This week in our school we have College Awareness Week which raises awareness for people to go to college, build study habits and be more organised with homework. It’s important for students to build good study habits early on so that they will be prepared for the Junior Cycle and then later on for the Leaving Cert.

Throughout the week, the school will have some parents coming into classes to talk about their college experience and what degrees they did in college. The school has also organised University guest speakers for our Senior Cycle classes and there will be some fun quizzes too! Keep an eye on the school twitter for updates on College Awareness Week.

Thanks to the Guidance department for organising the week.

On Thursday the 16th of May the first years took a bus to go to Carlingford adventure centre.They got divided into three groups and each group did a different activity. Group A did laser tag,group B did kayaking and group C did the aerial adventure. After lunch group A and B switched activities and group C did rock climbing.

Before dinner the 1st years got to see their dorms and after dinner they went on a blindfold walk,where they had to face obstacles to get to the end. 

The next morning group C did kayaking while the other two groups did either rock climbing or the aerial adventure.

They then headed back to the centre and the first bus left at 5 while the second group left at 5:30.The first group arrived at 6:30 while the second group arrived at around 7.

A lot of fun was had by all and big thanks to Jane,Emma,Shane,Connor and Stephen for taking them on the trip and to Ashling,Andrew and Ian for organising and planning the trip.

Our 2nd year boys GAA football team were very lucky to have a medal presentation by Dublin Footballer, Tom Lahiff. Tom offered words of encouragement to the students and praised them for winning their 2nd year League. Thanks to our teacher Dermot for organising this talk. We could definitely have some of the boys team following in Toms footsteps…. watch this space!

After the Spring Break our 3rd year students in the school completed their Home Economics practical examinations. The students put their chef hats on and created some amazing dishes for their Junior Cycle. Some of the food made was reported to be absolutely delicious! Well done to all third year students and to Olwyn, Alan and our 5th year student who supported the 3rd years. 

During the month of April in Belmayne ETSS students from the Maynooth Digital Leadership programme came in to teach first year classes coding. The 1st years tried out a lot of new tools and applications in their coding classes like micro bits which can be coded so that you can play games on them! They also tried a wide range of different enigmas and puzzles. All first year students really enjoyed the lessons and learnt a lot of new information about the world of coding!

On Friday the 28 of April we had an assembly about diversity. Diversity involves people from a range of different social backgrounds and different genders etc. 

At the assembly we heard from the Amber Flag Committee they gave the whole school many informative speeches about Polish, Algerian and Turkish cultures. The Amber committee is responsible for promoting diversity and inclusion for the whole school community. The committee presented information about the countries languages and food. They brought in different food from different cultures which Cillian shared at lunch time in his classroom for everyone to try in room 3!

Our Athletics coach Dan got all junior and senior athletics teams involved in a cross country event out in Swords in February. 

It was a very enjoyable day for all despite the weather! We had a lot of success throughout the day with our 5th year team coming 2nd overall and our 4th year team came 5th. 

The 1st year girls team also won!

A great day had by all and there was also a fundraiser on the day and all proceeds went to Laura Lynn Hospice.

Before our February Midterm-Term, Belmayne ETSS underwent Scifest. 

It was a day of fun and excitement for 1st, 2nd and Transition year groups in the school. Judges came into the school from SciFest4Stem to examine the projects all the students had completed. 

The winners for each category were announced at whole school assembly the following Friday and the overall winners were as follows:

Best TY: Polina, Max and Taylor, ‘Does a plant grow better in soil that had a tree growing in it’

Best 2nd Year: Sean, Charmaine and Katie, ‘Which sunglasses brand blocks UV best?

Best 1st Year: Ali, Tudor and Milana, ‘Do different alarms wake you up better’

Well done to all the winners and thanks to all the science teachers for a very exciting day!

All first year classes went to the Peter Pan show, on the 24th of November. It was the biggest trip from BETSS, with over a hundred students present. All first years were very excited.

The first year group got to the Dublin City Centre by the number 15 bus, then walked from the bus stop to the Gate Theatre. When the show started, everybody witnessed shining lights, wonderful special effects and even a slow motion battle scene.

Before the Winter Break on the 15th December, all TY students became Entrepreneurs hosting a whole school Winter Fair in Belmayne ETSS. The students worked very hard and developed their own Businesses which they will put into action by selling the products. 

On the day there were competitions, treats and goodies to be won and purchased by the whole school community. Thank you to all the Business teachers and staff that helped make the day such a success. 

Parents and guardians were also invited to attend the Winter Fair. It was a major success! 

Here are some examples of some of the wonderful products that were on display on the day.

Keep your eyes peeled for some future Entrepreneurs!!