Ard Scoil na nDéise Students in the National Final of the Student Enterprise Programme
We would like to wish the very best of luck to Transition year students Lauren Douris and Caoimhe Keane who will represent Waterford in the national Final of the Student Enterprise Programme in Dublin on Friday, 3rd May.
The Student Enterprise Programme, an initiative run by the Network of Local Enterprise Offices of Ireland, is Ireland’s largest and most successful student enterprise programme with over 23,000 second level students taking part each year. Students from First Year to Sixth Year get to set up and run their own business and find out what it’s really like to be an entrepreneur by taking part in this eight month long enterprise education learning programme. The Programme runs from September to May, and students get to do everything a real life entrepreneur would do, from coming up with the business idea to marketing, sales and preparing a business plan.
At the end of the Programme in May, one student business from each region gets to compete at the National Final in Dublin for the ‘Student Enterprise of the Year’ award.
This year we are proud to announce that Ard Scoil na nDéise students Lauren Douris and Caoimhe Keane will be representing Waterford in the national final of the competition in Croke Park on Friday, with their excellent enterprise called Hidden Access. The girls came up with the ingenious idea of designing, manufacturing and marketing a portable wheelchair ramp to allow wheelchair users easier access to so many places that may previously have been inaccessible to them. We are so proud of the girls for getting this far and we look forward to hearing all about their experiences at the National Final in Croke Park on Friday.
 Well done to Lauren Douris and Caoimhe Keane. We are so proud of them for making it to the national final of the Student Enterprise Awards |
 Best of Luck to Caoimhe Keane and Lauren Douris who will represent Waterford in the National Final of the Student Enterprise Programme Awards on Friday |
East Munster Track and Field Championships
The East Munster Schools Track and Field Championships were held in Templemore on 1st May. Another great day for the Ard Scoil na nDéise athletes with a grand total of 14 medals won. Well done to our medal winners on the day:
Lucy Holmes – 1st Senior 800m
Sarah Slevin – 1st Junior Discus and Javelin
Roisin Kiersey – 1st Junior 75m Hurdles
Kate Hickey – 2nd Senior Steeplechase
Mary Bradfield – 2nd Intermediate Discus
Caoimhe Prendergast – 2nd Junior 1500m
Beth Gardner – 2nd Intermediate Javelin
Sarah Nyhan – 3rd Intermediate 3000m
Millie Lucey – 3rd Junior 75m Hurdles
Katie Donnelly – 3rd Junior 200m
Junior Relay Team – 1st Place (Roisin Kiersey, Emma Flemming, Caoimhe Prendergast, and Katie Donnelly).
 Well done to all of the Ard Scoil na nDeise athletes who competed at the East Munster Track and Field Championships |
 Proud medal winners at the East Munster Track and Field Championships |
Transition Year Gaisce Trip to Newgrange
Transition Year students pictured at Newgrange during their recent Gaisce trip
On Wednesday 1st of May we headed off to Newgrange to finish the final part of our Gaisce, the Adventure Journey. We left school at 7 a.m. and stopped in Paulstown for breakfast. We arrived at Newgrange Lodge at about 10:30 a.m. and left our stuff in the lodge before heading outside to begin our day long hike. We were all excited for the days ahead and were happy to head off on the hike as we were with our friends. The first part of the hike was by far the hardest as we had to wade through mud. As difficult as it was, it was hilarious and involved lots of slipping and screaming. Eventually we made it out of this part and got to really nice green fields where we stopped for lunch. After lunch we continued our hike into the town, passing a beautiful mural on the wall and through a park. The next part of the hike involved walking on a road then through a park with a view of a river. This part of the hike went really quickly and we made it back at about half past four. We were all super tired and went to our rooms after dinner to relax for a while before coming back down for some karaoke before bed.
The second day we headed off on our hike at about 10 a.m. Today’s hike was shorter and we were heading to look at Newgrange. The hike the second day seemed to fly by and we were at Newgrange snapping lots of pictures before we knew it. When we arrived back at the lodge, we had lunch and relaxed for an hour before heading out to do our activities. We started off with an ice-breaker game in pairs before splitting up and doing some other activities. We tried combat archery, archery, team building and shooting targets with paintballs. It was a lot of fun and we were all tired after it once again. The second night after dinner we had our talent show, which was a great laugh and we all enjoyed it. We headed to bed after the talent show but most of us didn’t go to sleep until a while later!!
The next morning we were up early for breakfast and tidying the rooms. Once all the rooms were clean, we headed to the bus for the journey home after a memorable 2 days where we all bonded and made some fantastic new memories.
