Well done to Megan Burke, a fourth yearmusic student of Ms. Sheridan and Ms. Kieltywho won the County final of ‘Our School’sGot Talent’ Competition which was held inthe Hyde Centre Roscommon in December.Megan beat off very stiff competition in fiveearlier heats from competitors in Boyle,Castlerea, Strokestown and Roscommontown. Her winning song was ‘Love Song’ bySara Bareilles, while her earlier renditions of‘Soul Sister’ by Train captivated audiencesand judges alike. Megan scored an impressive70 out of 72 points from the judges and wasawarded a cheque for €1000 as well as a fur-ther €1000 for the school. We wish Meganthe very best of luck as she goes forward torepresent the school at the Regional Final of‘Our School’s Got Talent’ in the TF RoyalTheatre in Castlebar on 16th March.

The contest has brought great zest and life tothe student body and great performances

have to be commended by earlier competi-tors like Seamus Beirne, Leanne Foley,Thomas Carmody, Patricia Vianna, CelineMcDonald, Bebhin O’Hara, Jennifer Kelly,Pooja Puri, Riona Quinlan and ‘AffordableAffairs’ who did our school so proud in theearlier stages of the competition. ‘AffordableAffairs’ comprising of Keith Plunkett vocal-ist, Peter Foley lead guitarist, Conor Hoffbass guitar and John Murren on drums goforward to the next qualifying heat inFebruary. They are an exceptionally talentedgroup of musicians and have a very brightfuture indeed ahead of them. We wish thelads every success in the new year and, hope-fully, with a bit of luck on their side, adeserved place in the final. ‘Our School’s GotTalent’ is a fundraising competition for theSpecial Olympics and is coordinated by Mrs.O’ Brien at school level and Breda McNabbat Regional level.

OUR SCHOOL’S GOT TALENT

ST. NATHY’S NEWSLETTERSt. Nathy’s College, Ballaghaderreen January 2011 - Volume 8, Number 1

Megan Burke, Co. Roscommon Winner of “OurSchool’s Got Talent” Competition.

St. Nathy’s started the Juvenile season play-ing in the O’Haire Cup, which comprised ofeight teams including St. Nathy’s. Their firstgame was against St. Tiernan’s ofCrossmolina, played in Foxford. St. Nathy’s

had a comfortable win with a score line ofSt. Nathy’s 6:12 to St. Tiernan’s 1:6. St.Nathy’s went on to play St. Louis ofKiltimagh in the semi-final of the O’HaireCup in Charlestown. This game was a very

tough encounter as St. Nathy’s were 2:1down after ten minutes of play. Then St.Nathy’s got a grip of the game at midfieldand the forward-line got into top gear andsome great scores came their way. The back-line also took control of the task in handand held St. Louis’ forward-line, only allow-ing them to score three points in the secondhalf. The team, all round, showed fight,determination and character to equalise andtake the lead before half time. St. Nathy’sran out very comfortable winners at the endwith a score line of St. Nathy’s 4:10 to St.Louis 2:4.

In the final of the O’Haire Cup, St. Nathy’splayed Davitt College of Castlebar. Thisgame was played in Foxford. The twoteams worked very hard to recapture pastfootball glory. A draw looked likely at onestage but a late flourish from St. Nathy’stook the title back to Ballaghaderreen. St.Nathy’s won on a score line of St. Nathy’s2:8 to Davitt College 2:6. St. Nathy’s werewell served by Thomas Greene, RyanLynch, Macauley Fumagalli, SeamusCunniffe, Gordon Nolan, Lee Keenan,Keith O’Donnell, Jack Morgan and SeanMcHugh.

Well done to all the team and to coach Mr.Regan.

O’HAIRE CUP WINNERS

O’Haire Cup Winning Team

Front Row: Shane Mulligan, Derek Rogers, Kyle Lowry, Seamus Cunniffe, Sean McHugh, David Caldwell, Liam Mahon, Jason Duffy, Paul McCann, Keith O’Donnell

and football Coach Seamus Regan. Middle Row: Sean Higgins, Darragh Dunne, Thomas Greene, Bernard Morahan,

Macauley Fumagalli, Thomas Coleman, Conor Henry, Shairoze Akram and Shane Hardiman. Back Row: Andrew Morris, Christopher Cogan, Jack Morgan, Gordon Nolan, James Roddy,

Ryan Lynch and Owais Zulfiqar.

Page 2 January 2011ST. NATHY’S NEWSLETTER

When the history of 2010 comes to be writ-ten, the year will go down as having been oneof the most turbulent in recent times.Everything seemed to have gone wrong forthe country and its people. There was thefinancial crisis, the eventual IMF andEuropean bailouts. There was also the crisisin leadership in most areas of Irish life.Finally, as if 2010 was determined never to beforgotten, the year ended with some of thecoldest temperatures on record followingprolonged and heavy snow falls. The associat-ed disruption to transport, industry andschools was to be followed by a deprivationof the most basic essential for life – water.Frozen and burst pipes seemed to take forev-er to repair.

It forced us all to stand still and realise justhow vulnerable we are to the forces whichdaily play out around us – forces which usu-ally go unnoticed until they begin to workagainst us. Then we are reduced to trying tocope in ways our parents, grandparents andolder generations did decades and centuriesearlier.

Perhaps it was the best of years for St.Nathy’s College to celebrate its Bicentenary.Our troubled year of 2010 gave us an idea ofwhat those who went before us also had tostruggle with. Apart from the “Big Blizzard”of 1947 and the night of the “Big Wind” in1839, our staff, students and their parents

survived famines, wars and pandemics – tomention just a few of the numerous calami-ties over the past two centuries.

But 2010 also proved to have been a verygrace-filled year for the College as it lookedback over the first two hundred years of itshistory and prepared to set out into its thirdcentury. Key moments were the visit of thehead of State, Mary McAleese and of thehead of Church, Cardinal Sean Brady. Bothvisits added very significantly to the celebra-tions. Another highlight, of course, was thereturn of hundreds of past pupils from allover the world to revisit their alma mater.

Congratulations, well done and a big ThankYou to all who were involved in celebratingour 200 years. We now look forward to thespring of 2011 when the official history ofthe College will be published and launched.

2010 also saw the reintroduction of theTransition Year. It has been a tremendoussuccess. Congratulations and well done to theTY Coordinator, Mrs. O’Brien, for all thehard work put in and also to the equally dili-gent team of TY teachers. The fruits of thefirst term can be seen in the first edition ofthe TY Times which is included in thisNewsletter edition.

Fr. Martin ConveyPresident

January 2011

WELCOME

N.U.I. Galway’s School of Business &Economics, in conjunction with the BusinessStudies Association of Ireland (BSTAI),recently honoured students in the westernregion who received an ‘A’ in the HigherLevel Business Studies paper in the Junior

Cert. of 2010. Congratulations to DavidCaldwell who achieved this grade in hisJunior Cert. examination in the subject.David is following the Transition Year pro-gramme this year. Well done also to David’steacher, Mr. Foy.

