4th March 2013 Fielde 7th edition.

The Crescent Express

Spanish Exchange 2013—A Student’s Review

late and various Spanish party food. On Wednesday the 6th of February at 1:30 am, 16 students, The Crescent students sang “Oro se do Emma O’Brien, Dennis Callaghan and Julie Callaghan began bheatha bhaile” to the Spanish families’ sur- their trip to Madrid for the Spanish Exchange 2013. prise! Senorita O’Brien presented the school with a plaque reading “CAIRDEAS” (Friendship). We were all We arrived in Madrid at 10 am and went on a Panoramic Tour of very sad to be going home on the Wednesday but we are look- Madrid. We stopped in a park for lunch and visited a temple from the River Nile. We then went to the Queen Sophia Museum to see some of Spain’s most valuable paintings. After this we went back to the school, Colegio Nuestra de Senorita del Recuerdo, another Jesuit College in Madrid and met our Span- ish families for the week, On the Thursday we went to the Bo- tanical Gardens and the Prado Museum. The guided tours of these attractions were interesting and gave us a real insight into Spanish history and culture. On Friday the 8th, we visited “El Monestario de Escorial” which is located around 30 minutes away from Madrid. This monastery is huge and has nearly 2000 doors. It is of huge significance to the people of Spain as it is the burial location for all members of the Spanish Monar- chy. In the afternoon, we got a bus up the mountains to visit the Valley of the Fallen – the location of General Franco’s tomb. ing forward to welcoming our exchange partners to th The large monument Franco had erected was extremely im- on the 13 of March. pressive. On behalf of the entire exchange group we would like to thank For the weekend we were left with our families. The boys on everyone who supported the bake sale and to remind you all the exchange went paintballing on the Saturday morning whilst that all proceeds from the shop at the School Talent Show th the girls spent their time in el Corte Inglés! The boys also went (Friday 8 March) are going to the Spanish Exchange Pro- to the Real Madrid Stadium which was very enjoyable. gramme. On the Monday we went on a guided tour of the old quarter of El intercambio de español fue muy divertido. Hicimos mucha de Madrid to see some of the oldest buildings and squares of actividades fantásticas y tenemos muchas gracias de acoger a Madrid. We also went to see the 9 story Royal Palace of Madrid nuestros estudiantes en marzo. !Adiós por ahora! that has over 2000 rooms! In the afternoon, we all spent an hour in the school classrooms which was a very interesting experience. We also got a tour of the school – which has 2500 Hugh Fitzgibbon students - and we found ourselves singing “Twinkle Twinkle” to a class of four to five year olds. On the Tuesday. We went to the medieval town of Toledo, the former capital of Spain, we learned all about the history of this very important town. When we went back to the school the parents of the group had or- ganised a Departure Party where we had Churros con choco- Page 2 The Crescent Express

The talent show will be taking place on the 8th of March. Doors will open at 7:00pm and the show will begin at 7:15pm SHARP. The cost of the show is €8 for adults and €5 for students. All proceeds from the show will go to- wards the refurbishment of the Brother Stephen Russell homeless shelter in Limerick and all support would be greatly appreciated. The shop on the night will be in aid of the Spanish exchange. There are 18 acts signed up so a great night is guaranteed. The judges will be Ann O’ Meara , John Kennedy, Emma Lynch, John Power and Michelle Dunford. There will be a surprise interval per- formance on the night by some well-known school fac- es !! So make sure you don’t miss it :) By Christopher Kelly

On the 10th of January, Debating Society opposed the motion: “The UN Belongs on the scrapheap of history.” The team for this debate; Kate Stapleton, Diarmuid Reidy, Mark Moloney and Shane Joyce won against Gaelcholáiste Luimnigh. In February we proposed the motion: “An AIDS free world will be achieved in our lifetime.” The Team for this debate; Kate Stapeton, Jack Beegan, Hugh Fitzgibbon and Mark Frahill won unanimously against Villiers. At this stage, we are in the top 16 in Ireland, and through to the knock out phase. On March 4th we will be proposing the motion “It’s time to end foreign aid to India” The debaters on this date will be: Kate Stapleton, Jack Beegan, Hugh Fitzgibbon and Diarmuid Reidy. This debate will be against St Mary’s Secondary School, Charleville and is on in the school. All are welcome to attend.

