It was Moate CS who took victory in Portarlingtonon Friday against a strong Knocklyon side on aperfect afternoon for football in front of a strongtravelling Moate support. The final score readMoate 5-5, Colmcille Knocklyon 1-9, however thisresult flattered Moate, with Knocklyon missingmany chances in front of goal.It was Knocklyon who started the game the betterside and opened the scoring with a 14 yard free infront of goal. Moate lifted their performance afterthis score and came at the Knocklyon defence inwaves for most of the first half. Moate’s first scorecame from the superbly on-form Arlene Coughlanafter a long sideline ball was driven into the square.Indeed it was Coughlan who slotted Moate’s secondafter good work in Moate’s rock solid defence. Thenext move resulted in Clodagh Flanagan burying theball into the back of the net, quickly followed by apointed free from Catherine Lynam. Moate’s rocksolid defence was maintained by all defenders, withNoelle Murray in particular shining. Noelle put herbody on the line on more than one occasion,blocking one certain goal in the first half. Knocklyonkicked another free and looked like they werefighting their way back into the game when Moatemoved the ball quickly up the field and got it to thedangerous Catherine Lynam who finished the movewith an excellent goal. Moate scored the next pointalmost immediately after, when Jill Shortall foundFlanagan with a superb pass and she slotted a pointwell. Knocklyon added another score but it wasMoate who capitalised on a poor Knocklyon defence

with a scrappy goal by C Flanagan and the point ofthe match by Catherine Lynam when Kelly Prestonfound Phillipa Maher who in turn found Lynam andshe pointed. This score was followed by a Knocklyonfree and the half ended Moate 3-5 to Knocklyon0-4.The second half began with Knocklyon attackingwell in the early stages, and unfortunately for Moatefull back Noelle Murray received a very dubiousyellow card (sinbin) after what looked like a legalchallenge. Knocklyon converted from this free butfailed to convert several other frees from scoreablepositions. Moate defended in numbers in the secondperiod and attacks were rare with most players insidetheir own half. However, when Kelly Preston lobbedthe keeper and scored her side’s 4th goal, Moatebegan to get back on top. Knocklyon got the nextthree scores but struggled to find that crucial goal.And on only Moate’s 4th attack of the half, theyagain scored a goal through Grace Coughlan fromlong range. Kelly Preston was then sinbinned andthe numerical advantage helped Knocklyon toscoring their only goal. Despite Knocklyon gettingthe last score of the game, they struggled to breakdown the solid full back line defence of Ruth Galvin,Noelle Murray, Lorna Henson, and the quick halfback line of Jill Shortall, Teanna Watts, and AislingClaffey. The defence were aided amply by the strongmidfield duo of Arlene Coughlan and KaleneMcCormack, while upfront captain Philippa Maherexcelled on many occasions with some fine fielding.

The lethal Kelly Preston, Grace Coughlan,Catherine Lynam and Clodagh Flanagan all tooktheir scores well while Michelle Molloy workedtirelessly on a glorious day for the MCS girls. Full time score Moate 5-5, Knocklyon 1-9.Congratulations to the team and wishing them allthe best of luck in the All-Ireland Semi Final. Cian Bradley.

NewslinkEaster 2010

MOATECOMMUNITY

SCHOOL

MOATE TAKE LEINSTER CROWN AFTER ATHRILLING GAME IN PORTARLINGTON

S e a ch ta i n n a G a e i l g e 2 0 0 9Bhí ceiliúradh mór againn i bpobalscoil Móta arís i mbliana le Seachtainna Gaeilge. Thosaigh an seachtain ar an Luain an 9ú lá de Márta leis anDVD cáiliúl 'Des Bishop: In the name of the fada'. Cuireadh an DVDar siúl sa léachtlann ag am lóin agus is fíor a rá gur bhain na scoláirí an-taitneamh as.Ag am lón ar an Mháirt, d'fhill an cluiche cáiliúl 'Cé atá ag iarraidh bheithina mhilliúnaí?'. Bhí an-suim ag na daltaí páirt a ghlacadh ann agus bhí goleor daltaí sa lucht féachana freisin chun tacaíocht a thabhairt dóibh. Bhíceisteanna deacra le freagairt ach bhí an-áthas ar na daltaí ag fágáil lehairgead ag an deireadh.An lá dar gcionn, bhí an seisiún traidisiúnta againn ag am lón. Bhí sluamór ann chun éisteacht leis na ceoltóirí agus chun féachaint ar narinceoirí. Bhí grúpa mór ann ag seinm an bosca ceoil, an veidhlín, feadógstáin agus an bodhrán. Chuir na rinceoirí taispeántas iontach ar siúlchomh maith. Léirítear an talann iontach atá againn i bPobalscoil Mótaagus bhain gach duine an-taitneamh as.Ar an Déardaoin, Bhí ‘X-Factóir na Móta’ ar siúl sa halla gleacaíochta.Ghlac go leor scoláirí páirt ann idir amhránaithe, ceoltóirí agus rinceoirí.Fuair David Minnock agus Ciarán Kelly an chéad áit; chan David amhránas Gaeilge agus sheinn Ciarán an giotar. Tháinig Patrick Rabbitte sa daraháit nuair a sheinn sé an pianó agus tháinig Thomas McCormack sa triúáit lena rince sean-nós. Bhí slua mór ann chun féachaint ar an seó agus

