< Previous© March 2018 The Meath Coaster10Beach Power UpWhen the hatches have been bat-tened and the fires lit for winter on our stretch of Meath’s coast of gold, it’s not uncommon at a meeting of the Beach Management Committee for the request to go out to the floor for something to write about. A theme to remind us that the peaceful sand and ever lapping tides are there, ready to wipe the slate clean of the toils of modern life for anyone who takes a stroll, a jog, or even braves the crisp wa-ter to paddle a kayak. At one such meet-ing not so long a stretch back the ques-tion went up; ‘what can we write about to promote beach use?’ A jolly, gingerly co-medic reply came back… ‘The fresh air!’ The meeting’s agenda pressed on. Lets face it, even the wisp of a subject should be enough to float a story, but whilst fresh air might blow the hat from your head, it’s not at first glance a topic of sufficient breadth to hang it on. There’s something in the air though at the beach, something in that quiet awesome that’s more than just noteworthy, it’s as compel-ling a reason to make the beach a regular destination in one’s routine, as it is fodder for prose. Negative ions. The air we breathe is full of charged parti-cles, some are beneficial, and some really aren’t. These particles are so small they can pass directly into our bloodstream while we breathe. With ions though plus is minus, north is south; positive ions are bad, negative ions… good. A positive ion is often a carbon dioxide molecule that has lost an electron. They can affect our immune system, contribute to tiredness, lack of energy and possibly even asthma and depression. There’s no escape either. Florescent lighting, com-puter equipment, high wind, dust, air conditioning, traffic and pollution are all positive ion generators. The list goes on; televisions, clothes and hair dryers, the fi-bres in carpets and even curtains, all gen-erate large amounts of positive ions. To put it bluntly, if you so much as drive your car you’re being bombarded with positive ions. It’s not so positive. You know where this is going… the beach. A negative ion on the other hand is a positive force. They’re created when a molecule picks up a negatively charged electron. This new charge means they’re statically attracted to allergens like dust, pollen, mould and pollution, attaching themselves to the airborne particles and literally dragging them to the ground. They counteract positive ions, clean the air and make us feel better. They neutralise free radicals, revitalise cell metabolism, en-hance immune function, purify the blood and balance the nervous system. The latter promotes deep sleep and healthy diges-tion. Negative ions are the reason you’ll rarely feel tired at the beach and why the air feels incredible after a thunderstorm. They may also explain why waterfalls were once attributed magical healing powers; cascading water generates nega-tive ions in abundance. A breaking wave is a negative ion machine. And so it is that the beach is your charging station, a place to go to clear the decks and revive body and spirit. Turns out ‘fresh air’ isn’t just hot air. Take a stroll, it’s electric! §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 nPlease mention The Meath Coaster when replying to advertisements© March 2018 The Meath Coaster11041 98 444 98 041 98 111 98086 838 4444www.eastcoastcabs.comEAST COAST CABSEAST COAST CABS SERVICING MEATH COAST & DROGHEDA REGIONS CABS - 4, 6 & 8 SEATERSNEW RANGE OF MINI-VANSCOACHES - 16, 24, 36 & 54 SEATERS AVAILABLEINVITATION TO SUBMIT EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST TO SELL A SUITABLE SITE TO MEATH COUNTY COUNCIL FOR A PUBLIC PLAYGROUND IN STAMULLEN, CO. MEATHMeath County Council is seeking to provide a public playground in Stamullen and, in order to address the need for such an amenity, Meath County Council are considering purchasing a suitable site in Stamullen from landowner(s). Expressions of Interest from landowner(s) are invited for land in Stamullen that is fit for purpose and located centrally in Stamullen village. Please visit www.meath.ie for further information. Submissions are to be made on the specific form available at www.meath.ie by 4p.m. on Friday, 16th March, 2018.Any queries in relation to the advertisement should be directed to the Senior Executive Officer, Community Section via community@meathcoco.ie Please mention The Meath Coaster when replying to advertisements© March 2018 The Meath Coaster12Our Credit Union Quiz Heroes!Bunscoil Buachailli Realt na MaraDonacarney Boys' School have a long history of quiz success at county and