News, 22 April 2013

TY ACTIVITIES:
 
Our Transition Year students are having a busy few weeks at present. Monday activities of late have seen them undertake flower arranging and gift baskets where many new skills were learned. Crea-ACTive writing with Trish Loughnane involved watching and studying extracts of speeches or poetry being read, where students would follow-up with evaluations on these specific readings and develop their critical-thinking. Another Monday activity involved learning about a technique known as Decoupage. This is a craft or art form that entails pasting cut-outs (typically paper) to an object and then covering them with several coats of varnish or lacquer. Students thoroughly enjoyed Decoupage and found it a fun and easy way to decorate just about anything! Outside of the classroom, our TY class are looking forward to paying a visit to U.C.C. this Friday, as part of an informative and educational day being organised by Career Guidance teacher Mr. O’Brien.  
 
G.A.A.:
 
Our 1st Year students took part in a hurling blitz last Wednesday at Dr. Morris Park. The conditions were wet, windy and anything but conducive  for playing with a sliothar. We played three very competitive games against formidable opposition in Thurles CBS, Scoil Ailbhe from Tipperary Town, and Rockwell College. This was possibly our last outing for the year and finished on a high with excellent performances from future stars such as Thomas Grimes, David Manning, Andrew Doyle and Patrick Buckley!
 
GREEN SCHOOLS ACTION:
 
Our Green schools committee spearheaded by Ms. Smith is working diligently on aiming to earn our school a coveted Green Flag in the near future. As part of this, we are holding a Green schools action event on Tuesday where students (non-exam classes) will carry out a spring clean of our school. The interaction and co-operation between staff and students over recent months has seen a huge reduction and savings in waste collection, a big increase in re-cycling, and an overall cleaner and greener school.  
 
INTEL IDEATION CAMP:
Transition year students at Colaiste Mhuire Co-Ed in Thurles attended the Intel Ideation Enterprise Camp, which was held by Thurles Lions Club in March 2013. 75 students from four secondary schools in Thurles participated. 

 
Livia Meyer, TY student at Colaiste Mhuire Co-Ed and 3 other students are attending the the national final in Intel Ireland’s Leixlip Campus, Kildare on Saturday 20th April. We want to wish all involved the best of luck. 

News 18 March, 2013

COLÁISTE MHUIRE CO-ED

NORTH TIPPERARY STUDENT ENTERPRISE AWARDS:

Well done to our three teams who qualified for the county final of North Tipperary student enterprise awards. The ‘Handmade Dream Workers’ team consisted of Belinda Mc Carthy and Milena Rataj. They won first place in the intermediate category and they will now represent North Tipperary in the national final. Their products include frames, mirrors, and snow globes. The other two teams included ‘Calenders Co Ed’, which consisted of Bríd Gleeson, Kevin Mc Loughlin, Aaron Moriarty and Kieran Considine. Finally, ‘The Boyz Sweet Shop’ was run by Nicholas O’Halloran, David Shorley, Ethan Delaney, and Brian Curran. We wish these budding entrepreneurs and their business teacher Ms. Bergin all the best in the next round.

INTEL YOUTH ENTERPRISE IDEATION CAMP:

On Tuesday and Wednesday last, our Transition Year class took part in the Intel youth enterprise ideation camp. This was organised by Intel and the Thurles Lions Club, and took place in the Enterprise Chamber in Thurles. Seventy-seven students from secondary schools in Thurles came together for two days to learn in a training camp about ‘the art of ideation, entrepreneurship, and customer driven innovation’. In groups of six or seven, students were taught the six steps of entrepreneurship, from creating an idea to pitching it against other entrepreneurs with the aim of convincing a jury that your product is the best and most innovative! The topic of the camp was ‘Thurles-our future begins here’ and ‘Keep the heart of Thurles beating’. In these two days, the groups developed ideas and solutions to solve current problems in Thurles like ‘lack of attractions’ and so on… Ultimately, students had to present their solution to the jury in a pitch and from this the winning group was picked. Students were in full agreement that this whole exercise was a brilliant and most beneficial opportunity to experience entrepreneurship.