d’éirigh go maith leis an gcomórtas nua.Bhí an scoil ar fad ar bís ar an Aoine mar bhí siad ag súil go mór leis angcéilí mór. Bhí sé ar siúl sa halla gleacaíochta agus tháinig slua mór aríschun breathnú air agus chun páirt a ghlacadh ann. Bhí an-chraic ann agdéanamh rincí mar 'Staicín Eorna', 'Ionsaí na hInse' agus 'BallaíLuimnigh'. Bhí beagnach gach duine ag damhsa sa halla, fiú namúinteoirí!Lean na himeachtaí ar aghaidh le 'Tráth na gCeist' a bhí ar siúl do nadaltaí sa dara bhliain. Bhí ocht mbabhta ann agus bhí siad bunaithe arréimse leathan topaicí cosúil le Eolas Ginearálta, Ceol agus Spórt. Fuair nafoirne duaiseanna don chéad áit agus don dara háit agus is léir gurchabhraigh sé go mór lena gcuid Gaeilge a feabhsú.Chomh maith leis na himeachtaí a bhí ar siúl, bhí go leor comórtais ar siúli rith na seachtaine mar shampla comórtas seanfhocail agus comórtaspostaeir. Bhí t-léinte speisialta 'Seachtain na Gaeilge' á chaitheamh ag namúinteoirí i rith na seachtaine freisin.Tríd is tríd, is fíor a rá gur éirigh leis an scoil an Ghaeilge a chothú agussuim a spreagadh sna daltaí maidir leis an teanga arís i mbliana. Bhíseachtain an-taitneamhach ag gach duine agus is deas an rud é na scoláiría fheicéail ag baint taitneamh as an nGaeilge.Mar a deir an seanfhocal 'Beatha teanga í a labhairt!'

Philippa Maher receiving the trophy from arepresentative of the Leinster Council.

Moate Community School Student receives top Junior Certificate Business Studies Award

The annual awards ceremony in recognition of students whoachieved an ‘A’ in Higher Level Business Studies in the JuniorCertificate in 2009, was held on Wednesday March 3rd in AIT.Close to two hundred students, 10% of those who attained an ‘A’ inIreland, were awarded with a certificate on the night with theirfamilies and teachers in attendance. Edel Daly, a student in Moate Community School was amongstthose whose maximum achievement in her Business Studies exam,was recognised on the night. Edel, a 15 year old native from MountTemple, achieved superb results across the board in her Junior Cert.This award is a testament to her talent and her hard working ethos.She is a keen student who is considering a career in Business in thefuture. The Business Studies department in Moate CommunitySchool is very proud of Edel, as are all members of the staff and thestudent body. Dr. Joseph Ryan presented Edel and the other high achievingstudents present with their certificate and some of the college’smusic students provided the evening’s entertainment. Mary

O’Sullivan from BTSI spoke and congratulated each and everystudent who received an award. The guest speaker, BrendaShanahan, winner of TV3’s The Apprentice in 2008 gave a veryinteresting presentation and shared her success to the inspiredyoung audience. It was a very enjoyable evening for all.

