On the 16th of May last senior cycle students from Athboy Community School participated in a history trip to Dublin. The pupils enjoyed a very informative walking tour of the 1916 Rising sites and they also visited Collins Barracks to engage with an exhibition from the period 1913-1923 in Irish history. The students also had an enjoyable engagement with Senator David Norris regarding Irish history on Rosie Hackett bridge. The trip was a great success for all involved.
Congratulations to Jahred Akigbesote, Leo Anderson and Esha Hughes who have qualified for the Leinster Schools Athletics Finals at the recent North Leinster competitions in Morton Stadium, Santry. Jahred took first place in the Junior Boys 100 metres. Leo qualified for the final of the Intermediate Boys High Jump. Esha competed in the Intermediate Girls 200 metres where she finished fourth in the heats. She achieved a personal best of 5.08 metres when she took the Gold Medal in the Intermediate Long Jump competition. Best of luck in the Leinster finals!
CSPE students from Second Year Boyle pictured at the newly hung portrait of President Michael D. Higgins with their teacher Mr. Maxwell and TD Damien English.
The Second Year Boyle CSPE class from Athboy Community School visited the Houses of the Oireachtas on the 11th of April last. The students took part in a guided tour of both the Dáil and Seanad chambers and engaged in a question and answer session with local TD Damien English. They also witnessed the introduction of a new portrait of President Michael D. Higgins in Leinster House. The students found the trip to be a most interesting and informative experience.
After many months of planning, rehearsing and set building the Transition Year Class, school friends and staff will showcase their work in the school production of Beauty and the Beast which runs from Wednesday 24th to Saturday 27th January. Tickets on sale in the school office and at door (€8.oo Wednesday, €10 all other performances). Family reductions available at door where children are accompanied by an adult.
This is no ordinary musical! Not to be missed.
Congratulations to the 1st year girls team who are through to the Spikeball All Ireland Finals on Wednesday the 17th January. This is the first year the school has entered the competition and the girls had trained so hard to get this far. Best of luck to the girls in the finals, ye have down your school proud. Athboy Abú!!
Athboy CS vs. St. Peter’s College, Dunboyne – 4/12/17
Our Under 17 girls’ soccer team were out in the league against a strong outfit from St. Peter’s College, Dunboyne on Monday the 4th of December.
The game started at a brisk pace with the opponents settling quick and hitting the back of the net three times in the first half. The half time score of 3-0 did not represent the hard work and determination of the Athboy girls, they were unlucky as they hit the woodwork twice in the first half and were also dealt a tough blow as ace midfielder Leigha Greer was taken off injured.
The second half proved to be a thrilling encounter as the Athboy girls showed great spirit and determination to bring the game back to the minimum of margins with two super goals from Orla Mc Loughlin and Holly Reynolds, the latter been a penalty. The Athboy girls looked to be making a marvellous comeback as Holly Reynolds added two more goals to her tally, finishing the day with a hat-trick. However, it was not to be as St. Peter’s showed their superior physical strength by adding on further goals in the closing stages. At the final whistle, the score was 6-4, in favour of St. Peter’s.
Unfortunately our girls did not win on this occasion but deserve hearty congratulations on a tremendous effort, they worked tirelessly until the final whistle and showed great team spirit and comradery throughout the contest.
Team on the day: Sophia Sherlock Abbie Walker Danielle Browne (C), Kate Smith, Esha Hughes, Rebecca Walker, Leigha Greer, Orla Mc Loughlin, Debbie Mc Mahon, Holly Reynolds, Grace Mc Govern, Hazel Tully, Erin Dolan, Sophie Dolan, Julia Brechelke.
Second and Third year students recently visited the Dublin Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (DSPCA) in Rathfarnham county Dublin. The students were completing their field-trip for their CSPE Action Project, this is a project that all students complete as part of their Junior Certificate.
The DSPCA was established in 1840 and is the oldest and largest animal charity in the Republic of Ireland. The DSPCA is located on a 32 acre site on Mount Venus Road in Rathfarnham, at the foothill of the Dublin Mountains. Here the DSPCA continue to rescue, rehabilitate, and rehome thousands of animals each year.
The DSPCA has expanded their facilities in order to provide lifelong support for pet owners. The centre includes a Veterinary Hospital, Pet Hotel and Dog Training Programmes.
Our students visited the centre in November 2017 and thoroughly enjoyed their day. The DSPCA offers a free education service to any group wishing to learn about the work of the charity. The students learned about the history of the charity, the day to day running of the centre and how to report animal cruelty. They also had a tour of the facility and got to meet some of the animals, including Ziggy the dog!
