Incoming First Year Notice

Invitation

All incoming First Years are invited to a tour of Castletroy College on Wednesday, 2^nd June, 2010. at 3.30 p.m.

Reminder

Any student who has an exemption from Irish must send in a copy of the Irish Exemption Form issued by the primary school  as soon as possible (Please ignore this notice if already received)

Second Hand School Book Sale (Buy & Sell)

Monday, 28^th June, 2010

Time: 9.30 a.m. to 11.30 a.m.

General Purpose Area – Castletroy College 

(Remember to bring your book list)

School Jacket/PE Gear

School Jacket/PE Gear will be on sale on the following dates and times

 Monday, 28^th June, 2010 – 9.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m.

Tuesday, 29^th June, 2010 – 9.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m.

Hockey & Rugby Kits

Are you interested in joining the above sports – an extra cost for a full sports kit

which has to be worn when playing on school teams for matches

Rugby/Hockey Kit including gear bag approximately €120

Kits available from September/October

Castletroy College Take Munster Hurling Title In Style

The Castletroy College under 15 hurling team won the munster Corn Solo Cup for the second time in six years with an impressive eight point victory over Bandon in Charleville on Friday the 23^rd of April. This was a well deserved victory for a group of players who over the school year have shown a great will to work hard for each other and to develop both their hurling and football skills. This coupled with a very positive attitude has brought them respect and complements from each team they have played.

The final was a game of high intensity and an impressive level of skill displayed by both sides. Castletroy got of to a great start when a ball from Kevin Mulcahy was flicked to the net by Tom Morrissey after Edward Doyle had created the space in front of the posts. This was followed by points from Jamie Porter, Barry Nash(2), Edward Doyle, Stephen Power(2), Tom Morrissey, Kevin Mulcahy and an impressive team worked score taken by Pat O’Kane. This left the Castletroy lads with a good lead but a late goal from the Bandon boys left the score at half time at 1-9 to 1-3.

 The team now had to face a strong freeze for the second half and when Bandon reduced the deficit to 3 points, with three scores from their very able mid-fielder things began to look a bit suspect for Castletroy 10 minutes into the second period. The introduction of Ronan Murphy at centre back and the moving of John Nicholas to wing forward allowed Aidan Hanley to move into midfield where he took control. This laid the foundations for the recovery as shortly afterwards John Nicholas took a fine goal which put the team back on track. Andrew La Touche-Cosgrave and Jeffrey Enright really came into their own clearing ball after ball with great skill and composure. This was also true of the full back line lead by the outstanding Darragh Kennedy and well supported by Paddy Morrissey and John Sheahan.

Bandon were unlucky when they had a goal effort strike the crossbar and a couple of good efforts dealt with ably by Cian O’Dwyer in goals. When Stephen Power added a point from a free, to cap off a fine display in his sweepers role, and Edward Doyle another fine score from play the win looked likely. With Jamie Porter, John Fox and Pat O’Kane working hard around the middle of the field and Kevin Mulcahy catching great ball it was no surprise when Tom Morrissey raced clear to score the insurance goal late on.

Cian O’Dwyer accepted the Corn Solo on behave of his team mates from Michael Forrestal (Secretary of the Munster Colleges). Another players who contributed to this victory through their play in previous rounds were Cian O’Brien, Aidan Walsh, Mark Dillion, Sean Power and Conor Bartley.  

Congratulations to all involved on a superb occasion for the school. A special word of thanks goes to Trevor Griffin, Liam O’Mahoney, Paudie Fitzmaurice, Leonard Coughlan, Donal Morrissey and Michael Nash.

It has proven to be a very successful season for the Castletroy College GAA teams. In total there were six trophies won. They Include :

Dr O’Neill Cup                   U16 1/2 Football   – Captained by Sean Moran

Kennell Cup                       U16 1/2 Hurling    - Captained by Seamus Hartnett 

Corn Cup                            U15 Hurling            – Captained by Cian O’Brien

Russell Cup                        U14 Football          – Captained by Jamie Porter

Peadar Clohessy Cup     1st Year Hurling    – Captained by Barry Nash

Manning Shield                1st Year Football   – Captained by Edward Doyle

Creative Writing

Students in second year have been publishing their creative writing online. Open one of their books and see what you think.

They are using Storybird.You may ask what is Storybird?
Storybird is a service that uses collaborative storytelling to connect kids and families. Two (or more) people create a Storybird in a round robin fashion by writing their own text and inserting pictures. They then have the option of sharing their Storybird privately or publicly on the network. The final product can be printed (soon), watched on screen, played with like a toy, or shared through a worldwide library.

Storybird is also a simple publishing platform for writers and artists that allows them to experiment, publish their stories, and connect with their fans.

The adventures of hothead. by mrphead on Storybird

1st Year Hurling Final Winners

        Hurling Final Score:          Castletroy College 7 – 12   

                                                             Ard Scoil Rís 3 – 5

In the County Colleges 1^st year Hurling Final at Monaleen, Castletroy College claimed the title at the expense of Ard Scoil Rís. This was a very tough and entertaining encounter but Castletroy was the superior side throughout.

 Edward Doyle and John Nicholas led the attack and a great point from Nicholas in the opening minute set the Castletroy boys on their way. Ard Scoil Rís stayed in touch throughout the opening half and were still in the game at the break trailing 2 – 6 to 1 – 5.

