worthwhile and enriching week and returned home with many happy memories of new friends and new cultures.
2005-2006 An Triail On Thursday 10th November 4th & 5th Yr Ardleibhéal Gaelilge students, accompanied by Ms. Lee, Mrs. Daly & Mr. McDermott attended the Irish Drama ‘An Triail’. 52 Students attended and all agreed it was a very worthwhile trip as It will undoubtedly help them in their study of the text which is part of the leaving Cert Ardleibhéal Gaeilge course. Go n-éirí libh sa scrúdú!
Geography Field Trip
2005/2006 As part of the
new Geography Course for Leaving Cert. our two senior classes have to undergo a
field trip, which must be written up in a pro-forma booklet before the Leaving
Cert., and this accounts for 20% of the final mark. On Friday 14th
the first group went to conduct our field study and the second group went on Both groups studied the course of the Yellow River from its source Near Aughnasheelan to where it enters St. John’s Lake in Kiltybarden. We chose three sites to conduct our studies and at each one of these we measured:
The
trip proved very worthwhile and really enhanced our knowledge of physical
geography. It backed up our preparatory work done in class and the practical
skills learned should be of benefit in the written exam as well. Mr Burns and Mr
Mullen would like to thank on behalf of the school those who helped to
facilitate the organisation of the field trip and in particular to those people
who gave us permission to use their land. Please click on pictures below.
English Leaving Cert Students In late November the Leaving Cert students attended a production of ‘How many miles to Babylon’ in the Helix Theatre. The students were accompanied by Miss Banks, Miss Convey & Mr. Cunnane. The experience was very beneficial to the students as they are studying the Novel for their Leaving Cert examination in June 2006.
First Year Retreat September saw the first years travel to Knock Shrine for their retreat accompanied by Sr. Kathleen Gormley and Mr. Cunnane. Although we had an early start and a late return a very rewarding day was had by all.
2004-2005 Radionet Trip to France Orla Gaffney and Ciaran Smith (4th Year) took
part in the annual Radionet multimedia class in France from May 7th
– 13th. Their French
teacher Mrs. Earley accompanied them. Their
visit began in Paris began in Paris and met the other 20 pupils and teachers who
were taking part in the project. On
Sunday they travelled to Sille le Guillaume, which is the co-ordination school
for the project. Over the next few
days they took part in Radiobroadcasts and sampled French School Life, including
excellent French cuisine in the school canteen.
On Tuesday it was on to the second French school in Concarneau, west Brittany. On the way to Concarneau the group visited Le Mont St. Michel in Normandy, which is the third most visited place in France after Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower. In Concarneau there were more radio broadcasts in English and French as well as a guided tour of the old town of Concarneau and the fishing museum; as Concarneau is the 4th largest fishing town in France.
The students stayed with host families and had a great
opportunity to sample French life. They
even began to speak French naturally as the hosts in some cases had little or no
English. The return journey to
Ireland began at 10.30pm in Thursday 12th when we boarded the coach
to Paris. There were many tearful
farewells and promises to keep in touch. After
an overnight drive across France the coach reached Paris at the unearthly hour
of 5.30am! The city was a very busy
even at that hour and each delegation began their journey to their home country;
some by car (Luxembourg), some by overnight train (Spain) and the remainder by
plane.
Radionet trip to Valladolid 2004 Radionet is a project for schools in Europe, funded by Socrates, to work together and co-operate on various cultural and educational projects. Our school has been involved in the project since it began seven years ago and co-ordinated by French teachers Mrs. Earley and Mrs. Gillen. Each year one school organises a hosting for the other schools in the project. This year St. Teresa De Jesus, Valladolid, Spain was the host school in this, the seventh year of the project. As well as exchanges, the schools involved produce a radio broadcast that goes out live across Europe every two months.
Between 26th and 30th of April two fourth year students, David Evans and Roisin Mc Govern took part in this exchange along with their teacher, Mr. Mullen. There were eight countries represented including Poland,
Germany, Latvia, Romania, Denmark, France, Luxembourg and Ireland. The entourage
included twenty teachers and forty pupils in total. During a hectic week we attended school between 8.30am and 2.15pm each day, which is the normal school day in Spain. One of the aims of the week was to design a virtual European city with each country having responsibility for a certain section. Each section when completed was superimposed on to the map of our host city, Valladolid.
