January 2020 Newsletter
News, events and more from Ballymahon Vocational School
About Ballymahon Vocational School
Welcome to the Ballymahon Vocational School newsletter
Ballymahon Vocational School which is under the auspices of Longford and Westmeath Education and Training Board (LWETB), is situated on the outskirts of the town of Ballymahon in Co. Longford. The school has a DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) status and is a school of choice for parents who want the best individual educational experience for their child. Schools involved in the DEIS programme receive significant additional supports and resources to assist them in delivering quality education.
Our highly qualified and motivated team of teachers endeavour at all times to encourage students to achieve their personal best. The school’s motto is “where the individual matters” and this is reflected in the wide ranging career choices of our many former students.
The school offers the following programmes: Junior Certificate, Junior Certificate School’s Programme (JCSP), Transition Year, Leaving Certificate and Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme (LCVP).
We also provide a number of additional supports including Learning Support, Pastoral Care, Home School Community Liaison, First Year Mentoring Programme, School Meals and Book Rental Scheme.
The holistic development of students is catered for through an extensive range of extra-curricular activities including the Arts, Culture, Sports, Personal Achievement and many more.
The school is co-educational with a current enrolment of 450 students.
BT Young Scientists Keelin Byrne, Ashleigh Cullen & Emily Coakley from Ballymahon Vocational School pictured with Dr. Duffy, CE of LWETB & Ms. Mulcahy, Science Dept, BVS during the BT Young Scientist Exhibition.
BVS SENIOR GIRLS' FOOTBALL TEAM
Thanks to the generosity of all in Ballymahon Vocational School we collected €730.50 for our local branch of St. Vincent de Paul. Thank you to everyone for your kindness, support and generosity.
News Correspondents: Emma Maguire & Caoimhe McCormack, Transition Year
Ballymahon Vocational School
Email: admin.bvs@lwetb.ie
Website: ballymahonvs.com
Location: Ballymahon, County Longford, Ireland
Phone: 353906632411
Facebook: facebook.com/BallymahonVocationalSchool
Twitter: @VSBALLYMAHON
December Update
“The Greatest Show at Ballymahon Vocational School”: Thanks to all members of the community and friends of Ballymahon Vocational School who joined us recently for two exhilarating nights of entertainment as our Transition Year students staged “The Greatest Show at Ballymahon VS”. Congratulations to each and every performer and to Ms. Nolan and her dedicated crew for delivering yet another unforgettable showcase of the talent we are so proud to have in our school. Sensational performances from a stellar cast ensured the audience was kept on the edge of their seats throughout the performances. A sincere thank you to all of our generous sponsors and to our parent/guardians who donated spot-prizes & gave of their time during our recent staging of "The Greatest Show". To everybody whose commitment brought "The Greatest Show" to life on stage, we thank you! Our school community shines when parents, staff and community work together.
Christmas- Time to Count our Blessings: Two classes of First Years decorated the school Christmas tree this week with handmade decorations that they made during their SPHE class. The theme is "This Christmas I am thankful for…..”. On the back of their decoration, each student anonymously wrote the name of a person from the school, (staff or student) who made their transition from primary to secondary school easier; a person that they are thankful for. Thanks to Ms. Clarke for assisting the students in this worthwhile and thought provoking project.
Sporting Success Stories: Congratulations to our under 16 Gaelic football team who qualified for the North Leinster Semi Final after a well earned win over Mercy Kilbeggan. We now await the winners of Boyne cs and St Marys Drogheda. Our Senior Team has motored well so far this season with two wins from two and a North Leinster Semi Final game against Moyne Community School in the New Year. Our 2nd Year Gaelic Football boys were also crowned North Leinster champions. Well done to all involved on this success- BVS Abú!
All Ireland Basketball Final: Preparations are underway for the Junior Boys All Ireland Basketball quarter final. This final will be held in Newry on Sunday 12th January. The very best of luck to the management and panel in their preparations.
SEAI One Good Idea: Congratulations to 2nd Year student Chloe Hopkins who successfully made it through to the next stage in the SEAI One Good Idea competition. Chloe will go on to represent the school and showcase her project at the Post Primary Regional Finals in February. Over the next couple of weeks, Chloe will activate a social media campaign to help raise awareness on the need to reduce our energy consumption to help combat climate change.
BT Young Scientist: BT YS preparations are fully underway for the RDS in January. Thank you to all students who supported our Christmas Movie Fundraiser day which was organised with help from Ms Murray, the student council and mentors. Your contribution will make a difference.
