New School Bank for Coláiste Bhaile Chláir
Coláiste Bhaile Chláir are delighted to announce the introduction of our School Bank in association with Bank of Ireland Mervue. Our school bank will be set up and run by five of our students and a bank official from Bank of Ireland.
Over 50 students applied for positions in the school bank, but only 31 students were shortlisted, students were interviewed by Tom Forde (Bank Manager), and Therese Kennedy (Bank Official).
Successful candidates were:
- Ciara McCarty—Bank Manager
- Oisín Keogh—Operations & Audit Specialist
- Avril King—Product and Marketing Manager
- Fynn Duclaux & Patryk Kazimierczak—Customer Service
The new school bank will be open once a month and is located beside the stage in the main hall. Application forms will be taken from Thursday 10th of April until Tuesday 29th April. Students must have their application in before the deadline to be entered into a competition to win an iPad. Students that are under fourteen need a parents signature on the application.
The school bank opened for the very first day in Coláiste Bhaile Chláir on Thursday 10th of April.
The School Bank Team (L–R): Patryk Kazimierczak, Avril King, Ciara McCarty, Ciara O’Connor (BOI), Helen Rafferty (BOI), Fynn Duclaux & Oisín Keogh.
by Oisín Keogh
On Tuesday the 8th of April our school decided to take part in the local Fun Run as a fundraiser for the Claregalway & District Day Care Centre. It was a 5km route around the village. Many students were encouraged to do it and a lot of the teachers also took part (see photo above). The race was set up by the Clare River Harriers. The school accommodated the registration and the after desserts.
There was a great turn out and it was a very successful race. Not only the students, but everyone benefitted from it. The school managed to raise a substantial amount of money for the Day Care Centre. It was a great experience and hopefully we can hold many more events like this in years to come.
by Grace Cooley
Easter concert
The students of Coláiste Bhaile Chláír put on a very enjoyable concert on Friday the 11th of April. A variety of different acts performed singing, ballet, Irish dancing, traditional Irish music and Scéal Clann Lír. Peter Coyne recited a poem written by himself and Harry Bradsaw recited a poem called A Dark Autumn’s Eve written by himself. Jade Sweeney and Jessica Lynch narrated Scéal Clann Lír while Zoe Lyne, Saoirse McNamara, Saoirse McCarthy and Gemma Coll performed ballet as Clann Lir. Andrea Trill and Chloe Duffy sang Let It Go. Katie Westbrook and Conor Gilpin sang Riptide accompanied by Joshua Whelan on piano and Maddie Duffys on guitar. Niamh McCullagh and Niamh Fahy performed an Irish dance accompanied by a trad group comprising of Ciara Burke, Andrea Trill, Niamh Moran, Aoife Lyons, Amy O’Connell.
Every student in this concert has put in so much time and effort as they have been working hard to put on a good show, for all students, teachers and parents that attended. Go raibh míle maith agaibh to our two teachers Mr Callan and Ms Mannion who have put all their time into this concert.
by Niamh Moran and Darren Costello
Connaught Chess Finals
On the 9th of April four students from Coláiste Bhaile Chláir made it to the Connaught Chess Finals, which was held in St Gerald’s secondary school, Castlebar, Mayo. It was a great achievement since Coláiste Bhaile Chláir only has first years and they were playing leaving certs in this competition. The students that were selected for the team were: board one Thomas Mc Stay, board two Kieran Spellman, board three Luke Adams and board four Michael Aherne. Their mentor and coach was Ms Du Bois.
On arriving Coláiste Bhaile Chláir were set to play the All Ireland Champions Castlebar A. After nearly an hour playing, Castlebar unfortunately won. It was not a bad result though since Castlebar are reigning All-Ireland Champions and are mostly made up of transition years and leaving certs.
Claregalway went home with the title of fourth best chess playing school in Connacht. It was a good result and we can expect more from this team in the future, especially since Castlebar and other schools in this competition will lose many key players next year.
by Kieran Spellman
Coláiste Bhaile Chláir 1st Year Boys Gaelic Football 2013–14
Through the rain, through the heat, through the months, the 35 man squad have worked so hard to become the fantastic team that they are.
At the start of September, the two inspiring mentors, Mr Callan and Mr Sheridan, called the first football meeting for everyone who plays the great game. Around 90 boys and girls turned out at Claregalway GAA club in the school’s first ever Gaelic Football blitz, to show their amazing skills. The coaches brought to the first ever game vs St Mary’s College and everyone got a chance to play.
We had a fantastic Connacht B League campaign, eventually winning it in an absorbing final against St Attracta’s Community School, Tubbercurry. We played quite badly in the first half but in the second half we managed a comeback that any team would be proud of. We made history. The first team ever to win a major event. The team had also had a great championship campaign and reached the final which was a dramatic and hard fought affair. Sadly due to a few injuries the team came up short in its attempt to win the double.
