< Previous© December 2018 The Meath Coaster20We here at the Family Resource Centre offer a range of supports and services. Please feel free to drop in for chat and join us in a safe, confidential and friendly environment.Services Available:Parenting Programmes: (0-1Years) Incredible years: In the Parents and Babies Program, parents are support-ed in helping their babies feel loved, safe, and secure and shown how to encourage their babies physical and language devel-opment. (1-10years) Swings and Slides: This peer support programme focuses on the physi-cal, social, emotional and mental well- be-ing of both parents and children. It builds on skills as playing with your child, talk-ing and listening, positive discipline and health promotion.(Adolescents) Parents Plus: this is a practical and positive guide to managing behaviour problems and promoting chil-dren’s learning and confidence aged 11 to 16 years. Meitheal:Meitheal is a case co-ordination process for families with additional needs who re-quire multi-agency intervention but who do not meet the threshold for referral to the Social Work Department under Chil-dren First. Citizens Information: An officer will be available on a weekly basis to provide the community with in-formation, advice and advocacy on a broad range of public and social services- Every Tuesday 09.30- 12.00pmJobs club:Jobs Club provide a service to assist job-seekers to enter/ re-enter employment through the provision of individualised supports, a ‘drop in’ service and formal workshopsGroups:• Women Group• Men’s Group • LGBTQI Support Group• Youth Clubs (3rd-6th class, 1st-3rd year, 15+)• Parent/ Toddler GroupLilliputs Pre-School:Laytown resource house has a capacity for 12 preschool children, 6 in the morn-ing session from 9am-12pm and 6 in the afternoon from 12.30-3.30pm. The pre-school takes a holistic approach in edu-cating the child focusing on play and also emotional wellbeing. The children enjoy leading the themes of play and staff enjoy further enhancing and developing activi-ties from the children’s areas of interest and enjoyment.Afterschool The afterschool provides an out of school service for 16 children from junior infants Family Resource Centre© December 2018 The Meath Coaster21NEW General Practice / Family DoctorsNow open at Aston Village, DroghedaWe are now accepting New Medical Card & Private Patients From the East Meath area.Aston Medical is led by Dr. Gabriela Murillo who has been serving patients for over 10 years in the greater Drogheda area.To Register:Call in to the practice (ample free parking & wheelchair accessible)Call us on 041 9865041www.Astonmedical.ie Email info@astonmedical.ieGoogle Maps A92 RT20to sixth class from the local school. The children are brought to the afterschool by our bus service; they then receive their dinner and help with homework followed by play activities and outdoor play.We provide a number of parenting pro-grammes for parents of children various age groups.Office service:Our office service will be available daily 09.30-13.00/ 14.00-17.00. Service in-cludes- internet access, computer access, photocopying/Scanning/Fax/form fillingOpening Hours: Monday – Friday 09.00- 13.00/ 14.00- 17.30Facebook: Laytown Family Resource Centre §Assessment and Treatment provided for the following:• Dyspraxia • Hypermobility Syndrome• Physical / lntellectual Disabilities • Autism • Sensory Processing Disorders • ADD • Torticollis • Developmental Delay • Flat Head Syndrome • Delayed WalkingFor Occupational Therapy queriesMichelle Ni Ghráinne BSc. (Hons) OT AOTISenior Occupational Therapist T. 087 973 8870michellenighrainneot@gmail.comFor Physiotherapy queriesShamsa Doyle BSc (Hons) Physio MlSCPSenior Physiotherapist T. 085 100 1741shamsaduffy@hotmail.comContact DetailsClinic appointments also available in BodyRight Physiotherapy Clinic, 27 Fair Street, DroghedaHome and School Visits available© December 2018 The Meath Coaster22Learning The Fun Way In Donacarney Girls’ Schoolsealable storage bag and gently pushed an uncooked egg into the mixture. The girls then took turns at dropping the bag from different heights and were astonished that the egg didn’t break. They learned that as the slime hit the ground it formed a solid around the egg. This meant that the force of the fall was evenly distributed around the shell’s surface and it stayed intact. A Slimy Tale from Science Week Science week ran nationwide from No-vember 11th-18th, and 5th class girls in Réalt na Mara GNS were excited to be a part of it. Each of the 5th classes held a mi-ni-workshop on the theme of liquids and solids. They collaborated in small groups to create a substance that acts like a liq-uid but behaves like a solid when pressure is put on it. Speaking scientifically, this weird slime is otherwise known by the term non-Newtonian fluid. Their mathematical and baking skills were put to the test as they measured water and cornflour to create