Lanesboro Community College

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School Notes Nov 28 – Dec 5

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TY Christmas pantomime: 

The Transition Year students are currently rehearsing for their Christmas pantomime, which will take place in St Marys’ Hall, Lanesboro on the 5th of December. They are very excited and are working very hard to ensure the show will be a success. All are welcome and we look forward to seeing you there on the evening!!!  

Quiz:  

Well done and congratulations to the TY quiz team who came second in the County Finals of the “Battle of Wits” 2019. They are now through to the Regional Finals on the 4th of next month!  

Garda Drugs and Alcohol Awareness videos: 

Our TYs went to the Longford Arms Hotel this Thursday for a screening of their Garda Drugs and Alcohol Awareness videos. Earlier in the year, the students split into groups and made videos highlighting the dangers of drugs and alcohol after being visited by Garda Mullally from Longford Garda station. Their videos were shown along with videos from students from all over Longford and we are very proud of the students’ hard work.  

Ericsson talk 

On Thursday the 27th of November our Transition Years received a visit from Ericsson Athlone. Ericsson are a leading software producer in both Ireland and the world and provided a fascinating insight into the world of business and careers in software engineering. Thank you very much to the speakers from Ericsson!  

Hamlet: 

On Wednesday the 26th the Leaving Cert Higher Level English class went to see the Cyclone Rep production of Hamlet at the Mullingar Arts Centre, as part of their Leaving Cert course. They were accompanied by their English teachers, Ms. Farrell and Ms. Dalton.  

Romeo and Juliet: 

On Thursday, 27 November, the 3rd year group went to Mullingar to enjoy a spectacular production of Romeo and Juliet. They are studying this play for their Junior Cycle examination and we hope seeing it live will be beneficial to them. Thanks to Mr. McElgunn their English teacher. 

By: Jeron Kok, Orla Lyons, Bláithín McElgunn and Tonya O’Brien 

 

School Notes 21-28 Nov

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Battle of the Wits 

Four TY students will attend the Battle of the Wits TY quiz in the Longford Arms hotel on Thursday. They will be competing against schools from all over Longford. We hope they do their best and represent our school well.  

Open day 

On Wednesday the 20th of November our school hosted its Open Day and Open Night for the upcoming first years. For the Open Day, 147 of local primary school pupils attended and received a full tour of the school. Along the way, they saw many familiar faces as all 1st year students were in classrooms showing what they had learned since leaving primary school. There was an excellent turnout to the Open Night as well, with a huge number of parents and 6th class students attending the event. Just a reminder that enrollment is now open for the incoming first years. Well done to everyone who helped make the event such a great success! 

Christmas Ty Show: 

Our TY Christmas show will take place in St.Mary’s hall Lanesboro on Thursday the 5th of December 2019. The theme of our Christmas show is fairy tale characters. We hope you will all come out and enjoy the show! 

Taekwondo 

The TY class began their 3-week taekwondo training programme under the guidance of Grand Master Jan Bartel who is an 8th dan in taekwondo. They will be learning the basic principles of the art such as self-defence and discipline.

Football 

The under 16 boys team drew in their Gaelic football match last Friday. Well done! 

AIT 

The sixth years received a talk this week from representatives of the Athlone Institute of Technology.  We hope this informed them about the opportunities available to them at AIT and helped them decide on a future path.  

History library  

Dr Mel Farrell gave a talk on County Longford during The War of Independence and The Civil War, in Lanesboro Library on Thursday. It was attended by 3rd and 5th year history students. 

Inland Fisheries  

On Thursday the TYs received a talk from the inland fisheries given by Sarah Healy and Fisheries Officers. They will continue to receive talks for the coming weeks. 

School notes 14-21 Nov

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Fashion Fusion Show: 

The fifth year LCVP class raised €1168.40 from their “fashion show with a twist” last Thursday. This money will go to the Ollie Cox Injury Fund to help renovate his house and make it more accessible. We are very proud of the class’ hard work and dedication and all the money they raised for this brilliant cause. 

Jiving: 

The Transition Year students finished their final week of jiving. They thoroughly enjoyed line-dancing, jiving and waltzing, and would like to give a special thanks to jiving instructor Sandra Ganley from Jiving Teens. 

Scifest: 

On Wednesday, 13th November, Lanesboro Community College hosted a SciFest event. This year marks the fifth annual event in our school’s history. Students from primary schools from the local area were invited. It was a remarkable event and congrats to Bláithín McElgunn and Conor Lyons on a joint first place win. 

Maths Olympiad: 

On Thursday the 14th of November, our TY and 5th Year students took part in the first round of the 33rd Irish Maths Olympiad. This national contest is for all students with an interest in Maths. Well done to everyone who took part! 