By Liam Fleming The Crescent Express Page 3

The latest round of the Rabodirect PRO12 produced a few upsets, and also some extremely tight matches in which neither side involved deserved to lose. On the first day of matches (Friday 22nd) the Cardiff Blues and Connacht played in Cardiff Arms Park. Connacht came out winners in a closely fought contest 22-26 with tries from Willie Falloon (2) and Danie Poolman. It was Connacht’s first win in Cardiff since 2001. Also on Friday night was the match between Glasgow and in Scotstoun. This was another close match, with Glasgow winning 20-14. Rounding off the Friday night matches was the match between Ospreys and Edinburgh, Ospreys winning comfortably 24-7.

There was only one match on Saturday the 23rd, between and Scarlets in the RDS. The capacity of over 15,000 saw Leinster run out comfortable winners 32-5. Andrew Goodman was the standout individual for Leinster, scoring a try and kicking six points.

The main attraction for Irish rugby fans was the Wales vs Ireland Six Nations match, but Munster were also in action against Treviso in Italy. Munster lost a disappointing match 34-10, with Munster getting a consolation penalty try. Both sides were missing players to their national sides, and the quality of the rugby reflected this. Also on Sunday was the close contest between Zebre and the Newport Gwent Dragons in Stadio XXV Aprile. The tiny attendance of 400 nearly witnessed a rare win for the Italian side, but the Dragons did just enough and won 13-14. By Owain Quinlan

Our Senior cup team beat PBC in an exciting display at Musgrave Park last Wednesday. Pressure was on from the start as Cres- cent conceded an early kick at goal which the PBC kicker fortu- nately missed. Good play by the Crescent forwards led to two kickable penalties which were converted by captain Gearoid Lyons . A try one minute from half time from Full back James Frawley gave crescent an 11-0 lead at half time. 11 minutes into the second half Pres came back into contention with a try from Conor Casey but skilful play from the Crescent back line and several impressive breaks from the pack lead to Crescents ad- vantage being restored with a try from second centre JJ O’Neill. Determined defending for the rest of the match gave Crescent an impressive win 18-12 away from home. Crescents next fixture is against CBC on 7th March. By Ian Clein. Conor Grehan and Emily Kennedy The Crescent Express Page 4

Transition Year Music Projects

On the 19th of March, the TY Music Classes will be presenting their music project to the year in the canteen from 9 to 11. Each class have been studying a different genre of music for the past few months and preparing for the project. Each project must include a PowerPoint Presentation, a compilation of different songs from the genres, a video clip and a performance of a song/ medley from their assigned genre. The genres being stud- ied are: Eurovision, 1970s/Queen, The 1950s, Crooners, The 1960s/ Beatles and Singers/Songwriters. It is set to be a fan- tastic day!

By Hugh Fitzgibbon & Conor Boland

The Oscars were on Sunday 27th February 2013 and it was, as usual, a fantastic event for the international film industry.

The Oscars were hosted by the hilarious comedian Seth Macfarlane who helped us all to not weep with envy at the talented nominees by making absolute fools out of them. He made the event funny but still kept the prestige of the Oscars alive. This year was the 85th Anni- versary of the Academy Awards and for the first time ever it was themed. The theme for this year was Music in Theatre with live per- formances from the cast of Les Misérables, Adele and Shirley Bassey. The Oscars also celebrated 50 years of Bond Films this year. The winners of the main categories this year were:

CATERGORY: WINNER: Best Picture: Argo Actor in a Leading Role: Daniel Day Lewis (Lincoln) Actress in a Leading Role: Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook) Actor in a Supporting Role: Christopher Waltz (Django Unchained) Actress in a Supporting Role: Anne Hathaway (Les Misérables) Director: Ang Lee (Life of Pi) Music (Original Song): Adele (Skyfall) Music (Original Score): Mychael Danna (Life of Pi) Visual Effects: Life of Pi Writing (Original Screenplay): Quentin Tarantino (Django Unchained)

By Hugh Fitzgibbon and Katie Williams The Crescent Express Page 5

The Crescent Shopping Centre and Crescent College Compre- hensive are running a Fashion Show on the 14th of March in the South Court Hotel. It is a charity event in aid of Pieta House and The Holy Family School. A raffle is also being held Crescent Shopping Centre and will go to support Social Placements within the school on the night. and The Show will consist of 30 TY student models, 10 teacher Crescent College Comprehensive models and the 4 school Captains. There will also be profes- present sional models from the Celia Holman-Lee Agency modelling on the night. Charity Fashion Tickets were printed last week and are on sale now every Show Extravaganza break time in the central area and from the school office. In aid of Pieta House and Holy Family Special They cost €10 and all proceeds go to charity. Tickets look like School they will sell out quickly so be sure to buy your ticket before the night as there may not be any left for the door. It’s promised to be a good night for all! Thursday 14th March 2013