NUI GALWAY ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

This is the fourth year students from St. Nathy’s College haveentered the National Mathematics Competition run by N.U.I.Galway. It was run on October 14th in secondary schoolsthroughout the country. 27 students entered the SeniorCompetition which was for Fourth Year, T.Y. and Leaving Cert.students. A further 37 students entered the Junior Competition,which was for students in First to Third Year. The competitionwas of 1 hour duration and asked 20 challenging multiple choicequestions. No calculators, rulers etc. were allowed.Congratulations to Celine McDonald, Colin Dowd, DanielMoriarty, Seamus Cuniffe, Darragh Dunne and Andrew Morriswho did very well in the Junior Category and to Donnacha Egan,Julianna Higgins, David Caldwell, Thomas Carmody, JenniferDunne and JoshGallagher whoset high stan-dards in theSenior Category

MATHS PRISM CHALLENGE

On a warm bright day in May2010 one of the oldest pastpupils came back to visit St.Nathy’s College. Sean Gilmartinwho is all of 92 years came backto say “hello” and relive fondmemories. Sean is a native ofRinbane, Ballinacarrow in Co.Sligo and now lives in Limerick.He attended St. Nathy’s in the1930s, a relatively stable periodbetween the two World Wars.While a student, the Collegeconsisted of just the front build-ing built in 1916 and the originalBritish Garrison behind it. Theside of the present three storeyCollege (facing the Charlestownroad) had not been built until1942 when Sean had left.

It was a very emotional visitfor him as many years hadpassed since he left the Collegefor the last time as a student.He is now almost half as old asthe school itself – a marvel-lous achievement in itself. Seanwas accompanied by his twonephews, Brian and PadraigMulligan fromBallaghaderreen who bothattended the College and nowhave sons also attending.

VISIT OF ONE THEOLDEST PAST

PUPILS

Past Pupil Sean Gilmartin (aged 92) revisited the College on May 4th2010. He is pictured with his two nephews: Padraig and Brian Mulligan

and College President, Fr. Convey.

January 2011 Page 3ST. NATHY’S NEWSLETTER

The following is an extract from the Homilyof Cardinal Seán Brady, Archbishop ofArmagh and Primate of All Ireland, deliveredon September 12th 2010 during the Mass ofThanksgiving for the Bicentenary of St.Nathy's College.

The oak tree is a symbol of life and innerstrength, a strength that is achieved throughpatient endurance. The oak is the fruit of a tinyacorn which becomes one of the strongest treesof all.

No doubt this is what the founders of St.Nathy’s had in mind when they chose theschool motto "Robur Nathaei" ("The Strengthof Nathy"). When we think of strength we areinclined to think of physical strength, of theability to prevail over others. Well, even on thesports field, you quickly learn that physicalstrength alone, without character, convictionand direction is not very effective. It is onething to be strong. It is another to be skilful,motivated and persevering. That is why educa-tion can never be about the formation of thebody or the mind alone.

A truly human education, a truly Catholic edu-cation is about the formation of the whole per-son – of mind, body, spirit and soul. It is aboutproviding a rich soil in which the human personcan grow in:• strength of character,• strength of conviction,• strength of purpose, and• strength of faith, hope and loving

concern for others.

These are the values that have animated life andlearning at St. Nathy’s College since its begin-ning. This has been the ‘ethos’ which hasoffered direction and purpose to so many. Somany young hearts and minds have grown tomaturity in the classrooms, the sports fields, theplayground and the chapel of this venerableand venerated College for two hundred years.What a remarkable achievement by any stan-dard.

The goal of all education is to help pupils grow.They are to grow to their full human and spiri-tual stature. For that to happen they have toaspire to high ideals. The teachers in St. Nathy’swere outstanding in encouraging their studentsto reach for the stars. Of course, encourage-ment is vital at that stage of life.

To aspire to high ideals one has to be oneselfinspired. You have to have spirit. You have tobe soaked in the riches of your own culture andtradition and religion. This takes us back, oncemore, to the strength of Nathy – to the strengthof the Spirit of wisdom and courage, of knowl-edge and understanding. I am convinced that awell-rounded education, built on high ideals andinspired by excellence, is one of the hallmarksof the College we honour here today.

You could say then that St. Nathy’s can be com-pared to a great two-hundred year-old oak, sur-rounded today by its many acorns, acorns who

have accomplished many great things throughinner strength and patient effort. Each of youwill have your own particular memories, yourown particular journey of growth in strengthand maturity to recall. I hope today will be a dayof remembering old friendships and renewingyouthful dreams. I hope it will be a day for giv-ing thanks for the part played by this great oakin giving nurture, direction and strength to yourpursuit of those dreams.

It is clear that in St. Nathy’s great value hasalways been placed on the service of others,especially those in need with monies beingraised for charitable causes. But this is no newdevelopment. On the morning of 31 January1972, the day after Bloody Sunday, money wasgiven in abundance by staff and students tosupport the families of those who lost theirlives.

Of course, some past pupils gave more thantheir money. Many have given their lives to theservice of the citizens of this country. Theyreached the top in education, business, the pro-fessions, the media, the Civil Service and thesecurity services. Some gave in other ways.

On an occasion like this the story of past pupilJack O’Brien of Donamon deserves to be told.In 1950 he found himself, a Columban Priest,stationed on the border between war-tornNorth and South Korea. At one stage he andhis colleagues, Patrick Brennan and ThomasCusack, were offered safe passage to the south.They took the unanimous decision not toaccept the offer. They stayed at their posts withtheir terrified parishioners. Eventually, theywere arrested and taken north with Americanprisoners of war. On 24 September, before thearmy of occupation retreated, they massacredthe prisoners. In their homeland, thousands ofmiles away, there was no information, no tradi-tional Irish funeral, no grave to grieve by, nogoodbyes, just a great silence.

These are only glimpses of the great legacy ofgenerosity, courage and strength of characterand virtue which echo down the corridors ofthis great school. If these walls could speak theywould regale us withwords of enthusiasmand encouragement. Ihave no doubt theywould speak to us offacing the challenges ofour time – in theChurch, in our econo-my, in our personal lives- with similar strength,born out of patientendurance and a deeptrust in God.

Great oaks from littleacorns grow. From for-mation in virtue in thehome and the school,mercy, forgiveness andunderstanding grow.

How refreshing to find people who acknowl-edge that this was, in fact, the case. I am think-ing of the 2009 Leaving Cert pupil, who couldonly hope that those who came after her wouldhave as many great experiences as she had – ina place where every student is shown how tocare, not only for themselves, but for others.

The life-giving encounter with Jesus Christ isnot only inspired – it is also inspiring. Itinspires people to speak and do as Jesus did –the same Jesus who welcomed sinners and atewith them - the Jesus who broke down the wallsof division, the Jesus who came to set us freefrom oppression.

I venture to suggest that today St. Nathy offersthree gifts of strengths to the College dedicatedto his memory:• Strength of conviction to the parents,• Strength of purpose to the teachers and• Strength of character to the pupils.

A Strength of conviction that builds not justhouses but homes for families. Homes fur-nished with curtains and carpets certainly, ifpossible, but, above all, with faith and prayer aswell. A Strength of purpose to the teachers thatinspires them to be witnesses as well as teachersto all that is good and true and beautiful.

A Strength of character that makes the St.Nathy student faithful - faithful to commit-ments undertaken, faithful to themselves andtheir Creator and to others, especially theirspouses and children.

Archbishop Joe Cassidy once said “I was gen-uinely lonely the day I left the College”. Mayevery student genuinely feel lonely the day theyleave St. Nathy’s but may they soon realise thatthey need not feel lonely for long because St.Nathy’s will have prepared them well for all thatlies ahead.

