6th Year Future Sparks

6th Year Business and Economics students spent the day at the AIB Future Sparks Festival in the RDS hearing from industry experts and entrepreneurs about their success stories. We got great insight into branding, the fitness and wellbeing industry, the power of social networking, the business of beauty and fashion and the music industry.

Young Social Innovators

Our Transition Years did the school proud today at this year's Young Social Innovators Speak out event in the Royal Marine hotel, Dun Laoghaire. Here they joined over 40 other schools from the Leinster region advocating issues of social importance and speaking about the innovative projects they have been involved in this year- They were: Homelessness, Minding our Mental Health,Animal rights and Let's get fit. Well done all.

Seachtain na Gaeilge

‘Sí Seachtain na Gaeilge í! Ag tnúth go mór le himeachtaí na seachtaine seo agus le Gaeilge a labhairt...ag tosnú le tráth na gceist amárach don 2ú bhliain agus puc fada ag am lóin! “Beatha teanga í a labhairt”

It’s Seachtain na Gaeilge! Looking forward to this week’s events and to speaking as Gaeilge...starting with a quiz tomorrow for second years and a puc fada at lunchtime! “The life of a language is in speaking it”

Art Exhitition

On Wednesday the 14th of March, the 5th Yr LCA students welcomed the school community to the opening of an exhibition of works by students across all years within the school. The LCA students decided that for their task they wanted to showcase the talent of the art students at Colaiste Chiarain. The students handpicked the artworks and curated the exhibition in the library. They used their experience gained from their recent visit to the Hugh Lane Gallery for inspiration. It was difficult for the judges to select prizewinners from such a high standard of work.

The prizes were awarded as follows:

1st Prize: Tara Neville Moynihan
2nd Prize: Karolina Sobocinska
3rd Prize: Mackenzie Pascual
Highly Commended: Eva Sheridan
Highly Commended: Katerina Healy
Highly Commended: Anna Evans

The exhibition will run in the library until next Tuesday 20th March. See below for an online slideshow of the wonderful works by Colaiste Chiarain students.

5th LCA class who organised the Art Exhitition

The prize winners from the Art Exhibition

Mental Health for 6th Years

The 6th Years attended an interactive talk today on the topic of mental health. Robert Carley, a motivational speaker and trainer shared his experience about the value of reaching out to someone who is feeling despondent with the simple phrase ‘You’re lovely, you’re lovable, your loved’. It was a timely talk for the 6th years as they face their final term to be reminded that looking after themselves and each other is paramount. The students were highly complimentary of Robert who encouraged them that if they can ‘dream it, they can do it!’ A survey conducted after the event revealed the hugely positive impact of the experience with 98% of those questioned saying that they would recommend the speaker to other students.

Col-exit!

2nd year students travelled to Holywood, Co. Down (just outside Belfast) to the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum today. Firstly, the students got to explore a recreation of a 19th century town complete with actors demonstrating skills such as baking on an open fire, printing and weaving. 

We then went to the transport museum where we saw vehicles including: old buses, trams, motorbikes and even aeroplanes. The exhibit housing artefacts related to The Titanic were of particular interest. For this scribe, the Belfast-built DeLorean was the star of the show however! 

Senior debating team through to last eight in the country.

St. Mary's Arklow proved tough opposition to our wonderful senior debating team of Saoirse Hyland (captain), Oisin Scanlon, Ellen Coburn and Saoirse Flattery but Colaiste Chiarain were thrilled to come away with the win. The team successfully opposed the motion 'To help achieve the SDGs, the ‘Robin Hood’ tax must be adopted globally'. Although a challenging motion for most of us to get our heads around, the team took to it with a flair and understanding that impressed the adjudicators and audience alike. Incredibly strong performances from each member of the team sees them now through to the top eight teams in the country. We wish them all the very best in the next debate and we would encourage as many students as possible to come and support the team. Details of the fixture will be available in the coming days and we will let you all know.

A way with Words!

Second year English students enjoyed a creative writing workshop in Leixlip library on Monday. The workshop was hosted by Irish author Dave Rudden who has written a series of fantasy novels aimed at teenagers. Dave shared writing tips and advice in his own hilarious and inimitable style! One of Dave's works is to be turned into a movie. Several of the second year lads have thrown their names into the hat for the lead!

Thanks as always to Leixlip Library for their fantastic support.  

U19 Basketball team take the double!

Once again our U19 girls basketball team have brought great honour to the school. Today they completed the double by winning the League to add to the Championship. The entire school assembled to greet them on their return to school with the cup. The manner in which they recorded this famous victory sets an example to all of us and we are extremely proud of this wonderful achievement of winning the double at the highest level of schools basketball. Well done to the girls and the coaching team.

Ski Trip - Feb 8-14 2018

This year 40 students and 4 teachers travelled to Italy. After landing in Bergamo, Milan, we proceeded to the beautiful city of Verona where we visited a 1st Century amphitheatre and enjoyed panoramic views from the Lamberti Tower.

Afterwards we continued to Lavarone and our hotel. The group had 5 days skiing, learning how to fall and then how not to fall and eventually how to navigate our way around all the various slopes. 

The evening activities included a quiz, karaoke, bowling and tubing. 

Unsurprisingly the hotel was full of praise for the students' behaviour and appetite for pasta!

Thanks to everyone for making this such an unforgettable trip. View some of the highlights here:

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St Brigid's Day

We have been endured a long, dark and cold winter but longer, brighter evenings are finally on the way as today - February 1 - marks the first day of spring, and is also known as Lá Fhéile Bhríde, Saint Brigid's Feast Day.

We celebrated St Brigid's Day here in Colaiste Chiarain. Ms.Ryan's 2nd year class were busy at work creating some colourful crosses. Well done to everyone involved and Ms.Ryan for organising the event.

1st Year history trip

History students in 1A2 had a great time at the National Museum this morning. The class was guided around the museum looking at artefacts related to what they've been studying in class this year. The bog bodies proved particularly popular as did getting up close and personal to relics like the Tara Brooch and Ardagh Chalice.