Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Christmas Greetings

As the holiday period approaches and the snow begins to fall, ever so gently, all TY pupils and staff are looking forward to a good rest after a very productive term. Sadhbh Sheeran will address the school at our end of term assembly, reflecting on the busy nature of TY so far and looking forward to some of next term's activities.

These will include the TY Form Quiz, more cooking, the commencement of classes in Mandarin Chinese and a short course on cosmetics making. No doubt we will have the cleverest, best fed, most multi-lingual and most beautiful TY in the country...

A very happy Chrismas to you all.

Monday, December 12, 2011

Merry Helix to You! Eircom Junior Spiders Awards


We Arrived...Through the Blizzard!

Today three TYers have the honour of representing this blog at the Eircom Junior Spiders Awards in the Helix at DCU. Accompanied by Mr. Swift, Sean Freney, Brendan Dickerson and Alex Owens will be manning our stall - and promoting the good work and achievements of St Columba's Transition Year Programme as evidenced online through Serpents & Doves. We're one of five shortlisted websites in the Best Project category of the Tera Spiders for pupils from Form IV upwards. So before the day is out we might be returning to school with a spidery pet - arachnophobes need not apply! And just to say - good luck to all our fellow nominees.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

National Youth Orchestra of Ireland - Again!


More congratulations are due to another TY member as Siobhan Brady received word earlier this week that she has been offered a place in the 'cello section of the  National Youth Orchestra of Ireland. Siobhan will be well known to all Columbans as she is a regular performer in school. As well as her talents with the 'cello she is also a talented vocalist and no less than the daughter of our illustrious Director of Music, Geraldine Malone Brady. Siobhan will have fellow TY-er Clara Booth (Harp) for company during rehearsals. Well done all!

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Under 18’s Hockey Inter-Provincials

Harry in his Columban colours


Harry Morris has written below about playing representative Hockey for his province. 
The  final  squad  for  the U­-18 Leinster  Hockey  team  was  selected  two weeks  ago. There was a lot of  preparation  leading  up  to  the  interpros.  We played the Irish women’s team twice before the interpros. We beat them comfortably both times.  On  the  18th  of   November  the  Leinster  squad  met  at  the  Stillorgan  Park  hotel  at  11 o’clock  and  checked  in .  From  there  we took  a 10  minute  drive  to UCD  and  did  short   practice  and  set  plays.

The atmosphere  leading  up  to  this  game  was  very  tense. I  had  not  really  experienced  anything  like  this  in my  hockey  life. I  was  excited  but  nervous  at  the  same  time  which  you  would  expect. From UCD  we  went  back  to  the  hotel  we  got changed  and  then  went  down  to  our  meeting  room  where  we  had  lunch  and  talked  about  our  tactics. It  was  around 11.30  when  we  got  there  and  are  game  started  at 1.

3-2. That  was  the  score  that  nearly  lost  us  the interpros.  We played terribly. When  we  got  back  to  the  hotel  we  talked  about  what  we had done wrong. After  that  we  just  relaxed  and dozed  off  to  bed, tomorrow   was  even  more  important  for  us  now. We  got  a  reception  call  at  8 o’clock  and  went  for  a  relaxing  jog  to  wake  the  body  up. We got breakfast  at  9 o’clock. Our first game was  at  1:00  against  Munster. We left  the  hotel  at  11:30  and  arrived  at  11:45.

We  won  comfortably  against   Munster  (9-2)  and  this  set  us  up  for   a  crunch  match  against  Ulster  later  that  day  as  Ulster  had  also  beaten  Munster. This  meant  that  Munster  had  to  beat  Ulster  for  us  to  have  a  chance of  winning  the tournament. To  our  amazement  Munster  beat  Ulster  (1-0)  with  Ulster  missing  a  stroke  on  the  final  whistle. It  only  remained  for  us  to beat  Munster  in  order  to  win  the  tournament  we  did so  by  beating  Munster  (9-2).

 It  was a  huge  honour  to  play  for  my  province  and  the  standard  was  better  than  anything  I  had  played  in  before.

Shortly after the interpros I received word that (along with R. Canning VI) I had been shortlisted for the U-18 Ireland squad - another great honour and no doubt another leap in standard.

For a full report on the tournament click here:

 

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Microsoft Inspiring Careers Day



On the of November, I and 11 other students missed a day of school to attend a Microsoft open day in which they hoped to encourage the country’s youth to consider a future career in computing. 

When we arrived, we were each given an ID tag which was either blue or green. These were the two groups and on half of all the tags was written in highlighter HOL (Hands On Lab). With the ID tags we were also given a Microsoft hat, notepad, pen and a small breakfast. 

After our registration we were immediately launched into the interview of three men who had careers in computing. One of them was a former winner of the imagine cup. It was interesting how they responded to the questions being fired at them. They said that a career in computing is for anybody and does not require a specific skill set, just a keen interest in technology. They also went on to say that there is not a high demand leaving cert points-wise for computing degrees in college. However, the imagine cup winner told us that in his class of 30 consisted of 26 boys and merely 4 girls. 

Next I was carted off down to the hands on lab where we were asked to design a basic computer game. We used software which made it quite easy, but unfortunately we were under time pressure so the end result was not great. We then got to play other peoples’ games and mark them out of 25. Only two of the games I was assigned to play actually worked though! 

After that was lunch and we were allowed to eat in the canteen with all the actual Microsoft workers as if we were employees there, which was cool. 

The game centre was interesting as they had all the x box kinect games and the latest x box controllers also. There were a few serious gamers from other schools who knew the anniversaries of x box games who were nearly beside themselves with excitement at the prospect of being able to play the latest games with the new gyroscopic controllers. 