the correct consistency. Some groups were more successful than others, but hey…that’s science. The class then spooned some of the slime into a re-However, when they dropped it from the upstairs window onto the playground be-low, the egg cracked. The force of gravity from such a height was too much for that little egg, and the slime was not strong enough to protect it. The girls had a big job cleaning up after all that hands-on activity, but it was well-worth the effort. They wrote up the results of the experi-ment and were eager to give it another try at home. Writer in Residence ProgrammeOver the last number of weeks, one of our fifth classes has been participating in the Writer in Residence Programme. The pro-gramme is a Meath County Council initia-© December 2018 The Meath Coaster23tive and has been funded by Creative Ire-land. Skerries based writer Shane Hegarty, author of the Darkmouth series, has been coming into the school and working with the pupils on how to improve their story writing. He has been sharing with them how and where he gets his inspiration for his stories and characters. The girls have been experimenting with a variety of tech-niques to open stories and to develop their description of characters and setting. It has been a very enjoyable and educational experience and, from reading some of the fantastic stories produced so far, it seems that Donacarney is filled with many tal-ented future authors. neamh as agus bíonn a lán spraoi acu ag iarraidh Gaeilge a chleachtadh chomh minic agus is feidir. §Donal SmithLocal Coal Merchant Quality Coal at the Right PriceWIDE RANGE OF SMOKELESS FUELSAVAILABLESpecial OffersNEW STOVE FUEL SUPERTHERM40KG €232 bags of Logs (kiln-dried) 2 bags of Starter Sticks (kiln-dried)2 bags of Coal €50 (CoD)Kiln-dried logs €5, Starter Sticks €3.50Briquettes availablewww.dcsandgravelfuel.ieDC SAND & GRAVELChurch Road, MorningtonTel: 087 942 7957www.dcsandgravelfuel.ieYour local supplierFor Building Materials & Garden ImprovementsCall 087 9427957Mon - Fri 9am - 5pmSat 9am - 11amChurch Road, Mornington, Co. MeathThe Garda Band Visits DonacarneySpirits were high when the Garda Band entertained pupils and staff at Donacarney Girls’ School. The children joined in to songs from Ed Sheerin, Disney, Ghost-busters, Frozen but Baby Shark was the favourite. Tá Gaeilge Beo i Rang a CúigBíonn comórtas againn gach seachtaine i Rang a Cúig chun Gaeilgeóir na Seactaine a roghnaigh. Bíonn na páistí ag obair go dian ag iarraidh Gaeilge a labhairt i rith an lae, nuair a bhíonn said sa chlós agus sa seomra ranga. Baineann said a lán tait-Junior Infant pupils on their feet unable to contain their excitement© December 2018 The Meath Coaster24Council Update By Cllr. Sharon TolanNovember has been a very busy month again, day-to-day represen-tations, budget meetings, SPC (Special Policy Committee) meetings, coun-cil meetings, launches, awards, elections and even a bit of detective work! Lots of good news on longer term projects that I have been work-ing on since elected.[On 2nd November, we adopted our Gen-eral Municipal District Allocation. This is the discretionary element of the over-all annual Council Budget, and amounts to €182,500 which includes €84,000 Members Discretionary Fund, along with Community Grants, Litter Control, Fes-tive Decoration etc We secured an extra €10,000 for Arts, Festivals, Festive Deco-ration & MD Renewal, so if you have a Festival idea for 2019, get in touch. On the 19th November, we adopted the Meath County Council Annual Budget, which sees an increase this year by over €13 million, for a total spend in 2019 of €123,941,815. We secured extra funding in Housing Loans to cover the extra elements of the Alverno Court Refurbishment Project that will see this project finally go to tender for completion. We also secured extra funding to deal with Derelict Sites, I have pushed for this funding for some time now as a number of derelict sites in our area are a complete eyesore and a blight on our community. Owners need to be held responsible for their upkeep, or put them back into use!Our Fine Gael grouping also secured a new Pilot Scheme for recycling/waste disposal for each of the Municipal Districts that do not have a recycling centre. We will be organising a day/weekend event that will allow resi-dents to drop off items such as household appliances, old bikes, etc basically anything you would normally have to organise a skip for or take to a recycling centre. Watch this space for the date and keep an eye on my Facebook Page! I will ensure it is advertised here in the Meath Coaster! We are working so hard to put the “Man with a Van” out of business. Please do not give your waste to anyone who does not have a proper licence. This waste inevitably ends up dumped on our roadsides and countryside, and you the taxpayer are paying for the clean up! You could also end up in court yourself!]Boyneside Trail Planning Update I