Form IV pupil, Elys Walker, reports on the recent Transition Year trip to Causey Farm.

On Wednesday the 9th of September, the Transition Year went to Causey Farm, in Meath. We left around 1:00 pm in the afternoon and arrived in Causey Farm at around 2:00 pm. We were split into three groups and sent off to different locations. First, we baked bread. We only needed six ingredients, white flour, wholemeal flour, bicarbonate soda, salt, an egg and buttermilk. We all found it funny that there were no exact measurements for the ingredients. Instead, we used a mug to measure out the flour and milk. After we put our bread in the oven, we went for a walk around the farm. We saw alpacas, a camel, pigs, cows and we even caught a sheep.

After we finished our tour of the farm, we got changed into our old clothes to go to the bog. All 20 of us in group 1 climbed into the back of a trailer. There were no seats! We were driven by a tractor down the road to the bog. The trip took 10 minutes. When we arrived at the bog, we had to get a safety briefing on how to jump into the bog and how to get out. We were told to jump in and land with our legs in front of us. To get out of the bog we had to push all the mud off our legs, then hook our hands underneath our knees and pull our legs out. When we finally jumped into the bog, it was so hard to get out! The mud was so heavy and trying to clamber back up the bank was really hard as our legs kept sinking back into the mud. By the end of the bog jumping, we were all covered in mud and our arms were so tired. We got back onto the trailer and went to get cleaned off. We went into a lake to wash the mud off. We then got changed back into our dry clothes.

We also played the Bodhrán, a traditional Irish drum. It was quite hard to get the rhythm right and to play in time with everyone else. Just before we left the farm, we collected our loaves of bread which were fresh out of the oven. We then got back on the bus and started the journey back to school, stopping off at McDonald’s en route! We arrived back at school at 8:30 pm, and everyone was exhausted from a brilliant day. All of TY would like to thank Ms. Kilfeather for organising this trip and to Ms Lynch, Mr Ryan and Mr Clarke who came with us. We all had an amazing day and it was a great opportunity to get to know our year better.

We are alive and well in spite of the times, determined to carry on and enjoy ourselves. Please do share this video with any friends who may be looking at schools for their children at the moment.

Applications for admission for day places for the academic year 2021 / 2022 open on Thursday, October 1st 2020 and close on Wednesday, October 21st (in line with the Admissions Act 2018).

Parents of prospective pupils should fill out the attached Application Form. Full details on Admissions can be found in the Admissions Policy and on our dedicated Admissions Page.

Application Form

All enquiries to admissions@stcolumbas.ie.

 

Coady Architects have produced a short video which gives an excellent account of the development of Whispering House in 2018-19, showing with drone footage how it fits beautifully into the centre of the College campus.

 

Please find below the Annual Admission Notice, outlining the timeline for Admission in 2021 and the number of pupils that we are hoping to admit. For full details on the College admissions process, click here.

I am welcoming you to St Columba’s College in unprecedented times. We return to an altered reality, where rules and social interaction are different. As Coronavirus infiltrates our lives, this is a time for us to stay close together as a school, as colleagues and as friends. As a group, we need to be united and be attentive to each other, and especially to the vulnerable amongst us and to our extended families and the wider community.

The coronavirus will continue to impact on our lives, but we should keep in mind that the problems and issues we grappled with before lockdown have not gone away, in fact, most have been exacerbated. Every day more people slip into poverty, our planet continues to get sicker and our society is becoming more divided.

Here at St Columba’s, I believe we can make a difference, and we should all welcome the recent external review of racism as the first step towards positive change. I hope you will all join me in making a commitment to embrace the changes proposed in this review, but also to go further and to stand up against all forms of discrimination and prejudice. Let us do this with open hearts and a willingness to see what we can do individually, and as a community, to make Columba’s a place we are proud to call our school, and a microcosm of the world we want to live in.

This year, more than any other, it’s imperative at St Columba’s that we are kind to each other, that we are inclusive, that we value and enjoy each other’s company and make the most of the year ahead.

St Columba’s in 2020 can be a school at the forefront of change in Ireland, and I am very proud to be invited to lead you on this exciting journey.

Éile Ní Chíanáin, Senior Prefect 2020 / 2021

Last night a small House group attended Evensong, and the Warden gave the first sermon of the school year. You can listen to this below: