Bebras is an international initiative aiming to promote informatics and computational thinking among school students at all ages. It is run in over 50 countries and takes place every November. The aim is to get students all over the world to get excited about computing. The challenge introduces computational thinking to students where they are required to solve interactive tasks. These tasks can be answered without prior knowledge about computational thinking.

Forty two pupils from Forms II, III & IV entered the Bebras Computing Challenge in November 2020 in their respective age categories. Of there, nine pupils, listed below, have succeeded in gaining entry to the Bebras National Final based on their score from November. This is a fantastic achievement considering there was close to 6000 pupils who entered the competition in these two age categories. The finals will take place on Tuesday 20th April 2021 as part of Tech Week 2021. The pupils who made the final are:

Cadet Category (12-14)
Alexander Fought
Sean Lang
Manuel Montez Perez
Elliot Warnock Cadet

Junior Category (14-16)
Alison Coogan
Leonid Mylvaganam
Elena O’Down
Tyrone Shi
Ella Taylor

“Seachtain na Gaeilge” (“Irish Week”, in English) was actually celebrated over a two week period – that sounds mad but the country celebrates it for 17 days! Obviously, activities had to be carried out remotely and it was great to see so many pupils taking part in the various activities. We played “biongó foclóra” (vocabulary bingo) and had “tráthanna na gceist” (quizzes) during our Irish classes. Pupils, both those who study Irish and those who don’t, could enter a poster competition in which they were asked to illustrate one of three “seanfhocail” (proverbs). We received some wonderful entries; the winner was Isabella Treacy and Zofia Cannon-Brookes was awarded second prize. Pupils also entered a “tóraíocht taisce” (a treasure hunt) and answers had to be submitted by way of a collage. The winners were Cameron McKinley, Tabitha Larke and Rachel Shaw. Have a look at their amazing work below.

The Irish Department are also running a “Dialann Ghaeilge” (Irish Diary) competition, whereby pupils keep a record of the Irish they use and hear outside of the classroom for 14 days. The deadline for this has been extended until after the Easter holidays, so why not give it a go?! All prizes will be awarded to pupils after the Easter break.

Many words used in English in Ireland come from the Irish language and some of these were displayed on the College Twitter account and on the Irish Department’s new Instagram account @sccgaeilge. We would love it if you would follow us!

Bainigí go léir taitneamh as briseadh na Cásca agus táimid ag tnúth go mór leis na daltaí ar fad a fheiceáil ar ais ar scoil arís go luath! (Enjoy the Easter break and we are really looking forward to seeing all pupils back at school again soon!)

The 2021 Art , Craft and Photography Prizes attracted as much interest as ever and pupils from every year group entered their work for consideration. This year the theme for the  competition was ‘Connections’. Pupils’ interpretations of this theme varied greatly . The result was a fantastic collection of visual responses.

The Junior Photography Prize had a large number of entries. Many pupils focused on how they stay connected during lock down. Cameron McKinley  deservedly won the prize for his striking image of a distorted tree. Jacob Owen’s sensitively shot image of growth in the natural world earned him a Commendation. Also receiving a Distinction in this category were Stella Borrowdale, Henry Jenner, Olive Mui and Safia Walker.

Congratulations to Ciara Finn who won the Junior Craft Prize for her two-colour lino print. A Distinction was also awarded to Carlotta Castagna and Bella Fennell in this category.

Georgia Goodbody’s incredible drawing of ‘Benji the Dog’ earned her the prize in the Junior Art Prize category. There was strong competition from Keelin Bradley-Brady who was awarded a Commendation for his pen and ink image of ‘The Gorilla’. Isabella Tracey was also awarded a Distinction in this category.

The Senior Photography Prize went to Alice Letort for her quiet yet colourful images of glass bottles. Also awarded a Distinction for this prize was Iona Chavasse, Poppy Gleeson, Lioba Preysing and Felicitas Tenge. 

Iona Chavasse won the Senior Craft Prize for her clay model of a pelican launching out of the water. Antonia Ladanyi, Isobel Warnock and Kate Higgins were awarded a Distinction, also for work created in clay and print.

The Earl of Meath Senior Art Prize was won by Eliz Kolat. Her painting entitled ‘Reflections’ is part of a larger project that she undertook this year. Also receiving a Distinction in this category was Iona Chavasse, Jamie Green, Alice Letort and Isabel Warnock. 

Thank you to all who entered and congratulations to all of the winners! Work from the winners can be seen in this album:

Art Prize Winners 2021

• Earl of Meath Senior Art: Eliz Kolat
• Senior Craft: Iona Chavasse
• Senior Photography: Alice Letort
• Junior Art: Georgia Goodbody
• Junior Craft: Ciara Finn
• Junior Photography: Cameron McKinley

 

I remember Thursday 12th March 2020 very well. The Covid crisis was escalating and there was talk of schools being closed before the end of term. One or two pupils were even wearing masks, but we told them not to be so silly and to take them off at once. Assuming that any announcement of school closures would be made with a few days’ notice, I spoke in chapel that morning to allay speculation. I boldly stated that we were fully focused on getting on with things, there was no imminent threat of schools being closed and any such decision would be made in a way that gave plenty of notice to everyone of what was to come. I was decisive, I was clear, I was reassuring.

About two hours later Leo Varadkar announced that all schools were to be closed that very day.

