The First Year History students had their History Field Trip on Tuesday 17 May. Mrs.Sloan, Miss Hutchinson and Mr. Killoran accompanied the group to Monasterboice where we examined the various High Crosses and the Round Tower of this early Christian monastery. We moved on to Mellifont Abbey for a guided tour of a Cistercian Monastery. Following lunch near Drogheda we went to Trim to visit its Norman castle. For many this was the highlight of the trip, judging by the attention paid to the talk and the questions asked of the tour guide. A good day was had by all.
See photographs below.

Eight of our Transition Year Students travelled to Belgium from 22 to 25 March as part of a Peace III History project with St.Macartans College.On the first day we had a quick lunch in Brussels followed by a visit to the Military Museum in Brussels, and that night saw the Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate in Ypres. Day two was a visit to the Passendaele museum with the Platoon Experience. Everyone dressed up as soldiers from an Australian Regiment and retraced that unit’s movements. We visited Tyne Cot Cemetery, a large Commonwealth graveyard. Day three saw us visiting a number of cemeteries both German and Allied, explored trenches and visited Messines ridge and the Irish Peace park.
On our final day we visited Bruges with its wonderful buildings and atmosphere and ended our trip in Brussels at the Atomium Park and Little Europe. It was an enjoyable and valuable experience, with both schools bonding and learning about World War One and each other.

See slide show below:

Slide show below includes samples of both
Junior Certificate and Leaving Certificate work. 2011

Below are examples of work completed by the students of
Material Technology Metal, Junior Certificate Class of 2011

Joanne Wylie’s trip to Strasbourg

Report by Joanne
After a series of interviews I was one out of 24 chosen to represent Ireland in the European Parliament, Strasbourg.
The trip began with a visit to the European Commission Office were we met Francis Jacobs (Head of the European Parliament Office in Ireland) and the Ambassador of Bulgaria. I had the opportunity to ask many different questions concerning Ireland as part of the EU.
Early the next morning (5am) we departed Dublin airport for Strasbourg. I enjoyed a lovely tour of the city before getting ready for ‘Euroscola’ the next day.
On Friday our group went to the European Parliament in Strasbourg were we met with many other schools from the EU. We were divided into teams, each person a different nationality, to do some further research. We were then allowed to voice our opinions on many major issues within the EU. This was an amazing experience as it made me feel like a real MEP.
The entire trip was an unbelievable experience that I will never forget.

(See slide show below)

All Ireland Table Tennis Champions
U15 Boys

Congratulations to our successful Table Tennis team
who defeated Blackrock College, Dublin
in the All Ireland Final.

Stephen Fawcett(Capt), Jamie Fawcett,
Ryan Mc Conkey, Jason Forde,
Aaron Allister, Dylan Scott.


Also included with the winning team are
George Dugdale (Team Manager) and Rachael Mc Conkey (Team Coach)

Early in March Form 5 and Form 6 Agricultural Science classes attended a farm Walk ‘n Talk at Ballyhaise Agricultural College. This was organised by Agri Aware. Students were accompanied by their teacher Mrs Anita Rowntree and Mr Eric Clarke.
The weather was good and an enjoyable and informative time was had by all.

Some of Transition year activities

Transition Year have been busy with a range of activities over the past few months.
Before Christmas a number of students became involved with the
Stay Connected Programme. This involved helping more elderly adults become more familiar with their mobile phones and in using the internet. It was a wonderful learning experience for both young and old. Certificates were presented to participants in the Knockonnan centre early in February

Students enjoyed Diversity through Drama for a number of weeks. This proved to be lively and enjoyable and was provided by Monaghan VEC.

On April 6 we had a visit from the Irish Wheelchair Association. Following a very interesting talk, students had the opportunity to play basketball but this time while sitting in a wheelchair. Great fun while heightening their awareness of the difficulties that people with disability often encounter

Fridays continue with First Aid courses and a range of speakers including a talk on Road Safety and a visit from the Diabetic nurse.

We also had a speaker from Aware giving a talk on “Beat the Blues” . Students became aware of symptoms and possible causes of depression and where and how to seek help.

Form 4 and Form 5 girls had a day course on Personal Development including personal presentation techniques and interview skills.....the make up section was very popular!

Thinking of others and our students continue to support the work of organisations through collections. Already they have supported ISPCC and Daffodil Day and Special Olympics and the Irish Heart Foundation.

Students were visited by the Irish School of Excellence in order to instruct them on many basic driving skills and associated activities...wheel changing..more later

The TY group enjoyed their annual trip to Balmoral Show and hope to have a trip to Dublin before the end of the year.