provincial level. But this weekend we even smashed our own record. Thankfully, the tie-breaker went their way and, to the delight of their parents, teach-ers and friends, they claimed victory too!So we now have, not one, but TWO teams who have qualified for Stage Two of the Credit Union Quiz 2018!Best of luck to the teachers, the parents and especially our two teams. We are very proud of you all!Schools from the East Meath area battled it out at the Annual Credit Union Quiz. As parents, teachers and friends looked on anxiously, teams from fourth, fifth and sixth classes let fly with the answers. The rounds were closely contested with some teams running neck in neck right up to the final round. Our school were depending on our fourth class team-Daniel, Lauchie, Daithí and Seán and on our senior team consisting of twins Jack and Joe, Cormac and Conor in the hopes that at least one team would qualify for the next round.As the night wore on, the questions got more difficult and the two teams scores rose steadily up the results sheet, the final round for the junior team saw Donacarney Boys emerge victorious! Our Senior Team had a nail-biting fin-ish. A score recheck led to a tie breaker between them and their closest rivals. Rás na hÉireannThe Battle of the Boyne site at Oldbridge, Drogheda was the setting for another clash as teams from all around Leinster compet-ed at the annual Rás na hÉireann event.Muck was in plentiful supply but at least the rain was there to wash it off faces and jerseys as the competitors bounced around the field.Our school was represented there in four categories, U9, U 11, U13, and U15. Coached and organized by Ms Brennan, they wereteams from highly competitive athletic clubs such as the Tullamore Har-riers, Bohermeen, Boyne A.C, St Peter's Dunboyne and of course, Dunleer AC.Dunleer AC were the organizers of the entire event and they did a superb job. Instructions were clear, the field and car-© March 2018 The Meath Coaster13park were well stewarded, the track well marked and supervised and each of the races were run off on time. But this was cross country and the going was tough.U9s ran 500 metres, U 11s ran 1,000 me-tres, U 13s 1,500m and U15s ran 2,500m.Nevertheless, our teams showed great spirit and character claiming gold, silver and bronze in the U15s, U13s and U9s re-spectively.But more im-portantly, they all showed great determi-nation and spir-it on that most famous of bat-tle sites. Every one of them completed the course. Some indeed fell, picked them-selves up and continued on. We are proud of them all and wish them many more days of happy running.Cooney Cup Round 2Our boys from fifth and sixth classes take on Duleek Boys' School in the second round of the Cooney Cup. Conditions were perfect on the day and our boys had a spring in their step as they lobbed point after point over the bar.Duleek boys put up a superb defence. They were fast on their feet and quick to tackle. With a terrific pitch on their school campus, they no doubt had put in plenty of practice in honing their Gaelic football skills.But the Donacarney boys had been train-ing hard for this occasion too. Under the direction of Mr Arthur, Mr Culligan, Mr Lynch and Mr Duffy they had turned out in droves for their 8 am training sessions and everyone in the squad had a chance to play on the Duleek pitch.Donacarney also had very welcome sup-port from parents and from the former principal, Mr O'Conghaile. They were thrilled of course with the Donacarney win but know that the next match will be a tough one too.On the 16th March we will line out again. This time against St Mary's Primary Par-ish School. We're looking forward to the challenge! §© March 2018 The Meath Coaster14Scoil an Spioraid NaoimhAs a senior primary school we are mindful of providing every opportu-nity across all areas of the curriculum in-cluding visual arts, science and life/social skills in preparation for a transition to a post primary setting.The pupils are encouraged to participate in all aspects of school life.Be healthy, be active, be mentally fit is our mantra! §GAA Boys ready for their blitzGAA Girls school Team in their new sponsored jerseysBe active be healthy in body & mind© March 2018 The Meath Coaster15The fittest teacher in SSNschool choir in full flightMore Fit Friday activitiesFit Friday initiative© March 2018 The Meath Coaster16Little Music Makers MagicParents of junior and senior infant classes were invited along to the school earlier this month to enjoy a con-cert performance led by Maria Sheil of Little Music Makers as part of an ongo-ing programme of musical projects and