Congratulations to both of our Senior Debating Teams who represented our school wonderfully in the Laois Senior Debating Cup final.

Both teams encountered very strong opposition in the preliminary rounds in November and December, defeating various schools across the county and remaining undefeated. 

Last night, history was made as onlookers witnessed an all CBS final. 

The motion was - ‘That this house believes that Disney has contributed more to our culture and our humanity than Shakespeare has’ 

CBS 1, (and the proposition) consisted of our very eloquent fifth years; Jack Murrell, Aaron Branagan, Kyle John and Adam Raji. 

CBS 2, (and the opposition) were a combination of our experienced sixth years; William Barrett and Nathan Duffy, and our  enthusiastic TYs; Andrew Coyne and Harry McGRee. 

These boys are a credit to our school and a fantastic representation of our student body. Audience members commented on the students ability to command the room, entertain, rise to the occasion while also commending their obvious preparation. 

In what was a very difficult decision for the judges, CBS 2 (the opposition) marginally defeated CBS 1 in a very entertaining final.

Next up was Best Individual Speaker, where once again, the boys faced extremely tough competition from various schools across Laois. We had strong representation here once more, with three BIS winners qualifying from the individual rounds; Harry McGree, Kyle John and Adam Raji. All students did a wonderful job and you could hear a pin drop when the St. Mary’s CBS boys stepped up to deliver their speech on ‘Teenagers: Where Would You Be Without Us?’ 

The judges returned, stating that it was a unanimous decision and named our wonderful TY student Harry McGree as Best Individual Speaker! What an achievement for one of the youngest Senior Debaters. 

Ms. Carroll and Ms. Hyland are so proud of each and every one of their students who have worked so hard all year. It is just so lovely to see our students improve every single time they stand up and speak. Congratulations to all!

The LSD Cup is home #fromeachtheirbest 

Hi all, 

TY Activities for the upcoming week

Monday 22nd     – 

Tuesday 23rd    –  Work Experience

TY students are on work experience all day. 

Wednesday 24th  –  Rescheduled Go Karting

TYA & TYB will be away from 9-4pm. 

(TYC & TYD will travel next Monday 29th. If there are any issues here please let me know asap)

Thursday 25th  – 

Friday 26th   – 

On Wednesday January  17th, Tess, who are the attendance branch of Tusla, held a conference to review the Guidelines for Schools' Codes of Behaviour. Students representatives from 5 schools were invited to attend and give their opinions on what they believe the future guidelines to schools should look like. This was serious, these guidelines will become the basis of the codes of behaviour of all Irish schools, and will be around for a number of years, once finalised. There will be conferences held around the country and all input will be collated and considered.

Four of our students: Harry Delaney in 2nd year, Leon Doheny in 3rd year, Demi Sonupe in 5th year and Love Omoijade in TY volunteered to represent St Mary's CBS. It was a task that called for maturity and fairness - where students realise that there has to be rules to keep people safe, but that they should be fair and have a reason to be there in the first place. 

I was reliably informed this morning that our students did us proud yesterday. Their maturity, their ability to articulate ideas, their manners and respect for the process at hand - they were excellent. We are very proud of them. 

The next meeting of the Parents' Council will take place next Tuesday evening, Jan 23rd, at 7.30 pm. All are welcome. 

To whom it may concern:

We here at the ESB Networks Training Centre, Portlaoise, Co. Laois are delighted to be hosting an Apprenticeship Open Day on Saturday March 16th for senior students or those interested in an electrical apprenticeship. We will be showcasing all the skills and attributes of some of our current apprentices.