< Previous© July 2019 The Meath Coaster 10 Scoil an Spioraid Naoimh School Holidays: W e wish you all a very happy sum- mer holidays. School Re-opens at 9.15am on Thursday, 29 th August. Goodbye to 6ths! This last term has been a particularly busy and rewarding one for us. We said good- bye to our 6 th class pupils, with a Gradu- ation Mass and a wonderful Celebration ceremony with parents and guardians. We wish them well as they embark on the next stage of their educational journey.. Goodbye to Ms Gough The staff and children held a memorable celebration in brilliant sunshine on the occasion of Ms Gough’s retirement on our last morning of school. Our Principal Ms Maguire led the glowing tributes, fol- lowed by two past Principals and music was provided by our school choir, staff and Ms Gough’s class. Fr Denis performed a blessing. We wish her a healthy and happy retirement and our sincere thanks for the significant contributions she made to our school over the past 36 years. Cumann na mBunscoil Track and Field Our athletics squad from Scoil an Spio- raid Naoimh participated in the Cumann na mBunscoil Track and Field Event for Meath Primary Schools 2019. The com- petition took place on Thursday 20 th June at Claremont Stadium, Navan. The chil- dren were wonderful representatives for our school and each and every one did us proud in their events. To cap a very en- joyable day, we came home with EIGHT medals. A phenomenal achievement. Well done all.© July 2019 The Meath Coaster 11 STEM at Scoil an Spioraid Naoimh What a great year for STEM at Scoil an Spioraid Naoimh! We have continued our love of STEM through our love of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. Pupils use of iPads has been em- bedded into the curriculum. Lego activi- ties have been timetabled throughout the school and some pupils have had the op- portunity to experience robotics and cod- ing with Beebots and Lego Wedo 2.0. © July 2019 The Meath Coaster 12 Community Garda Colouring Competition - O n Saturday, 1 st June, children from Scoil an Spioraid Naoimh went to the Bloom Garden Festival in the Phoenix Park, Dublin. When we went in, the driz- zle started, so my mother suggested we could go to the Community Garda tent to do a colouring competition. The new Gar- da Hyundai e-car was standing outside the tent, so it was easy to find. In the tent, Community Gardaí were talking about home security and phone safety. There were free Garda bags, pens, pencils, bogus caller cards, information leaflets and a video to watch. We asked about the colouring competition and when they gave me the sheet, I started colouring straight away. It took me a good half hour, but it was fun. My entry number was 29 and there were nearly three days to go. After a week and a half, my father took a call from the Community Garda HQ to say I was the winner!! I was thrilled to hear this. On Friday, 21 st June, Garda Sgt. Laura Blanche came into our class. She gave the whole class pencil cases and Garda backpacks as a treat. There was also a gold medal for me as winner – me - Kilian Leighis. It was an amazing day. §. Sixth class pupils participated in a Sat- ellite competition earlier in the year and Adrian Shestakovs was the outright win- ner, designing the mission patch for Ire- land’s very first satellite, ‘Eirsat-1’, to be launched from the International Space Station in 2020. Sixth class pupils also prepared a very successful entry for the EBS ‘Science Blast’ Exhibition at the RDS in March. Their Climate Change project received very positive feedback from the judges. Scoil an Spioraid Naoimh was recently the proud recipient of yet another plaque when hard work throughout the entire school resulted in the 2019 ‘Science Foundation Ireland Discover Science & Maths Award’ in June. SFI 6TH Class SFI Science & Maths Award. §© July 2019 The Meath Coaster 13 PLEASE PLEASE HELP KEEP OUR BEACH SAFE AND REPORT SPEEDING OR DANGEROUS DRIVING TO THE GARDAI 041 9827074 ( WHY NOT ENTER THIS NUMBER IN YOUR MOBILE PHONE NOW ) If possible try to take a photograph of the offending vehicle to show registration number and the driver, the Gardaí will take action. We, as beach users, must try to protect ourselves by reporting Dangerous Driving and Anti Social Behaviour to the Gardaí. This is the only way we can make our beach safe for all and be able to enjoy this wonderful natural amenity. This notice has been placed by concerned citizens of Laytown, Bettystown and Mornington. LAYTOWN BETTYSTOWN MORNINGTON LAYTOWN BETTYSTOWN MORNINGTON LAYTOWN BETTYSTOWN MORNINGTON MEATH'S GOLD COAST MEATH'S GOLD COAST MEATH'S GOLD COAST MORNINGTON LAYTOWN BETTYSTOWN 041 98 444 98 041 98 111 98 086 838 4444 www.eastcoastcabs.com EAST COAST CABS SERVICING MEATH COAST & DROGHEDA REGIONS CABS - 4, 6 & 8 SEATERS NEW RANGE OF MINI-VANS COACHES - 16, 24, 36 & 54 SEATERS AVAILABLE© July 2019 The Meath Coaster 14 New Faces for Laytown Bettystown electoral area T he recent local elections saw two new faces elected to Meath County Coun- cil. 15 candidates in total ran for 7 seats in the Laytown Bettystown electoral area. Tom Behan and Annie Hoey join council- lors Harding, Keoghan, Tolan, Mckee and Meade as your local representatives. At our local municipal meeting Cllr. Keogan was nominated and elected as area chair for Laytown Bettystown LEA. Cllr Hoey was elected as Vice Chair. like to wish Cllr Harding every success in his year as Chathaoirleach. Vacant Council Seat in Ashbourne Following on from her successful cam- paign Cllr Sharon Keogan has opted to retain her seat in the Laytown Bettystown LEA, leaving a vacant seat in the Ash- bourne area. The council will receive nominations of candidates to be co opted into the seat at our July meeting. Where more than one candidate is nominated it will be put forward to a vote of the 39 sit- ting councillors. County Development plan. A draft of the County development plan will be presented to