My favourite part of the day however was a speech at the end given by a Canadian evangelist called Wilber! He was talking about the powers of the kinect (which is a way of playing x box by moving your body instead of your fingers, the kinect device can comprehend your body movements and apply them to what is on the screen). He showed us how one day we will be able to go shopping from our living rooms. Swishing our hand from side to side, to browse from product to product, maybe even virtually try on the clothes to see if you look good in them. He explained to us that we will also be able to just pick things off the shelves in a shop and walk out, they will automatically be charged to our credit cards. He also flew a remote controlled flying machine over us (the spectators) from an x box remote with a live camera on it, which he told us can also be operated using a smart-phone and will soon come on the market for private consumption. 

It was a great day out, it did not convince me to go into a career in IT but I thoroughly enjoyed myself and I would like to thank Mr. McAlinden for bringing us and for Mr. Jones for arranging the day. 

Harry Johnson. 

Monday, November 28, 2011

Recent Twilight Hike

Continuing on with our love of hiking in TY Mr. Coldrick takes his turn, below, to report on a recent twilight walk.



On Saturday evening, November 27th, a group of 14 TY pupils accompanied by myself, Ms Cauldwell and my hiking partner and friend of many years Brian Bell (a qualified and experienced Mountain Guide) completed a very enjoyable evening hike over the Dublin Mountains. We started in Tibradden Woods and followed the newly developed Dublin Mountain Trail up Cruagh Mountain before descending steeply through Massey's Woods. We then climbed up to the haunted Hellfire Club where we were rewarded with a stunning view of the lights of Dublin in the dark.

This fit and enthusiastic group of TY pupils are forming the SCC TY Hikers and we plan an exciting programme of challenging hikes over the coming months including completing the Wicklow Way, Dawn walks (led by Mr Swift), climbing a number of Ireland's highest mountains and hopefully aiming next April for the West Highland Way, Scotland's famous long distance route.

Many thank to Mr Patterson who helps with the transport and logistics.

Photos to follow soon.

National Youth Orchestra of Ireland

Many congratulations to TY member Clara Booth who has been selected to play the harp in the National Youth Orchestra of Ireland. A most accomplished musician, she has played in front of the college on several occasions already and we look forward to hearing her again soon.

Both Clara and fellow TYer Siobhan Brady have been awarded music scholarships by the college. Bravo!

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Visit of Deerfield Academy

For the past three years there has been a close association between St. Columba's and Deerfield Academy, Massachusetts, USA. Founded in 1797 Deerfield is one of America's oldest schools and a group of girls from there visited last weekend with one teacher and several parents. Some members of TY were charged with the task of providing their counterparts with a warm Irish welcome. One of them was Sadbh Sheeran and she writes about the experience below:

Deerfield in the fall

After lunch on Friday 18 November,  a group of TY pupils and I met ten girls from Deerfield Academy. We showed them around the college, bringing them to various classroom and buildings including the cricket pavilion to show them some of the college’s history.

The girls were curious about the Irish language so Siobhan and I took them to Dr.Bannister's VI form Irish class. Here they got to learn some Irish and because one of the girls was Mohawk we got to learn some of her language in exchange. The Deerfield girls also told us more about their school, it seemed very different from ours!

On Saturday Molly Buckingham, Molly Dunne and I headed off on the bus with the 2nd XV rugby team to Wesley. The Americans wanted to see a rugby match so Mr. Coldrick asked us to go and keep them company. When we arrived in Wesley the place seemed quite empty but the team wasn’t perturbed and started to warm up. After about 10 minutes Mr.Cron realised something was up as the other team hadn’t arrived. He called their coach who said he was very sorry as they must have gotten the days mixed up.

We had a problem! The Deerfield girls were to arrive soon and there wasn’t a team for our boys to play! They started playing amongst themselves anyway and I frantically tried to contact Mr.Coldrick to ask what we should do. At this point a security guard arrived to ask why we were in their school, on their pitches, on a Saturday when the school is closed and playing a match against ourselves...thankfully he was sympathetic!

Eventually Mr.Coldrick arrived and said we should wait for the girls and then head back to school which we did, Molly Dunne and I getting the taxi back with some of the Deerfield girls while all the others went back with Mr.Coldrick taking a minor detour to Superquinn.We congregated in the Drawing Room before heading down to Mr.Patterson's classroom to watch a movie, Four Weddings and a Funeral and eat the sweets Mr.Coldrick had bought us.

After the movie we took the girls to dinner and then we all split up and took three girls to each of our houses, Hollypark, Iona and Beresford. We showed them our dorms which are very different to theirs. Soon it was time to take them to the college’s production of Shakespeare's play, The Comedy of Errors, where everyone wanted to meet the American girls! At the end of the play we reunited them with their parents and teacher.

On Sunday evening they all came to our evensong chapel service, a particularly nice one as it was Mr. Jackson's hymns of praise service. He selected his favourite hymns a lot of which are very popular with us as well, so the Deerfield girls heard us singing at our best.

It was lovely to meet people not only from a different school system but also from a different continent and getting to hear about the way their school differs from ours. I hope the Deerfield girls enjoyed their time in Ireland.

Sadhbh Sheeran

The Deerfield website is found at www.deerfield.edu 

Friday, November 25, 2011

Laura Lynn Children's Hospice

Last Thursday Molly Dunne and Alex Owens took a stand at the Sunshine Home Christmas Fair to sell calendars in aid of the Laura Lynn Children's Hospice. These colourful calendars for 2012 feature artwork by Columban pupils and are for sale at €10 each. Any parent or friends who would like to buy one and support this deserving cause will be able to do so at the Coffee Morning at the Exodus wekend and on the night of the College Carol Service.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

TY Film Society - Review No. 2



Molly Buckingham shares her views below on the most recent screening of the TY Film Society.




Once a month, on Tuesday evenings, Mr Coldrick comes into our prep for a film society night. This particular Tuesday (15th November) we watched 'The Woman in Black'. This is a horror film set in 1889, about a young lawyer (Arthur Rawlins) who goes to the town of Crythin Gifford to attend the funeral of a woman Alice Drablow and to retrieve some legal documents from her house. However while there he begins to feel a sense of unease, as people are reluctant to talk about Alice - the woman in black of the title, who he later starts to see everywhere.

