< Previous© April 2018 The Meath Coaster10Employment Opportunity with East Meath Community Employ-ment SchemeEast Meath Community Development Company is pleased to announce the launch of the new Community Employ-ment scheme in the area. We have recently appointed our scheme Supervisor and we are now taking applications for commu-nity employment workers. We have vacancies for up to and including 25 workers. If you are unemployed or if you know someone who is eligible please pass on the word that applications are now open on the Jobs Ireland website. If you are you aged 21 or over and unem-ployed and in receipt of a Social Welfare payment for 12 months or more and look-ing for an opportunity to re-enter the work place and return to a work routine, then this is your opportunity to avail of work and training to up-skill. Applicants should go to Jobs Ireland.ie website and enter he reference number CES-2065934 for fur-ther details. Alternatively you can apply by directly contacting your local INTREO Office in Drogheda. Otherwise you can email your application with a short letter and brief CV to communityrep4lb@gmail.com. The closing date for this round of calls is 27th April.There is also an opportunity for those who have yet to reach the State Pension age to participate in this scheme. The same rule applies that such persons must be in receipt of a Social Welfare payment for 12 months or more and looking for an op-portunity to re-enter the work place and return to a work routine. Eligibility will be decided by applying through the INTREO Office in Drogheda. The State Pension age is currently 66 for those born before1st January 1955; 67 for those born after that date and 68 for those born after 1st January 1962.No previous experience is required and the positions involve a range of opportu-nities from general environmental work such as village enhancement; upkeep of local facilities belonging to various clubs and organisations to office administrative work. Places are limited in this latter cat-egory. Interested in upskilling or a return to education? The Adult Educa-tion Guidance and Information Ser-vice of LMETB (Louth and Meath Education and Training Board) holds a monthly drop-in information morning in Bettystown. We are there to let you know about the many opportunities for adults to return to education or take up a train-ing course. Call in to the Alpha Centre, old Coláiste na hInse on Tuesday 17 April 9.30am to 12.30pm to find out more about courses and programmes, full-time and part-time and possible funding supports. Feel free to drop in on Tuesday 17 April or telephone ahead to make an appoint-ment for an alternative date. We are also available to speak to adult groups in any community setting. Please contact Steph-anie or Ann, Monday to Friday on 041 98 42030, email laegis@lmetb.ie. §© April 2018 The Meath Coaster11Now enrolling for our Summer term 2018 Classes recommencing week of Monday 9th April in all Venues.For details on classes in your area call Jane on 086 4113301jojinglesnortheast@gmail.com www.jojingles.ie/northeastTuesday (9.30,10.30 11.30am & Saturday’s (9.30,10.30 11.30am & 12.30) Barlow House, Narrow West Street Drogheda Monday’s (9.30,10.30 & 11.30am)Drogheda Presbyterian Church, Colpe, opposite Grange Rath. Ireland Regional Franchisee of the Year 2014Recycling EventBettystown Tidy TownBettystown Tidy Town in conjunction with Meath County Council, the ERP and with the assistance of Cllr. Eimear Ferguson are planning on holding a recy-cling event in June/July 2018. The recycling event will be accept-ing electrical appliances and unwanted paint and paint tins. Paint is a hazardous product and should not be disposed of in household bins.The date and drop off point are still to be confirmed and once finalised will be pub-lished in future editions of the Coaster and on the Bettystown Tidy Towns Fa-cebook page. We are advising residents of the recycling event now as this is the time of year when people start some home renovations, including painting and clear-ing out sheds and garages. If you have any unwanted paint or paint tins please hold onto them for the recycling day. Beach pedestrian entranceWork has started on the clean-up of the foot-path entrance to the beach at the side of Fate Restaurant. The litter has been removed and the overgrown grass has been cut back. Our thanks to James Sowray of The Log Shed, a local landscaper, for cutting the grass and for volunteering to cut the grass along this path for the rest of the year. If anyone would like to submit a sug-gestion for a similar