Super Scientists at Ballymahon Vocational School
BT Young Scientist: Keelin, Ashleigh & Emily from Ballymahon Vocational School were wished the very best of luck in this year's BT Young Scientist Exhibition which opened in January at the RDS in Dublin. The girls undertook "A Statistical Analysis of the Transition Year Programme on Student Academic Attainment in Ballymahon Vocational School". Their stand was a must-see for all visitors to the exhibition as some very interesting analysis and fascinating results were on display. Gratitude is expressed to Ms. Mulcahy for all her hard work in preparation for this prestigious event. Thank you to all students who supported the Christmas Movie Fundraiser day in aid of our BT endeavours which was organised with help from Ms Murray, the Student Council and mentors. Your contribution made a difference.
No time for January Blues at BVS
Senior Football Success: Our Senior Boys had a fantastic win in early January in the North Leinster Semi- Final against Moyne Community School on a score line of 3-17 to 0-06 played under lights in Cashel. It was an excellent team performance on the night and the players and management can be proud of the performance. They are now through to play Ardee Community School in the North Leinster Final in the coming weeks. We are looking forward to a great game.
SEAI One Good Idea – Regional Final Update from BVS:
Have you 60 seconds to spare? BVS needs your help.
Click the link and watch this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwKuCX7nkJg&t=1s
2nd Year student Chloe Hopkins has successfully made it through to the Regional final of the SEAI One Good Idea competition. This competition tasks primary and post primary students nationwide to develop one good idea that will help save energy in the fight to tackle and combat climate change. As part of this competition, Chloe has created a Powtoon video to showcase her energy saving idea. Chloe’s video aims to inspire others to join her in the fight to tackle climate change and understand that small actions, everyday really do make a big difference. Every view and like will support Chloe's climate action campaign and her progress to the next stage. We wish her the very best of luck!
Junior Boys’ Basketball All-Ireland Quarter Finals, Newry: Well done to our Junior Boys’ Basketballers who competed in the All-Ireland Quarter Final qualifiers in Newry, Co. Armagh. After a valiant battle and having emerged victorious against Abbey CBS Newry, our boys didn’t make it out of the playoff group after narrowly losing to Dundalk Grammar School. It was a huge achievement for this panel to make it to an All-Ireland and sincere thanks must go to Ms. Mulcahy and Mr. McCormack for their dedication to this great team of boys.
Afternoon Tea Invitation for Parents & Guardians: All parents/guardians were welcome to the launch of our Wellread Literacy Lift-Off. Afternoon Tea will be served on Wednesday, January 22nd from 1:30pm in the School Sports’ Hall. Come along for the perfect opportunity to relax, spoil yourself and even pick up a new book for those gloomy January evenings. Please text James HSCL on 085 871 8092 to register your interest.
Attendance Matters for 2020: Our school works hard on a daily basis to promote attendance as we strive to improve educational outcomes for every student. We encourage students, parents/guardians and the wider community to join with us in our campaign as “Every School Day Counts”. Are you up for the challenge at Ballymahon Vocational School from January 6th, 2020? Let’s make our Attendance Drive a success……Every School Day Matters!
Senior Ladies’ Football Quarter Final: Well done to Ballymahon VS Senior Ladies’ footballers who put in a supreme effort during the recent quarter final against Oaklands Community College, Edenderry. Our girls suffered a defeat on the day, however the girls have worked very diligently & have done themselves and their school proud. Thanks to Ms. Mooney and Mr. Mitchell for their sterling work with this team.
January comes to a close......
Senior Football Success: The very best of luck to our Senior Boys who had a fantastic win in mid January in the North Leinster Semi- Final against Moyne Community School on a score line of 3-17 to 0-06 played under lights in Cashel. It was an excellent team performance on the night and the players and management can be proud of a strong finish. At the time of writing the team is preparing to meet Ardee Community School in the North Leinster Final which will take place in Mullingar. We are looking forward to a riveting game.
1st Year Parent/Teacher Meeting: A big thank you to all 1st Year parents & guardians who attended the Parent/ Teacher meeting which was held in the School Sports Hall on Thursday, January 23rd. At BVS, we value partnership with parents and believe that the Parent/Teacher meeting is an important time to meet with your child’s teachers in a one to one setting. It was wonderful to see such a strong attendance on the evening.
1st and 2nd Year Girls Basketball: The 1st and 2nd Year Girls’ Basketball season got underway. Both teams played Ardscoil Phádraig, Granard with great determination and teamwork – a very impressive performance for their first games of 2020.The 2nd Years were victorious on the day but unfortunately the 1st Years were narrowly beaten.