Inland Fisheries: 

On Thursday the TYs received a talk from the inland fisheries given by Sarah Healy and Fisheries Officers . The TYs will continue to receive regular talks for the next coming weeks. 

Football: 

Congratulations to the U16 girls team who recorded an excellent win over Collumba College on Friday the 8th of November. They will now progress to the next stage of the tournament. Well done! 

Well done to the Senior girls team who also won their match on Monday the 11th of November against Mullingar Community College. 

University-UL NUIM: 

The sixth year students were visited by representatives from  UL and NUI Maynooth this week. We hope they learned from these talks and now have a better idea of what these colleges are like.  

School Blog

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November 7-14

Midterm Break

We would like to welcome everyone back after the midterm break. Hopefully everyone is well rested and ready to work hard for the coming term.

SciFest@School

SciFest@School will be taking place on Wednesday the 13th of November. Primary and secondary schools will be taking part in the competition with a variety of prizes to be won. A top judge from SciFest will be leading our judges on the day. Best of luck to everyone involved!

Abbott trip

On the 4th of November some of our TY students went on a trip to Abbott Diagnostics in Longford. There they were treated to a fabulous tour of the facility by Mark Casey. After learning all about what goes on in a company like this. Our students were then led to the boardroom where they received refreshments. They were spoken to by many senior members of Abbott and found out a lot about their career journeys. This is the beginning of a partnership between Abbott, Business in the Community and Lanesboro Community College which we hope will provide our TY students with invaluable skills for the workplace. We would like to thank Mark Casey for taking the time to give the students a fantastic tour, Abbott for allowing them get a glimpse into their world and our teachers, Mr. O’ Brien and Ms. Higgins for bringing them on this trip.

Parent teacher meetings – 3rd & 6th years

On November 5th, the parent teacher meetings were held for the parents of 3rd and 6th year students. It was a successful evening and there was a great turnout.

Fashion Fusion show

The LCVP group of fifth year will be holding a “fashion show with a twist ” called Fashion Fusion on the 7th of November. All the proceeds will be donated to The Ollie Cox Foundation. Ollie Cox is related to a student in fifth year. All donations are very much appreciated.

Enrolment

A reminder that enrolment for the first-year class of 2020/21 is coming up soon. All are welcome.

Soccer Blitz

On Friday the 8th of November we welcomed several local primary schools onto the new 3G AstroTurf pitch for a soccer blitz. This was in collaboration with Ballyboro Football Club. The blitz was refereed by the students of LCC.

Lidl Serious Support Workshop

On Wednesday the 6th of November the Lanesboro Community College girls team took part in the first of two Lidl Serious Support Workshops. The workshop taught the girls more on the values of Respect, Responsibility, Recognition and Trust, with an underlying theme of teamwork. The workshop with Lucy Hannon who plays for Galway senior ladies was a huge sucess and was enjoyed by all. We look forward to our next workshop after Christmas.

CAO evening

There will be a CAO information evening on Thursday the 14th of November at 7pm for the Leaving Cert students and their parents. All students and their parents are encouraged to attend.

By Bláithín McElgunn, Jeron Kok, Orla Lyons and Tonya O’Brien.

BT Young Scientist Success!

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Every January for more than a decade it has become an annual event for students of Lanesboro Community College to make the trip up to the RDS to take part in the premier science event in Ireland. The BT Young Scientist brings together the brightest and the best to compete for the prizes and awards and of course for the ‘buzz’ of displaying and explaining your project to literally thousands of people!

As a school we are committed to participating in this event because if affords our students an opportunity to ‘do’ science. From early September they are busy working on their ideas for a project; brainstorming, researching, contacting experts for advice and designing experiments. It is exciting and challenging and demands that each student takes responsibility for their own research, their own learning. At this stage they must send in an application which is quite extensive. They are ‘selling’ their idea and making their ‘pitch’ to be part of the exhibition itself. Of the 2000 plus applications last year only 500 make the ‘cut’ so it is an achievement to be part of the exhibition itself.

Why do our students and teachers put in the enormous amount of time and effort involved? Students speak of a sense of achievement and success; of presenting something that they have created themselves….something they can be proud of.

Teachers understand that this an outstanding way of engaging students with STEM. Students don’t see that they are doing subjects…they see themselves as doing Science!

Our school uses the BT Young Scientist as a platform for our young people to share, explore, learn and engage in STEM and to grow in confidence and sense of self-worth.

This year, in Lanesboro Community College, students from 1st, 2nd and 4th year worked hard on their applications with 4 projects making it through to the exhibition. This alone is an outstanding achievement. We would like to salute both the students and teachers who put so much effort and energy into those applications. The students and projects that made it through were:

Brian Lyons; ‘For behind the parent stood the school and behind the teacher the home’ – Does parental involvement in education improve academic outcomes?