Within a few hours the school was empty. Pupils who normally struggle to hand in an essay on time, leave their books lying around and turn up late for cloisters every day, were able, within no time at all, to book flights home to different parts of the world, book a taxi and disappear. Of course, they left most of their belongings behind and their beds were unmade, but it didn’t matter, because we were all going to be back for the beginning of the following term once the crisis had been quickly knocked on the head. No need to say farewell to those leaving in June, as that too could obviously wait.

That weekend was an exodus, as St. Patrick’s Day was upon us. The family had booked long before to go to London to watch Hamilton and we decided to go anyway. After all, the theatres were still open and if we didn’t turn up we would have wasted a lot of money. So we went, met up with the family and went to the theatre. We were chatting outside, near the theatre, about an hour before the show, when someone came out and announced that the show had been cancelled, as Boris had closed down all theatres with immediate effect. I thought that maybe the cancellation would come into effect the next day, but no, it was immediate. We stared at each other in disbelief and disappointment, went and had a nice meal (which was still just possible) and flew back to Dublin.

And so began the strangest year of any of our lives.

I can’t believe that a year has gone by. A whole year. And we are still staring at each other, but now it is in resignation and frustration. There is no more disbelief and we are so used to disappointment that it is not worth remarking on. It has been a year of waves, masks, hand-washing, asymptomaticity (is that a word?), sanitiser, PPE, PCR, PUP, social distance, red lists, traffic light systems, quarantine and designer caravans.

It has been a year when I have barely seen a single parent, which is very odd and rather sad. You may not believe me, but getting to know the parents, seeing them at functions or on the side of the pitch, chatting informally about their children and sharing the journey together, is one of the best parts of the job (honestly!). I have no doubt that parents have missed school too, getting to know who is looking after their children and also getting to know each other. It is hard to build that sense of community on which we pride ourselves, when you can’t meet people. Don’t worry, we’ll make up for that in a big way next year. Or at least, we will if we can! Please tell me we will be able to!

Anyway, happy first anniversary.

Many thanks to all those who entered into the Book Week 2021 “Bookface” competition. Below is an album of the best entries. We are delighted to announce the winners are Fee Ratibor & Coco Xu with Charlie Bevan as the runner up. Well done to all!

Táimid ag ceiliúradh Seachtain na Gaeilge ar aon leis an tír go léir. Ar ndóigh, caithfear na gníomhaíochtaí go léir a bheith déanta go fíorúil. Tá súil againn go nglacfaidh gach duine páirt – ní gá Gaeilge a bheith agat!

We are celebrating Seachtain na Gaeilge (“Irish week”, it actually lasts for two weeks!) along with the rest of the country. Obviously, all activities will have to be carried out virtually. We hope that everyone will take part –  you don’t need to know Irish!

  • Comórtas póstaeir: tarraing póstaer a leiríonn seanfhocal /
  • Toraíocht Taisce: faigh na rudaí ar an liosta agus déan colláis astu / Treasure Hunt: find the things on the list and make a collage from them.
  • Dialann Sheachtain na Gaeilge: tabhair faoi deara na focail agus nathanna nua a fheiceann tú, a fhoghlaimíonn tú, a chloiseann tú, a deir tú, a deir daoine eile, a sheolann tú / Seachtain na Gaeilge Diary: note down the new words you see, you learn, you hear, you say, others say, you send.
  • Focal an lae (15 Márta ar aghaidh): focail Gaeilge a choistear sa Bhéarla in Éirinn / Word of the Day (15 March onwards): Irish words that are heard in English in Ireland
  • Tráth na gCeist (sna ranganna Gaeilge idir an 1 agus an 17 Márta) / Table Quizzes (in Irish classes between the 1st and 17th March)
  • SCC Gaeilge ar Instagram: leathanach nua atá bunaithe againn chun an Ghaeilge a chur chun cinn mar theanga bheo, spraíúil, thaitneamhach, nua-aimseartha. Lean muid! Beimid ag lorg ealaíontóirí a bheadh sásta pictiúr próifíle a dhearadh dúinn le linn Sheachtain na Gaeilge. / SCC Gaeilge on Instagram: a new page we have set up to promote Irish as a language that is alive, fun, enjoyable and modern. Give us a follow! We will be looking for artists to design our profile picture during Seachtain na Gaeilge.
  • Among Us as Gaeilge: Beidh daltaí na tríú bliana ag cur liosta foclóra le chéile ionas go mbeidh sibh ábalta ‘Among Us’ a imirt trí mheán na Gaeilge / Among Us in Irish: Third Year pupils will be putting a list of vocabulary together so that you will be able to play ‘Among Us’ through Irish.

While we can do little this year to mark World Book Day, with only Sixth Form having lessons on the campus at the moment, here are some staff ‘shelfies’ to look at. Pupils: which member of staff do you think owns each shelf?

Also, Dr Pyz is running a Library ‘BookFace’ competition:

Find a book cover with a face or some other portion of a body.
·        If you are in the College, the Library is a good place to start. If you are at home, search the bookshelves there.
·        Use the book cover you choose to create a photo that will blur the lines between fiction and reality. Look here for inspiration
·        Email your bookface picture to Dr Pyz (address from your teacher)
·        You can submit as many pictures as you want
·        The deadline is Friday 5th March at 6.00pm