4th Year Newgrange Trip

  Newgrange Trip

We gathered under the clear skies outside St Mary's College eagerly awaiting our trip to Newgrange. The time spent of the bus went unnoticed due to our excitement.. The shuttle bus brought us directly to the Newgrange site. The tour guide lead us through the narrow path inside the tomb. In the centre of the monument she indicated to us the burial chambers and showed us ancient designs and even some graffiti! She also displayed a light show which demonstrated what happens during the Winter Solstice in the monument. It was fascinating. After showing us the roof box's feature she guided us out of the monument and we meandered around the grounds while pointing out multiple less magnificent passage tombs that are scattered around the Boyne Valley area. After the tour we returned to the shuttle bus and went to the interpretive centre which contained even more information about the site. We were all very disappointed returning back to the bus for our journey home. We spent our bus journey reflecting on all the new information we learned in Newgrange.

-Eimear Ryan and Sinead Walsh

Bees in St. Mary's

Philip McCabe’s Presentation in St. Mary’s College

Philip McCabe’s talk was on the importance of the honeybee to our very survival. Between one quarter and one third all the food consumed by humans is pollinated by insects and 70% of that is carried out by honeybees. 1.2 million Colonies (hives) of honeybees are required each year in California just to pollinate almonds.

The value of honeybee pollination to US agriculture is, according to the US Department of Agriculture, 115 Billion Dollars, in Europe the valuation is 45 Billion Euros.

Philip explained about the environment and what we need to do to save not only the honeybee but also other insects, the hoverfly, butterflies, solitary bees, bumblebees and ladybirds.

Poetry Aloud

“Education is not the filling of a pail, but rather the lighting of a fire.”

A group of pupils represented the school at ‘Poetry Aloud’, an all-Ireland poetry speaking competition. On Thursday 22^nd October, the group travelled to the National Library to partake of the initial stage of the competition. On the day, judges remarked on the enthusiasm and dedication of all participants, resulting in an extremely high level of competition. Our girls from St. Mary’s were a huge credit themselves and to the school. All of the girls practised relentlessly for weeks beforehand. 2015 being 150^th anniversary of his birth, this year’s focus is on W.B. Yeats. Each pupil recited one prescribed poem, by Yeats, and one of her choice. Faced with the daunting task of reciting a poem by heart in front of an audience, each of the pupils took it in her stride and performed exceptionally. Only the teachers were nervous! The audience was treated to superb performances by over fifty participants. Six pupils were chosen to proceed to the Semi-Final. Three of our pupils will proceed to the next round: Sadhbh Neville (1M) in the Junior category, Laura Gleeson (3C) at Intermediate level and Amy O’ Hanlon (5F) at Senior level. Well done to all for their participation and enthusiasm. Best of luck to our three semi-finalists!

Stemming out of this competition, a Poetry Club will begin after the mid-term break. See Poetry Noticeboard (outside Room 4) for details. Pupils from all year groups are welcome.

First Year Trip to the Library

1Tazmania visit to Naas Library by Carrington Thompson

1T recently visited Naas Library to hear a talk by Ms. Celine Kirenan. Her talk was very interesting and she answered all questions about being an author and also about the process of writing books. She was very informative and inspirational. All first years really enjoyed the experience.  Celine also read us an extract from one of her books: Into The Grey. Also she told us a little about her family history-half were in the IRA and the other fought in the British Army. Also some of her books are based in places she has been in real life.