Robur Nathaei abu!

(The full text of this homily can be found onthe school’s website – www.stnathys.com)

MESSAGE FROM CARDINAL BRADY

Leaving Cert. student Christopher Mitchell makes a presentation toCardinal Sean Brady on Bicentenary Sunday – September 12th 2010.

Page 4 January 2011ST. NATHY’S NEWSLETTER

It may not be too easy to forget the winter of2010. We thought that the previous winterwas bad but it was a mere curtain raiser forwhat was to come the following year. Duringthe month of December 2010 the school’sgrounds recorded an air temperature of -22.3degrees Celsius. This reading had the windchill factored in. We hope that such tempera-tures will not be repeated for a long timeagain.

Parents were kept in touch throughout bymeans of the school’s text facility. Any par-

ents who are not onthis system are askedto supply the schooloffice with an up todate mobile numberas soon as possible.

WINTER 2010

The outstanding results of many of ourLeaving Cert Class of 2010 were acknowl-edged by many third level Colleges nowattended by our former students. During thefirst term of 2010, Trinity College in Dublingranted Entrance Exhibition Awards toDavid Dunne and Ziggy McKenzie. Theseawards are made to new undergraduate stu-dents who gain 560 or more points in theirLeaving Certificate examinations.

Sinead Cafferky, on the basis of her LeavingCert. results, was also awarded a scholarshipfrom UCD’s school of Engineering,Mathematical and Physical Sciences. KseniaChizihova was granted an All-IrelandScholarship Award sponsored by J.P.

McManus. Thiswas also awardedon the basis of hero u t s t a n d i n gresults in herLeaving Cert.Ksenia is now alsoa student ofDublin’s TrinityCollege.

Well done to theseand to all of ourpast pupils and abig Thank You totheir parents andformer teachers.

AWARDS FOR L.C. 2010 STUDENTS

Leaving Cert. 2010 student, Ksenia Chizhikova being congratulated by JP McManus (Award Sponsor)and by Peter Power T.D., (Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs) – University of

Limerick, November 6th 2010.

The Cathedral spire as seen from the grounds of St. Nathy’s College during the winter of 2010.

€111 was raised for the Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation. Thisrepresents the proceeds of a Coffee Morning held in the school dur-

ing the first term. Thank you to the organisers and to all who con-tributed.

MAYO ROSCOMMON HOSPICE COFFEE MORNING

Congratulations to Patricia Coleman (Leaving Cert.) who won firstprize in the Recent Credit Union Poster Competition in the 18 years

and over section. Congratulations also to her sister Maeve who wonfirst prize in the same competition in the 14 – 17 years category.

ART COMPETITION WINNERS

Award presented toLeaving Cert. 2010 stu-dent Sinead Cafferky by

University College Dublinfor results achieved in her

Leaving Cert.

The First Year Boys’ Gaelic footballteam did not have to wait long beforethey got their introduction to collegefootball. The Mayo Colleges First Yearcompetition began in September whenSt. Nathy’s played Ballyhaunis C. S. onhome ground. As it was their first timeto take the field they were a little nerv-ous and they did not make it easy forBallyhaunis who were a stronger teamon the day. On that day, St. Nathy’s weredefeated on a score line of St. Nathy’s1:7 to Ballyhaunis C.S. 3:10.A month later, St. Nathy’s travelled toKiltimagh where they took on St. LouisC.S. of Kiltimagh. Both sides produceda highly entertaining and competitivematch in the first half. In the secondhalf, St. Nathy’s took over and showed agreat display of football skills and alsocame out with a comfortable win with ascore line of St. Nathy’s 6:8 to St. Louis2:5. The boys are looking forward to theremaining games left in the League andthe forthcoming Championship in theNew Year.Panel: Dylan Feeney, Darragh Kelly,Reiss Butcher, Peter Cunniffe, EoinCallaghan, James Lafferty, Reiss Keenan,Matthew Duffy, Alan Beirne, KeelanSharkey, Barry Reynolds, Aaron Woods,Connor Coleman, Stephen Madden,Anthony Keane, Aaron Feeney, KevinO’Dowd, James Walshe, Enda Beirne,David Forkan, Stephen McGowan, RoryShryane and Oisin McDonnell.

FIRST YEAR FOOTBALL

Some copies of the DVDdocumentary on the Historyof the College are still avail-able from the College Officeand also online on the Collegewebsite – www.stnathys.com.The Book of Memories andReflections of Past Pupils isalso available from the schooloffice and online. Both bookand DVD are priced at €15.They can be purchased andforwarded by post for a totalprice €20 per Book and DVD.

January 2011 Page 5ST. NATHY’S NEWSLETTER

BOOK AND DVD SALES

The Second Yearsstarted the season offwith a defeat to a very

strong Rice College, Westport played on home ground. It was a disap-pointing result but there were some good displays shown from St.Nathy’s players which included Liam Creaton, Darragh Dunne, NiallMorris, and Shairoze Akram. St. Nathy’s were well beaten in early sea-son with a score line of St. Nathy’s 2:6 to Rice College 5:4.The next outing was against St. Attracta’s Community School,Tubbercurry and was played in Tubbercurry. On this occasion St.Nathy’s got off to a great start with good scores coming from NiallMorris, Emmett O’Brien, Owais Zulfiqar and Darragh Dunne. St.Nathy’s defence was ably assisted by Connor O’Donnell, DarrenHardiman, Shairoze Akram, Patrick Loftus, Paul Dwyer, MichaelGreevy, and Mark Gallagher.

St. Nathy’s got their first win in the Connacht League on a score line ofSt. Nathy’s 3:15 to St. Attracta’s 1:3. St. Nathy’s next outing was againstSt. Tiernan’s of Crossmolina played in Crossmolina. St. Nathy’s had avery comprehensive win on a score line of St. Nathy’s 3:12 to St.Tiernan’s 0:3.

The fourth and final League game was played at home againstBallyhaunis C.S. which St. Nathy’s came out of as outright winners witha score line of St. Nathy’s 4:19 to Ballyhaunis C.S. 3:6.Panel: Mark Gallagher, Conor Sampey, Liam Creaton, Darragh Dunne,Darren Hardiman, Michael Greevy, Niall Morris, Conor O’Donnell,Dan Egan, Cian McCann, Stephen Frain, Emmett O’Brien, MatthewTowey, Calvin Curley, Niall Raftery, James Duffy, Harry Watkinson,Brian Drury, Patrick Loftus, Thomas Coleman, Shairoze Akram, DonalDowd, Paul Dwyer, Owais Zulfiqar, and Stephen Towey.

DVD Documentary on College History and Book of Reflectionsand Memories of past Pupils available from the school office or

online from the College website.

The seniors started the season with agame in the Flanagan Cup againstCrossmolina in Foxford. Both teamstook time to adjust to the conditionsbut St. Nathy’s emerged the winners inthe end. This victory led to a matchagainst Kiltimagh in Aghamore wherethe conditions were good for play. TheSt. Louis team started well and St.Nathy’s were found wanting on thisoccasion.The League campaign brought somegood performances against St. Louis,again, and against Strokestown.However, League points were hard to

come by. The preparation for theChampionship went well with a chal-lenge against St. Attracta's ofTubbercurry and everyone fit for amatch against local rivals Ballyhaunis inLoughglynn. The game, played at a fastpace throughout, was even at half-time.Early second-half misses from St.Nathy’s proved very costly in the end.Ballyhaunis, a physically stronger side,took their opportunities well and fin-ished out the game. St. Nathy’s hadsome fine individual displays through-out the field of play from FinbarrCregg, Colm Lavin and James Flaherty.