By Evelyn Conlon & Sinéad O’Loughlin 7.30 pm

South Court Hotel

Admission:€10

The Crescent Express Page 6

Fielde Gardening Project

Recently Fielde transition year class began working on creating a school garden, under the guidance of Science teacher Emma Lynch. We are hoping to bring the raised beds beside the turkey coop back to life. Our ultimate goal as envisaged by Ms Lynch is to create an environment to attract bees and butterflies. This idea stemmed from a class spent discussing the importance of bees in the world’s eco-system, inspired by a quote from Albert Einstein: “If the bee disappeared off the face of the earth, man would have only four year left to live”. Bees are vital to human existence because they allow plants to grow which feed humans and feed the animals humans eat. Fewer bees mean less pollination, less plants growing and less food for the world. Our plan for the upcoming weeks is to clear the raised beds of the abundant weeds and any other debris. We then plan to turn the soil and lay down a layer of fertile topsoil. Overall, we think this will be a difficult challenge but will pay off in the long run. It will add colour to the area and help the environment. By Nessa McNamara, Rachel Costelloe and Aisling Garry

Review on “The Fault In Our Stars”

Diagnosed with terminal lung cancer loss and love the award winning author bestseller captures today’s world beau- seventeen year old Hazel Grace strug- John Green delves us into the devastat- tifully and is a must read. gles to accept her (what seems) de- ing and fearless reality of illness and By Sarah Kate pressingly bleak future. Retreating her- young death. Unlike other books dis- Walsh self away from the world in a bid to cussing illness “The Fault In Our Stars” leave as few scars behind her as possi- draws its emotion not only from the ble. In an ever increasing depression a cruel sadness of death but also from the glimmer of hope is offered via the en- joys of being alive, young and in love. dearing Augustus Waters from Cancer Cushioned with humour “The Fault In Our Kid Support Group. We watch as the pair Stars” will have you laughing, crying and grow inseparable but can any relation- most importantly thinking, thinking be- ship survive with the ever looming time yond the lives of Gus and Hazel and bomb that is cancer? Dealing with life, about your own. The # 1 New York Times The Crescent Express Page 7

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Barcelona the pre-tournament favourite to win the champions into the Arsenal goals. Shortly afterwards they doubled their league face an uphill battle if they are to progress to the round lead when Muller pounced on a loose ball to finish from close of 16 after a shock 2-0 defeat by AC Milan. A dour first half range. Arsenal looked weak in all areas of the pitch but were ended 0-0 with Barcelona’s star-studded line up that compris- right back in the match as sloppy defending from Bayern al- es of the likes of Messi , Iniesta and Xavi ,just to name a few, lowed Arsenal the score from a corner and although they got failed to get into any rhythm in the game and they paid the more of a grip on the game the tie was put beyond any doubt price as they conceded an unfortunate goal as a deflected as the inform Mandzukic somehow managed to get the ball in ball fell to the feet of Kevin prince-boateng who made no mis- the net even though Lahm’s cross was behind him. The result take in blasting the ball past a helpless Valdes in the Barcelona means that Arsenal are facing yet another season without any goals to give Milan the lead .Milan were looking dangerous on silverware. the counter while Barcelona never looked like scoring and they Other results for the first leg of the round of 32 saw Manches- added to their lead when a flawless passing sequence was ter United draw 1-1 with Real Madrid with Ronaldo scoring finished superbly by Muntari with the superb El Shaarawy as- against his former club while Celtic’s cup run seems to have

sisting him. The two goal victory was no more than Milan de- come to a close as they lost 3-0 to Juventus .Dortmund drew 2 served and now they head into the second leg at Camp Nou -2 with Shakhtar Donetsk, big spending PSG won 2-1 at Valen-

with the knowledge that a draw or even a 1-0 loss win see them cia, Schalke drew 1-1 with Galatasaray and Porto beat Malaga 1- into the next round. 0. The other big match that took place saw an impressive Bayern By Liam Murphy Munich defeat Arsenal 3-1 at the Emirates. Bayern, finalists in two of the last three years in the champions league, dominated the encounter from the off and took an early lead though the talented Toni Kroos when he volleyed a Muller cross powerfully

What’s the Goss with Student Council?