councillors in early September with the aim of having it our for public consultation towards the end of the year. The aim of the County Develop- ment plan is to develop a framework to establish the sustainable economic, social, cultural and environmental development of the county. Beach Volleyball in Bettystown Bettystown Beach was the location for an Olympic beach volleyball qualifier last month. It was a fantastically well-run event and a credit to all involved. It goes a long way to highlighting the potential we have to attract tourism to the Meath coast. Council Update By Cllr. Thomas Behan New Chair for Meath County Council The first item on the agenda in last months meeting was to elect a new Chathao- irleach of Meath County Council. Coun- cillor Wayne Harding (photo above) was nominated and elected and take over from outgoing councillor Tom Kelly. I would © July 2019 The Meath Coaster 15 Tom Behan Thank You to everyone for your support Local Councillor | Laytown Bettystown© July 2019 The Meath Coaster 16 Winners of the Corn Cois Farraige League! Le Chéile: 18 Duleek Boys: 14 Y es, we did it! What an amazing day we all had out on Friday 14 th June. After a very exciting build up in school, the Le Chéile team were ready to take on the world! Posters, bunting, and messages of good will filled the school and encour- aged the team to go for it. Kick off was at 10.30 a.m. and right on queue the teams were saluted by a piper and all sang Amhrán na bhFiain. The first half was fast and furious and it looked like Le Chéile might have it in the bag. But Duleek got into their stride in the second half and the players were challenged right to the end. It was a nail-biting final five minutes when the game looked as if it could go any way. So, it was a great relief to us all when the final whistle blew and a Le Chéile victory was confirmed! Well done to all our team members-we are so proud of you all! And thank you so much to our wonderful coaches; Tom Fee- han and Mark Elliott. We could not have done it without you! The return to school was a wonderful experience as all of the pupils had formed a guard of honour from the bus to the school and clapped and cheered the team to the front door. Mornington Road, Drogheda, Co. Meath Le Chéile Educate Together National School www.lecheileetns.com© July 2019 The Meath Coaster 17 Chess Team celebrate success in Divi- sion A Schools’ Chess League’s Le Chéile’s chess team recently attended the Local Schools’ Chess League’s award night in the Boyne Valley Hotel. The team had a tremendous year competing locally and came in 2 nd place overall in Division A of the competition against some stiff local opposition. Well done lads! Charity Begins at Home This month the children from Le Chéile sixth class were happy and proud to be in the position to be able to donate €500 to Maureen from Drogheda Homeless Aid. We have learned a lot and have had many discussions about homelessness during the year. It was with this in mind that the children were keen to share the profits from their Junior Entrepreneur Project with this worthy cause. It was also impor- tant to the children to keep their charity local. I think it was a very wise choice and Le Cheile are very proud of our recent graduates from sixth class. Kada Ka Boom Arts comes to Le Chéile The children enjoyed five drumming ses- sions with the wonderful Kieran Gallagh- er. Four sessions were fun lessons during which they learned so many skills. The fifth session was a fantastic and entertain- ing performance for the rest of the school. Second Class on Tour! The children in second class had a great day out at Tayto Park. The highlights in- cluded a guided tour of the zoo, playing at the Pow Wow Playground and going on all the rides at the Eagle’s Nest Adventure Zone. Fun was had by all! §© July 2019 The Meath Coaster 18 Bunscoil Buachailli Realt na Mara Cooney Cup Winners! P áirc Táilteann was the venue, Scoil Bradáin Feasa the opposition and the Cooney Cup was the prize in an exciting final on June 14 th . Réalt na Mara just about managed to hold the lead for most of the match. But the Gaelscoil nipped at their heels up until the final whistle. It was a thrilling game. And all the more so for the sportsmanship, graciousness and respect shown by both teams. For the second year in a row the boys of Réalt na Mara held the Cooney Cup aloft along with their coaches, Mr Arthur and Mr Cul- ligan. What a superb team they are! Science and Maths Award Science has always been high on the list of interests for the boys in Bunscoil Bua- chaillí Réalt na Mara and June brought some great news when they received their sixth Discover Science and Maths Award. This marked a year of activities in Science and Maths throughout the school. Led by teachers Mrs Eimíle Byrne, Ms Fiona Mc- Bride and Ms Emma Egan, teachers and pupils alike delved into all of the activi- ties, experiments and projects with great enthusiasm. Congrats to all our young sci- entists and mathematicians! Croke Park Tour Third Class had a brilliant time in Croke Park on their school tour. Along with a chance to walk in the footsteps of Meath and Dublin legends, they particularly en- joyed the reaction testers in the interactive Young scientists at work in Bunscoil Buachaillí Réalt na Mara© July 2019 The Meath Coaster 19 zone. Here`s hoping they`ll be legends themselves some day, raising the Sam Maguire or the Liam McCarthy Cup for their favourite counties! Handball League Final Thanks to our Parents Association for do- nating two handball walls this year. What fun we have had with them already. And last week, Ms Smith`s annual handball league culminated in a thrilling final be- tween Cormac and Dino. It was a close match featuring some superb rallies but at the end of the day, Dino was declared the winner. But both boys put on a fantastic performance and inspired even more of our boys to hone their handball skills. §Next >