SPRING TIMES 2016 Luttrellstown Community College, celebrating innovation, creativity and success Focal ón bPríomhoide Spring 2016 I am very proud of the amazing the imagination and innovation our achievements of our frst set of students display. Furthermore,extra Leaving Certifcate students and the curricular activities continue to exceptionally high standards they have excel and in particular I would like to set for our up and coming students. acknowledge the great success of Seeing their successful transition to our senior debaters, drama club and third level education has delighted soccer team. I am proud to watch each us all. The expertise of our teaching and every student strive to reach their team has created an environment of full potential in the pursuit of standards high expectation and accomplishment of excellence. for all students. We were delighted Celebrating student success at musics and merits evening to celebrate this during our Music I would sincerely like to thank the and Merits night in December. It was In addition, the LCC German exchange dedication of the Student Council a memorable evening in which our trip was a great success. The and the Parent Council who have school spirit, values and pride was on students travelling made us proud made an enormous contribution all full display. and have beneftted enormously the developments in the school this both academically and socially from academic year. This year both teachers and students this event and we look forward have traveled far and wide. Oide to welcoming and returning the We wish our Junior and Leaving McAlinden and I returned from hospitality shown to German students certifcate students all the best in their our trip to school in China having when they arrive to LCC in March. mocks exams. Enjoy the read... what proudly forged links with international an exhilarating year it has been so far, schools and engaged in a progressive Students continue to shine in all all the events and achievements of our exchange of ideas with our colleagues subjects and teachers are so proud of thriving and busy school have made it there. We are enthused by the their achievements particularly in their a year to remember and we have lots involvement and benefts on display use of technology as an educational more ahead! from our Transition Year students as tool. Our iPad initiative under the we added Chinese to our transition guidance of a great committee year program. This experience has has been a wonderful learning Fionnuala Ní Chaisil led to a deeper appreciation of the opportunity for staf and students. Príomhoide diversity in our changing world. We are constantly impressed by Coláiste Pobail Baile Lotrail LCC’s New Website! Luttrellstown Community College has a new website! The website went live in December 2015 and has been very successful so far. It is extremely user friendly and a great place for parents, teachers, students and visitors to keep up to date with all the latest events and activities taking place inside and outside the school. It is also a wonderful place to showcase all the great achievements of our students. The key information about our school, from the Principal’s welcome to Sports & Extra Curricular activities, can be found under the main tabs at the top of the home page. The most up to date information will appear in the Latest News section on the main page. Here you will fnd important events that are taking place as well as photographs of the latest events. The website can be accessed at: http://www.luttrellstowncc.ie/ China here we come!!!! by Oide McAlinden & Oide Ní Fhloinn On Sunday Oct. 25th the start of the October mid-term break, Oide Ni Fhlionn has forged links with trained by the Confucius Príomhoide and I few to Beijing. We were very excited by the Institute of Ireland, who are based in University College Dublin opportunity to see the place that we have heard so much and undertaken study of Mandarin Chinese language. She about! We were invited to visit China as guests of the Confucius has travelled for two weeks to Shanghai and had an amazing Institute in U.C.D. because we have put ‘An introduction to experience getting a snapshot of the vast country and even Chinese and Mandarin’ on the curriculum for TY. We believe fnding time to visit the Great Wall of China. Oide Ni Fhlionn that exploration of diverse cultures contributes to a well- recalls “I spent the following two weeks attending a course rounded education and the feedback that we are getting from in the ECN University, Shanghai with other teachers based in students confrms our theories. Ireland and the U.K. We attended six hours per day of language classes and had assignments and excursions in the evenings. I have thoroughly enjoyed teaching the Chinese Language and Culture module to Rang Clarke, in association with our visiting Chinese teacher Ren Laoshi who takes the students once per week. I have shared my experiences with them and shown some photographs of places I’ve visited. I now attend a language course for teachers in UCD each week which will increase my knowledge of the language to pass on to students.” As for the students of LCC, they have enjoyed the opportunity to study Chinese. The course included a range of topic areas such as the Chinese economy, Chinese characters and calligraphy, the family, flm studies, music, food and tea; among others. Basic principles of Mandarin Chinese was thought The Forbidden City, Beijing through the use of Pinyin, for example “hello” is 䓟޷ but through Pinyin it would be Nín hăo. Some comments from the Beijing is home to the Forbidden City, the Bird’s Nest Stadium, TY students who took part included “This provided us with a the Great Wall of China, Tian’an Men Square, the Temple diferent ways of approaching a language course. We got to of Heaven among others. Our hosts had drawn up a great learn about Chinese culture in a very interactive way, we were itinerary and we were kept busy throughout the week. Our taught to use chopsticks, we were taught how to play shuttle group consisted of the Principals and Deputy Principals of kicking which is a traditional Chinese sport” Cian Airoldi. fve other schools as well as LCC. We got a chance to visit “Overall, I found this module thoroughly enjoyable and would four schools and were fascinated by the wonderful facilities love the opportunity to put my new knowledge into use. TYs that the schools had to ofer, and had long conversations with have been getting a taste of what the Chinese culture feels like the school Principals in which we identifed the diferences and now can speak it a little.” Ani Iacob. “My favourite part of and similarities between their schools and ours. We enjoyed the module was playing Jianzi which is a game where you try to the Chinese tradition of exchanging gifts, and the informal keep up a shuttlecock. I really enjoyed the Chinese module and protocols around that custom. We learnt that gifts should be wish I could do it again this semester! I learned so much about inexpensive and should have some practical use. China and its culture and I would love to visit China and put all I’ve learned into practice!” Alex Hernon. The TYs also went on a trip into A History of China exhibit that included information on the terracotta warriors and got to see some very interesting documentaries. One memorable activity was a screening of Kung Fu Panda the movie in Chinese with subtitles, it was a great laugh and one to always remember. The staf have enjoyed the module as much as the students; it has been a great learning experience all round! Impressive views of traditional architecture The mix of the some of the most modern skyscrapers in the world and the much cherished customs and traditions from the past fascinated us, and we learnt a lot about China on our visit. Our TY students are learning the same lessons in their classes and will beneft as they learn how various cultures manage their worlds from diferent perspectives. Chinese warrior statue TY calligraphy class Senior Debates by Steven Harris Luttrellstown Community College is in progressed and opposition has increased its second year as a debating school, our in difculty. Next, was a match up with team has fourished over the previous Deans Rath CC who have made it to the year from our bumpy start to where we Irish fnals. We came away with a point are now. This year our team is comprised gained in rankings which as a team is a of Phillip Simango team captain, Ann huge victory. In January we beat Salesian Adekunle, Akhil Voorakkara and Steven College proposing the motion of ‘The Harris. We as a team are competing SDGs are doomed from the start’ and in the Concern Worldwide Debates qualifed for the knockout stages of the Programme which began in 1984 and In qualifcation rounds we frst went competition. Debating has helped us since then over 40,000 people have head to head with Lucan Christian with our English skills, with regards to the wrestled with issues ranging from Ethical Brotherhood, opposing the motion ‘The Leaving Cert, greatly. On behalf of the Consumption and Climate Change, to EU can well aford to open its borders to team, I would like to thank Oide Ryan for Terrorism, extreme poverty and the refugees’. In that frst debate we came pushing us to reach our full potential in scourge of HIV and AIDS which was our away with a skillful outright win.