Clonaslee College Transition Year Awards’ Night 2019
The annual Clonaslee College Transition Year Awards’ Night took place in the Community Centre in Clonaslee on Thursday 23rd May 2019. It was an evening of song, dance and drama. As well as exhibitions of work, it also consisted of accounts and videos of the various activities. Master of Ceremonies for the evening was Darragh Scully.
Darragh opened the proceedings by calling on the principal Ms Suzanne McMahon to give the opening address. Ms McMahon congratulated the 46 Transition Year students for completing their course. She said it was a night of great celebration where the students showed their confidence and competence in a variety of skills gained in the year. She spoke of the benefits of the Transition Year where students gain new friends and discover a lot about themselves. She listed the numerous activities where student gained invaluable expertise. She said students not only make memories but also learn life-long skills. She thanked the students for all their hard work during the year. TY Co-ordinator, Ms Maura Brid Gallagher and the TY teachers.
Individual students spoke about the work they did to achieve the 5th Amber Flag for Positive Mental Health for the school. The TY students organised the 12 Ks of Christmas which was a 12 km run. It involved the whole school over a three-week period to raise money for the charities, Running for Josie and Pieta House. Students were involved in a Path for Happiness Stones’ Project which involved Art and SPHE classes. Students collected shoeboxes for Team Hope and were involved in the checking of shoeboxes in a central location in Portlaoise before shipment.
Students spoke about modules which were taken covering Robotics, Interior Design, Judo, Zumba, American Civil Rights’ Movement, Chinese and Mexican Cookery, Mini-Company, RSE, CPR, and many more. One of the highlights of the year was the trip to Paris. In addition, there were trips to Fota Wild Life Park, Bord Gais Theatre, Carlow I.T., Explorium and a retreat in Castletown.
The students performed music, dance and drama excerpts from their recent sell-out show, A Midsummer’s Camp Dream.
A number of students were presented with LOETB Arts’ Awards and Gaisce Awards. Emer Feighery and Shannon Daly were the first place winners in the school’s Enterprise Awards. All students were presented with their Transition Year Award. The Transition Year Student of the Year was awarded to Olivia Rigney. Sarah Corbet made a presentation to Ms Maura Brid Gallagher, TY Co-ordinator.
Author: Ms Mary Higgins.