G.A.A.:

On the GAA front, our hurling and football teams were defeated in the Fitzgerald Shield and Corn Peile competitions. In the Fitzgerald Shield, we played against Cistercian College Roscrea in adverse conditions that weren’t conducive to hurling at Templetuohy. This was certainly a game of two halves. Roscrea settled early and notched up a goal and several points that left us chasing the match. The second half, however, saw a huge transformation in our side. A few positional switches, exemplified by man of the match Seán Butler in moving to centre-back brought us back into the game and while we outscored Cistercian College in the second half, we finished runners-up on this occasion. Outstanding for Coláiste Mhuire co-ed on the day were Seán Butler, Gary Donnelly, David Manning, Peter Mc Namara, Aaron Ryan Casey, Colm Ryan, Gavin Dunne, Jesse Mc Kenna, and our captain Pádraig Troy. Our footballers under the guidance of Mr. Fahy played Scoil Ruain of Killenaule and settled early with a well taken goal from Dean Bourke in the first minute. Unfortunately, we were unable to capitalise on this as Killenaule responded rapidly with a few well taken points. While this was a competitively fought contest with both sides fully committed, Killenaule finished eventual winners. Gan amhras, beidh lá eile ag an bpaorach!

News – 4th of March

‘Natures Palette’ Art Exhibition.

A group of PLC students of Coláiste Mhuire Co-Ed are about to embark on a wonderful artistic adventure. These young talented artists are prepared to take their artwork out of the classroom environment and into the wider community such as L.I.T.Thurles Campus. This art exhibition entitled ‘Natures Palette’ deals with the artists personal interpretation of nature.The P.L.C level 6 invite the 5th year students to participate in this event. These artworks will be grouped together to form a collection of 40 artworks including painting and sculpture. The aim of this exhibition is to provide students with a profound educational experience which will form part of their examinations later this year.

Green Schools

The green schools’ committee has increased their commitment in their quest for their first green flag.  They have purchased green recycling bins which will be put into all classrooms and all social areas.  The support from the rest of the school body has been phenomenal andalready, the amount of recycling has increased exponentially and the amount of waste had reduced dramatically.  The competition to find a slogan for our first green flag is underway.  This slogan will underpin all of the work carried out in relation to litter and waste. The standard of entries is excellent and there will be fantastic prizes for the winner.  We are also looking to create a mascot to accompany the slogan.  So students, let the creativity shine to help our school become a cleaner, greener school.

Trip to Trinity.

Two of our transition year students, Fabian Reese and Lea Seelos, have been selected to attend a Transition Year Physics experience on Nanoscience in Trinity College Dublin.  The students from Coláiste Mhuire Co-ed, Thurles were chosen from a nationwide selection of students. They will participate in exciting lectures, demonstrations and a tour of CRANN, the Trinity Research Institute for Nanotechnology. This is such a wonderful, exciting opportunity for these students as it opens up a whole insight into the cutting edge
world of physics.  Well done on your success.

G.A.A.

Our under-15 footballers and under-17 hurlers are in action this week. We play in county competitions on this occasion. Firstly, we play Scoil Ruáin of Killenaule in football in the Corn Peile, and two days later (Thursday) our hurlers play the winners of Cistercian College or Nenagh Vocational School in the second round of the Fitzgerald Shield. This is one of our last outings on the G.A.A. front in what has been a very busy year. Hopefully, we’ll have peaked at the right time for these games!

