2nd Year’s Long Jump

On Tuesday 27th February, under the expertise of Ms. Byrne and Mr. Fitzpatrick, the second year students took up the challenge of the long jump in St. David’s new sand pit. On the eve of Storm Emma, the students soared to new heights one by one as they attempted to get the best distance. Every student ready, willing and able took part whether for the sake of competition, or just for the sake of attempting a new activity.  The feat for furthest jump came from Sebastian Diaconescu from B2 with a distance of 4.0 metres. In close second was Paddy Reilly from B4 with a distance of 3.9 metres and our newest member of second year, Ricardo Da Silva Gurlino, managed to actually score of distance of 3.8 metres. Ms. Byrne and Mr Fitzpatrick intend to hold more challenges for first years in the coming weeks, but for now were very happy with the effort put in by the second year students.

 

 

We can’t wait to see what the coming year holds with this great new addition in St. David’s CBS!

 

St David’s Greatest Arguments

 

 

I joined the St David’s CBS debate club in my first year. In the first practice debate, Ms. Bowles had to be on my team and the adjudicator due to lack of members. I originally joined the debate team as I wanted to join an extra-curricular activity that wasn’t sporting related, as I am most definitely not a “sporty” person. Due to the fact that debating was the only non sport related club, I joined. And so, from every Friday on, myself and a group of fellow mainly non -sporty individuals were in Ms. Bowles’s class after school practicing debating.

 

Being one of the only non-sport clubs in the school, in such a sport oriented school, it is great to have a team that is catered to students who wish to develop other skills. As a team, we have gone on a few group outings. These include debate leagues, debate workshops and debating tournaments to name a few. Our senior team have competed in the Concern debates; a debate league amongst schools around Ireland ran by the charity Concern, in which the teams debate over issues pressing the world today. This is a great opportunity to compete with multiple schools in different locations. It also helps us to improve our debate skills and knowledge of topics that are very relevant and diverse. These topics can range from gender equality to genetically modified food which I promise is so much more interesting than it sounds. Competing in these debates helps me to understand issues that without debating I would be clueless.

We have competed in a multiple debates against a few schools in the area which all (from my memory) had a pretty even win/lose ratio. In the debate meetings themselves, we practice debates on recent topics and do various debating games. The debate club is a very accepting and comfortable club filled with very different people who help each other to improve their skills. The varying political opinions amongst the group helps bring in more ideas and the debate club can be used as an outlet to explore opinions other than your own.

 

Debating has always been a great part of my experience thus far in St.David’s. Though I do wish there were more ways I could be involved with my school besides ways of athletic ability, I am so glad to have the debate team as part of my school life. I would encourage any student to join debating, whether they are completely fascinated and devoted to the current political climate, talking about what they like, or just want to get involved in their school. Debating is an amazing way to help improve your ability to speak your mind and create your own opinion in a comfortable and welcoming environment with helpful, caring and dedicated teachers, such as Ms.Bowles and Mr.Courtney.

By Craig Maguire

 

 

 

✏ 2nd Year Poetry Competition ✏

 

A number of students in 2nd Year entered a poetry competition, and we are delighted to announce that the winner of this competition was Michael Johnston in B4. Over the past couple of weeks in English class we have been reading short stories, taking part in short dramas, writing diary entries, presenting speeches and reading poetry, all relating to the theme of war. 

When students from B1 and B4 were presented with the challenge of writing a war poem, some were quite anxious, and others were quite excited and feeling very competitive. The students presented their poems to the class and we whittled it down to the top 5 poems, and then we finally decided on a winner. The standard of the poetry that was written in this class was astounding, we actually found it really difficult to just choose one winner!

Well done to everyone who entered and congratulations to Michael Johnston once again!! 🙂

 

 

Trip to the cinema!

C2 went on a class trip to the cinema on the 6th of December to see ‘Wonder’, along with Ms. Denham, Ms. Cosgrave and Ms. Hehir. ‘Wonder’ is originally a book written by R.J Palacio, and it has now been adapted to a film directed by Stephen Chbosky. The film ‘Wonder’ is about a boy named Auggie Pullman who lived with a syndrome called Treacher Collins Syndrome. This syndrome meant he had facial deformities, which made him extremely self-conscious, and this resulted in him being home-schooled for years. This film follows his challenging transition into school life. It highlights how some people picked on him and how he felt completely left out and alone at times. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel for Auggie when he finally accepts how he looks and he finds some great friends who will not only accept him and love him for who he is, they will also stand up for him and support him in times of need.