St. Nathy’s would like to thank Eire Ógfor making the pitch and the fine facil-ities available to them for theChampionship match.The Senior Panel 2010/ 2011:F. Cregg (Capt.), C. Lavin, A. Foley, D.Egan, S. Clarke, S Hardiman, C. Rushe,C. Griffin, O. Jordan, B. Creighton, R.McDermott, D. Clarke, B. Casserly, D.Davey M. Doherty, R. Finn, C.Casserley, S. Duffy, D. Crean, K.Murren, D. O’Brien, J. Flatherty, C.Casserly, S. Dwyer, S. Moriarty, D.Caldwell, J. Gallagher, A. Lynch and A.Carney.

SENIOR FOOTBALL

SECOND YEAR FOOTBALL

Darren O’ Brien (Class 6C) and Aaron Lynch (Transition Year) were recently pre-sented with awards in recognition of their achievements playing at County level forthe Mayo U16 team in the Ted Webb Cup. Both players were selected earlier thisyear by Mayo GAA officials and selectors. They trained in Kiltimagh and in McHalePark, Castlebar. They played inter county football games against Cavan, Longford,Offaly, Roscommon and Galway.

MAYO GAA RECOGNITION AWARDS

Page 6 January 2011ST. NATHY’S NEWSLETTER

St. Nathy’s started the Juvenile season play-ing in the O’Haire Cup, which comprisedof eight teams including St. Nathy’s. Theirfirst game was against St. Tiernan’s ofCrossmolina, played in Foxford. St. Nathy’shad a comfortable win with a score line ofSt. Nathy’s 6:12 to St. Tiernan’s 1:6. St.Nathy’s went on to play St. Louis ofKiltimagh in the semi-final of the O’HaireCup in Charlestown. This game was a very

t o u g hencounter as St.Nathy’s were2:1 down afterten minutes ofplay. Then St.Nathy’s got agrip of thegame at mid-field and theforward-line gotinto top gearand some greatscores cametheir way. Theback-line also

took control of the task in hand and heldSt. Louis’ forward-line, only allowing themto score three points in the second half.The team, all round, showed fight, determi-nation and character to equalise and takethe lead before half time. St. Nathy’s ranout very comfortable winners at the endwith a score line of St. Nathy’s 4:10 to St.Louis 2:4.In the final of the O’Haire Cup, St. Nathy’splayed Davitt College of Castlebar. Thisgame was played in Foxford. The twoteams worked very hard to recapture pastfootball glory. A draw looked likely at onestage but a late flourish from St. Nathy’stook the title back to Ballaghaderreen. St.Nathy’s won on a score line of St. Nathy’s2:8 to Davitt College 2:6. St. Nathy’s werewell served by Thomas Greene, RyanLynch, Macauley Fumagalli, SeamusCunniffe, Gordon Nolan, Lee Keenan,Keith O’Donnell, Jack Morgan and SeanMcHugh.

St. Nathy’s have also played three games inthe Connacht League and had two good

wins over St. Louis of Kiltimagh with ascore line of St. Nathy’s 4:18 to St. Louis1:3 and also over Ballyhaunis C.S. with ascore line of St. Nathy’s 4:14 to BallyhaunisC.S. 3:6.

St. Nathy’s only defeat was against RiceCollege, Westport, with a score line of St.Nathy’s 2:9 to Rice College 2:12. St.Nathy’s now have qualified for the LeagueQuarter-Finals, which will be played in theNew Year.

Panel: Jack Morgan, Derek Rogers, JasonDuffy, Conor Henry, Chris Cogan, ThomasGreene, Colin Dowd, Seamus Cunniffe,Sean Higgins, Andrew Morris, Lee Keenan,Shane Mulligan, Ryan Lynch, GordonNolan, Sean McHugh, Keith O’Donnell,Cian Hanley, Macauley Fumagalli, LiamMahon, Kyle Lowry, James Roddy, BernardMorahan, Conor Casserley, Sean Carroll,Darragh Dunne, Shairoze Akram, DavidCaldwell, Owais Zulfiqar, Ross Melvin,Jason Duffy, Sean Smith, Robert Kerrane,Emmett O’Brien and Cathal Curley.

JUVENILE FOOTBALL

Cathal Curley (Captaen na foirne), AislingPhilips and Stephen Keegan (students fromMrs. O’Brien’s and Mrs. Burke’s fourth yearhigher level Irish classes) won the firstround of this year’s Senior Irish debatingcompetitions in the Comórtas an Phiarsaigh

Gael Linn Debating Competitions held inTuam. The team debated the proposed visitby the Queen of England to Ireland. In thiscompetition St. Nathy’s were drawn todebate against the motion. They competedagainst Mercy College Sligo, Mercy College

Tuam, and Coláiste Mhuire Ballymote. Theteam was highly commended for theirpreparation, research, opinions, team workand refutation. They go forward to repre-sent the school in January in round two. Gon-éirí leo.

GAEL LINN DÍOSPÓIREACHT GAEILGE

Well done to the senior students who have helped get theschool’s Homework Club up and running in the mornings.First Year students who need help with homework or withreading and writing can avail of help from a teacher and sen-ior students. TheHomework Clubruns from8:30am – 9:00am.Any First Yearstudents who arein school at thattime and whowould like to getinvolved areasked to contactthe school office.Volunteers fromsenior studentsto help out arealso welcome.

HOMEWORK CLUBThe school’s Student Council has been busy this year. One of theirpriorities is to promote more recycling within the school.Although the school has a good level of litter awareness, there ismore that can be done to promote recycling. With this in mind,special green bins will be introduced which will collect recyclablewaste only – paper, cans, plastic bottles, paper cups etc., etc. Thesewill then be recycled. Prior to this, not all such material was recy-cled. It is hoped that this initiative will be supported by all in theschool community. A cleaner and greener world for all is the ulti-mate goal.

STUDENT COUNCIL

Having Difficulty with Homework? Join the Homework Club.

The School’s StudentCouncil meets regularly

Recycling Awareness – Goal for 2011

The much sought afterO’Haire Cup.

January 2011 Page 7ST. NATHY’S NEWSLETTER

CCuupp SSuucccceessssThe Under 16 and Under 19 Boys’ teams have both successfullyqualified for the All Ireland Cup semi-finals. The Under 16s over-came St. Columb’s, Derry in the first round of the cup, 46-36. In thesecond round, they met Colaiste Cholmcille, Ballyshannon and,after a tight game, came out on top 43-37. At the quarter finalstages, the Under 16s travelled to St. Mary’s, Castleblaney. Thismatch turned out to be a thrilling encounter with the lead changinghands on several occasions. With a lapse of concentration, St.Nathy’s found themselves 10 points down with only 8 minutes lefton the clock. However, with tremendous fight and determination,the boys in green regained the lead, winning by just 3 points, 44-41.They now progress to the All-Ireland Semi-Final where they meetSt. Muredach’s, Ballina in the New Year.Team: Barry Caldwell, Paul Tansey, Gordan Nolan, Ryan Lynch,Cathal Curley, Darragh Dunne, Cian Hanley, Thomas Greene,Seamus Cunniffe, Shane Mulligan, Keith O’Donnell, MantasLiubomirskas, Davis Megris and Conor Casserley.