Childline Breakfast Appeal: Congratulations to all staff and students who were involved in hosting what was a very successful Childline Breakfast Appeal shortly before Christmas. Children as young as 7 years old contact Childline and the service answers over 1,000 contacts every day by phone, online live chat and text. Many of these contacts come at night and in the early morning, as children and young people face the day ahead. They may be lonely, hurt or upset. They may have experienced abuse or trauma. Childline is always there to support them and lets them know they matter. Our team at BVS, headed up by Ms. Murray and the Student Council raised €455 – well done to all on a great job! Thanks also to Dial-a-Chef Catering for their generous contribution on the day.
Heading into Spring.....
North Leinster Champions: Congratulations to our senior footballers on winning the North Leinster title in what was a riveting match against Ardee Community School. A fantastic performance from everyone involved. BVS Abú!
Transition Year History and Geography News: We were recently delighted to welcome Jenny Duncan to our school, a sister of Transition Year student Conor Duncan.
Jenny gave a very interesting presentation on her recent trip to the West Bank Region.
During her presentation, Jenny displayed many photographs and recounted many insightful stories and encounters to the class. This presentation was delivered as part of the Transition Year History and Geography modules where students are encouraged to increase their knowledge and understanding of contemporary world affairs and conflicts.
Next week, students will compose a letter to their local TD's calling on our Government to support the Occupied Territories Bill 2018. This bill seeks to support the rights of vulnerable people living in this region and calls on international law to fight against illegal activity and to end human suffering. On behalf of all Transition Year students and their teachers, we would like to thank Jenny for her presentation.
Treading the Boards: Congratulations to Ballymahon Vocational School students Ben Callan, Conor Callan, Aisling Delaney and Blanka Toth who took part in the marvellous “Wizard of Longford”, a hugely entertaining production which ran from January 30th - February 1st in the Backstage Theatre, Longford. A massive treat indeed for all who were lucky enough to secure tickets!
Under-16 North Leinster Semi-Final: The North Leinster semi-final took place in Tang GAA grounds on Tuesday mid-day where Ballymahon Vocational School took on a gallant Drogheda side. The BVS side started off the match well with a great goal by the corner forward Jamie Brady and he followed that up by a close range free. Drogheda came on the attack for the next 10 minutes scoring 1.2 from play. Shane Hanley scored a 21 yard free for BVS. Then Drogheda had the last say before half time scoring a pointed free leaving the half time score as BVS 1:2 Drogheda 1:3. Drogheda started the second half strong and scored a great point from their wing forward to put them 2 up. The BVS defence stood strong during this period and a break away move up the field resulted in a pointed free from John McCormack. A terrific point from Shane Hanley followed by 2 from Shane Keenan and another from Hanley and a great strike from Pauric Dempsey to put them 4 up. BVS took complete control of the game with great movement between John McCormack and Jack Walsh with Jamie Brady finishing to the net. Drogheda cut the lead back to 6 with a great score from their mid-fielder but Ballymahon finished strong with 2 great scores by Jamie Brady and Danny Ryan, to leave 8 points between the sides at the finish. Ballymahon Vocational School now contest in the North Leinster final.
Wrap up Winter Appeal: Transition Year students are currently investigating the Homelessness crisis in Ireland as part of their Geography studies. Students are examining the factors that have accelerated the crisis in Ireland and discussing various avenues in which to combat this crisis. From their investigation, the students have been motivated to lend their assistance and support in helping those affected by the crisis. The students have partnered with Human Appeal Ireland, a charity which aims to feed, clothe and advise homeless people on how they can avail of state services. As part of the charity's Wrap up Winter Appeal, TY students are appealing to all students and staff to donate any unwanted jackets or jumpers that are in good condition. These items of clothing will go directly to those most affected and in need. It is asked that all items of clothing be clean and dry before being donated. Please hand donations to any TY student or drop into room 15.
Your assistance and support is much appreciated.
Scandinavian Success for Furniture Designer: Congratulations to past pupil Maciej Dubiel who is taking his talents to the international stage, as he prepares to have his chair design featured at the upcoming Stockholm Furniture and Light Fair 2020.The fair is described as one of the world’s leading events for Scandinavian designers and it takes place this coming February, 04-06. The former student of Ballymahon Vocational School and GMIT Letterfrack, who graduated with a BSc (Honours) in Furniture Design and Manufacturing, spoke of his delight at the achievement. He said: “I am honoured to be one of the five lucky students to represent my college, GMIT, on a global stage". Well done Maciej from all at Ballymahon Vocational School- we wish you continued success!