New School: Coláiste Clavin

We are now in our new School Coláiste Clavin since August 2017 on the site adjacent to the Primary School. Our

name is after Fr Clavin who was the Parish Priest in Longwood during the 1950’s and was instrumental in having

a Secondary School established in this area. It is fitting therefore that he was honoured by having his name on the

School. This building has cost €8 million and can cater for 500 Students. Below are some pictures of the building.

New Teachers 2017-18

The School welcomed four new Teachers for this Academic Year

Ms Burke Ms Cahill Mr Hughes Ms Coyne

(Irish and Home Ec) (Maths) (Construction and TG) (Resource)

Congratulations

Congratulations to Ms. Guilfoyle (Irish Teacher) on the arrival of her beautiful baby boy in September. Good

health and wishes are extended to Ms Guilfoyle and her family and wishing them a Merry Christmas

Trips

Central Criminal Court: Ms Purcell's 2A CSPE Class visited the Central Criminal Courts in Dublin as

part of their Junior Certificate CSPE Action Project. They took part in a Mock Trial where they were able to

act out the different roles involved in a court case in an actual courtroom. They also had the opportunity to

attend a court session involving an assault trial. Students enjoyed their day in the Courts.

Geographical Investigation: 6th Year Geography Classes along with their Teachers Ms. Purcell and Mr

Gorry carried out their Geographical Investigation on the Geomorphic Processes of erosion in the coastal

environment of Howth, Co. Dublin. Their Investigation carries 20% of the marks for Leaving Cert Geography.

Higher Options: Sixth Years along with Ms Warnock attended the Irish Times Higher Options

Conference in the RDS. It’s a forum on Third Level choices for students. It gives a valuable insight into Third

Level Courses in Ireland and abroad ranging from Art Colleges to Agricultural Colleges. While there students

could go to the relevant college stands and ask and questions they had and take away booklets etc.

English Drama: A Sixth Year English class along with their Teacher Ms. Farrell took a trip to the Gaiety

in Dublin, where they enjoyed the Spinning Heart. The trip presented a fantastic opportunity for the students

to engage with their studied play in preparation for their Leaving Certificate English exam.

Castlerea Prison: Ms Murray’s 3C CSPE Class went on a visit to the medium security Castlerea Prison

as part of their Junior Certificate CSPE Action Project. They were taken on a guided tour of the prison and

learnt about life for a prisoner. A heartfelt thanks to Jim Howe of the Irish Prison Service for the thorough and

comprehensive tour of the prison.

An Triail: 6th Year Honours Irish Students with Ms. A.McDonagh travelled to see a drama from the

Leaving Cert Irish course “An Triail” Le Mairead Ni Ghrada in UCD. The play is set in the West of Ireland

during the 1960s. The story deals with a young girl who gets pregnant by the local primary school teacher, a

married man with a sick wife. She is shunned by her family and leaves her parish for the city. Here she is

marginalised again leading to tragedy.

Irish Aid Centre: Ms Shine's 2B CSPE class visited the Irish Aid Centre. The Students learned about

development in the world and took part in an interactive workshop about life in a village in Malawi. The Irish

Aid Centre has an Aid Programme that helps to reduce poverty and hunger particularly in Sub Saharan Africa.

An interesting and enjoyable day was had by all.

Curragh Army Camp: Ms Murray’s 2C CSPE class visited the Curragh Army Camp as part of their

Junior Certificate Action Project. Students were taken on a guided tour of the Military Museum, witnessed a

display by the Fire Squad at the Curragh Military Camp and gained hands on experience of firearms,

munitions, artillery and army tanks used by the military as part of their service at home and overseas.

Tara Mines: Ms. Purcell’s 6th Year Geography Class visited Tara Mines outside Navan for their study

of "Human Interaction with the Rock Cycle" Physical Question. They were given a guided tour of the site and

students enjoyed an informative trip on the operations of Tara Mines and mining in Ireland. Hopefully the

tour will help them if the Question is asked in their Leaving Cert in June.

Pearse Street Garda Station and Armed Support Unit: Ms Purcell’s 2A CSPE Class visited Pearse

Street Garda Station, the busiest station in the country. While there they got to learn about the work of the

Gardai and spoke with different units e.g. Drugs etc. They got to see Big Brother is watching all the time with

access to the multiple CCTV screens covering the city centre. While there the Armed Support Unit also visited

them, they showed the Students their weapons and described the type of work they are involved in.

English Drama: The Sixth Year Higher English Class along with their teacher Mr O'Connell took a trip

to the Hellix Theatre in Dublin, where they enjoyed the Shakespearean Play King Lear. This gave the Students

an opportunity to engage with their studied play in preparation for their Leaving Certificate English exam.

Maths week was in October. We held a problem-solving quiz for First Years and another for Second Years.

They also had a trip to the National Concert Hall for 5th and 6th year HL Maths Students to attend a Maths

Talk on how you can use Maths in life. There was also the National Prism Maths Contest held for any

interested students, and awarded our best Senior and Junior Students with a certificate for achievement.