The Under 19 Boys met Colaiste Cholm, Tullamore at home in theirfirst round of the Cup and came out on top. In the second round,

St. Nathy’s made the long journey to Greystones in Wicklow andplayed East Glendalough. After an exciting game, the St. Nathy’slads edged ahead in the final quarter and beat the towering Wicklowteam 52-47. St. Nathy’s had a home game in the quarter final againstColaiste Iognaid, Galway. After a close first half, against a muchphysically bigger Galway team, St. Nathy’s battled hard and cameout comfortable winners, 65-45. They now face Colaiste Eoin,Dublin in the Semi- Final stages. An exciting New Year is in storefor both the under 16 and under 19 boys.Team: Garbhan Madigan, Aaron Lynch, Martin Mulligan,Donnacha Egan, Barry Hannon, Owen Jordan, Gordan Nolan,Barry Caldwell, Paul Tansey, Ryan Lynch.

TThhee NNoorrtthh//WWeesstt RReeggiioonnaall LLeeaagguueeIn the North West League, for both boys and girls, the adverseweather conditions caused major disruptions in the completion ofthe league. Both the Under 16 and Under 19 girls got through to theregional semi-finals which were played on January 13th. The situa-tion is the same for the Boy’s league with outstanding fixtures stillto be fulfilled.

BASKETBALL NEWS

U. 16 Boys’ Basketball TeamFront Row (Left to Right): Mantas Liubomirskas, Barry Caldwell, Darragh Dunne,

Cian Hanley, Keith O’Donnell and Thomas Greene.Back Row (Left to Right): Davis Megris, Shane Mulligan, Cathal Curley,

Paul Tansey, Gordan Nolan, Seamus Cunniffe and Ryan Lynch and Conor Casserley

U. 19 Boys’ Basketball TeamFront Row (Left to Right): Conor Casserley, Martin Mulligan,

Aaron Lynch and Barry Caldwell.Back Row (Left to Right): Owen Jordan, Paul Tansey, Donnacha Egan,

Garbhan Madigan, Gordan Nolan and Barry Hannon.

St. Nathy’s College said a fond farewell to two staff memberswho retired during the summer. Mr. Pat Curran retired aftera long career as a Science teacher in St. Nathy’s. Mr. AlexMcDonnell, also a Science teacher, retired after a teachingcareer in both the Vocational school (where he was the lastPrincipal to hold that position) and in St. Nathy’s. Mr.McDonnell was also a past pupil of the College. We wish

them both our very best wishes in their retirement.

We also welcome two new Science teachers and hope theirtime in St. Nathy’s will be happy and productive. Mr. OliverBrady and Mr. John Dolan joined the Science faculty over thesummer. We wish them both well. Congratulations also toMr. Brady who got married over the Christmas holidays.

FOND FAREWELLS & WARM WELCOMES

A Big thank you to our Mentors who have done such an excellent job in helping thenew First Year students settle into their new school. Well done to Patrick Bolton,John Brennan, Mairead Callaghan, Sandra Deery, Liam Dixon, Martin Doherty, MaryDowd, Kieran Durcan, Niamh Grehan, Owen Jordan, Danica Lavin, Karen Leetch,Danielle Madden, Garbhan Madigan, Catriona McDonagh, Christopher Mitchell,Darren O’Brien, Sarah Phillips, Bharti Puri and James Regan.

THANK YOU TO OUR MENTORS

Page 8 January 2011ST. NATHYS NEWSLETTER

'Be Still and Know that I am God'First term saw Adoration take place on average three times a week withsome Fourth Years, L.C.A, Second Years and First Years being the main par-ticipants. We hope to involve more exam students next term.Mr. Brett's L.C.A. class organised an appropriate liturgical service to remem-ber the dead during the month of November. Several classes used the serv-ice as a template for prayer for the souls of departed relatives, friends andneighbours. The names of those loved ones were also placed before the altarfor morning Mass during the month.

Cathedral LinksLinks with the Cathedral were strengthened last term with R.E. teachersaccompanying First Year classes to a 10am Mass during October. The stu-dents participated in the readings and prayers of the faithful. This willresume this term with some senior classes also participating.

Rosary Revival and Marian SpiritualityFr. Peyton, an Achonry priest who hailed from Attymass, was instrumentalin reviving the Rosary all over the world. With that in mind, St Nathy'srowed in behind Fr. Gavigan's organising of a special recitation of theRosary during October, the month traditionally dedicated to it. It involvedyoung people from the diocese. Thanks to the twelve students who led thedecades for St Nathy's on Oct 31st in the Cathedral on Halloween night.

Also to students who participateda few weeks later in the Rosaryfor life and who made a specialcommemorative Rosary for theevent using chestnuts and theirown wooden cross. Students inclasses 3C, 3P and 2G were par-ticularly active in this RosaryRevival, be it in the Cathedral orthe College Chapel.

Thank You SarahThanks to Sarah Kelly from Ballaghaderreen, a recent past pupil who com-pleted a degree in Theology in Maynooth and is pursuing post graduatestudies. Sarah spent a few weeks in the College as part of her training place-ment. She met with students in small groups and took R.E. classes. She alsoshowed how music and song are especially powerful forms of prayer andthat even some contemporary music can also reinforce the truths of ourfaith. Several students interviewed Sarah as part of their Junior Cert, proj-ects. We wish her well in her studies.

RetreatsA team from St. Patrick's community in Carrick on Shannon visited St.Nathy's during the month of January. They took First and Second Year stu-dents for two half day retreats.

Concern FastThanks to Ms. Staunton and manyof her students who organised theConcern Fast this year. The finaltotal should exceed 2000 euro. Welldone to all involved.

The Transcendent in LiteratureOver the next few months, First Year students will participate in workshopson the Christian Truths in the fiction of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewisthrough film versions of such great works as The Lord of the Rings andThe Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. Both writers believed that theTranscendent works in a wonderful way through the imagination, via storyand metaphor.

The fiction beautifully conveys the realityof Grace, Providence, Redemption, theSacraments and the Gifts of the HolySpirit. Most powerful of all, though, isthe truth that we cannot save ourselves.Only the Lion of Judah, Jesus, can savethrough his sacrificial death and resurrec-tion - as seen by the children in Aslan'smoving self-sacrifice to save thewretched but redeemed Edmund.

CHAPLAINCY NOTES

Congratulations to staff and students of theHome Economics Department who spentthe Bicentenary year working on a patch-work tapestry which commemorates whatthe 200 years of history means to the pres-ent generation of St. Nathy’s students. Allstudents of Home Economics had theopportunity to make a patch for the tapestry.The patch was to symbolize what St. Nathy’smeans to them individually. After muchthought, hard work and even harder adjudi-cation, 76 patches made it to the final tapes-try. The end result is now a treasured work ofart which hangs in the C Block canteen area.Well done to all involved – especially to Ms.Cawley who was to the forefront in initiatingand bringing this project to completion.