activities within Le Cheile. The packed hall was delighted by a medley of songs, the story of Little Red Riding Hood in song and a per-cussion performance. The children demonstrated their understanding of pitch and rhythm and their great enjoyment of music. Christian made a fabulous debut as conductor and Caoimhe’s “lah” was so sweet!Both second classes, who have been learning the recorder since the start of the year made a special ap-pearance, as they continue to get plenty of recorder practice in preparation for their RIAM Cara Awards event happening in March this year. They sounded great and should make a great impression on March 16th.Mornington Road, Drogheda, Co. MeathLe Chéile Educate Together National Schoolwww.lecheileetns.com© March 2018 The Meath Coaster17Le Chéile enters 2 teams to Credit Union Quiz On Friday the 26th of January two teams from fifth and sixth class represented Le Chéile in the first stage of the annual Credit Union Quiz held at the Drogheda Institute of Further Education. The eight boys and girls had been studying extreme-ly hard in preparation for the big night. The quiz comprised of twelve rounds of questions which came to a total of seven-ty-two questions in all.Both of our teams kept steady heads and battled through right to the end. One of our teams came in joined first, and as only one team can progress to the next round, had to compete in a tie-break round where they got pipped at the post.Our other team also performed brilliantly and they came in at fourth place. Well done to all the teams who put in a tremen-dous effort both in the lead up to and on the night. You have done yourselves and Le Chéile proud. Táimid an- bhrodúil asaibh agus go raibh míle maith agaibh go léir!Second class immerses themselves in the study of China.Second class has spent the past few weeks learning all about China as part of their S.E.S.E. studies. We also integrated the © March 2018 The Meath Coaster18topic into other areas of the curriculum such as R.V.E. Art and English.The class activities included reading about the life of a boy in China, looking at photos of China, using chopsticks, finding China on the map/globe, writing Chinese letters, writing fortune cookies, looking at items from China, designing Chinese blue porcelain plates and finishing with each child completing their own project about China.We are now all looking forward to cel-ebrating the Chinese New Year. Kung Hei Fat Choy!Parents visit fourth class to talk about ‘People at Work”In fourth class, we have enjoyed learn-ing all about People at Work. We learned about different jobs and services and how they benefit our community. Some par-ents came in to talk to us about their jobs. It was really interesting and probably inspired some further career paths. We would really like to thank the parents for giving up their time to come in and speak to us. We really enjoyed having them.Peace Proms 2018 Earlier this month over fifty boys and girls from Le Chéile's fourth class attended the Peace Proms 2018 alongside over 2,500 primary school children at the RDS Sim-© March 2018 The Meath Coaster19monscourt stage with the Cross Border Or-chestra of Ireland. The boys and girls had been preparing with their teachers and attending workshops in Dublin for the large-scale per-formance which truly was spectacular. The choir sang a programme of family favour-ites from Disney to Pop Medleys, and a memorable Michael Jackson’s ‘Earth Song’. §All Ireland Art WinnerCongratulations to Niall Murray, pupil of Gaelscoil an Bhradáin Feasa, who won the 8-10 year old category in the All Ireland Credit Union Art Competition.Awards were presented by Marty Whelan & Charles Murphy, President Irish League of Credit Unions, at an awards ceremony held in Croke Park on Sunday 12th Febru-ary 2018. There were over 30,000 entries in the 2018 Credit Union Art Competition across 5 age categories. Charles Murphy, President of the Irish League of Credit Unions, Niall Murray & Marty Whelan at the National Credit Union Art Competition Awards Ceremony in Croke Park.The theme of this years competition was, ‘Set your imagination free…’Marty also interviewed each winner in re-lation to their work and the source of their inspiration.Niall was delighted to meet one of the competition judges, Una Sealy from the popular RTE programme 'Painting the Nation'. Nialls winning entry will be published in the 2019 Credit Union calendar which is distributed nationally through the Credit Union branches. §Niall with Una Sealy, one of the Credit Union art competition judges, from the popular RTE programme 'Painting the Nation'.Next >