event or would like to get involved with Bettystown Tidy Town please contact us through our Fa-cebook page. Litter picks are conducted every Saturday, volunteers meet at the Bettystown beach entrance at 10.00 a.m., pickers, bags and gloves are provided. §© April 2018 The Meath Coaster12Mornington Road, Drogheda, Co. MeathLe Chéile Educate Together National Schoolwww.lecheileetns.comBook Fair for World Book DayWorld Book Day is quite easily one of the children’s favourite time of year in Le Chéile, as we celebrate World Book Day, a global event now marked in over 100 countries worldwide. Some students dressed up as their favourite book charac-ters as part of the celebrations.There was real excitement and energy throughout the school as children participat-ed in a variety of different activities designed to celebrate books, authors, illustrators, and reading. Children took part in paired read-ing session between classes, which enabled younger and older readers to unite to share their favourite books together.© April 2018 The Meath Coaster13However, without a doubt the most talked about subject was how the children would use their precious book tokens at the School Book Fair. The parent-led Book Fair Committee, worked tirelessly to transform the school assembly hall into a hub for all book lovers. With over 200 children’s books to choose from the PTA organized fundraiser delivered on chil-dren classics like Roald Dahl to superhe-ro’s and magical adventures. The event is a huge hit across all the ages and money raised will go towards further developing reading literature in both the classroom and school libraries. We just love books!Lá Glas wraps up Seachtain na GaeilgeIn the lead up to St Patrick’s Day, the children had great fun dressing up in all shades of green for Lá Glas marking the end to Seachtain na Gaeilge. Children across the school were trying their best to use their cúpla focal and the finale of Seachtain na Gaeilge culminated in a day FERGUS O'DOWD T.D.Constituency Office - 1 Leyland Place, Stockwell St, DroghedaOffice HoursMon-Fri 9.30am-1.00pm2pm-5pmTel : 041 9842275Mob: 087 2352920E-mail: fergus.odowd@oireachtas.ieFergus O’Dowd@fergusodowd© April 2018 The Meath Coaster14of fun with all classes performing a vari-ety of songs, dances, plays and poems in the school assembly through Irish.3rd and 4th class delight with Disney Dance ShowOnce again under the direction of Jacinta Cassidy the boys and girls of 3rd and 4th class delighted us with their dancing and acting skills. This year’s spectacular took us on a journey across a medley of four Disney themed routines; Aladdin, Peter Pan, the Lion King and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Girls and boys across the two year groups have been enjoy-ing learning their dance routines for the past couple of weeks with Jacinta, from Fit Kids Fit Teens, and parent and pupils were treated to a special performance in the school before the Easter break. It was truly a case of ‘Our Stars Were Dancing’!© April 2018 The Meath Coaster15St. Patricks N.S., St Patrick's N.S. Stamullen We are in Ms Griffin’s 6th class, in St. Patricks N.S., Stamullen, Co Meath. Recently we have been doing lots of work on the U.N Global Goals. These are seventeen goals set by the U.N in 2015 to achieve sustainable development by 2030 for the whole world.The goals include: 1. No Poverty; 2. Zero Hunger; 3.Good Health and Well Being; 4. Quality Education; 5. Gender Equality; 6. Clean Water and Sanitation; 13. Cli-mate Change and 16. Peace and Justice.The organisation Irish Aid host a competi-tion annually and we entered all our work, creating a project over several months. We announced a goal per day on the school intercom, trying to teach the rest of our school about the Global Goals. We created posters about the goals with our artistic talents and placed them around our school. We carried out workshops in each class from 2nd to 6th, interacting with the pupils teaching them further points about the goals. We were visited by a member of the charity Nurture Africa and learned a lot more information from him. We held an assembly for our school based in the goals we learned about.At the beginning of our project, we car-ried out an initial survey with each class asking questions about the goals and then worked out the percentages. We re-surveyed the classes after our work above and found out that the percentages of knowledge of the Global Goals and their importance had increased.We hope that this article will influence others to take action to help achieve the Global