All the teachers and students went to the final, and the support was immense. It was moving, motivational and inspiring. All of the team got an O’Neill’s tracksuit top sponsored by Treat Café. We would like to thank everyone for are support during the season, all the parents especially. Hats off to the fantastic Ethan Kilcoyne and Mícheál Ó Connell who helped the squad in every match and training sessions all year round. We hope this will motivate us and the 1st year team next year to more success.
The Boys Gaelic Football Team 2013–14: James McCarthy, Daragh Jordan, Darren Costello, Seán Dennigan, Darragh Hegarty, Sean Mitchell, Jack Hurney, Jack Glynn, Daniel Prior, Ryan O’Sullivan, Paul Culkeen, Drew Greenwood, Mark Slevin, Patrick Donovan, Harry O’Gorman, Dylan Walsh, Dara Whelan, Ronan Asgari, Frank Ebenuwa, Hugh Mulryan, Joe Mulqueen, Jarlath Commins, Philip Dolan, Conor Flaherty, Peter Coyne, Ronan Murphy, Luke Thornton, Ciaran Monaghan, Diarmuid Mullen, Aaron Brennan, Jonathan Hickey, Ethan Kilcoyne, Mícheál Ó Connell, Shane Lawless.
Coaches: Mr Sheridan, Mr Callan.
by Peter Coyne and Ethan Kilcoyne, 1Finn, Coláiste Bhaile Chláir
Boys Basketball
The All Ireland quarter final play-offs were held yesterday in the Claregalway Community Centre. The matches began with Coláiste Bhaile Chláir facing Abbey College, Boyle. Ryan O’Sullivan gave Claregalway the lead, driving to the basket on every occasion to score the first four baskets. The team carried on with determination and skill, seeing Ronan Murphy and Maciej Mrowka play outstanding offence and defence on boards. The team held the lead comfortably and the final score was 22–12 to Claregalway.
The second game needed to be a win for the boys to progress to All-Ireland semi-finals. Claregalway faced Coláiste na Sceilge who were skilled and undefeated all day. Maciej Mrowka opened the scoring with two baskets which gave Claregalway a confident lead to start. The team played a strong man to man defence and Conor Flaherty sent the team ahead scoring two three pointers under pressure in the last quarter. The team headed into the final three minutes of the third quarter with a two point lead. It was nail biting stuff as the Claregalway players held the defence and Mark Slevin drove hard to the basket but the ball seemed determined to rebound. Coláiste na Sceilge took advantage of the rebounds and pulled ahead with a strong fast break by their number 9, Lucas Paulauskas.
Abbey Boyle gave everyone a glimmer of hope as they stayed strong against Coláiste na Sceilge into their final minutes. A win for them meant it was all to play for Claregalway in their final game. Unfortunately Coláiste na Sceilge pulled ahead yet again, leaving our boys’ hopes dashed going into their final game watching the final score 30–18.
Despite knowing they would have to wait until next year for their chance at All-Irelands through, Claregalway gave it their all in the last match of the day. Beanntraí opened up the scoring but Claregalway’s Ryan O’Sullivan and Paul Culkeen weren’t long evening up the score and pulling. With just over a minute left on the clock, Claregalway’s defence depleted and Beanntraí scored one final basket leaving the score with a very tight 23–21.
by Daragh Jordan
MATHletes Challenge 2014
Coláiste Bhaile Chláir are competing in the MATHletes Challenge 2014. Coláiste Bhaile Chláir have won the February and March MATHletes Cup for the most points per eligible student and are currently winning the April MATHletes Cup. A lot of high-performing MATHletes are competing for Coláiste Bhaile Chláir. In February, Roy Grealish and Emily Sheeran were on the student leaderboards. In March, Shauna Flaherty, Meg Regan, Roy Grealish and Ellen Harty were on the student leaderboards.
An amazing amount of five students for Coláiste Bhaile Chláir are currently on the student leaderboards for April. The five students are Katelynn Roche, Shane Lawless, Peter Coyne, Oisín Keogh and Kieran Spellman. Evan Creane has reached the leaderboards for the first time this week. There are three students on the overall student leaderboards. They are Roy Grealish, Medeina Macenaite and Shauna Flaherty.
by Roy Grealish
Céad Míle Fáilte
Coláiste Bhaile Chláir will host the Connacht Finals of the MATHletes Challenge on Saturday 10th of May. We are looking forward to welcoming the top MATHletes students in Connacht from 5th and 6th Class up to third years. The Training Phase of the Student Challenge ends on Wednesday April 23rd at midnight. Those with the top number of points by county and across the county will qualify for the Regional Finals on Saturday May 10th. These finalists will be announced by April 30th. Top individual student winners from the regional heats will advance to the National Championship on May 24th.
Go n-eirí libh.