This was a really moving,heartwarming, uplifting and inspiring movie. Auggie’s story is one that resonated with each and every one of us, as we have all either witnessed or experienced bullying in our lives. He showed enormous strength and determination and taught us all a valuable lesson or two – ‘Do not judge a book by it’s cover’ and he taught us never to give up, not matter how hard it seems at the time, ‘Tough times don’t last, but tough people do.’

‘Wonder’ had some really motivational precepts, and I think if we could incorporate these mottos into our own lives, we would become happier, kinder people. Both staff and students thoroughly enjoyed this film, and gave it an outstanding 10/10! We would encourage everyone to go to see this inspiring and heartwarming movie!

Here’s what some of our students had to say:

“I didn’t think the movie would be as good as it was, I really enjoyed it!” -Lorcan Burke

“That film was deadly. We could all relate to the issue of bullying, and it was really motivating to see Auggie overcome this challenging time in his life.” -Martin Reid

 

Check out some of the precepts and photos from our day at the cinema. 🙂

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Turas scoile go dtí an ‘Laughter Lounge’

Chuamar go dtí an ‘Laughter Lounge’ ar an 23ú Samhain 2017. Chuamar ar scoil ar ceathrú chun a naoi. D’fhágamar an scoil ar ceathrú chun a deich agus thógamar an bus go dtí lár na cathrach. Shroicheamar an ‘Laughter Lounge’ ar a haon déag a chlog. Bhí Mr. Lyons, Ms. Cosgrave agus Ms. Mullins i bhfeighil. Bhí iompar na ngasúr go maith. Bhí a lán scoileanna eile ann. Bhí an seomra plódaithe le daltaí. Bhí an seó an-ghreannmhar. Bhí tuiscint againn ar na jócanna mar bhí said dírithe ar dhéagóirí. D’fhanamar ansin ar feadh dhá uair. Tar éis é sin bhíomar ábalta dul abhaile. Chuaigh a lán daltaí ag siopadóireacht agus fuair said bia freisin. Bhaineamar taitneamh as an seó. Lá iontach a bhí ann.

Le Shane Dela Pena, Conor Hill agus Luke Mulvaney – An Idirbhliain

“When the Dubs come in to lift the Sam Maguire”

What a momentous occasion it was to have All-Ireland winning teammates, Jonny Cooper and Stephen Cluxton, speak in our school and celebrate their recent triumph of winning the prestigious Sam Maguire Cup. Students from each year group assembled in the green carpet area, and patiently awaited Stephen and Jonny’s arrival. Mr Fitzpatrick was the MC for the afternoon, and asked the lads a range of questions. Students were then given the opportunity to ask the lads some questions, which resulted in some really interesting answers and some laughs along the way. It was really uplifting to hear their stories and their journeys that they have undertaken to date, and I think I speak for everyone in St David’s that day when I say, both lads were extremely relatable, motivational and inspirational.

It was an absolute pleasure to have Stephen, Jonny and the Sam Maguire Cup in our school for the third year in a row. As always, this was a really positive and enjoyable afternoon for everyone involved. Special thanks goes to everyone who made this day possible. Check out some of our pictures from this fantastic day below.

Welcome to St. David’s C.B.S. Blog!

Welcome to St. David’s C.B.S. Blog.  Our school has been open for the past 51 years, and we are delighted to launch our very first school blog.  The aim of this blog is to provide insight into the collaborative, active and interesting learning experience that the students of St. David’s C.B.S are involved in. There is wonderful work being done both inside and outside the classroom by staff, students, parents and  the board of management, and we feel that this medium will highlight this great work.   A number of students from each year group will be active members of our blogging committee. Watch this space for all of our school news, updates, and please support our highly motivated students who will be providing you with these important updates.

 

For any questions, queries or if you feel you have a story to tell, please feel free to leave a comment below.