He slowly uncovers the true origins and intentions of the woman in black and her frightening purpose. The plot really brought together the string of events very well making for some shocking revelations and clever narrative twists as Arthur investigates the tales surrounding the woman in black, as well as Alice Drablow's house.

I think that the whole of TY really enjoyed this film as it was really scary and entertaining and was the main topic of conversation for everyone at hot drink afterwards! There has been a play version of this 1980's classic running in London and there is supposed to be an adaptation of the film coming out in 2012 starring Daniel Radcliffe who is better known as Harry Potter to many of us. So I'm sure everyone who was a fan of this film will go to watch it! So if you do sit down to watch this film (which I would recommend) then prepare to get some serious goosebumps!

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

International Maths Olympiad


Following an outstanding performance in his Junior Certificate Higher Level Mathematics Exam, William Wood has been invited to attend enrichment classes in UCD run by the International Mathematical Olympiad. These classes lead into Olympiad training classes where he may be selected to represent Ireland in the next IMO in July. The IMO is a prestigious annual team competition for mathematically talented second - level students. Ireland has participated in the competition since 1988, and Irish students have won medals in eight of those competitions. We wish William all the best and congratulate him on this fantastic achievement.

TY Pupils Attend Microsoft Inspiring Careers Day


Twelve members of the Transition Year, accompanied by Mr. McAlindon, are spending the day at Microsoft European Development Centre (EDC) in Leopardstown. The event is organised as part of Science Week and the day is jam packed with a wide range of activities and talks for the students on the careers available within the IT sector, including marketing, sales and programming. There is also a panel discussion on the future of ICT, a Game Zone to chill out in and a Science Fair! A full pupil report will follow in the coming days.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Visiting Speaker: Irish Heart Foundation


On Wednesday 26 October, everyone in Transition Year sat in the Lower Argyle, learning about the work of the Irish Heart Foundation. Ciara Mealy, who is head of fundraising with the IHF, spoke to us about the work they do and the areas of heart health in Ireland that they have helped to improve.

She explained to us how a heart attack happens when an artery in the heart becomes blocked. She stressed the dangers of smoking and how smokers are more likely to suffer a heart attack than someone who doesn’t smoke at all. The Irish Heart Foundation was involved in the implementation of the smoking ban in Ireland.

Ciara reminded us that we should all be getting our five servings of fruit and vegetables a day and that teenagers like us should be doing an hour of physical activity a day (this is compulsory in St Columba’s so we have no choice!). 10,000 people die in Ireland each year as a result of heart disease, so the things she stressed to us about how to have a healthy heart are really important.

She then spoke about strokes and how they occur. 10,000 people suffer a stroke each year in Ireland. We learned that people who are under 65 can have a stroke. A girl who is involved in the IHF had a stroke when she was just eighteen years of age. The Irish Heart Foundation has been running a campaign to help people realise when someone is having a stroke. Remember FAST: Face (if someone’s face is drooping downwards), Arms (if the person can’t raise both arms), Speech (if their speech is slurred, Time (it’s time to call 999/112)

To finish, Ciara demonstrated CPR to us on a small dummy. We saw that you have to do 100 chest compressions per minute for the CPR to be effective. Somewhat ironically, if you just think of the Bee Gees song “Staying Alive” you will be able to time the 100 compressions a minute. We will be learning more about CPR in SPHE classes later in the year.

I really enjoyed the talk because I found it interesting and informative.

Juliana Huggard

International Charity Bazaar 2011


Next Sunday, November 13th, a group of TY Business pupils will travel to the Burlington Hotel to conduct a customer satisfaction survey at this event. The International Charity Bazaar is held each year by the diplomatic corps in aid of Irish charities. During the day 48 embassies will be selling traditional foods and crafts and showcasing their culture. We have been invited by the chairwoman to participate by conducting the survey, and this should prove to be an enjoyable and worthwhile experience.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Democracy in Action



Pupils' Council representatives for the coming year were elected last month. Each form elects a boy and a girl and the successful TY candidates were Molly Dunne and Ugo Onwurah. Both of them also represented the college recently on the Dublin South Comhairle na nOg and Molly writes below about their brush with representative democracy. 


On Wednesday October 26th Ugo Onwurah and I represented St. Columba’s in the South Dublin Comhairle na nOg. Comhairle na nÓg are local youth councils, which give children and young people the opportunity to be involved in the development of local services and policies. We signed ourselves in and mingled with pupils from various schools while we waited for the others to arrive. At 10 am we had a short introduction to the work of the council and then we listened to a speech on mental health and the importance of staying positive and having hope and belief in ourselves.

We were then all separated into groups. In our groups we discussed topics such as teenage drinking, drug use, tobacco, mental health and a variety of other important issues along those lines. All of our information was taken down by a member of the comhairle and it was good to have our opinions and views appreciated. It wasn’t all work though! We played a game of human bingo (to be honest I didn’t know what to expect!) and also another game which involved tying balloons to our ankles and the running around the conference room trying to step on and break other people's balloons! Overall I found the experience very enjoyable and worthwhile, we met a lot of interesting people and as I said before it was really great to have our opinions heard and taken into consideration.

Monday, October 31, 2011

Spooky Outings for Transition Year

Our TY pupils had a great night last weekend when they travelled to an unknown location in Co. Meath for some scary set pieces...

Many thanks to Mr. Ted Sherwood who organised the whole affair and who took the photos below, where thankfully everyone  looks relatively calm and content!

We're off for half term for the coming week, returning on Sunday night for boarders and Monday morning for day pupils but there may well be a post here at S's and D's between now and then.