Secretary to the Student Council, Sinead O’Loughlin reports The Homework Club for the first years will return this year.

on the council’s activities: The Homework Club is for first years who are struggling to

The Student Council consists of three students from each keep up with their school work and need some assistance. year, coming together and giving their imput on the running The Student Council are cur- of the school. The Council provides a voice for the student rently doing a review of the body. Code of Behaviour. Recently, the Student Council has asked for the canteen to If anyone has any issues they provide the students with different food such as vegetarian can talk to one of the mem- options, new pasta dishes, and a general veriety of food. For bers of the council, who will anyone who may be celiac or has specific eating require- do their best to sort it out for ments, the canteen will cater for you if you let them know. you. The Crescent Express Page 8

Crescent Junior Rugby team march on to the Semi Final in the Junior Cup

Last Wednesday in front of a packed Old Crescent pitch Crescent Calvin Nash (capt) 13 Billy O Hora 14 Conor Mc Sweeney 15 Glen ran out winners against Glenstall Abbey in the quarter final of Dickinson the Junior Cup. Both sets of supporters created great noise, and Replacements atmosphere with their singing and colourful displays in the hope of inspiring their teams to victory and we were not disappoint- Brian Ryan, Sean Downes, Ed Barry, Luke O Connell, Joe Barry, ed. Andrew Reeves, Killian Murphy, Bailey Falloon Both teams played a great game of rugby and with some stun- Coaches Eddie Barry,Billy O Shea,Declan Edwards ning lines and passages of play including a brilliant break down Manager Diarmuid Mullins the left wing by Anson Thai to score a great try in the corner.

The whole team deserve credit for a great display and credit to Glenstall who fought right up to the final whistle and managed to cross the whitewash close to the end Thanks to all who came and supported the team!!! The Crescent team 1 Anson Thai 2 Jason Barry 3 Sean Scanlon Garry 4 Brian Con- sidine 5 John Blake 6 Conor Slattery 7 Peter Hickey 8 Niall Mul- cahy 9 Jack Lyons 10 Cian Clifford 11 Jordan Young O Connor 12

Choir and Orchestra play their way to the National Final!

Congratulations to the Crescent Choir and Or- chestra on getting through to the final of the Walton's Music for Schools Competition. Best of luck to all in- volved on April 8th when they perform in the Na- tional Concert Hall!

Hugh Fitzgibbon The Crescent Express Page 9

On Thursday morning we got up at 5.00am and the bus titanic ship. It also had expeditions off all the rooms and left at 6.00am. The bus journey was 5 hours long and we the clothes that people would of wore back then. The also stopped in for an hour. We arrived in Belfast highlight of the museum was the cart that we went in, it and we took a tour of the city. We learned about the like a rollercoaster ride. It only lasted about 5minutes. history of the Protestants and Catholics and we saw a After that we had lunch at the museum. Then we went to lot of murals. We got KFC afterwards. Then we went to the W5 museum which was in the odyssey arena. It was the Giants Causeway, it was very educational. From a science expedition and that was fun because you got to there we went to the hotel and got more food, the food mess with a lot of weird experiments. After that we went was horrible in the hotel. We then went shopping in Vic- home which took five hours. toria Square. After that we went bowling and ice skating. By Avril Clarke and Mark Edwards Then we got back to the hotel at 11.30 and we were all tired so we went to sleep. On Friday morning we had to get up at 7:30am and we had to get breakfast at 8:30am. We went back to our rooms and packed our bag, then checked out of the hotel at 9:00am. We went to the titanic experience museum and we got to look around. The museum had eve- rything about the titanic in it. There was a massive replica of the ice berg that hit the

Editors Sarah Kate Walsh Evelyn Conlon

Hugh Fitzgibbon Ian Clein Christopher Kelly

Katie Williams Aisling Garry Sinéad O Loughlin

Owain Quinlan Conor Boland

Journalists: Rachel Costelloe Conor Grehan

Fielde, Transition Year. Liam Murphy Emily Kennedy

Hugh Fitzgibbon Nessa McNamara

Katie Williams Liam Fleming