Moate Community School First Year Class of 2010 On Tuesday January 26th last, a very successful Open Day for incomingFirst Years was held in Moate Community School. That evening parentswere invited into the school to observe all that is on offer to studentswithin the school. An unprecedented number of young people wereenrolled on the evening. Since then the number has grown to pass the140 mark.Following the midterm break the taster programme commenced insubject areas which are new to students entering secondary school. Thisinitiative has been running for a number of years and has proven verypopular with incoming First Years. Not only do they get a taste of thevarious subjects, but they also get to know their way around the school,meet and work with some of the teachers, but most importantly theyget to know their future classmates some six months early. This has, inthe past, been of much comfort to the students and indeed the parents,who may be anxious about the big move into secondary school. Thestudents participating in the taster programme will take part in theschools taster programme graduation ceremony on Monday March15th. This will undoubtedly be the beginning of much success for theFirst Year class of 2010 in MCS.The entrance exam was held on Thursday, February 25th in the school.Again, the young people found this a welcoming and comforting

experience where they were somewhat familiar with the environmentand the teachers who greeted them. Enrolment for the incoming FirstYear class has now closed and all in MCS look forward to the arrival ofthis enthusiastic group of young people with whom we have worked sowell with over the past few weeks.

Art Gallery Trip 2010 for MCS Art StudentsBoth Sixth and Fifth Year art students from Moate CommunitySchool got the chance to visit the art galleries in Dublin on Thursday4th March. Their first stop was the Hugh Lane Gallery on ParnellSquare, where the Francis Bacon exhibition was on show. “FrancisBacon: A Terrible Beauty”, celebrating his centenary. Here studentsgot to see rarely exhibited paintings by Francis Bacon dating from1944 to 1989, photographs by John Deakin, Peter Beard andEadweard Muybridge, as well as unfinished paintings and slashedcanvases, offering the viewer an astonishing new perspective on Bacon,one of the greatest figurative painters of the 20th century.From there students visited the National Gallery of Ireland, MerrionSquare. Here students got to see the work of the great masters fromthe 17th, 18th and 19th century.Students then got to visit the National Museum of Ireland, whereartefacts such as the Tara Brooch, Gold Lunulas, Torcs, Fibulas as wellas Bog Bodies were on view. And after that the last stop for studentswas Trinity College Dublin to view the Book of Kells. A trip to seevaluable works of art is a vital part of the study of Art. This trip proved

to be a thoroughly enjoyable day for the art students of MoateCommunity School.

MCS art students at the Hugh Lane Gallery.

Arthur Finlay (Athlone CU), Des Dolan, Edel Daly & Kevin Duffy (MCS).

The exciting world of the Metalwork room with Mr Fintan Walsh in MCS.

Junior French students travel to Donegal Moate Community School Web Page a huge success

On the last weekend of January, Second Year French students once againtook their annual trip to the Language and Adventure Centre inBundoran. In spite of the freezing conditions all students braved thecold to participate in surfing lessons, abseiling and high rope walking.These were just a few of the many activities on offer. Students alsoattended language classes in a fun relaxed environment. Once again itproved to be a very beneficial and positive experience. These studentswere accompanied by their teachers Ms. Ward and Ms. Fahey.

A Weekend of Spanish Language andAdventure for Students of MCS

Spanish students returned to Donegal Language and Adventure Centreon 18th April. Everyone had an opportunity to participate in a series ofSpanish language classes and adventure activities. Many students eagerlyembraced such new challenges as surfing and abseiling. Spanish teachersNoreen Peredo and Teresa Canton very sensibly opted to enjoy theaction from firm dry ground. A wonderful weekend was had by all.

MCS support ‘Share a Dream’Moate Community School was delighted to be able to offer theirsupport to Jim and Helen Dunne who, through their fantasticChristmas light display, raise money each year for the Share a DreamFoundation. This year alone they raised €20,000 bringing the total theyhave raised since 2004 to €150,000. The school is proud of theirassociation with such a worthy charity which offers the families ofchildren suffering life threatening illness a chance to enjoy concerts,camps and holidays. Congratulations to Jim and Helen and all involvedwith the foundation. Keep up the good work.

Important Examination DatesMon 12th March-Wed 14th March: Junior Home Economics ProjectMonday 12th March-Wed 14th March: LC French OralsWed 14th March-Thursday 15th March: LC Spanish OralsFriday 16th March: LC German OralsMonday 19th March-Thursday 22nd March: LC Irish OralsTuesday 20th March: LC Music Orals. May 5th: LCVP Written Exam