Tuesday, October 25, 2011

An Academic Transition Year


In St Columba's College we emphasise that TY is a strongly academic year, building on previous years' experience. Normal classroom work takes place alongside the hugely diverse activities recorded on this blog. As half-term and the parent-teacher meeting approach it is appropriate briefly to focus on this vital aspect of the college year.

Each TY pupil has so far received three sets of effort marks signalling their level of effort in their academic subjects. The Michaelmas examinations will take place at the end of November and TY will undertake these alongside all other forms. At the end of this term parents will receive a full report on their academic performance.

Here is just a short sample of some subject wok being undertaken by TY pupils this term:

Geography/European Studies have been engaged in powerpoint presentations on European countries and will visit the European Commission Offices later this term.

Music pupils have looked at the origins of music and are also singing in a harmony group - we anticipate a TY Music concert later in the year.

The History class are immersed in World War I.

The Physics class have looked at optics and have started on mechanics.

Art/Photography afficionados are putting together scrapbooks containing their work and thoughts on their chosen pieces.

English pupils are hard at work on their Extended Essays and are also well into Twelfth Night in class.
Les eleves Francais are working their way through verbs and tenses while also studying three French songs and the Spanish pupils are researching Spanish artists in advance of a visit to the National Gallery.

Finally, the Classical Studies group have meditated upon the thoughts of Marcus Aurelius, have endured Greek Tragedy, enjoyed poetry from the ancient world and are currently examining religion in Rome.   

Later in the year individual subjects will present themselves more fully on the blog.

Muffin time...


The culinary arts will be revisited this evening as Ms Kilfeather takes a group of eight pupils and indulges in a spot of muffin making. The venue is her classroom (appropriately named Rice) and armed with a bagful of ingredients, two mini-ovens and a determination to cook and eat, no doubt the participants will be satisfied at the end of the evening.
Bon appetit. 

Sunday, October 23, 2011

French Department Cinema Outing

 
TY French sets have recently been studying a module on Paris so as a tie-in the French department is organising a cinema outing tonight to see Woody Allen's latest offering Midnight in Paris. By all accounts it is a return to form for the veteran New York writer/director and in this film he is said to use the stunning Parisian urban landscape to beautiful effect...we'll see.


Update: Well we didn't see. In fact, we had to be evacuated from Dundrum Town Centre because of the much publicised flooding. Ah well - Midnight in Paris will just have to wait. 

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Saturday Evening Activities - Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid!




Tonight the undisputed champion of 'out-of-the-ordinary' school trips is at it again...Yes indeed Mr Sherwood has laid on a mysterious Halloween themed expedition exclusively for Transition Year. Ask us no more questions and we shan't tell you any fibs...Needless to say though that all will be revealed in the fullness of time and in due course. Cackle, cackle, evil laugh..
.

Friday, October 21, 2011

Cookery Demonstration

Louisa Gibbs was part of a group of TY pupils who participated in a cookery session in our very own kitchens this week. She writes about the experience below.


Derek waves the magic wand
On Tuesday the 18th of October, six members of Transition Year took part in a cooking demonstration. Mr. McCarthy kindly arranged for a top Sodexho chef, Derek, to come in to school and show us how to prepare a three course meal. The menu read: creamy sweet potato soup with a wholemeal scone and grated cheddar; followed by chicken in a tomato and basil sauce with penne pasta; and dessert was an autumn berry crumble with custard. It was a wonderful experience which also tasted amazing. Derek went through each detail and also added in extra information, his special tricks and ideas, so we could learn more.


Molly Dunne - no stranger to professional kitchens
I now understand the stress of working in a kitchen. It was very hot and Derek explained that it gets extremely busy when catering for large numbers and that that’s how chefs get a bad name for being angry! He also explained that it was very different cooking for six people rather than three hundred. It was a very useful and productive afternoon. I am sure that my fellow classmates would love to do it again, I know I would. The end result was really tasty, something I would definitely make  again.

Fitzy goes to work!
Molly, Bradley, Siobhan, Louisa, Stevie and Harry with Derek - great headgear!

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Glencree Reconciliation Retreat

For many years now TY Columbans have joined Transition Year pupils from other schools for a two day retreat at the Glencree Reconciliation Centre. This year was no different and Jessica Scott shares below her impressions of the experience. 



Mr. McCarthy brought us up to Kippure Adventure Centre on Tuesday the 4th of October. There was a change of location due to maintenance work in the Glencree centre. We arrived at Kippure adventure centre shortly after 12:30pm to be greeted by a woman called Joyce. She showed us to our accommodation. The houses were amazing with a small kitchen, dining room and lounge area also with a balcony which had an amazing view.

There were six per house with two rooms with three beds and an en suite. Shortly after arriving Sadhbh, Brendan and I were introduced to the 26 other students who were also in Transition Year and came from various schools: Villiers School, Drogheda Grammar, Newtown, Wesley College, King’s Hospital, St. Andrews, Monaghan Collegiate, and of course St. Columba’s. We then went to lunch where we all got talking. After lunch, we went to the meeting room and were introduced to our mentors Gail and Yasser and they explained to us what Glencree is all about.

Glencree Reconciliation Centre is a non-governmental organisation dedicated to peace building and discussing violence in various areas such as the North and South of Ireland. It was established in 1974. Our mentors explained their main purpose was to strengthen peace between communities and involve more people in the reconciliation process.

We played games to get to know one another. There was an activity called ‘Secret Friend’ where you would get someone’s name and not reveal it to anyone and write little messages to that person and then at the end of the programme reveal yourself. This helped to get to know one another.

There was also a serious side to this, how we spoke about conflict, how it can start and possible solutions, people who are powerful/powerless and what we thought made a good leader. This was a life changing programme in which I learnt a lot about many other people’s opinions. Also I got a chance to give my opinion on topics such as the legal age to vote by doing a debate. Also our mentor Yasser was from Gaza in Palestine and he shared his many experiences of the conflict between his homeland and Israel.