Goals and look further into them. This article was written by Darragh Bracken and Jamie Abraham. © April 2018 The Meath Coaster16Surf, Turf ‘n’ NerfUsually we impose on the marine life, but recently the tides have turned, literally. With a protracted and heavy east wind the likes of which we experienced February last, the inhabitants of the near shore [or Sublittoral Zone, the area below low tide], experience a massive upheaval of currents and are dragged unsuspecting to the shore. Clams, razors, prawns, star-fish and crabs all become unwilling ur-chins as they’re ripped from their natural habitat and slung beachside in great num-bers. Cockles seem almost to mock with theatrical coral red feet hanging out like tongues, and the more eagled eyed of us may have spotted octopi, lobster, anemo-nes and even the last squirms of the huge and brightly coloured King Ragworm. Unfortunately the vibrancy of the rag-worm’s flank isn’t the only thing that glares through the seaweed. A huge amount of plastic is dragged up from whence it lodged and, to a degree greater than usual, the beach becomes inundated with litter. A recent study found that Ire-land has topped European figures with 61kg of plastic pollution per capita, and unsurprisingly further research shows that 73% of fish in the north west Atlantic con-tain micro plastics. Those figures dredge the worst depths and are proof that we have an overwhelming current of our own to swim against. The recent beach clean in early March fell on a damp and drizzly Saturday morning and turn out was poor, but those few who did brave the murk with black sack and picker still managed to remove and esti-mated 150kg of plastic from the beach at Bettystown. It’s a big weight for a small area and still the beach is by no means clean. A more sustained effort is made by some of the beachside residents who pick a more modest amount of litter on a daily basis, and yet more beach goers are set-ting an example by committing to remov-ing three pieces of plastic whether they’re walking the dog or jogging the human. It’s a noble exercise, one the Beach Manage-ment Committee are trying to embody, and to inspire the beach goer to undertake outside of the more pointed beach clean up days. Cliché yes, but many hands make light the work and that refreshed feeling from a stroll by the sea is only heightened by the sense of well being that the civic minded deed brings. The next group clean up falls on April 10th at 10am. Pickers, bags and gloves are provided but bringing your own means more to go round. The more the merrier, and whether it’s mug of cocoa or thimble of espresso, a cuppa with the gang after-ward at one of the beachside café’s is a lovely way of catching up with the locals. Whether you make it or not, next time you pass something bright and shiny that shouldn’t be there, consider picking it up and taking it with you. That way the trash tide will be stemmed. §Beach Management CommitteeL a y t o w n - B e t t y s t o w n - M o r n i n g t o n© April 2018 The Meath Coaster17Scoil an Spioraid NaoimhSchool Choir WeddingThe school choir were very excited as they were asked to sing at Imelda Quinn’s wedding to Daragh Conlon in the local Sacred Heart Church Laytown on Friday 23rd March. What a big occasion for them and did they not steal the show with a fabulous rendition of the Beetles Love, Love, Love and Can’t help falling in love with you!! Super achievement for the choir under the baton of Cathy Cul-hane, Jeanne Carter, Fíona O Donnell and James Kavanagh.St Patrick’s Day School BandOur school band were very proud to be invited to perform at the St Patrick’s Day parade in Drogheda this year. De-spite a bitterly cold morning, the chil-dren marched and played their instru-ments beautifully. They were met with great applause on the parade route from © April 2018 The Meath Coaster18their families, the school community and the parade crowd. They marched proudly in front of the school banner carried by principal Bláithín Maguire, deputy prin-cipal Ciara Winters and parents from the school. Their instructor Fiona O’Donnell was delighted with a great performance.5th Class ArtWe did some mindfulness art in Fifth Class. We started by outlining our hands, then colouring it in with patterns and shapes we felt best represented us. The words behind the hand are positive words that describe us. It really made us think Seachtain na Gaeilge and Non Uniform Day!© April 2018 The Meath Coaster19about how we view ourselves and hope-fully it helped our self-esteem too!Cara-Marie ThomasFifth Class, SSNNext >