LCVP: 10 Year Partnership with BITC and Lagan Cement

We are proud to announce we are 10 years in Partnership with BITC and Lagan Cement as part of the Skills

at Work Programme. We would like to thank Germaine Noonan and Kate Horton from BITC for

their commitment to the Programme over the past 10 years. We look forward to many more years ahead in

Partnership. BITC link our School to the local Company Lagan Cement in Kinnegad who kindly give up their

time to provide Students in our School with a "sneak preview" into the "World of Work". They provide

workshops including a Site Visit, Team-building session, CV and Interview Skills Workshop and Mock

Interviews. Students return with a presentation to Lagan Cement and our BITC Coordinator, Kate Horton,

showcasing what they have gained from the link. We would like to thank Colm McCarty and Anne Dunne

from Lagan Cement who currently coordinate the Workshops and site visit. We also want to acknowledge our

LCVP teachers Mr Gorry and Ms S. McDonagh, and to Ms O' Rafferty, the LCVP Coordinator for facilitating

the link over the past number of years.

Sport

Girls Basketball:

The girls won their Semi-Final against Sacred Heart which got them to the North-East Leinster Final, which

is a first for the Longwood Girls Basketball Team. They put up a very good fight in the Final against Coláiste

na HInse, with super defence, teamwork and passing. Unfortunately the girls lost out to Coláiste na hInse who

had a very strong team. Well done to all the players; Aoife Doyle (Captain) Janet Adio, Katie Flynn, Arwen

Munoz, Tonia Oben, Toto Omokri, Aoife Nolan, Kacy Cunningham, Kathleen Finnegan, Portia Costello,

Niamh O’ Reilly, Orlaith O’ Reilly, Aoife Doyle, Rebecca Cusack, Robyn Butler, Jessica Ennis. Well done.

also to Lynn McGinley, Eirinn Leonard, Doireann McStay and Kelly Hyland who were a great help with the

scores/timekeeping and support throughout all the girls game.

The Senior Hurlers had a tough year in which they lost to both St. Pats of Navan and Athboy

Community School. Best for the team over the year were Jamie Boyle and Cian Brennan. Well done to all

on your efforts over the year and hopefully next year will be better!

U14 Football: Our under 14 football team lost out to Beaufort in the first round of the U14

Championship played in Dunganny. The lads lead by 4 points at HT but a strong second half by Beaufort saw

them run out winners in the end by 5 points. The Panel: Liam Moroney, Mark Murphy, Dotun Mabinouri,

Brandon Martin, Ryan Maguire, Donal Stagg, Quin Fisher, Gavin Quirke, Coyle O’Brien, Louis Butler, Sean

O’Shea, Kai Moloney, Noah Forlong, Sean Crum, Billy Hogan, Jack Raleigh, James Sweney, Sean Mukutiri,

Luke Daly, Keelan Scott, Jamie Lee and Josh Meagher

U16 Football: Our under 16 Footballers lost by 8 points to Athboy Community School in the North Leinster

Championship first round. While Athboy were a very well organised and a well-rounded team, our lads had

several goal chances throughout the 60 minutes. Had they converted some of those, then the scoreline could

have been far different. Panel: Adam O’Brien, James Howlin, Aidan Craig, Ryan Maguire, Cian Crowe Doyle,

Quin Fisher, Harry Smyth, Dotun Mabinuori, Tadhg Connolly, Sean Moloney, Mark Hennessey, Cathal

Evans, Shane Dixon, Aedan Boyle, Ronan Comey, Sean Crum and Jack Raleigh

U-18 Football: Our U-18 football team recorded a narrow and hard-fought win over Colaiste Na Mí in the

North Leinster Quarter final on a final scoreline of 5:8 to 5:7. Played at Longwood GAA pitch, the lads

trailed by 4 points at half time having played with a significant wind to their backs. But a much improved

second half performance saw them right back in the game, but it still took a last gasp goal by Harry Smyth

after the ball had come back off the post to eventually secure the win. They now go forward to play in the

North Leinster Semi Final after the Christmas break. Panel: Billy Hogan, Mark Hennessey, Scott Douglas,

Bassit Sanni, Darren O’Sullivan, Graham,Ronan Comey, Ross Kerrigan, Kean Flynn, Ryan Brady, Cian

Brennan, Aedan Boyle ,Harry Smyth, Jamie Boyle, Shane Dixon, Luke Daly, Sean Moloney, Dotun

Mabinouri, Ryan Maguire, Issac Mihau and Ethan Plunkett

Art News

Students who entered and won Enfield Credit Union Poster Competition with the Theme – “Set your

Imagination free” at provincial level are Megan Christie O Brien (5th Year) who came 2nd place and Jade

McGauley (5th Year) who came 3rd place.

Art Students were also involved in Mental Health Ireland (MHI) – Art /Photography Competition 2017-18.