have been working very hard in the back-ground on this project to ensure a route that will be acceptable to environmental-ists, National Parks & Wildlife, and most importantly local residents. A new route has been proposed that could see the pro-vision of a 4m wide shared pedestrian/cycling greenway into Mornington, along with public lighting, traffic calming and the possibility of CCTV. An estimated 7 homeowners will be impacted, and the Council will be communicating with those homeowners in the coming weeks to discuss this possibility. The Council have prepared a grant application in part-nership with Fingal County Council, for a © December 2018 The Meath Coaster25complete route from Newbridge House in Donabate to Newgrange……an exciting prospect!~~~~~~~~~Thanks to our Road Safety Officer and Lo-cal Area Engineer who worked with me to improve the sight lines for those visiting St Colmcilles GAA Club. They arranged to remove some trees to improve the safe-ty of those exiting the club grounds on the Piltown Road.~~~~~~~~Delighted that at last we have purchased new fencing for the Eastham Road stream. This will be installed in the coming weeks weather permitting!~~~~~~~~Our Ground Staff have recently carried out improvements at the bend at Harry’s Garage in Mornington, this will be plant-ed up in the Spring. I have been informed that a planning application is imminent on that corner, and that footpaths and a roundabout will be part of those works, however, I will continue to highlight the dangers for both vehicles and pedestrians on this dangerous bend! ~~~~~~~~Donacarney Footpath Update – Unfortu-nately we had no applications to tender for the design of this scheme on eTenders. The Council will now have to go out to public tender for consultants to design this much needed scheme - I will continue to push this project along until the construc-tion of the footpath & cycle lane is com-plete, and pedestrians and cyclists finally have a safe route between Donacarney and Bettystown!Donacarney and Mornington Tidy Towns• Are you living in the Donacarney or Mornington area?• Would you like to see improvements in your village?• Are you willing to help deliver these improvements?I am looking for likeminded, community spirited individuals that would be interest-ed in setting up a new Donacarney Tidy Towns, and Mornington Tidy Towns. I will commit substantial funding from my Members Discretionary Fund to get you started, and assist you with securing a CE worker for each area! Take a look at what Bettystown, Laytown and Julianstown Tidy Towns have achieved. Get in touch!New Chairwoman of Louth & Meath Education and Training Board© December 2018 The Meath Coaster26I was absolutely honoured and delighted to be elected this month as the new Chair-woman of LMETB. It was particularly poignant for the election to take place lo-cally in Coláiste na hInse, as I began my public life campaigning for schools in East Meath. I will endeavour to continue this work in my new position, and ensure East Meath is well represented at the high-est level. Thank you to all that supported me! (photo)Meath Business & Tourism AwardsMany congratulations to all of those nom-inated for these awards. Our Municipal District cleaned up on the night, with big wins for Slane Castle, Slane Distillery, Dowth P2P, and of course, our very own Boyne Boats. It was a privilege to have presented this award to Ross Kenny, as a Director of the Board of Boyne Valley Tourism.. § Laytown SeafrontAm I the only person in Laytown who grieves the loss of our seafront ?by Geraldine PrendivilleFrom time immemorial people have sat by the sea, allowing their eyes to roam over the wide expanse of water, and then resting their gaze on the horizon, allow-ing a sense of peace and tranquility, which they bring with them back into their busy lives. That's the way it was in Laytown, but sadly no more. We are now fenced in, those who sit, and the walkers and run-ners who no longer have of an uninter-rupted view of our lovely seafront. That sense of freedom, that width and breath of vista now diminished. The Council will probably say, if they say anything, that they have to protect the concrete works on the beach. But, in other places protection barriers have been built at an angle below the surface of the road, without in any way taking from the sea view. Then they have erected a wooden fence, the purpose of which is a mystery, which totally detracts from what was Lay-town's unique feature, that view of the sea unimpeded by houses, fences etc. As I say, am I the only person in Laytown who grieves our loss. § This photo was taken sitting at one of the picnic benches© December 2018 The Meath Coaster27Holiday World ShowMeath Exhibitors take part in Holiday World Show’s largest ever Home Holi-day Pavilion Discover a variety of breathtaking Irish holiday destinations at Holi-day World Show, taking place in the RDS Simmonscourt from Friday 25th