NOT A PATCH ON THE HOME ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT!!

Patchwork Tapestry representing the 200 yearsof the school’s history made by the students of

the Home Economics Department.

On Thursday 7th October, the St. Nathy’sTransition Year Class went on a historical walkaround the town of Ballaghaderreen as part oftheir Local History Module. The guided walkwas led by their History teacher Mr. McGhee.The students’ attention was drawn to a numberof key factors. These included the developmentof Ballaghaderreen as an historical settlement,the importance of the town down through the

centuries as a market town and, finally, the evi-dence that remains today from the past ofBritish Rule within the town.The class also looked at buildings of historicalsignificance within the town as well as examin-ing some of the craftsmanship and buildingmaterials that are evident to see on some of theoldest buildings in the town. In the coming fewweeks the class will also learn about the lives of

famous and influential historical figures thatcome from the Ballaghaderreen area. They willalso be given theopportunity to lis-ten to talks fromrespected localhistorians whowill be invited asguest speakers.

TRANSITION YEAR HISTORY WALK

Each year St. Nathy’s offers prizes to all year groupsfor the best St. Brigid’s crosses made. The Feast ofSt. Brigid falls on February 1st each year. It hasalways been an important feat day in the IrishLiturgical Calendar. For many it is a milestone mark-ing the advent of spring, growth and rebirth.

Last year much needed funds were raised for the Haitidisaster through the sale of these crosses which weremade by students. All interested in making crosses forcharity and with the possibility of winning a prize areto contact Mr. Daly for further details.

ST. BRIGID’S DAY CROSS COMPETITION

School Schools’ Week is an annual event held inJanuary / February each year to celebrateCatholic schools throughout the country. Thisyear Catholic Schools’ Week 2011 will begin onSunday, January 30th 2011 and will conclude onSaturday, February 5th.The Catholic School is dedicated to the educa-tion and formation of the young. It seeks tolead children towards the fulfilment of theirdeepest longings. It is built on the belief thatpupils begin to understand the fullest meaningof their lives when they are in touch withChrist. And so the words of Pope Benedict

XVI “… Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus and hisgoodness, and shelter the flame of faith in yourhearts” has a special resonance for the educa-tion project of the Catholic School. In it theyoung person is introduced to the love ofChrist and is invited to enter a personal relation-ship with Him.This year on Sunday morning of January 30th,to mark the beginning of Catholic Schools’Week, Bishop Brendan Kelly will celebrate a tel-evised Mass from RTE’s studios inDonnybrook. The live broadcast will be preced-ed by a feature on the nature and essence of

Catholic schools. Material recorded by KairosCommunications last spring in St. Nathy’s willfeature briefly in this special. Many will alreadybe familiar with this material as it was used inthe making of the documentary on the historyof the College which was premiered last Augustduring the Bicentenary Weekend.

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS’ WEEK

The R.E. Department is at an advanced stage in the compilation of a Book of Favourite Prayers. Theidea is to compile those prayers which are cherished by individuals, with a view to making sure theyare written down and recorded for all times.Many students, parents, grand-parents and great grand-parents have already contributed prayers whichrange from the contemporary to the very old and, in some cases, very ancient Irish prayers. It is hopedto publish the Prayer Book at some stage in the future. Anyone who would like to have a favouriteprayer included is asked to have their son / daughter bring it into their R.E. teacher.

In recent years the State Examinations Commission has tightened up considerably in relation to the deadlines for the com-pletion of practical components of subjects examinable in written form in June. Projects / portfolios for subjects such asConstruction, Woodwork, Metalwork, Art, History, Geography (L.C. only), LCVP, etc., etc. must be submitted by the datespecified by the Examination Commission – and no later. These deadline dates have already been given by teachers and mustbe observed. Failure to complete and submit project work on time will result in it not being included in the overall subjectmarks released in August / September. Teachers must also be in a position to verify that the work is entirely that of the stu-dent and has been completed under his / her supervision. To avoid difficulties all students are asked to be mindful of these regulations.

DEADLINES, DEADLINES, DEADLINES

January 2011 Page 9ST. NATHY’S NEWSLETTER

BOOK OF PRAYERS

Fri, Jan 28th 9:15am – 12:30pm First YearsThur, Feb 10th 4:15pm – 6:45pm Fourth Years / & T. Y.

Thur, Feb 17th 4:15pm – 6:45pm Second YearsWed, Mar 16th 9:15am – 12:30pm Third Years

PARENT / TEACHER MEETINGS 2011Parent / teacher meetings for the forthcoming term have been scheduled as follows:

Transition Year TimesST. NATHY’S COLLEGE

VOLUME 1 - NUMBER 1

Reflections on ourTransition YearProgramme

It was with great pleasure that we intro-duced a new Transition Year programmeto St. Nathy’s College in its historic bicen-tenary year. TY is not a new phenomenonin the education world, having its inceptionin 1973. The T.Y. teachers at St. Nathy’sCollege have embraced this new pro-gramme with enthusiasm, enterprise, andoptimism. Students follow a unique TYprogramme drawn up by the school. Aswell as studying the core subjects ofMaths, English, Irish, French and ReligiousEducation, students also get the opportu-

nity to sample other subjects offered atsenior cycle level. New subjects likeArchaeology, Drama and Life Skills areincluded, as well as modular courses fromtime to time.

This year we are working with eighteenstudents - nine boys and nine girls and thefollowing accounts of their experiences aretrue reflections of what they have encoun-tered in this their first term of office.

It has been a hectic first term for all of us

on board this TY ship, but the motivationand zeal displayed by our school manage-ment, teachers and students are bringingthis programme to fruition on a daily basis.We hope that this newsletter gives youvaluable insight into how our TY pro-gramme operates at St. Nathy’s College.While the programme is still in its infancyit is growing from strength to strength andpromises to have a very bright future.

(Anne O’ Brien. T.Y. Co-ordinator.)

A WORD FROM THE CO-ORDINATOR

Page 10 TYT - Vol. 1, No. 1

On the 3rd of September our TY class,accompanied by Mrs. O’ Brien, went toBundoran for a day of team building activ-ities. We first went surfing. It was a beauti-ful day and the conditions were perfect. Ittook us a while to get used to it but, by theend, most of us had stood up. We all real-ly enjoyed it! Afterwards, we did teambuilding games. First we had obstacles,such as having to get everyone through ahoop without touching the hoop. We had

to all work together to decide how toapproach the task. After this, we playedanother game: everyone was blindfoldedand had to hold onto the person in front ofthem. We were guided through tunnels, upsteps and through bushes. We had to worktogether to warn the person behind uswhat was coming up. This was great fun!We really enjoyed Bundoran. On the wayhome, we stopped at Creevykeel, a stoneage burial mound in Co. Sligo and also at

Drumcliff graveyard where W. B Yeats isburied. They were both very interesting.Everyone had a brilliant day and we got toknow each other much better! The follow-ing day we had school based inductionwith our Co-ordinator Mrs. O’ Brien inwhich she went through our timetable,subject groupings, class expectations, con-tract of learning , our portfolio of achieve-ment, assessment and other material.