In our section, the Ballinamore section, we had to locate
pictures from our hometown onto the Valladolid map. We included pictures of the
courthouse, the canal, a town house, a country house, a school and a factory. We
worked on this all week and on Thursday we had to present our work to all the
other groups. Each delegation presented their work and the name we devised for
the city was EUROVILLE. However it wasn’t all schoolwork and during the afternoons we visited many of the sights and museums of Valladolid. We saw many churches and visited the Oriental museum and a museum dedicated to Queen Isabella (de Catolica). We also visited the university town of Salamanca that had
some breathtaking sites. Irish monks of the Franciscan Order set up the
university. It was also funded by Phillip II of Spain and also was a place where
Irish men could study to become priests as the Catholic religion was suppressed
in Ireland at that time. All in all it was a hectic week between sightseeing and
schoolwork. In general the Spanish people were very friendly, relaxed and easy
going. The pupils and teachers from the other countries were all very nice and
it was interesting to note that school no matter in what country it is in, is
very similar. It was re-assuring also that our own school provides as
comprehensive an education as any other in Europe. On our way home we couldn’t help but miss Valladolid and
to have a proud sense of what it is to be Europeans as well as being Irish. From
our experience Europeans greatly admire our country and culture despite the fact
that we are the most westerly state in the E.U. Radionet is an on going, active project that produces articles and radio broadcasts every two months. The next broadcast will be on June 3rd 2004. It provides a wonderful opportunity for students and teachers to experience European culture through the Internet as well as at first hand. The Radionet site can be accessed at www.frequence-sille.org/comeniusproject
1st Year trip to Dublin A school trip for our first year students took place on Wed 10th of December 2003. They toured Dáil Éireann where they watched a sitting of the Dáil and met some of the Deputies. They then had a very enjoyable afternoon of ice skating and shopping at “ Dublin City on Ice” in Smithfield and ended the day with a spot of Christmas shopping in Blanchardstown on our way home. An enjoyable day was had by all. Dáil Eireann Ice-Skating 1 Ice-Skating 2
School Tour to Italy The
recent school tour to Sorrento and Rome organised by Mrs. Earley was both an
educational and enjoyable experience for all who travelled to Italy.
The 60 students accompanied by 10 teachers had an action packed 5 days
during which time many of the lessons learned in class became a reality.
Walking through the streets of Pompeii they saw at first hand the remains
of a very advanced society which was destroyed when Vesuvius erupted in 47A.D.
The climb then to the top of Vesuvius was made even more exciting when
you saw the vapour drifting up from the crater. Rome
was magnificent and there the group sampled the ancient and the modern city.
While walking through the Colosseum you could begin to imagine what it
was like in its glory days. Our
visit to the Vatican City and the end of the celebrations to mark the 25th
Anniversary of the Inauguration of the Pope was very special.
To have been in the presence of Pope John Paul 11 as he addressed the
crowds in St. Peter’s square is a moment neither students nor teachers will
ever forget. The group also went to a soccer match in the Olympic stadium and to everyone’s great delight ‘Our team’ Lazio beat Bologno 2-1. Perhaps the highlight there was the wonderful singing by the students at half-time. It was much appreciated by the Italians who applauded warmly and took several photos. All in all this 4th school tour was very successful, educational and enjoyable and will provide many good memories for all who took part for years to come. Colloseum Olympic Stadium Roman Forum Pope JP II Mt. Vesuvius Pompeii Trevi Fountain St. Peters Basilica
Lourdes Pilgrimage 2003 Fifteen 4th Year students travelled as volunteer helpers with the Diocese of Kilmore Pilgrimage to Lourdes. Their task was to assist elderly/infirm pilgrims, helping with wheelchairs and accompanying pilgrims to the various ceremonies. It combined early morning starts with late nights, work and prayer and also fun and enjoyment. All involved found the experience very worthwhile and rewarding. Prior to the pilgrimage, the students ran a very successful fundraising venture to cover their travel expenses. Such was the success of their efforts and the very generous response that it was possible to make a contribution of €1367to the Invalid fund. Mr.Tommy Flynn and Sr. Kathleen accompanied the students. This year in May 2004, students from Cootehill comprehensive school will travel as volunteer helpers. Three of our students Nicola Finlay, Linda Gildea and Barry Holohan visited Cootehill school recently to inform the students there about the role of student helpers with the pilgrimage
Second Year Trip to Marble Arch Caves & Enniskillen Castle 02/03 All second year students were brought on an educational trip to visit Enniskillen Castle where they were given a guided tour of the castle building itself and all of the out houses associated with it. Here they got first hand experience of what life was like in a castle. They also were shown the different types of weapons used during battles such as a Bren gun and some students were dressed up as soldiers. After lunch and some shopping in Enniskillen itself we set off for the Marble arch caves where students could see examples of stalagmites and stalactites for themselves. Due to the unforeseen amount of rain we could not avail of the boat trip but it is safe to say the enjoyable trip was had by all. Their history teachers Mr. Seamus Mullen, Ms Orla Mc Donagh and their French assistante Nathalie, accompanied the students. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