News – 25th February

CULTURE DAY:

Our junior and senior quiz teams took part in a highly competitive   tráth na gceist as part of Culture Day in Nenagh last Thursday. Schools from all over Tipperary competed in this event and whilst our junior team fared well in coming 4th, our senior team went one step better in coming 3rd. They achieved a most commendable 57 out of 60. Our senior team included Pádraig Troy, David Walsh, Michael Holohan, and Pádraig Grace. Our junior team included Evan Mc Cormack, Bríd Gleeson, and Philip O’Sullivan. Over the next couple of weeks, as part of Lá Cultúrtha in Nenagh, our students are preparing hard for other
competitions such as órádaíocht, díospóireacht, agus drámaíocht tré mheán na Gaeilge.

G.A.A.:

On the sports front, our u-15 footballers are training hard for their last outing in competitive  football this year, the Cusack Cup. Our opposition will be Killenaule’s Scoil Ruáin. This promises to be an exciting encounter as many of our students performed superbly earlier this year against similar strong opposition in Munster competition, before succumbing at quarter-final stage to Killorglin C.C. from Kerry.

TRANSITION YEAR:

Our Transition Year students undertook a life skills personality test on Monday last. This proved to be fascinating for all students national and non-national as they learned a huge amount about their personalities in terms of characteristics, traits, and qualities. It was enjoyed by all and seen as a nice way to learn a little about psychology.

Also this week, a trip has been arranged to visit St. Mary’s Famine Museum in Thurles. Our German, Swiss, Norwegian, finnish and Swedish TY students are especially looking forward to this excursion as most of them were not aware of the Great Famine that was experienced in Ireland of the 1840’s. It is also of great interest to our local students who have an opportunity to empathise and learn about life in
Thurles and the wider hinterland during the c.1845 to c.1850 period.

SYMPATHIES:

Our sincere sympathies are extended to the family of recently deceased Pádraig Stapleton. Pádraig was an iar-scoláire of Gaelcholáiste naSiuire/Coláiste Mhuire Co-ed. He will be fondly remembered by staff
and classmates as a pleasant, friendly, and popular student who met you with a smile and got on well with everyone. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam

School News – 18th February, 2013

LISHEEN MINES VISIT:

Our 5th year, Transition year and LCA students paid a visit recently to Lisheen mines over consecutive weeks. In recent times, students who visited Lisheen mines on school trips have found it beneficial for
subjects including  Business Studies, Geography, Science, and LCVP. Our students have been afforded the opportunity to undertake these visits thanks to business teacher Mr. Brennan and chief engineer for
the mines Jimmy Dunne.

TY VISIT TO DUBLIN:

Our Transition year students enjoyed an exciting day out last week when visiting the Criminal Courts in Parkgate Street Dublin. This was the first time any of our students had witnessed actual court
proceedings in such courts and found it a most  informative and enjoyable experience. A guided tour was also arranged with the court clerk for this trip by Ms. Molumby where we got the chance to simulate
a court case. Legal Studies forms part of the Transition year programme and excursions like this one are of immense importance to students and teachers alike. The day finished on a high with a little
bit of shopping in the city centre!

G.A.A.:

On the sporting front, things are quietening down at htis time of the year especially for our cohort of students undertaking their mock junior and leaving cert exams. However, our u-16 Gaelic footballers
are training presently for up-coming Vocational Schools county competitions. With talented players on our panel like Colm Ryan, Gavin Dunne, Gary Donnelly and Brendan Callinan we are looking forward to
such matches with an air of optimism.

SAMPLING SECONDARY:

A large number of 5th and 6th class primary students from Thurles and the surrounding hinterland paid visits to our school campus recently. The aim of this programme was to give students of senior primary
classes a sample or taster of life both academically and socially in our school. An enjoyable day was experienced by all involved as practical visits were made to respective subject departments such as
Computers, Science, Home economics, Woodwork, CAD etc.. Students were also treated to an array of P.E. activities in our Sports centre, The Dome. Feedback was very positive from students and staff alike and the visits finished with a well-earned trip to sample the fine cuisine in our school canteen