(Anna Deignan)

All T.Y. students have currently signed upfor the President’s “An Gaisce” Bronzeaward. Each student must commit tolearning a new skill, a new physical recre-ational activity and become activelyinvolved with a community organisationfor one hour every week for 13 weeks with

an extension of one of those areas for afurther 13 weeks. In addition to these chal-lenges, we will have to plan, prepare andundertake a two day and one night adven-ture journey in a group covering a mini-mum total distance of 25 – 35 km (walk-ing) or 100 – 130 km (cycling) over two

consecutive days. We must have all logsheets of all our challenges duly signed byour instructors / supervisors. Mrs. O’Brien is our Awards leader and she checksour log sheets every Thursday.

(Emma Gallagher)

AN GAISCE

The T.Y. Law Programme is a relativelynew T.Y. module which introduces stu-dents to Criminal and Civil Law. Thecourse is run over two days. One day com-prises of theory and a second day compris-es an in-school re-enactment of a courtcase with Barrister James Fahy. We listenedin amazement as Barrister Fahy gave usexamples of Court Room situations. Wehad to assess the outcome of these cases.Later that evening we acted out a Trial, asif it was a real court room with a judge,jury, barristers, solicitors, suspects and wit-

nesses etc. It was a knowledgeableand an enjoyable experience tryingto catch out the accused!Thankfully, this time no one endedup in jail! Two weeks later we satthe T.Y. Law exam and the questionpapers are corrected externally witha prize awarded to the highest scor-ing candidate. We will also be com-peting in mock court trials againstother schools in the west atLoughrea Court House in March.

( Kylie Roddy)

T.Y. LAW PROGRAMME

T.Y. INDUCTION

TYs surfing the waves in Bundoran Teambuilding in Bundoran on a sunny August afternoon

TYT - Vol. 1, No. 1 Page 11

Mrs. Burke, our Irish teacher, organised anIrish drama workshop for us with theBranar Dramaíochta Company fromGalway. During the workshop we acted outthe play, An Triail,which is part ofthe LeavingCertificate Irishcourse and whichwe will put onstage in March.While rehearsingour lines andpieces we also gotto dress up as thecharacters that weare playing whichadded fun andfrolics to the entireexperience. We hada thoroughlyenjoyable day ofsinging and acting

in a fun way in our native lan-guage.

(Darragh Regan)

AN TRIAIL - IRISH DRAMA

Aaron Lynch rehearsing his part in the Irish play “An Triail” The cast of the Irish Play “An Triail”

In October we were introduced to thebasics of First Aid training under the pro-fessional eyes of The Irish Red Cross. Ourcourse instructor was Maura Lowry. Wewere taught how to bandage suspectedfractures / breaks properly and how totreat a person for burns. We also acted out

different scenarios and had to give theright diagnosis at the end of each one. Wetreated a patient with spinal injuries andlooked at the different types of burns, aswell as looking at how to handle a patientwho had epilepsy and diabetes. We weretaught how to treat different knife wounds

and how to treat patients at the scene of anaccident. We also practised giving CPR tosomeone (on a mannequin!) who wasn’tbreathing. A great day was had by all andwe learned an awful lot.

(Orla O’ Brien)

T.Y. FIRST AID

We invited the Roscommon Traffic Corps tocome to the school to present the Road SafetyAwareness Programme to our TY group andthe Leaving Certificate classes. The show last-ed for approximately an hour and a half wherethe two Gardaí showed us various real lifevideo clips of road traffic accidents which left

many of us gasping for breath. They highlight-ed ways of preventing road accidents and waysof implementing safe driving habits on ourroads. Overall, it was a very worthwhile pres-entation and impressed upon us the grim real-ity of the carnage on our roads. This show wasrun in conjunction with our driving module.

ROAD SAFETY AWARENESS

TYs learning the art of First Aid James Dolan tending to Peter Foley in First Aid

(Derek Doohan)

Page 12 TYT - Vol. 1, No. 1

The day after we came back to school afterthe mid-term holidays, I was nominated bymy Science teacher to apply to go toTrinity College to attend a Physics Day. Ijumped at the opportunity but I didn’tthink there was much of a chance I wouldget it. A few days letter I received an emailsaying that I was invited to go. Anotherstudent, Peter Foley, was also selected.

I met Peter outside the Fitzgerald Buildingon the morning of the 12th of November.We were excited to be attending. The firstlecture was at 9:30am and was called“Powers of 10” with Dr. Eric Finch. It wasa slideshow consisting of 42 slides. Itshowed the universe mapped out to scale.At one extreme, a panel measuring onesquare meter in size depicts a scene that is

100,000 times largerthan the Milky Waygalaxy. At the other,the panel is filledwith a singlequark—a particle sotiny that it wouldtake over 100 trillionof them to stretchthe width of theaverage human hair.The next lecture was“Electricity andMagnetism” withDr. Graham Cross.Through a series of

experiments and demonstrations, heexplained to us the concepts of static elec-tricity, electromagnets and the unique rela-tionship between electricity and magnet-ism.The final lecture was “Higgs, Hadrons andBosons” with Dr. Colm Stephens. Welearned about CERN, and the LargeHadron Collider in Switzerland. Heexplained how it worked and what thephysicists were trying to discover.Finally, there was a reading by JohnConnolly, author of “The Gate”. It is awork of fiction based on the fears of peo-ple over the Large Hadron Collider inwhich a malfunction causes the gates ofHell to be opened.Overall, it was a brilliant experience. Wereally enjoyed the day. It was great to meetother students with an interest in Physics.We would like to thank the school for pre-senting us with this opportunity. In thefuture we would love to study Physics atthird level.

(David Caldwell & Peter Fo l e y )

A DAY IN TRINITY COLLEGE

Trinity College, Dublin.

On Friday 15th of October Gill’s DrivingSchool came to St. Nathy’s for the day. OurTY class were divided into two groups inthe morning. One group set off for Knockstraight away to start driving and the other

stayed in school to learn some theory forthe first half of the day. We were intro-duced to our teacher and then began learn-ing about the different signs on the road,the rules of the road, how to prepare for

the theory test, road safety and more. Aftersmall break we were shown some glassesthat would impair your vision as if you hadtaken alcohol. We all tried them on andtried to walk the line on the floor withoutstraying away from it. Not many of us weresuccessful and the videos were very funny.After lunch the first group came back

from their morning driving and weswapped over. There were two cars for the8 students and two instructors. We arrivedin Knock and, one by one, we drovearound the park with the passengers in theback and the driving instructors in the pas-senger seat with a clutch and break on theirside too. We learned to park, reverse,change gears and do hill starts. It was a lotof fun. Our driving instructors were pro-fessional without being too serious and weall had a great day - with NO CRASHES!!

(Donia Arafa)

T.Y. DRIVING MODULE

TY Class perfect their driving skills with Gill’s Driving school

Each term Mrs. O’ Brien appoints reportersand writers to compile weekly school’s newsarticles for the ‘Class Act’ column in theRoscommon Herald. For instance, a reportertravels with a team, follows the game, writes anaccurate account of that event, edits the articleand e mails it with photos to the paper. We

have learned the importance of keeping dead-lines as well as improving our language, com-munication and IT skills. In order to be a jour-nalist one must have every-thing in on time and mustensure that the article isaccurate. It was something

we found to be very interesting and enjoyableAND quite stressful at times!