A group of 37 Second and Third year science students from Athboy Community School travelled to the Euro Space Centre in Transinne, Belgium over the mid-term break. The trip was organised by Science teacher Mr Liam McHugh who was accompanied by teachers Ms Louise Byrne, Ms Colette Kane and Mr Tony Magner.
The trip began on Thursday October 26th with a visit to the famous Atomium in Brussels, a huge reconstruction of an Atom. The students learned that it stands 102 metres tall and its nine 60 foot diameter stainless steel clad spheres are connected, so that the whole forms the shape of a unit cell of an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times.
Afterwards the group went to Adventure Valley in Durbuy near the border of Belgium and Luxembourg for an afternoon on the Acrobranche obstacle course and ziplining course high in the trees overseen by ex-Belgian paratroopers who instructed the students in the safety procedures and techniques involved in ziplining. It wasn’t long before the students and teachers mastered the 30 foot high wires which kept them well occupied up until it was time to unhook and face an evening all-you-could-eat barbeque provided at the centre. The trip continued on to the beautiful renaissance city of Leuven with its famously ornate Town Hall and Market Square and St. Pieter’s Cathedral where they enjoyed an evening and morning walking tour of the sights and colourful markets.
On the Friday the students travelled south to Transinne, to the Euro Space Centre itself, where an experienced team of scientists, physicists and atronomers took them for a variety of workshops and activities over a four hour period. The group were taken to the Planetarium to learn about the orbit of the earth, how to distinguish stars and planets, how solar energy and light reaches the earth and the elliptical plain on which all the planets lie. They were also shown this elliptical line in the sky and how and when to spot the planets as they rise in the night and morning sky. They were also shown all the major constellations in the night sky and the places in the solar system and beyond where life is most likely.
The students also had a 5D cinema experience that simulated the lift off of a lunar shuttle and its re-entry into the atmosphere. This was followed by an interactive lecture on the constellations around us and how the universe was created. Finally it was into the laboratory where students were taught how to make their own rockets using a motor, fuse, fuel, a mixture of paper and wood and its own deceleration parachute. The students learned all about Newton’s first, second, and third laws of motion. The rockets were electronically launched with a dramatic countdown the following morning over the space centre much to the delight of the students.
On the Saturday another 4 hour workshop included various activities. The students were put in a harness that simulated weightlessness and asked to mend a model satellite. The harness worked by replicating the students body weight with huge ballast tanks of water as a counterweight to allow them to essentially float in their harnesses up to the satellite above them to work on the circuit board.
A similar activity involved a 3D simulator of life on the moon. Again a harness calculated the students’ weight and counteracted it with ballast to simulate their weight on the moon with its weaker gravity. A headset displayed a 3D vista of the lunar landscape complete with lunar module and the students had to walk around as the astronauts do.
A couple of spinning chairs recreated the effect of severe G force on the astronauts as they launch and then orbit the earth in zero gravity. The students took great delight at being spun around in all directions in the 360 degree multi-access gyro-chair at high speeds and even more delight at the sight of the poor teachers struggling through the same spin! It was then down to the flight simulator in the main hall where a team of students in their respective groups following a script from NASA had to land their designated flight simulator.
Saturday afternoon and evening was spent in the Dutch city of Maastricht where the students enjoyed an Italian meal and a bit or retail therapy as well as taking in the sights of this picturesque historical town.
On their final day, Sunday, the students departed the Space Centre for the final time and headed back towards Brussels for a day spent in the Walibi Belgium Theme Park and WaterWorld full of thrill rides, rollercoasters and activities before travelling home to Athboy tired but happy after a great adventure.
The students who participated in the tour were as follows: Nathaniel Adesanmi, Sherll Bautista, Shane Bryan, Leah Castles, Mia Connolly, Sinead Daly, Aislinn Duggan, Lucy Fanning, Joshua Falk, Lauren Fay, Adam Fletcher, Mya Frazer-Luc, Cillian Heaney Robyn Heavey, Leo Hughes, Eoin Kane, Claire Kelleghan, Caitlin Kennedy, Jonathan Koceku, Danny Lawlor, Lorcan Lee, Matthew London, Rebekah Mc Carthy, Eva Melligan, Ryan Milnes, Luke Murtagh, Abby O’Neill, Sarah O’Sullivan, Joe Odare, Daniella Richards, Kate Smith, Lionel Swan, Aisling Thompson, Abbie Walsh, Erin Williams, Samuel Williams and Ciaran Winston.
The pupils would like to thank Mr McHugh for organising the trip, Mr Steven Keenan and all at ‘Saffron Travel’ and all the teachers for giving up their time to make the whole trip so memorable. Meanwhile the school are already planning next year’s trip for budding scientists to follow in the footsteps of this year’s crew to infinity and beyond.