There were 15 entries and at School level the winners were: 1st Place: Katie Daly 1st Year (bottom right

above); 2nd Place: Emily Healy 2nd Year (bottom left above) and 3rd Place: Aoife Dixon 1st Year (Top

picture above) All 15 entries have been forwarded onto MHI for judging at national level.

Jigsaw Meath Schools’ Project/Jigsaw Health Team

The School is part of the Jigsaw Meath Schools’ Project. A Jigsaw Health Team (JHT) was set up in the

School to respond to the need to actively promote Positive Mental Health and Wellbeing in our School. The

JHT is made up of Parent, Student and Teacher representatives. The JHT meets termly and discusses issues

around mental health and how best to support and promote Positive Mental Health in the School. The School

also has a Student JHT consisting of Students from each year group. The Student JHT meets frequently and

two Students from it attend the School’s JHT meetings. The work of the JHT is actively supported by the

Coordinator of the Jigsaw Meath School’s Project.

In October 2017, the JHT organised the annual POSITIVE MENTAL HEALTH WEEK in the School. Talks

and events were organised to support Positive Mental Health e.g. Jigsaw Talk, SoSAD Talk and Mindfulness.

The Student JHT organised a “Funky Shoes Day”, whereby Staff and Student wore either odd or funky shoes

on the day. The Student winners are pictured below. This was to create awareness around the area of Mental

Health. There were two prizes for each year group for those who wore the funkiest shoes! Prizes included

vouchers for a Barbers for the Boys and for a Beauticians/Hairdressers for the Girls. The JHT helped organise

a Jigsaw Promotion and Activities for the end of term Fun Day on the 22nd December!

HSCL News

At Coláiste Clavin, we have a Home School Community Liaison (HSCL) Scheme. The HSCL scheme builds

vital links between the school and the home and strives to support parents in their role as the primary educators

of their child(ren). The HSCL Coordinator is Orla Calvey and she can be contacted during school hours by

Parents/Guardians on the school number 046 9555018 or on 087 778 1958 for advice and support (please

note: mobile phone coverage in the school is very poor and as a result she may be unreachable at all times on

the mobile number). She runs free courses and information talks for Parents. She is also available for Home

Visits if you would like to discuss a matter in the privacy and comfort of your own home.

HSCL Parent Courses & Events: September-December 2017

Settling into Secondary School: A group of First Year Parents attended a 3-week course recently in the school.

The course was called “Settling into Secondary School” and Parents were given ideas around helping their

son/daughter to settle into the school. Other topics covered were motivation, study skills and reading styles.

Helping Your Child Learn/Dyslexia Workshop: A group of Parents attended workshops over the course of 3

weeks aimed at giving parents ideas for helping their child in school.

Coffee Mornings/Tour of the School: Coffee mornings and a tour of the new school building was organised

for 1st, 2nd, 5th & 6th Year Parents recently. It is planned to have a coffee morning and tour of the school for

3rd Year Parents in the New Year.

Third Level College Trip: A group of Parents (pictured below) went on a trip to the DIT campus in

Grangegorman on the 16th November. They got information on third level access programmes in College and

received advice around how to support their child’s career decision making process. They then had a brief

tour of the campus. The new campus at Grangegorman is in the process of being built and by approximately

2021, all DIT campuses will have transferred to the site there.

Understanding Youth Mental Health Talks for Parents: A talk on Youth Mental Health, facilitated by

Jigsaw, was run in the school on two dates; one during the school day and the other in the evening time.

Parents heard advice and information regarding their Child’s Mental Health and General Wellbeing.

HSCL courses which we hope to run: January-May 2018

●Maths for Parents Course-tips and ideas around helping your child with their school work and homework

in Maths (this course is due to start Thursday 18th January at 9.30a.m.)

• Mindfulness & Personal Development (date to be confirmed)

• Helping Your Child Build Their Confidence (date to be confirmed)

• Stress Management & Mental Wellbeing (date to be confirmed)

• Healthy Eating on a Budget/Cook It Course (it may be possible to run this in the evening time) (date

to be confirmed)

• Fitness & Healthy Body/Lifestyle (date to be confirmed)

All courses are FREE and take place in the School generally during School hours. Some are

beginning in January / February 2018. Please phone Orla for more details or to book your

place, text her on 087 7781958, a.s.a.p. as places may be limited

Junior Cert Excellence

The Principal gave special recognition to Laura

Dolan 5B who was the highest Achiever in the

Junior Certificate 2017 in the School. Laura

achieved 5As, a Merit, 1B and 2Cs at Higher Level.

She is pictured opposite with the Principal who is

presenting her with a special plaque in recognition

of her excellent achievement. The whole Junior

Certificate group showed an excellent performance

overall. The Staff and Principal were delighted

with the 2017 Junior Certificate results

Wishing the Whole School Community a Happy Christmas

and a Prosperous and Healthy 2018