There were other activities too, such as: Cushions, where three teams all wanted the same cushions, this activity was to show the different ways of approaching potential conflict situations. We used violence to get the cushions when there were other ways such as co-operation, sharing the cushions between the teams. This all required communication skills. We also did a rap in three teams where we picked a scenario where someone had been treated unfairly. The group I was in chose the scenario of a boy on our team who once found a trolley in a bush and then the Gardaí arrived and even though he wasn’t involved in it he was forced to walk two miles to bring it back to where it belonged. I enjoyed these activities very much!

There were evening activities after dinner. The first evening we watched the movie “Juno”. On the last evening we watched a documentary about the conflict between Gaza and Israel and the seriousness of this violence. This was a shocking documentary which taught us about a life of violence and conflict and made me appreciate what I have. Also that evening we had a table quiz with questions on music, movies and bizarre rules in foreign countries… did you know that in Switzerland it’s illegal to flush your toilet after 10pm!

It was a great experience to get to know other people and learn different things about the world today. I’m happy I got the chance to go!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Something smells nice!

This evening six TYers will take part in a cookery demonstration and class courtesy of the college caterers Sodexo. These pupils expressed an interest in cookery through their Pupil Profile which they completed at the start of term. They will be under the guidance of one of Sodexo's executive chefs and a three course menu has been organised for them.
It is hoped that this will be the first of many such events. The even better news is that they will in fact be cooking their own supper. No doubt a five star reveiw will appear here shortly...

Monday, October 17, 2011

Pupils' Council 2011-2012

Elections to our Pupils' Council took place today and the two pupils chosen to represent Transition Year for the coming academic year are Molly Dunne and Ugo Unwurah. They will attend the Council's regular meetings under the stewardship of Mrs Heffernan. Congratulations and good luck to both of them.

Friday, October 14, 2011

TY Film Club: First Film Review


Mr. Coldrick has compiled an interesting and challenging list of films for the TY Film Club this year. The aim is spark interest both in film itself and in the issues raised by those shown. Harry Johnson gives his summary of the first offering of 2011.

On the 4th October 2011 the Transition Year watched “O” in the Lower Argyle. It is a tale of trust, seduction, jealousy and betrayal based on William Shakespeare’s  Othello.

Odin and Desi are a couple but Hugo, Odin’s best friend through basketball is also in love with Desi. In his desperate jealousy of the girl, Hugo commits sins he would previously never have dreamed of. Throughout the film Hugo relies on Odin’s trust to stir up suspicion in the love relationship.

Hugo kills three times for Desi and plays the part too well so that Odin ends up killing Desi in rage and then himself. Moments before Odin’s suicide, he realises Hugo has betrayed him. The source of the information which leads to Odin’s revelation is Hugo’s third victim. At this stage, Hugo has driven two friends to their deaths and Desi, his reason for killing his friends is also dead.

Finally the police cars take Hugo away; he now has nothing, no friends, women or even any sympathy from his parents.

“O” was released in 1999 but was shelved for two years due to its similarities to the 1999 Columbine High School Massacre. Not wanting to reawaken fresh scars the film was re-released in 2001.

Team Hope

Yesterday in Chapel Ms Carol Hennessey from Team Hope spoke to the school about this project. Better known as the Christmas Shoebox Appeal the project is aimed at TY pupils who are asked to collect and fill shoeboxes with Christmas gifts for children around the world.

Ms Hennessey spoke about how much happiness these gifts bring to children and families who have very little in comparison to those in the developed world. It is a tradition now that our TY pupils engage with this project and a report will appear later.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Zumba Has Arrived!!!


Do you like to dance, keep fit and have fun? Well, look no further, Zumba has arrived. On Wednesday October 12th at 4.30pm eighteen brave girls huddled nervously in the gym, rather unsure what they were about to experience. They need not have feared as Louis our instructor was extremely friendly and immediately made the girls feel at ease. The initial warm up routine got the heart rates up as well as the group spirit and level of comfort. It was all engines go for the next 40 minutes. 

Zumba is a new fitness sensation taking over the world. It all began by chance back in 1990s when Columbian fitness instructor Alberto ‘Beto’ Perez forgot his aerobic tapes. Determined to continue with his class he raided his car tapes which consisted mainly of traditional Latin, salsa and merengue music. What followed was an improvised class using this very non-traditional aerobic music and Zumba was born. Following the success in Colombia, he took the class to the USA in 1999 and this exciting style of fitness class has infected the world ever since. 

Zumba is considered exercise in disguise, with a typical class burning between 500 and 1000 calories. The music is a mixture of slow and fast rhythms combined with aerobic resistance training with the key focus on fitness and weight loss. The music comes from a broad and varied range of dance styles including salsa, mambo, reggaeton, samba, merengue and chachacha to name a few. 

Zumba follows a very simple formula - dance, keep fit, lose weight, stay toned and have fun in a friendly atmosphere. It is for everyone, it doesn't matter how old you are, shape or fitness level, everyone is welcome. It is a great way to relieve stress, lift your mind, body and soul and burn those calories. 

The overall experience was great and the gym was buzzing after half an hour with everyone hoping for another beat bashing Latin song…so now the question….. is Columba’s ready to ZUMBA?!!!

Monday, October 10, 2011

Organic Garden - Update No. 2


On Saturday 24th of September five members of the Transition Year Biology set visited the TY Vegetable patch along with Ms. Hennessy and Ms. McNelis for an afternoon of planting in our newly established vegetable garden.
The previous week a number of other pupils had recovered what once was a vegetable patch from swarms of weeds and shrubbery that had grown over the years. 

