SANCTA MARIA COLLEGE, BALLYROAN, 16. Volume 8, Issue 2 Dec 2009 Http://www.sanctamariacollege.com Email [email protected] SMC News Denise Burns This newsletter contains reports of many events in debating, sports, careers, etc. It is only a sample of the many events that have been occurring in recent weeks. Students have participated well in a wide range of activities. And now all the December events are upon us! … Music Night on Thursday 10th, Carols services on Monday 14th, Subject Fair for 3rd and 4th Year information on senior cycle subjects on Monday 14th, House exams for 1st, 2nd and 5th Years commencing on Tuesday 15th, Block classes for 3rd and 6th Years commencing on 15th, rehearsals for 4th years and individual interviews for 4th Years re options for 2010/2011 also commencing on 15th.

On Friday 4th December we welcome Rachel Devlin and Natasha Paul (last year’s Leaving Cert class) to a morning tea celebration in school to recognise their recent Scholarship awards from Trinity College and UCD. The awards are based on their excellent Leaving Cert results. 3rd and 4th Year students and parents have received much information about Senior cycle options and significant decision time is looming soon after Christmas.

We are very concerned about the loss of classes through industrial action. We are unfortunately in a winter of discontent with industrial strife, fears about the budget and the economy, unprecedented flood damage to homes, farms and businesses …. Underlying all this strife are claims and suspicions about corruption, injustice, arrogance, incompetence.... In spite of all our anxieties, may peace in our hearts and in our families be a reality for us during the Christmas season. Best wishes to all our families,

Denise Burns, Principal.

SANCTA MARIA STUDENTS WIN U.C.D. AND TRINITY SCHOLARSHIPS

Natasha Paul with her teacher Ms. Williams in UCD. Rachel Devlin with her parents in Trinity College. We are delighted to announce that Natasha Paul and Rachel Devlin can be added to the long list of students of Sancta Maria College who have won scholarships to third level colleges. Natasha Paul was presented with the U.C.D. Entrance Scholars Award in the College of Arts and Celtic Studies in the O‘Reilly Hall on 20th November 2009. Rachel Devlin won Entrance Exhibition to Trinity College on the basis of her excellent results in the Leav- ing Certificate Examinations. Exhibitioners along with their parents and teachers were honoured at a reception in the Dining Hall of Trinity College on Monday evening, the 23rd November. Natasha and Rachel‘s achievements sit proudly beside the seven students recently awarded prestigious places in The National College of Art and Design. No school in Ireland has secured more places for their students in N.C.A.D. than Sancta Maria College over the last twenty years. Behind the GREEN scenes Well, since starting 3rd Year, there‘s nothing I can say has made me feel more like part of the school than being in the Greener School Committee. We‘ve being trying our best to get the school community ready in order to apply for the Green Flag school status. We have appealed to students for any ‗green‘ ideas and some of the few we got are really clever and green. We hope to put them into action soon. We are really grateful for these ideas and we thank all the students who partici- pated. One of the things we‘ve done is to paint the black wheelie bins green. This took quite some time — in fact a number of Fri- days and Mr Brennan, Ms Reilly, Jera, me and Laura. It was fun and in the end we always had a cup of tea. I think that‘s what I always looked forward to. We‘ve done now with the painting. The next step is to ensure the green bins are ‗rolled out‘ and that every class and corridor has a green bin. We urge all students and teachers to participate by putting all your litter in the appropriate bins. Every little bit helps and we need all the help that we can get. I believe if we work as a community, we stand a good chance of achieving our goal which is to recycle as much paper as possible. If you have any questions ask any one of the green school committee members — their respective names are posted up on the Green School notice board in the G.P. room. Mitchell Chisvo 3A2

The Long Corridor The Greener School Committee would like to thank Ms Burns for facilitat- Remember to bring in any old or broken ing the Committee‘s expressed wish to brighten up the long corridor with electrical goods for recycling in the blue new lights. Mr Jim Scally and Paddy are presently installing these lights bin in the old kitchen area beside the large and Ramon will attach the students‘ art work to the walls. These canvasses green bins! List in the G.P. room. painted under the watchful eye of Ms Kelehan‘s Fifth and Fourth Year stu- dents will brighten up our day especially during the winter months ahead!

Sr. Basil, Mr Flynn, Ms. Gaughan, Ms.Reilly and Ms. Leydon pictured at a reunion of all the students who travelled to Kenya over the past number of years. The group made a com- mitment to support plans to make a future trip in aid of the orphans of Kenya.

Parents Association News At the P.A. meeting on Tuesday 3rd November a new committee was formed. Chairperson: Nicole le Blanc. Assistant Chairperson: Tríona Murphy. Secretary: Siobhán Garvey. Assistant Secre- tary: Damien O‘ Donoghue. Treasurer: Alex O‘Neill. Assistant Secretary: Bridget Cahill. The final sum raised in the Bag Packing in October was €2,151.00. Thanks again to everyone who took part.