January 21, 2013 – News

Gaelic Football

Our senior Gaelic football team enjoyed a well deserved victory last Wednesday in the Munster Cup competition. The match itself was played in inclement conditions in Golden GAA pitch and both sides at times had difficulty in countering the elements. Clonmel College were our opposition, and played some lovely football in the initial stags scoring a goal and a point within the first five minutes. We weathered this early onslaught however, and Sean Butler opened our accounts with a fine score from play. This seemed to settle us. Our captain Aaron Ryan Casey followed up with another point and the man-of-the-match David Slattery scored the first of his four goals. The score at half time read Clonmel 1-04 to Coláiste Mhuire 2-03. The second half was a close encounter with very little between the two teams until the final seven minutes when we pulled away scoring 2 well taken goals from Gary Donnelly and Michael Buwa. The final score line read Coláiste Mhuire 6-08 to Clonmel 3-07. We now face Nenagh in the next round.

Volleyball

Our junior volleyball boy’s team played the second round of the Leinster Volleyball Tournament at the Dome in Thurles. Despite the fact that we had home advantage we came up against very strong opposition against Euro Campus from Dublin and Portlaoise from Laois. In both games we performed well and finished second in close score lines. Huge commitment has gone into our volleyball teams from students and their trainer Ms Byrne which undoubtedly will result in success in the near future! Among those who excelled on the day were Stephen Troy, David Shorley and Kevin McLouglin.

Guitar

Under the guidance of our member of staff and guitar maestro, Mr Cornally, there has been a huge interest generated in guitar playing at Coláiste Mhuire Co-Ed! Guitar lessons are been held during school time for transition year and senior cycle students who are interested in learning the basics or merely enjoying the relaxed session like atmosphere during lunch break on Thursdays.

Music

Here at Coláiste Mhuire Co-Ed, music plays an important role in many of our student’s extra- curricular activities. Our students are guided through many musical genres and are free to explore their own area of individual musical interests.

In recent years the music department has been instrumental in producing our school show.

At lunchtime, students may also avail of tuition in singing/choir, guitar and Irish traditional music on the tin whistle and flute, amongst other instruments.

Rehearsals take place throughout the year for the instrumental groups and culminate with an end of year production on our student awards night in May each year.

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December 2012 – News

Carol Service

On Tuesday the 18th of December the students of Coláiste Mhuire Co-Ed will held a Carol Service in Bóthar na Naomh Church at 2.30pm. It was a celebration of music, word and reflection in the spirit of Christmas. Beannachtaí na Nollag ar gach duine.

Art exhibition ‘Eclectic Mix’

‘Eclectic Mix’, a collection of paintings supported by Anne Marie Brophy, Thurles Library, ran from November 6th – 29th, provided a facility for second level students to prepare for the Art Appreciation section of the Leaving Certificate State Exams. Students from Coláiste Mhuire Co-Ed took full advantage of this fantastic opportunity to prepare for their exam question at the Source Arts Centre, Thurles. As one of our students put it, ‘ it’s great to have exhibitions like this here at our doorstep, the works of art impacted on me as soon as I entered the gallery.” Well done to the ‘Source’ and well done to our students for their continued hard work and for becoming involved in the diverse opportunities that we offer all our students.

The Coláiste Mhuire & Lisheen Mine Venture

Monday the 3rd of December saw the first session in our exciting new partnership with Lisheen Mine. Our 5th year classes have been selected to participate in this new school business partnership. On the day, Mr. Jim Dunne, assisted by Christine Walker gave an excellent presentation to our students on the work done in Lisheen Mine and on the numerous and varied career opportunities presented by the mine and its ancillary industries. Eleanor Walsh also facilitated a group work session on the partnership and assisted the students in setting goals for the following modules.

Coláiste Mhuire’s school business partnership with Lisheen Mine, offers our students an invaluable insight into a leading, progressive company and empowers ours students to take control of their futures. Through an appreciation for education and the real opportunities available through it, we know that our students will find the keys to open the doors onto their greatest tomorrows.