(Laura Brennan)

ROSCOMMON HERALD

TYT - Vol. 1, No. 1 Page 13

From Oct 18th – 22nd we took part in ourfirst week of work experience. We workshadowed in different career fields such asN.S. teaching, Pharmacy, Opticians, AnGarda Síochána, Diagnostics,Accountancy, Journalism, VeterinaryNursing, Circuit & District CourtsService, Health Clinics, Nursing,Physiotherapy, Radiography and RehabNursing. Many of our work placementswere located outside Ballaghaderreen insurrounding towns such as Boyle,

Castlebar, Swinford, Sligo, Kiltimagh,Castlerea and Roscommon. We reallyenjoyed the break away from the classroomto experience a career we think we may besuited to. While we were exhausted afterthe week we really enjoyed it and couldn’twait to return to school to find out howeach one of us got on. We look forward toour next stint of work experience inFebruary.

(Aoife Laff e rty)

WORK EXPERIENCE

I knew I was in trouble when I walked intothe transition year diary class. I had to tellour teacher that my work experience withmy uncle had been cancelled. But luck was,for once, on my side. In the middle of theclass, our teacher got a call, telling her thatmy previous request for work experiencewith the Gardai had been accepted. I wasover the moon! I was going to be spendinga week in Swinford Garda station work-shadowing members of the force.A week later, and I have to say, the weekwas incredible. The Gardai were very

accommodating, very funny, and veryhelpful. Every day, I would be introducedto a new officer with the words “And here,we have the future commissioner himself.”It was sarcasm, of course, but, with whathas happened this week, there’s no doubtin my mind where I want to be going whenI leave school.The week was varied and very interesting.One call could relate to an attempted bur-glary, another could be to do with agricul-tural livestock posing a danger on the road.I also got to put on a stab-proof vest and

riot helmet, along with trying out the batonand looking at handcuffs.On Thursday, I spent the day in KnockAirport with the Gardai Immigration Unitwhere I learned how to identify false pass-ports.If you asked me last year what I wouldwant to be when I leave school, I wouldhave said “I don’t know...” Now, there is nodoubt in my mind that I want to join theGardai.

(Corey Denning)

WORK EXPERIENCE – A PERSONAL ACCOUNT

Every TY student is given the opportunityof studying music with Ms. Kielty for adouble class period. This year we are alllearning the guitar and absolutely love it.Even students who have never held a gui-tar in their hands are strumming manychords and have amazed themselves athow much they are enjoying it. Fr. Conveyhas kindly purchased new guitars for themusic department and we are very grateful

to be given this opportunityto develop another hidden tal-ent in us. Ms. Kielty alsoteaches us the theory side ofmusic as well as music tech-nology and we hope to per-form a piece of music for ourawards night.

(James Dolan & Luke Dowd )

MUSIC

Our French teacher, Ms. Farrell and our English teacher Ms.Staunton brought us to the Roscommon Arts Centre to see twofilms. ‘Persolopis’, shown by the Irish Film Institute in theRoscommon Arts Centre, was nominated for the Oscar ‘BestAnimated film 2008’. This film is being studied as part of the TYFrench module and incorporates a class study guide. The film“32A” was a coming of age English film centred on teenagelifestyles and teenage problems. This film could be studied as anoptional film choice for the Leaving Certificate English course.Mrs. Burke and Mrs. O’ Brien have recently enrolled our schoolin a pilot project with the Irish Film Institute in Dublin where wewill be able to access archive Irish film footage for classroom use.

(Amy Egan)

FILMS

Page 14 TYT - Vol. 1, No. 1

TYT - Vol. 1, No. 1 Page 15

As part of our Archaeology stud-ies, Mr. Curley brought us on afield trip to a site on the SligoRoad which was being excavatedin preparation for the new townby-pass. The archaeologistsspoke to us about their work andshowed us how they prepare andcarry out a dig. Prior to our visitto the site, a speaker from theNRA visited our class andshowed us many of the artefactsthey unearthed in other digs. Itwas great to visit a site such as thisand see a dig being carried out. Itbrought our learning to life.

(Michael Morley)

ARCHAEOLOGY

As part of our Enterprise Educationclass we decided to set up and run ourown mini company which we called TYTreatz. Anne Browne fromRoscommon Enterprise Board visitedour class and advised us on all the differ-ent aspects involved in running our ownbusiness. We learned how to set up acompany, sell shares, produce and mar-ket a product for the home market. Weset up a stand in the canteen at lunchtimes and were sold out of brownies androcky roads by the first bell. The bestcritics of our products were all the stu-dents and, judging by their commentsand purchasing power, we were verypleased. We hope to enter the school’sEnterprise Competition in March.

MINI COMPANY

Transition Year has seen our learningand research take different strides in allour subject areas. We have undertakenprojects in History, Geography,Archaeology and Woodwork - to namebut a few. We have learned many new

skills andimprovedon ones wet h o u g h twe weregood at.Our teach-ers havekept usf o c u s s e d

all the time and we havejust completed ourChristmas tests. Overall,we have had nothingmore than the best termin school yet and we willbe displaying our workat the end of the finalterm. We thank all ourteachers for their guid-ance and motivationand look forward to ournext new term in 2011.

(Donia Arafa)

PROJECTS

TY on an Archaeology field trip with Mr. Curley

TY Treatz Mini Company

Aoife Lafferty and Laura Brennan workingon their Geography Map Project

TYs with theirWoodwork projects

Page 16 TYT - Vol. 1, No. 1

Could anyone ask for a better way to endour hectic week than with a triple P.E classwith Mr. Brett? Our P.E. module startedwith sailing lessons, carried out over twoFridays, at the Hodson Bay Hotel inAthlone.

After changing into wetsuits we had class-room-based theory and instruction. Wewere taught how to tack, how to sailagainst the wind, how to get your boatback up when you capsize and how to turnthe boat. Then, we were given our boatsand let sail around Lough Ree. We reallyenjoyed the day. We had two instructorswho were happy to help us all the time. Forpractically all of the second afternoon wewere left to sail very much on our own. Aswe had experience with the sailing beforewe didn’t capsize as much and, after we gotchanged, we were all told that we now hadour level 1’s in Dinghy sailing. We reallyenjoyed this experience, and our teachersuggested that we might go back and doour level 2’s later in the year.On Day 2 we were awarded with the AIREsailing certificate.

(Corey Denning)

We then progressed on to BallaghaderreenGolf Course where we were taught the eti-quette and rules of golf. Club membersvolunteered their time every Friday toteach us best practice of the game. Someof us are using Golf as our new P.E.Recreational activity for An Gaisce and wemeet up for a game the odd weekend….weather permitting. We have also had four

sessions ofK o r e a nself-defencewith aninstr uctorfrom Sligo.This hasproven tobe greatfun. We gotto ‘fight’each othertoo!! Fromwhat we cangather, Mr.Brett has alot moreP.E. surprises hidden up his sleeve for us inthe new year! With the help of Mr. Brett,we decided to set up a Table Tennis Clubat lunch time for first, second and thirdyear students. It is our aim to encourage

students to participate in a new game andso far we are very pleased with the uptakeamong the student population.

(Josh Gallagher & Aaron Lyn ch )

PHYSICAL RECREATION

Aaron Lynch, Josh Gallagher and Peter Foley learning toimprove their golf at Ballaghaderreen Golf course

TYs self-defence classes

TYs sailing on Lough ReaDarragh Regan getting to gripswith Self Defence