Clean up of the locality’09 Butterfield Residents‘ Association was out in force last Saturday morning, despite the crisp weather. Master of events was Mr Fintan Walshe who organised the various ‗clean up‘ gangs. He delivered as promised—gloves, claws and bags. There were treats handed out as we finished. Thank you Mitchell, Dean (the brother), Ciara, Laura and Jera for turning up and doing your civic duty. There is one request: Fintan, why not have this wonderful activity in September when it‘s warmer?

Out with the Old and In with the New

Thanks to the Board of Management who replaced the Baby Grand Piano with a spanking new model. The old piano has graced the music room since Sancta Maria first opened and has entertained thousands of students. Long may the new Gershwin piano entertain countless new students. Towards a Cleaner School – The New System There are now recycling bins in all the class rooms and in other prominent locations—please let us all use these bins properly. The students who have volunteered to empty the green wheelie bins and give so generously of their time–— find it disheartening when bananas or sandwiches and so on are put in the wrong bin. This has to stop and I believe will stop if a little thought and consideration is taken before you or anyone else litters. Show you care by not littering and put all recyclables in the green bin [list beside green bin]. The green school members will be paying unannounced visits at lunch time — just before the bell goes for class and in the afternoon to see what the class rooms are like. The criteria should be displayed on your wall/notice board in the classroom. There is one on the Green notice board. Three cards will be used to indicate judgment: red card is not good and will cost a deduction of points from the green officers’ score sheet; yellow is a warning and finally a green is what you want if you wish to score high marks. It is up to your class and all your class mates to work together if you desire to win the prize. This kicks in immediately and runs up to Christmas. I suggest some one take responsibility for those decorations which can make a huge mess!

Thanks to Ms Kelehan and our LCA students of 5th and 6th Year who made our beautiful new Crib. The Crib attempts to capture something of the ordinariness of the birth of Jesus and at the same time point to the great mystery of the connection between the human and the divine that is a key to life for us all. D. Burns

CAMOGIE Congratulations to the Junior team who have reached the Dublin Colleges League semi-final. They defeated Assumption, Walkinstown 3.1 - 2.0 in a very exciting match. Scorers included Catherine McDonald, Lisa Gillen and Katie Murphy. Good Luck in the semi-final against St. MacDaras.

L.C.A. General Education Task (Art Exhibition) On 13th October we the 5th year LCA class organised and hosted The Junior Cert. Art Exhibition. It was a wonderful night and we got loads of compliments from parents, students and teachers. We made everyone feel welcome; we served refreshments and of course cleaned up afterwards. We took photographs and video of the event. The art work was amazing and we thought of all the hard work and time that went into creating it. So a big thank you to all the excellent artists in 4th and 5th year. Finally a huge thank you to Ms. Kelehan, Ms. Flanagan, Ms. Burns and Mr. Mac Gabhann for all their encouragement and support throughout the task. Sarah Layton, Aimee Bannister, Micheala Hogan and Aisling O’ Connor.

BADMINTON U. 19 teams enjoyed continued successes this term. The B and C teams defeated Mount Sackville and Lucan Community College respectively. Well done to all team players –— Ilona Dorrepaal, JoJo Li, Niamh Doyle, Gina Fallon Nealon, Sarah Manning, Shauna Buckingham, Claire Farrell, Ciara McGlynn. Good luck to the U. 14 teams beginning their first matches this month.

A NOTE FOR YOUR DIARY. Sancta Maria Arts Night takes place on Thursday 10th December — a showcase of the musical and artis- tic talent of 5th and 6th years. Everyone welcome. Entry fee at your discretion. All proceeds for charity. Santa Hat Day – Monday 14th December The Parents Association are organising a Santa Hat Day as a fundraiser for the school. All the students will be welcome to wear a Santa Hat and €2.00 will be collected on the day towards the purchase of a digital piano. Your support will be appreciated.

Halloween Orange pumpkins stare out win- Careers and Guidance dows. Black Cats fizzle and explode. The second half of this term is a very busy period in the careers calendar with Purple witches wander. visits to colleges and universities. Thursday 3rd of December is the open day White ghostly faces scare little kids that all our budding Artists look forward to all year, an opportunity to visit as NCAD. On Friday 4th of December all our 6th year students will be visiting Trick or Treaters knock on doors. UCD, a university that always provides a full calendar of activities from Bonfires crackle and burn information stands to faculty talks all designed to assist students in making Flames rise and their decisions for third level study. DIT is another popular choice for our Wheelspins whizz and whirl. students and they will host their open day on Saturday 5th December. Trinity Rockets shoot upwards then College follows closely with their offering on Wednesday 9th December and if Plummet in that wasn‘t packed enough we will hold a study skills session on Friday 11th a shower December in the school for all 6th year students, just in time for the busy study period before and over Christmas.

A quick reminder regarding CAO, all students must apply before 1st February th 2010 and if students apply before January 30 2010 they will be able to avail of colour. of the discounted rate of 35 euro. Information on all of the above is available in the careers office. By Lisa, Imelda, Samantha, Laura and Sarah. 2A English A very Merry Christmas from the careers department.