January to Sunday 27th January 2019. The show’s largest ever Home Holiday Pavilion was launched in Dublin today by Brendan Griffin, T.D. Minister of State for Tour-ism.Holiday World Show’s Home Holiday Pavilion will showcase hundreds of des-tinations and holiday experiences from all across the beautiful island of Ireland. From stunning coastal towns to cosmo-politan cities and unforgettable land-scapes, there is so much to discover right on our doorstep. Meath exhibitors for this year’s Holiday World Show are Discover Boyne Valley.Speaking at the photocall, Minister Grif-fin said, “Ireland truly offers some unique opportunities for exciting travel experi-ences. Boasting accommodation ranging from luxury castles to country cottages, diverse activities such as exploring our new Greenways on foot or by bike, world class cultural attractions and breathtaking beaches, there really is so much to ex-plore in 2019.” He added, “The continued growth of Hol-iday World Show and it’s ever-growing Home Holiday Pavilion highlights the appetite of Irish consumers for holidays within our shores, as well as the wealth of products on offer by Irish tourism provid-ers.”Maureen Ledwith, Organiser of the Holi-day World Show, said, “Holiday World Show is an exceptional opportunity for visitors to meet with over 1,000 travel ex-perts from across Ireland and the world, book incredible breaks and avail of ex-clusive show-only offers. We’re delighted to host the show’s biggest Home Holiday Pavilion this year, with 20 regions taking part.”Holiday World Show 2019 will also in-clude the largest ever ‘Visit USA Pavil-ion’, a French Camping Pavilion, the Irish holiday favourites Spain and Italy, as well as an array of other destinations, cruise companies and airlines. Interna-tional award winning travel journalist Eoghan Corry will once again take to the stage and present his newly formatted se-ries of talks called ‘Talk Travel’. Eoghan will interview leading industry experts from around the world and answer visi-tors’ questions on topics such as Holiday Trends, Solo Holidays, Visas and Pass-ports, Irish Attractions, Cruises, Adven-ture Holidays and much more.For further information on the Holiday World Show 2019 visit www.holiday-worldshow.com.© December 2018 The Meath Coaster28Christmas Arrangements, Star of the Sea Church, MorningtonSunday 9th DecemberChristmas Carol Service at 6pm Tuesday 18th DecemberDonacarney Girls National School Christ-mas Carol Service at 7pmSaturday 22nd DecemberChristmas Penitential Service after 6.00pm MassSunday 23rd DecemberMass at 10.00am & 11.30amChristmas Eve - Monday 24th December4pm: Pre-school Children & Children up to 1st Class will participate at this Mass.6pm: Children in 2nd to 6th Class will par-ticipate at this Mass. 9pm: Christmas Eve Vigil Mass.Christmas Day – Tuesday 25th DecemberMass at 10.00am and 11.30amSaturday 29th DecemberVigil Mass at 6.00pmSunday 30th DecemberMass at 10.00am & 11.30amNew Year’s Day – Tuesday 1st January 2019Mass at 12 noonFeast of the Epiphany of the LordSaturday 5th January 2019: Vigil Mass at 6pmSunday 6th January 2019: Mass at 10.00am & 11.30amThese Masses will mark the end of the Christmas Season.Advent and Christmas at Sacred Heart Church LaytownLectio Divina: Each Thursday evening during Advent at 7.30pmChildren’s Nativity MassIf your child would like to take part in the Christmas Eve Nativity play at the 5pm Mass on Christmas Eve, please give names to members of the Children’s lit-urgy group after Masses on Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th December..Christmas Mass Times Monday 24th December – Christmas EveChildren’s Mass at 5pm. Mass of Christmas ‘midnight’ at 9pm. Tuesday 25th December – Christmas Day‘Dawn Mass’ at 10am ‘Day Mass’ at 12 noon.We wish all the people of our Parish a very happy Christmas and every blessing for 2019Christmas at St. Mary's Church of Ireland, Julianstown. A Carol Service following the tradi-tional pattern of Nine Readings and Carols will take place on Sunday 23rd December at 4.00pm. Everyone is very welcome and there will be refreshments in the Parish Rooms following the service. On Christmas Day there will be a Cel-ebration of Holy Communion at 9.15 am and again at 10.30am. Again, all are welcome. Best wishes to everyone for a very Hap-py Christmas and a Blessed New Year.§© December 2018 The Meath Coaster29086/1733396086/3673406Mullenandsons1@gmail.comwww.Mullenandsons.ieAlan Mullen & Sons Builders LtdFifth Generation Irish BuildersFor All Your Building NeedsNew Builds - Extensions - Renovations Attic Conversions Fully Insured and RegisteredHappy Christmas from Mullen & SonsBeannachtaí na Nollag agusAthbhliain Faoi MhaiseóCllr. Eimear FergusonPrice Promise GUARANTEEtel. 087 091 7990 info@bestpol.iewww.bestpol.ie-10% local discount with this leafletAll types of blinds manufactured at our premises to your own specification.Merry Christmas to all our CustomersNext >