A great save by Jack Banks in the early stages sent a clear message that the defence was not going to concede scores easily. Castletroy went on to score 5 – 6 in the second half to Ard Scoil Rís’s 2 goals from placed balls. With a very balanced side, Castletroy dominated the second half and with such talented hurlers like Andy Cosgrave, Ronan Murphy, Lorcan Lyons, Barry Nash, Tom and Paddy Morrissey, John Nicholas, Ed Doyle and Conor Fleming the future for this hurling team looks very promising.

School Calendar 2010/2011

TERM 1

Monday, 30^th August, 2010 – Thursday, 23^rd December, 2010.

Mid-Term Break  25^th October, 2010 to 29^th October, 2010.

TERM 2

Monday, 10^th January, 2011 – Friday, 15^th April, 2011.

Mid-Term Break  21^st February, 2011 to 25^th February, 2011.

Bank Holiday      St. Patrick’s Day 17^th March, 2011 &

                         School Closed Friday, 18^th March, 2011

TERM 3

Tuesday, 3^rd May, 2011 – Friday, 3^rd June, 2011.

Bank Holiday      2^nd May, 2011.

Dates below are subject to change

Proposed Parent Teacher Meetings

Monday, 8^th November, 2010    – TY and 6^th Years (3.10 finish)

Thursday, 25^th November, 2010        – 3^rd Years (3.10 finish)

Thursday, 27^th January, 2011    – 5^th Years (3.10 finish)

Friday, 28^th January, 2011         – 1^st & 2^nd Years (School Closed)

Proposed Staff Inservice Days

Tuesday, 12^th October, 2010

Wednesday, 8^th December, 2010

Thursday, 3^rd March, 2011

Math Resources Online

There are many excellent sources of e-learning materials online. Finding the appropriate one is a challenge however some people do this for you. “Mr Kendall recommends” is the name of an excellent edublog which provides appropriate links for maths at secondary school.

The blog is dedicated to giving students (and their parents) quick access to the digital resources he uses during class time. Visit the blog for resources to help you with maths.
Vist the blog at: http://tkendall.edublogs.org/

Ul CyberCamp

Do you want Greenfoot? Would you like to know what Greenfoot is or do you need to Scratch? Is this making any sense to you? If you want to know more then why not attend the UL CyberCamp.

The aim of the camp is to give students the opportunity to learn, use and experience new technology in a fun and engaging way. During the camp, students will work in teams to build their own games, animations or music projects, build their own websites, construct and program robots and solve problems.

When?

The dates for the camps are as follows:

• Camp 1: beginning the 14th of June for 3 days
• Camp 2: beginning the 21th of June for 3 days
• Camp 3: beginning the 28th of June for 3 days

Each day is scheduled from 09:30 – 16:30.

Cost: €75

For full information and details go to http://www.csis.ul.ie/cybercamp/index.html 

OK what is Greenfoot?

Greenfoot is a framework for creating graphical demonstrations using the Java programming language that is suitable for novice programmers. While Greenfoot supports the full Java language, it is especially useful for programming exercises that have a visual element. In Greenfoot, object visualisation & object interaction are key elements. Your imagination is the limit from a space shooter game to a graphical demonstration of how ant colonies search out food to understanding the characteristics of sound waves. See http://www.greenfoot.org/ for more details.

Junior Golf Ireland

Junior Golf Ireland has organised with Castletroy Golf Club for twenty 1st and 2nd year students from Castletroy College to take part in a ten week Introduction to Golf programme. The girls are getting golf lessons in Castletroy Golf Club, a session at unigolf and pitch and putt. A gala day is to be held in May for all schools in Munster taking part in the pro-gramme, so watch this space…

Campus Development

 The fencing at the rear of the school is now completed and the contractors have returned to complete the drainage and development of the two pitches. We expect to be able to play a limited number of matches on our pitches next year.

New Broadband Rollout

Communications Minister Eamon Ryan TD stated in December last that €45 million will be spent on modernising Ireland’s telecoms infrastructure and that 100Mbps of high-speed broadband will be delivered to 78 secondary schools across the country. Castletroy College was selected as one of the 78 schools.

Work has already begun on the installation of the new broadband infrastructure. During the February mid-term break 33 ultra short throw projectors will be installed in the school. All classrooms in the school will then have a digital projector. Also, all teachers have a laptop, the majority of school PCs are less than 3yrs old and we will have a high speed broadband connection. A new internal wireless network will also be installed as part of this initiative resulting in an outstanding ICT infrastructure which will enable the school to transform teaching and learning.

High speed broadband is the foundation on which information technology can be integrated into our schools, making a new approach to learning and teaching possible. Teachers, parents, students and other members of the community can get involved in online communication and information sharing, regardless of location or school opening hours.

High speed broadband to schools is an important development supporting:
schools with the technological tools to work together (for example, virtual classrooms, video and audio streaming, high definition video conferencing) and create flexible, personalised learning for all students;
teachers with the tools and support to be able to use, share and develop e-learning resources; and
students with networked computers to interact with their peers and teachers in other schools across Ireland and around the world.

Castletroy College is recognised as one of the leading schools in Ireland. The school sees this initiative as an opportunity to build on the good work to date in integrating ICT in teaching and learning and provide students with access to the latest technology.

Limerick Student Enterprise Competition

3 Transition Year students Richenda McLean, Michelle Kimmel & Orlaith O’ Mahony received the Best Business Report Award for their mini-business ’Pizza Fridays’ in the Limerick Student Enterprise Competition held recently in the University of Limerick.  Well done girls from all in

Castletroy College!