Congratulations to Olivia O‘Hora 3a2 who took Gold in the U16 National Diving Championships at The National Aquatic Centre last month. Well done Olivia!

Third Year Gael Linn Debates.

Congratulations to Louise Brady 3a2, Catherine Mc Donald 3a1 and Ciara Hackett 3a2 who took part in Díospóireacht An Phiarsaigh with Gael Linn on November 19th 2009. The motion was ― Ba cheart dúinn ár laethanta saoire a chaitheamh in Éirinn‖. Bhí an díospóireacht ar siúl I bPobal- scoil Cnoc Liamhna. The girls were successful and have made it through to the second round of the competition. They are now preparing for the next round and the motion is ― Ba cheart fail réidh le scrudú an Teastas Shóiséaraigh‖. This debate is scheduled to take place in Belvedere College on 3rd Decem- ber at 5.00 pm. Comhgairdeas agus go n-éirí an Louise Brady, Catherine McDonald and Ciara Hackett. t-ádh libh a chailíní.

Student Representative Council The Christmas S.R.C. meeting will be held on Monday 14 December in room 8 at 12.40. All class representatives. Please attend. Sancta Maria FM (SMFM) Transition Year students are broadcasting a radio show from studios in I.T. Tallaght on Friday 11th December from 10a.m. to 1p.m. and the show is repeated that evening from 7p.m. to 10p.m. Sancta Maria FM (SMFM) will broadcast on 99.5 FM. It is also available on the internet.

The comes to Sancta Maria College On Friday 16th October five members of the Oireachtas came to Sancta Maria College. Minister and three Teachtaí Dála and a senator were invited by the third years to address third year students and participate in a question and answer session. As and when they arrived, the minister, senator and TDs were given a conducted tour of the school in order to make plain our need for new and refurbished buildings. They were also shown the building project plans. At 11am they each addressed a few words to the assembled students. The point was made again and again that they were our deputies – since we cannot all fit into the Dáil Chamber they are there in our place, they are there to represent us in all the decisions that are taken. They are not there to serve themselves but to serve the electorate. That is why it is so important to vote and have your say as to whether the deputies you have sent to represent you have done a good job or not. The members of the Oireachtas were very happy to have been invited here. They assured us that they would do their best to advance our building project. They also welcomed the questions that were put and said that they were not aloof but very much there to listen to our concerns. Many third year students have since been in contact with them and some replies have been received. It was good to see this level of real participation in real politics by our students. They can all be proud of this involvement. Despite the economic crisis we can all hope for some progress in regards to the building project. Parents are invited to get on board and email the local TDs about it. Thanks to Mr Atkinson, Mr Paul Dillion from the Education section of Dáil Eireann, Mr MacGabhann and Mr Flood for all their work in helping to organise this visit. Thanks also to Ms Burns for supplying lunch afterwards. Finally thanks to the T.D.s for visiting us. Mr Flood.

Maths Week Challenge Congratulations to Rachel Dunne and Alannah Mc Manigan (2a2) for attaining the highest score in the Maths Puzzle challenge competition!

First Year Retreat On Monday 23rd November all of first years were on retreat. We were split into groups based on our date of birth and each group had their own leader and a girl called Claudia was in charge of everything. The other leaders were Carla, Sue, Eilish and Elma. We played lots of games and we also learned about important things such as growing up and how the media can mislead us. The games were great fun especially one where two people from each group were chosen to go outside with Eilish and the rest of us were given a feeling to persuade the volunteers into believing. The feelings were tiredness, hunger, itchiness and cold. We also did an activity to find out which of us were singers or drummers. After lunch Eilish told us a story about her life. It was very sad. Last but not least we had a drumming workshop! We were transformed from first years to a five instrument samba band. Everyone had a great day!! Election Day On Wednesday 2nd of December my class and I completed our Action Project for our CSPE exam. We held an election in the GP room. The candidates standing for election were, in alphabetical order, Tom Kitt Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Eamon Ryan Green Party, Alan Shatter Fine Gael and Alex White from the Labour Party. All the candidates had visited our school on 16th October and they all spoke to us and answered our questions apart from Tom Kitt because he was in a hurry to the Dáil. Everyone in the class had a job to do such as designing the ballot papers, campaigning for candi- dates, setting up the voting centre, counting the votes and cleaning up afterwards. All posters were removed from our block on the same day as the election and recycled in the green bins. My job was to validate the ballot papers. We decided to make our Dáil Ceantar a three seater. When we counted the votes Alex White was elected on the first count with a 6% surplus. We divided his surplus and Eamon Ryan was elimi- nated. We distributed his ballots and Alan Shatter was eliminated. George Lee and Tom Kitt were elected without reaching the quota. The total valid poll was 75 votes. The election was a good experience and I learned how to vote 1st preference % and what a ballot paper looks like. Alex White 54% Maedhbh McNamara 3a1 Tom Kitt 20% George Lee 16% Alan Shatter 4% Eamon Ryan 4%

Flamenco Sancta Maria Anna and Martha 3a2 and 3a3 entertain their music classmates, in traditional costume, performing a flamenco dance.