When we arrived we got straight to work removing the final weeds, mixing compost with top soil and blending it into existing soil giving it a much needed nutrient and moisture boost.
We first planted strawberries which were kindly brought in by Alex Bisgood who has had experience in working on his family garden in Enniskerry. We then moved on to planting a variety of Autumn vegetables including cabbages, little gem lettuce & broccoli in the patch. We planted these around twelve inches in nice even rows.
During our planting we found a little friend buried in the soil. It had a cream body with a brown head and has six legs. We took some photos and looked him up on line to find out he was the larva of the Chafer beetle. These feed on the roots of plants and need to be controlled. With a little research we found one interesting method involving nematodes. The nematodes are applied to the soil and the soil is watered. The nematodes (Heterorhabditis megidis) seek out the chafer grubs and attack by entering natural body openings. Once inside, they release bacteria that stops them from feeding killing the grub. The nematodes then reproduce inside the dead pest and release a new generation of hungry infective nematodes, which disperse looking for new prey. Isn't nature wonderful?!! 
Our afternoon of activities lasted an hour and a half. All our hard work paid off and we now have the beginnings of the TY Organic Garden.
By Alex Owens 

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Transition Year Information Evening

This annual event takes place on Thursday 6th October in the Big Schoolroom at 8:00pm. There will be a number of speakers: staff, current TY pupils and former TY pupils. There will be an opportunity to ask questions afterwards in the Drawing Room where refreshments will be served. We hope to see many parents there.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Transition Year House Speeches

A review of last night's event by one of the TY pupils will appear here soon but it has to be noted now, in brief, what a great night it was. The proceedings were expertly hosted by Alex Owens and interval entertainment was provided by B. Dickerson and A. Chisholm singing the Ben E. King classic 'Stand By Me'. We also witnessed the astonishing street dance of L. Schaefer and T. McLarn with a little help from S.Koethe.

The subject matter of the speeches was eclectic and yet TY co-ordinator Mr. McCarthy noted in his comments how they were all linked by a common thread: the mysterious tapestry of life. From cows, citógs, cliff-jumping and Cavan, anaphylactic shock and adoption to grandparents, gorilla boarders and Down syndrome. But it was the opening talk by Helene Peters, simply on the important things in life, that deservedly won the first place. Hollypark took the house honours. Many thanks to the college's English teachers for coaching their charges. Well done to one and all.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Open Day 2011

Our obliging and valiant TY pupils acted as guides to guests today as the rain came pouring down. Their role was to show visitors where to go for the start of their guided tour. They offered umbrellas to those who had none. From there college prefects took over.

The organic vegetable growers were going to work their patch for the morning but the inclement conditions made that an unsuitable activity. Once the bulk of the visitors had arrived members of TY were due up in the BSR (Big Schoolroom) to listen to their form mates' house speeches, a practice for Sunday night's event. The final selection of speakers has still to be announced and excitement is building.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Organic Garden Project - A New Beginning


Brendan Dickerson (pictured centre above) reports on a new Transition Year project this year - an Organic Garden!

This year the TY Biology classes plan to prepare and maintain an Organic Vegetable Garden. The classes are excited about the opportunity to plan and grow vegetables as well as soft fruits such as raspberries and blue berries. The group have been allocated an unused bed and green house in the farmer’s old garden, both in need of some attention. 

The project kicked off during evening activities on Saturday the 17th of September 2011. At 6pm a group of eager gardeners started work, with the help of Ms. Hennessey. We arrived to find all of our equipment, neatly laid out in the greenhouse, spades, shears, pitchforks, gloves and a rake all kindly supplier by the school gardener. 

The bed was in desperate need of some attention. The first task was an assault on the weeds, and trust me, there were a lot of weeds. The team worked with great focus and we managed to clear the bed in about half an hour. After most of the larger weeds were removed we dug the ground and used a pitch fork to turn the soil around so it would look nicer, pulling out smaller weeds as we went. Once the bed was weed free we raked and levelled the soil. 

Our find of the day was a leather jacket grub, the larva of the Chafer Beetle, a pretty ugly looking beast! 

Next, the grass around the raspberry bushes were pulled out to make them look neater and the surrounding area clipped with the shears. The Greenhouse was next on the task list. It was raked, to get rid of the grass, and old dead poppies were pulled out. At the end of our session the area was looking a lot better, and neater. The large red skip that we had been given was almost full from all the weeds we had pulled out. All in all it was a great evening and I hope soon enough we will have the garden up and running. 

Week 1 gardeners included – Brendan Dickerson, Alex Bisgood, Tosan McLarn, Anna v. Schintling, Emily Speckter, Sadhbh Sheeran, Stephan Koethe and Ugo Onwurah. Here are some before and after shots!

Before the onslaught.

The Green House

Hard at work.

The bed - ready for planting.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Compulsory Modules No. 1: Drama

This year on Monday afternoons TY pupils have a double class in what we call the compulsory modules. These are courses that everyone in the form participates in and which rotate through the year. The modules are Drama, Careers, Astronomy and P.E. Below is the first in a series introducing what's going on in each at the time of writing, starting, in no particular order, with Drama. 

A family of octopi (?) pose for their portrait 
A large part of successful drama lessons is about creating a space to encourage playfulness. So obviously this is mostly welcome from the pupils' perspectives. With the first group of year there is always the small matter of getting to know one another as there are always new characters in the form. 'Zip!Zap!Boing!' is a classic drama warm-up game used by professional directors and troupes the world over - we always start sessions with this. Playfulness takes centre stage with activities like 'Grandma's Steps' or 'The Bear of Poitiers'. These and a long list of other games seek to bond the group of performers, develop some physical awareness and fine tune verbal agility in a variety of situations. 

'Family Portraits' asks the groups to pose as a family having its photograph taken...a family of toddlers, accountants, Elvis Presleys, Olympic weight lifters, the list goes on.

Muscular, mostly...


As the group progresses it is hoped to develop greater confidence in role-playing, improv., and characterisation. A goal for each group is to have a workshopped sketch developed by the final week of the module. A lot done, more to so...