On Tuesday 26th Januarywith the help ofCiaran Mulloolly MoateCommunity Schoollaunched its new schoolwebsite www.moatecs.com.All the hard work and energythat went into the newwebsite has been wellrewarded, with in excess of1,800 hits in the first week.This figure has remainedhigh since the launch nightand we would encourage all who are involved in the school to familiarisethemselves with the website.The site is been constantly updated and the news section carries articleson the latest events in the school. All the information examined at therecent Career Information nights for First Years and Third Years isavailable on the site in the Career Guidance section. Also on the PastoralCare page you can access information on Cyber Bullying as well as theAwards system and the recipients of awards in the school. The last threeyears of Newslinks are available in PDF format on the news page, maybeyou would like recap on an event that happened in the school over thattime. Students can check out the student section where they have linksto the State Examinations website and other useful reference points.Transition Years are in the process of producing a TY Diary which wehope will allow people to enjoy the variety of activities within TY. Oneof the most useful tools on the website has to be the calendar which isupdated weekly if not daily sometimes. These are just a sample of the developments since the launch but we areconstantly looking forward and only inspired to continue by the hugevolume of traffic that the site has experienced since its relaunch.Remember it’s www.moatecs.com.

Westmeath young entrepreneurs had anopportunity to showcase their ideas at theWestmeath Final which was held in the GoldenIsland Shopping Centre on Friday 5th March.Moate Community School had three companiescompeting in the Junior category. Each companyworked hard throughout the year meeting theirteacher Ms. Lisa Doyle during lunch breaks andafter school to brainstorm, develop their ideasand write their business report. They are all FirstYear students and all of their hard work anddedication paid off on the day.

The three companies were:D.R.A.G. - David Stone, Alex Ryan, GavinMurray and Ruairi Cunningham.They produced and sold customised bookmarks.The bookmarks were innovative in that theyfeatured local towns and villages. They containedpictures of landmarks including GAA pitches,churches, monuments, golf clubs and buildings.BAKEALICIOUS - Megan O’Hara, Laura Kealyand Allanah Reynolds.The girls produced homemade luxury cookiesand buns and decorated them beautifully. Theywere priced very competitively and tasteddelicious.

FANCY THAT – Rachel Maguire, SadhbhMandel, Nicole O’Connor and Laura Woods.The girls produced and sold scented cushions bysewing recycled materials and stuffing them withteddy bear stuffing. To scent the cushions theywere sprayed with perfumes. They are ideal forwardrobes, lockers and gym bags.BAKEALICIOUS received the award for ‘BestStand’ from the Enterprise Board in the Junior

category. The overall prize and a place in the NationalFinals in the Junior category went to D.R.A.G.The boys were delighted with their win andreceived a beautiful plaque and a cheque fromWestmeath Enterprise Board. They will berepresenting the School and the County on the27th April in Croke Park at the All-Ireland Finaland we wish them every success.

MCS Young Entrepreneurs to represent Westmeath inthe All-Ireland Final in April

Enterprise students David Stone, Gavin Murray, Ruairi Cunningham and Alex Ryan with their teacher Lisa Doyle

Website Launch Mr Ciaran Mulloolly of RTÉlaunches the new MCS website.

Brosna Press Creative Design & Print 090 6454327

Success for Moate Community School AthletesMCS athletes made the journey to St. Mary’s College, Galway, onWednesday 27th January to partake in the Connacht Regional's. Twentyfour students flew the flag for Moate along with team coaches Ms. Seoigheand Ms. Halligan.First from Moate was Mairead Fox in the 1,000m minor girls race, where shecame an impressive 8th and qualified for the Connacht finals. It was theminor boys turn now with Billie Berrie, Kevin Booth, Gavin Murray, RuairiCunningham, Eoin Concannon, Jordan Heavin and John Maughan flyingthe flag for Moate. All seven lads gave it there best. Junior girls were up next and were represented by Anna Redmond, JeanHenson, Shannon Hennessy, Aoife Costello and Ellen O'Kelly-Lynch. Annaran a super race and finished 4th. The junior boys were represented by Theo

Watts who finished 19th and just missed out on qualifying. Susan Scott and Patrice Doolin were up next in the intermediate category.Both girls gave it their all and Susan finished 15th, qualifying for theConnacht Finals. Jordan Rooney, Adrian Rabbitte and Dwayne Farrell ranin the boys intermediate and finished in the top thirty. Last to run was the senior boys over a distance of 5000m. Barry Webb,Thomas Fagan, Eric Fallon, Javier Ceballos and Thomas Reilly completedthe trying distance with Thomas Fagan finishing an excellent 2nd. Athleteswho went through to the Connacht Finals were Mairead Fox, AnnaRedmond, Susan Scott and Thomas Fagan, which will be held in St. Mary’sCollege Galway on Thursday 11th February 2010.Well done to all involved.