 Well done to our Transition Year students who completed a hike as part of the Gaisce challenge |
 All kitted out in protective gear to try their hand at archery during the Gaisce trip |
Ard Scoil na nDéise First Years Compete in Football Blitz
On May 1st the First Year football team travelled to Mallow to take part in a football blitz. We were excited to be competing against other First Year teams. Our first match was against Coláiste Treasa, Kanturk and sadly we lost. We had a small break and powered into the next match against St. Joseph’s, Tulla, where we won. We successfully qualified for the semi-final and there was lots of celebrating after we won against Coláiste Mhuire Buttevant. After that we had a break and then got ready for the final against Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne. It was a long and hard battle but in the end they pulled ahead and won the final. While we were disappointed not to come home victorious, we were so proud of ourselves that we got to the final and we had a great day up in Mallow!!
Written by Katie Lavin, 1B.
 There was also plenty of time to rest up and enjoy the good weather |
 Well done to our First Year footballers who travelled to a blitz in Mallow recently |
 There was plenty of action at the First Year Football Blitz |
Disco Fever Hits Ard Scoil na nDéise
On Friday, 17th May we had our annual Parents’ Council Fundraiser. This year we broke with tradition and replaced our sponsored fun run with a fancy dress disco danceathon! Our theme was seventies disco and we were delighted to see staff and students embracing the theme and making a big effort with their fancy dress costumes! We had great fun on the day and, thanks to the generosity of our Parents’ Council, we had great spot prizes and prizes for best costumes and most sponsorship collected. We would like to thank the Parents’ Council for their continued support and we would also like to thank Ms. Brosnan for organising the event in conjunction with the Parents’ Council.
Everyone made a great effort with their fancy dress costumes for our seventies disco
 Top marks for bravery as Kayla took the theme to another level and donned her rollerblades for the disco |
 Peace and Love was the order of the day for our seventies disco |
 Our Sixth Year Hippie Chicks |
 Tie dye and flower power were important elements of the costumes |
 Smiling, happy faces at our seventies themed disco |
 More Sixth Year Hippie Chicks embracing the theme of our seventies disco |
Carriglea Art Exhibition at Ard Scoil na nDéise
On Monday, 20th May, Ard Scoil na nDéise hosted the annual Carriglea Art Exhibition. This is a very important event in our school calendar and marks the culmination of a year of hard work on the part of our art teacher Mary Foley, our Transition Year students and of course the Carriglea service users!
Our partnership with Carriglea has been operating since 2003. Each week, for a double class period, ten of the Carriglea service users come to the Ard Scoil for an art class facilitated by our Transition Year students. A huge amount of work goes on behind the scenes to plan and prepare lessons that will appeal to the interests of the participants in the classes. While Ms. Foley coordinates the classes and oversees the work, it is the responsibility of the Transition Year students themselves to plan the lesson and to work with the participants to produce the finished art pieces. Lessons incorporate a wide variety of skills including painting, drawing and collage. The finished pieces of art are a collaboration of Carriglea talent and Ard Scoil talent!
We are immensely proud of our students for all of the hard work that they put in this year and of course we are very grateful to Ms. Foley for her boundless energy and enthusiasm for the project. Above all though we are so proud to be involved in this wonderful initiative that brings such joy to our school every Monday. We are already looking forward to starting again in September and we hope that this collaboration will continue for many years to come.
 Some of the fantastic artwork on display at the Carriglea art exhibition. |
 Sincere thanks to Ms. Foley for all of her hard work on the collaboration between Ard Scoil na nDeise and Carriglea. |
 Staff and students from Ard Scoil na nDeise pictured with Carriglea service users and staff from Carriglea |
Transition Year Graduation
On Tuesday, 21st May our Transition Year class of 2019 had their graduation ceremony. We were so proud to celebrate all of their achievements. The girls accomplished so many things throughout the year. They participated in many different activities including hiking, surfing, enterprise competitions, public speaking, quizzes, charity work, drama, art, music etc. Not only that but they played an integral role in organising so many of the activities that took place in our school during the year. Transition year students were on the organising committee for Minding Me Week, Seachtain na Gaeilge, Finance Week and Maths Week to name but a few. They were also instrumental in the setting up of our School Bank. We are so proud of the girls and all that they achieved and we look forward to seeing them flourish in Fifth and Sixth Year.
 Representatives from Transition Year gave a wonderful account of their time in Transition Year. |
 Transition Year students were in fine voice at their graduation. |
 Transition Year students were presented with their ECDL certificates at their graduation. |