Another reliable activity - 'Changing Mirror'

Tara takes Gerardo's order in 'Role Reversal'

Oriol is put through his paces in the Coach/Athlete role reversal 





Junior Cert Celebration Day - Photo Slideshow

Below are a series of photos, taken by Transition Year pupil Christina Alvarez, of the Junior Certificate celebration day reported on earlier this month by Sadhbh Sheeran.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

TY Hike - A Few Photos


Yesterday's TY hike in the hills directly behind the college was blessed with perhaps the finest day so far this September. The views afforded by such a clear day from Fairy Castle were breath taking. To the north the city sprawled away, in the bay the tide was low but sailing races were clear to see off Dun Laoghaire, round to Killiney hill, Bray Head, the two Sugarloafs (Little and Big) and on to Maulin, Djouce, War Hill and the mast on Kippure.

Many of the hikers took photos so these are just an initial smattering and we hope to post a pupil report on the walk soon.

A brief rest while stragglers catch up, yes there were some stragglers!
Sall and Moll forage for 'blackers'
The leading party assemble at Fairy Castle
P. Dilenberger - looks to the sea, pensive; the Big Sugarloaf in the distance

Sam and Olly 'fly the dove' (sort of) with Dublin Bay beyond



Friday, September 23, 2011

TY Hike in the Hills


Tomorrow sees the first of a few scheduled 'whole form' hikes. All TY should be participating unless otherwise arranged and pupils are reminded that any physical activity of this nature counts towards their Columban award scheme. 

We are blessed to live at the foot of the ancient Dublin hills and no doubt we all too often take our location for granted. Walks like these help to recapture that sense of gratitude. By the way we must also give thanks for TY staff team member Mr. Noel Coldrick who is co-ordinating tomorrow's outing; he is vastly experienced as a walker in these hills (and far beyond) and he is willing to supervise and help to organise all manner of hikes if there is a desire to do so coming from the TY pupil body. For instance last year eight TY-ers walked c.60 miles of the Wicklow Way, mostly to raise money for Habitat for Humanity.

We will assemble at 2 p.m. tomorrow and after that NC is in charge but I think we'll walk a part of the Wicklow Way and visit Fairy Castle, Three Rock and come back down in a loop from Ticknock to Kilmashogue...but you never know!

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Participants for House Speeches Announced

At this time of year, every year, the pupils selected for TY House Speeches are announced. This night is a favourite in the Columban calendar and is organised by the English department. It will take place on Sunday October 2nd in the BSR, starting at 8 p.m.

The idea is straightforward. Two TY members from each of the senior boarding houses will speak on a topic of their choice in front of the entire school. They are judged on various criteria by a panel of three judges (one judge is always last year's winner, in this case Neil Dalrymple). Speakers are strongly encouraged not to be too reliant on notes, which adds to the challenge. An individual winner is awarded as well as a winning house from the combined scores of its speakers. Usually the variety of topics covered in the evening is staggering - there really isn't a pattern but generally the entertainment levels are high!

Mr. Canning helps and cajoles the chosen few in their preparations and co-ordinates the whole evening. If any of the people listed below need assistance or guidance they can also consult with their TY mentor for advice. Parents, guests and visitors are welcome to attend on the night.
  • Glen: S. Freney, O. Glenn-Craigie, S. Hillert
  • Gwynn: H. Johnson, W. Wood, P. Dillenberger
  • Stackallan: A. Bisgood, A. Chisholm, B. Dickerson
  • Iona: C. Alvarez, D. Gernon, T. McCormick
  • Hollypark: A. Herrero, J. Huggard, H. Peters

The five TY-ers in Beresford are co-ordinating the interval entertainment.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

DAWN WALK - Beware! Flying Coffee!

It is hoped to offer several 'dawn walks' for TY pupils on Sundays this year. Bray resident Sean Freney writes his account below of  last Sunday's (very) early morning TY walk up to Bray Head. 

Bray Head - The North Face!
We set out on Sunday morning at 6:45 am for the first TY dawn walk of the year to climb Bray head.
We gathered outside the sports hall, and departed in two cars. Mr. Swift’s was much the smoother.  In-flight banter between fellow Bray local boy Mr. O’Shaughnessy and me was almost competitive. Who knew more about the local businesses past or present, dry cleaners and general practitioners, that sort of thing. In 25 minutes we were at Bray seafront, from where we walked to the base of the hill to start our ascent. Mr. Coldrick told us that it would be a nice morning, but he always does – all was to be revealed...

Brave Mountaineering Souls - we need more of this spirit!
When we got close to the summit he and Mr. O’Shaughnessy had already reached the top. Only as the cross appeared just metres away did we feel the full force of the morning wind. The remaining five of us climbed the almost vertical rock face with great difficulty, and the gale did not aid us in our venture. When we all reached the top we could hardly move and were getting blown about the place.

It was then that Mr. O’Shaughnessy started offering coffee from a flask – we’d arrived at the top and it was time for a treat. The gusts had other ideas. The wind was so strong at his first sip Mr. O’S ended up with milky coffee on his glasses and down his front. When he offered it to others my camera lens took the brunt! He was the first to admit it wasn’t one of his finest ideas! A fellow early morning hiker kindly took a photo of the group.

With a little time to spare we walked for ten minutes along the path that leads to Greystones. Mr. Coldrick befriended a piebald horse but couldn’t persuade Brendan to hop up. 
'Mr. Coldrick befriended a piebald'
We made our descent and drove back to the college in time for breakfast and chapel.

In my opinion it was a great morning, much more productive than staying in bed. On behalf of myself and my three fellow Columbans, I’d like to thank Mr. Swift, Mr. Coldrick and Mr. O’Shaughnessy for accompanying us. 

Monday, September 19, 2011

SCC: First Impressions

In the first TY session of the year pupils were given their timetables and told what to expect and how best to benefit from TY. We flagged up the new blog and spoke about our hope that by the year's end every TY pupil would have contributed a piece. Mr. Jones invited the new members of the form to volunteer to write a 'first impressions' piece and Anna v. Schintling was the valiant soul who raised her hand. Her thoughts are below. 