Rebeka Stavuse and Oran Walton; Relaxation techniques vs drugs: a safer way to get to sleep

Conor Walton, Chloe Kenny,Jeffrey Kok and Evan Tynan; Development of a risk model to determine the expansion and potential environmental impacts of Asian clams in lower Lough Ree

Mark Lyons; €2.50 too much? – A statistical analysis of the effect of the GMS fee

Since mid-October the four finalists worked on their projects, linking in with the top experts in Universities and Colleges, here and abroad. After the Christmas exams while the rest of us watch Christmas movies the Young Scientists are busy writing (and re writing ) reports, designing displays and perfecting their ‘pitch’ The big day comes too soon…always a bit of last minute panic (even after doing it for over a decade!) and then we are there! Once the Opening ceremony is over the 1st judges arrive and you are on a rollercoaster for the next 3 days. It is a life changing experience for any young person and life affirming for the teachers as we see our students grow in confidence and enthusiasm as the week progress.

We are so proud of all our students and how hard they worked to get here but special mention must go to the 4th years who were highly commended for their project and to Mark Lyons who won first in his category. Correct me if I am wrong but I believe that is the best that any school in Co. Longford has done in well over a decade. It is heartening to see that ETB schools are competing with the fee paying schools across the country and winning the top prizes and the future is indeed bright for Lanesboro Community College as we continue to forge ahead.

I cannot finish without paying tribute to the enormous effort put in by all the teachers who worked with and supported these students in order to make this possible. A special mention for the parents who ferried students to and fro at all sorts of unsociable hours and gave a lot of encouragement behind the scenes, and of course our principal, Mr. Flanagan who always wholeheartedly encourages and endorses our annual BT efforts!

Already looking forward to 2016!

Christmas Greeting

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A very Merry Christmas from all of us at Lanesboro Community College.  We will reopen in the new year on Monday, January 5th, 2015.  Warm wishes for a safe and happy holiday season.

Before school wrapped up, we had a great in-house Talent Show, organised by the Music PLC students, on Friday, December 12th.  There was a nice collection of talent from across the school population, and 3rd-year student, Will Dennigan, was a delightful host. Student acts ranged from an exceptional performance on the ukulele by 3rd-year, Adam Farrell to a comedic dance routine by 1st-years, David Dalton, Michael Gibbons and Elvis Jolkins.  The show opened with art teacher, Ms. Spence and her 4th-year students doing a Bollywood dance number.  There were bands from 1st-4th years with a great range of vocal talent and instrumentation, and a lovely acoustic song from LC students, Tobi Salami and Rebecca Loftus.  First-year student, Dominic Jeffrey also did a great rap, The Alphabet Aerobics.  Of course there was Irish dancing with local musical talent, including PLC student, Conor Boland, and an original song performed by PLC student, Gavin Lennon.  A total of about 50 students were involved in the afternoon production, with a  further 4 working backstage to assist Ms. Spence, Mr. Feeney and Gavin Lennon.

This is the first year we have run a Music PLC in Lanesboro, and part of the course includes organising an event.  The class decided on a talent show, with a cash prize, to motivate the students to practice in their own time.  The PLC students, along with Ms. Spence and Mr. Feeney determined who made it into the show, and they offered assistance to the acts.  They also came up with a voting procedure, allowing everyone in the school a vote and a bundle of sweets to enjoy during the show.  While votes were being counted, Mrs. Bannon organised a free raffle, with chocolate prizes, and a surprise finale was shown- a music video of Pharrell Williams HAPPY performed by staff of the school.  Nearly every adult in the school was pictured dancing or smiling and clapping along to the song (some in seasonal costume), as a way of saying Happy Holidays to all of our students.  With each new staff appearance, the crowd clapped louder and louder.  With everyone clapping and laughing, there was a great feeling of joy to finish the afternoon.  Finally, the winner was announced- the Bollywood dancers received the €150 prize.  It was a great way to start the weekend!  Congrats to all involved, and special thanks to Mr. Flanagan, Ms. Spence, Mr. Feeney, and all the staff appearing in the video.

We also enjoyed a bumper Christmas issue of THE BUZZ this week, packed with lots of stories pieces by our students, as well as an especially funny piece by Mr. Flanagan.  It was a great break from those tests!

Now we’ve concluded our Christmas tests and the teachers are working on getting all of the results into the new computerised report card.

 

New lunch gets warm welcome

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Oct. 21, 2014: Fresh Today, the new lunch supplier for LCC has introduced some exciting and affordable new options:

  • Warm Chicken Fillet Roll €0.50
  • Sausage Roll €0.50
  • Chicken Curry & Rice €1.00
  • Lasagne w/Potato €1.00
  • Muffin €1.00
  • Big Cookie €1.00
  • Oreo Cookies €1.00
  • Capri Sun €0.50