On Tuesday March 9th, the senior girlsBasketball team took on a team of femaleteachers in a highly competitive but fun game inthe gym at lunch time. There was a large turnout of students supporting their friends andclassmates. Money was raised to purchasebasketball equipment for all ages participating inthe sport within the school.The enthusiastic students were led in a powerfulcharge from the tip off by Phillipa Maher.However, it was the teachers who opened theiraccount first with a superb lay-up by Mathsteacher, Ms. Costello. The students were not to beoutdone in the early stages as Dervla Murrayretrieved a rebound and scored with ease and skillfor her team. Before half time, Ms Costello, MsMcEnroe, and Ms. Lawlor were on the score boardfor the teachers, as were Dervla Murray, ShaunaO’Flaherty and Anna Dalton for the students.The score board stood at 15 points to the teachers,10 points to the students, at half time.

In the second half the students approached thecourt with determination. Pride was at stake hereafter all! The teachers on the other hand had aless confident start with two easy scoring chancesmissed. Phillipa Maher reacted like an instinctiveplayer sending the ball up court to her colleagueMichelle Holloway who polished off the movenicely with two more points on the board for thestudents. Not to be outdone, Ms Costelloproduced a fine effort which resulted in a crispclean three pointer.The game ended with a strong effort by thestudents but it seemed the clock was againstthem. The score board showed only a two scoreadvantage to the teachers, 26-22. Ms Costellowas awarded the MVP (most valuable player) forthe game. This event displayed the funenvironment and strong commitment of theteaching staff and the students to the promotionof extra-curricular activities in MoateCommunity School.

MCS students take on their teachers atBasketball to help fund sports equipment

The staff and students

of MCS would like to

wish you and your

families a very

Happy Easter!

Easter Greetings

Moate Hurlerswin County B

ChampionshipsOn Wednesday March 3rd students fromMoate CS travelled to Mullingar for the finalsof the 1st and 2nd year ‘B’ countychampionships. Three schools took part in theblitz which saw the Marist, Athboy and MoateCS compete for the shield. Moate played the Marist in their first gamewinning by 4 points. The game saw someexcellent defending by Keith Malynn andShane Colgan in particular. Captain AndyMcCormack dominated in midfield andscoring 2 points from play. Mark Fallon lookeddangerous at corner forward and scored anexcellent point with 10 minutes remaining.The victory meant that that Moate’s last gamewould be a winner takes all match againstAthboy, who defeated the Marist in their firstgame. Moate got off to a flying start with halfforward James Langan finding corner forwardJason O’Connor with a great ball andO’Connor made no mistake in front of goalleaving the keeper no chance. Full back Dean Tyrell was outstanding forMoate and looked very dangerous driving outof defence. A goal and 2 points by centreforward Joe Kinahan and a sublime long rangescore from midfielder Sam Moran in theclosing stages of the game saw off a strongcomeback from the Athboy men leaving Moatecaptain Andy McCormack to lift the shield andrecord a fine victory for Moate. Special thanks to mentor Iain Hatton for all hishard work at training since September.

M.C.S. athletes shine in GalwayStudents from M.C.S. made the journey to St. Mary’s College, Galway for the Connacht CrossCountry Final on the 11th February last. Thirteen athletes represented Moate along with teamcoaches Ms. Halligan and Ms. Seoige. Athletes were as followed - M. Fox, A. Redmond, J. Henson,S. Hennessy, A. Costello, E O’Kelly-Lynch, S. Scott, A. Rabbitte, D. Farrell, T. Fagan, E. Fallon,B. Webb & J. Ceballos. Everyone ran with great spirit and determination. Mairead Fox finished abrilliant 13th but unfortunately there is no All-Ireland for minors. The two athletes representingMoate in the All-Ireland on the 13th March in Cork are Anna Redmond and Thomas Fagan havingfinished a super 7th and 4th. Well done to all participants and good luck to Thomas and Anna whowill be flying the flag for Moate in Cork.

MEP Marian Harkin visits MCSOn Friday 15th March staff and students welcomed Mrs. Marian Harkin MEP to our school. Mrs.Harkin had taken time out of her busy schedule to speak to the Student Council and 3rd year CSPEstudents about her important work. This proved to be a very interesting and worthwhile visit. Bothstudents and staff would like to thank Mrs Harkin for her invaluable insight in to the work she does.

L to R: Martyna Misciewicz, Ms Colette McEnroe, Caitlin Sheriden, Ms Marian Harkin MEP, Niall Slevin,Paulina Misciewicz, Ms Olivia Norris, Margaret Mularney.