This week, our 6th-year students attended an informative and practical session with some of last year’s Leaving Cert class, who have since moved on to further education. The event was a great opportunity for students to hear real-life examples and stories about transitioning to college life, helping them make informed decisions about their CAO applications and future options.

The session was interactive, with students able to ask questions and engage directly with the speakers. A huge thank you to the former students who took time out of their busy schedules to return and share their experiences:

• Oliwia Senkowska – Biotechnology, University of Galway

• Hannah Feeney – Creative Writing, University of Galway

• Laura Tuczynska – Arts (English, History & French), University of Galway

• Lucy McDonagh – Business Accounting, ATU

• Dasha Delos Santos – Biomedical Engineering, ATU

• Frances Hardy – Science, University of Galway

• Anni Chen – Pre-University Arts, GTI

• Poppy Johnson – Computer Science, University of Galway

• Allijah Tijani – Applied Social Studies, GTI

• Kaelah Tobin – Sports Coaching, ATU

A special word of thanks to Ms. Louise O’Callaghan, our Careers Teacher, for organising the event and ensuring its success.

It was great to see past pupils giving back to the school community, and their advice was both practical and encouraging. Events like these provide real insight and will no doubt help our current 6th years as they plan for the future. Well done to all involved!

This article has also be published on the school website along with more photos of the event and can be found here.

SciFest Achievement

Congratulations to Deepta Suresh, a 3rd-year student, who won the junior category at the TeenTurn SciFest competition held at IBM Dublin last Saturday. Deepta participated in TeenTurn’s Project Squad and impressed the judges with her outstanding project. Her incredible effort earned her a MacBook Air as the top prize. Well done, Deepta!

Maths Olympiad Success

Our junior students excelled in the Maths Week Olympiad, a competition held in October that spans from Junior Infants to 3rd Year and is open to students across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. This year’s event saw approximately 39,000 students from 318 schools take part, either individually or in pairs.

We are thrilled to announce that the 3rd-year duo of Aoife Kelly and Meera Thomas achieved the highest score in their age category across the entire island of Ireland. Additionally, Sophia Lux and Sarah Byrne Ryan secured an impressive 3rd place in the same category.

Congratulations to all the students on their fantastic achievements!

This news item is also published on our school website, available here

We’re proud to celebrate two of our past pupils, Louise Creavan and Méabh De Búrca, who are at the forefront of TG4’s commentary team for the Women’s League of Ireland. Their work comes at an exciting time for the league, with viewership figures soaring by an impressive 70% this year—a testament to the growing interest in women’s soccer.

Louise Creavan is a valued member of our teaching staff, and continues to inspire students both in the classroom and through their involvement in sports media. It’s fantastic to see the strong ties between our school and the wider world of Irish sport.

Congratulations to both on their success, and here’s to more milestones ahead!

 Well done to the Concern Debating Team who recently participated in their third debate in the competition. The team opposed the motion that 'Big business is indifferent to the Sustainable Development Goals' with Elphin Community College proposing the motion on the day. The results have yet to be announced but it was a riveting and very close debate between two teams who passionately defended their side. 

It has been a fantastic experience for the Dominican College team who also recently opposed the motion that  'Feeding the world is increasingly beyond humanity's reach' against Beechill College Monaghan.  And in their first debate of the year the team proposed the motion that "School strikes are the only effective way for young people to have a voice on climate change."   

Debating gives students the opportunity to learn skills in research, planning, organisation and exposes them to new ideas and concepts. It gives students a chance to sharpen their analytical thinking and to develop their speech writing and public speaking skills. Most importantly, however, debating is there to instill confidence in students and to promote fun and learning outside of the classroom. Well done to the team who worked so hard for each debate. The team were Madeleine Hardy (Captain), Emma Ulmschneider, Neev Kumar, Claire Leuridan-Slevin and Megan Ntoukam (absent from picture). Also pictured Maryam Yassin (in centre).

Congratulations to past pupil and Galway United player Eve Dossen who made the PFAI (Professional Footballers Association of Ireland) Team of the Year 2024 and was presented with her award recently along with fellow Galway United teammate Julie-Ann Russell.

Congratulations to our U16 basketball team on their semi final win over Pres Athenry this week. Their 24 point win sees them through to the Connacht final next Thursday, where they will play St. Joseph’s Castlebar. 

Good luck to Neev Kumar, Caitlin Peel and Haleema Lamidi who are taking part in the National Final of the ISTA Senior Science Quiz this Saturday in Trinity College. 

The three girls are pictured here along with Jamila Salif, Tierney Wei, Aoibhe Elwood, Maedbh Spellacy, Isabella Hobby, Stephanie Rimbi who also took part in the regional final of the ISTA Senior Science Quiz.

From October 12th to 18th, our school celebrated Maths Week with a variety of exciting activities for students across all years!

Throughout the week, "Guess the Maths Term" posters were displayed around the school, challenging everyone’s maths vocabulary.

Junior classes participated in the Maths Olympiad, while our 1st-year students enjoyed an engaging talk by Antonio from Divermates at ATU Galway. Students in 2nd, TY, and 5th year joined the Maggie Gough Competition, organised by the Irish Maths Teachers Association. Meanwhile, 6th-year students tested their skills in a senior-level maths table quiz.

It was a fantastic week celebrating maths across all age groups! More photos from the events can be viewed on the school website here.

Safe travels and best of luck to our 5 of our students - Clodagh Kelly (1/1), Saoirse Dermody (1/3), Ali Evans (2/1), Molly Mahon (2/3) and Saoirse Wade (3/4) who are travelling to New York this midterm to represent their club Liam Mellows in the 2024 Coast to Coast Camogie Blitz.

We hope they and their fellow players, coaches and parents who are attending the event have a safe and wonderful trip

Follow their progress on Instragram @liammellowsgaa