I was excited to come to the college because I've always wanted to go to a boarding school. The days before I came here I thought a lot about what to pack and what the people probably might be like.
When I arrived I was warmly welcomed by the kids who had been here before. I was shown around by one of the seniors. She showed me where I was supposed to live for the coming year.  I really liked my room from the first moment. I unpacked my things and went to listen to the Warden’s speech.
The first school day was very exciting because I wasn’t sure where I was supposed to go and what my classes were but the “older” pupils of this place showed me where to go.
Everything was so new to me, the campus and all the other people.
So far I really like the school and I have settled in quickly. All the people are really kind and are helping wherever they can. I enjoy life at St. Columba’s College so far which is pretty much what I expected.

Collecting for AWARE

A report from intrepid collector Siobhán Brady on her experience of helping raise money for Aware's annual Daisy Days:


Each year, Transition Year pupils spend a lot of their time taking part in fundraising for different charities. This year, our first event was for the charity AWARE. This charity helps people deal with depression.  I was in the first group to go fundraising on Grafton Street.

So on Thursday 15 September, Dearbhala Gernon, Harry Johnson, Melchior de Preville and I set out at 8:15 a.m. in the mini-bus to the Luas station in Dundrum, driven by Willie Gibbs. When we got into town on the Luas, a man from AWARE met us outside the St. Stephen's Green centre, armed with green boxes containing different coloured bracelets (which took us all of ten minutes to learn how to put on!) and bright yellow teeshirts which had the slogan "Daisy Days. Help AWARE to defeat depression" on them. 

We were immediately faced with competition from the Transition Year students of Terneure College who were collecting for Our Lady's Hospice. But, undaunted, we trooped down Grafton Street asking the same question over and over: "Would you like to buy a bracelet for AWARE?"

Some people were very generous, giving up to €20! Some were not so friendly but all of us kept a smile on our faces and wished them a nice day! Our hands and legs were sore from standing holding boxes which seemed to be  getting heavier and heavier over the three hours we were there, but it was all for a good cause.

At twelve o'clock, we signed off our names at the main desk and gave our boxes back to the man from AWARE. We got the Luas back to Windy Arbour where Mr Coldrick cheerfully met us and drove us back to school

I think this was a very worthwhile day. I liked the idea  of putting one new person in each group so we got to know each other better. My attitude has now completely changed towards anyone collecting for a charity on the streets of Dublin as I know how much it means to the collector when someone stops to donate with a smile on their face!

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Mentoring Groups

Each Transition Year pupil is assigned to a mentoring group headed by a member of staff who will supervise and advise the pupils thoughout the course of the year. Having met as a whole form in the first week, these smaller groups have been meeting during this past week and have exchanged ideas and become familiar with each other.

Pupils are encouraged to set themselves academic, extra-curricular and personal goals and their mentor will advise and support them in these aspirations. Each pupil will organise and collate a folder containing details of activities engaged in during the year. This will provide a permanent record of achievment. They will all be encouraged to contribute to, and hence take a lot from their own individual Transition Year.

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Junior Certificate Results Celebrations

Last Wednesday, members of the Transition Year received their Junior Certificate results. That afternoon, the pupils celebrated their fine achievements with a day out in Dublin - giving the new pupils to the school a chance to bond with their new classmates and to see a little bit of the city. Sadhbh Sheeran gives us a low-down on what took place.


We received our results at 12.30pm on Wednesday the 14th of September and like everyone else who were to collect their results I was absolutely terrified. But within the hour we were all, both those who had sat their Junior Cert in June and those who hadn’t, boarding a bus and heading out of the school towards the Dublin docks to celebrate the end of three years' work! 

On arriving at the Poolbeg yacht club we were bundled into waterproofs that resembled something between the stereotypical fisherman’s outfit and a Santa suit! Donning life jackets, we were split into groups - those of us who would brave the rougher boat and those of you who would prefer the more gentle covered boat! I chose the rough boat!! 

We were guided to 3 boats, 2 ribs and a covered safer-looking boat! Those who had opted for the less adventurous boating experience boarded the latter, only to find it would not start and so were instructed to remain on shore for the time being and they would go out after we returned. The rest of us piled into the ribs and set off, bouncing across the waves. About five hundred metres out we collided with what was apparently a lobster pot, although I have to say it didn’t look much like one to me. The engine cut out and would not restart so we had to be towed back to the docks by the other rib! 

We had soon boarded a covered boat and set off once again! As we came round the coastline we saw landmarks such as the Aviva Stadium , Howth Head, Dalkey Island (pictured above) and Bono’s house. There were seals sitting on the rocks on Dalkey island. For some of the people on my boat it was their first time seeing seals and they were utterly intrigued! As we came round Dalkey Island we encountered another problem, the other boat, the only rib left, was having some trouble picking up speed so to be on the safe side the passengers from that boat came and joined us for the journey back to the docks. 

Arriving safely back on dry land we were met by Mr. Sherwood and the remainder of our year, who had been to the Dublin Eye while we were out in the boats. They then boarded the boat and we set off toward the Dublin Eye. I had never been on the Dublin Eye before so was very excited. From the top we could see right out into the harbour and around Dublin - a sight of the city I had never seen before! 

On returning to the club house we were reunited with the rest of our year and had some supper. Then it was back on the bus and off to Dundrum Cinema where Mr. Sherwood had booked us the V.I.P seats to see the movie Friends With Benefits, a romantic comedy, that everyone enjoyed, even the boys who loathed to admit liking anything with Justin Timberlake in it! 

As we were leaving the cinema we passed other people also celebrating results night but I have to say I wouldn’t have rather spent my day any other way! I would like to thank Mr. Sherwood who put much effort into organising the expedition for us and to Mr. Gibbs, Mr. Clarke and Ms. Baker who accompanied us. 

Photos of the trip to follow shortly.