TY Student Organizers: Aoibheann Cassidy, Clodagh Conneely, Dáire-Éoin Corrigan-Breathnach, Sean Sweeney, Cormac McHale, Jake Healy, Nikodem Dudziak, Luke Ryan, Luke Scanlon, Aleksandra Gardiner-Kovalenkova, Shauna Davey, Joshua McGill, Lisa Golden, Ruadhán Sheerin, Grace McGlone, Oscar Ryan

The Halloween season at our school was made even more enchanting and spine-tingling this year as Transition Year students organized a Spooky Halloween Quiz for their younger peers. The event, which took place this morning October 27th as part of Wellbeing Week,  was a ghoulishly entertaining experience, bringing together first and second-year students for a  fun, brain-teasing Halloween-themed quiz.

To add an extra layer of excitement, each round of questions had a unique Halloween theme, ranging from spooky history and creepy movie trivia to famous monsters and Halloween traditions from around the world.

 The participants, consisting of first and second-year students, were eager and excited. With their costumes ranging from spooky and funny to creative and elaborate, they brought a festive atmosphere to the event. The quiz was open to all, and students formed teams of four, allowing for cooperation and camaraderie.

 The Spooky Halloween Quiz comprised nine rounds of questions, each carefully curated to fit the Halloween theme. Questions covered a wide range of topics, from the origins of Halloween and famous horror films to famous monsters and chilling legends. .

The competition was fierce, but at the end, the first and second-year students who emerged victorious were rewarded with prizes. 

The Transition Year students who organized and hosted the event made an exceptional team. Sincere thanks to all those involved and also to the teachers who supervised. 

On Thursday, October 26th, 2023, the Transition Year students embarked on an educational journey to Sligo Abbey, a historically significant site that has played a pivotal role in Sligo's rich past. The trip was a combination of historical exploration and interactive, on-site learning. The students were accompanied by Ms. McDonagh, Ms. O'Donnell, and Mr. Ó Mainnín.

Sligo Abbey is a majestic medieval structure steeped in history which became the perfect backdrop for this excursion. With Halloween just around the corner, the visit was designed to link the historical significance of the abbey to the world of Bram Stoker, the legendary author of Dracula, adding a unique and spooky twist to the trip.

Upon arrival at Sligo Abbey, the students were greeted by the sight of the medieval ruins. The tour guides provided an insightful introduction to the historical significance of the site and spoke about the abbey's foundation in the 13th century by the Dominicans and its role as a place of worship, education, and community life for centuries.

The connection to Bram Stoker came to life as students were informed Stoker had often visited the area and that the eerie and mysterious ambiance of Sligo Abbey and stories told by his grandmother had left an indelible impression on the author and inspired his iconic work, Dracula. This revelation added an exciting Halloween twist and the students left with a heightened sense of the Halloween spirit, as the visit to Sligo Abbey had connected them to the eerie world of Bram Stoker and Dracula.

We will be holding our open night on the 16th November from 6pm-8pm. We will have two time slots for guided tours, these will be 6pm and 7pm. Please contact the school to book your slot. Our Enrolment process will take place online and a link will be available on our website from the 6th of November and will close on the 8th of December. Our Admissions notice is available to view on our website along with our admissions policy.

Today in Coláiste Muire we held our opening school mass for our school community. We celebrated unity, faith, and community and extended a warm welcome to all our students, dedicated staff and school community, embracing the values and traditions that made us proud to be a CEIST school. Thank you to all the students and staff for organising the event including the readings and excellent music. Also a big thank you to Father James.

Thank you to all who took part in Maths week 2023. During the week the students took part in a number of activities and games. 1st and 2nd year students took part in Maths Olympiad. Well done to all that got involved in the daily Maths problem. All students that took part were entered into a draw for a new calculator.  Well done to 2nd year student, Jack Nooney who won the calculator.

91 of our students involved in our school choir are heading off early Friday morning to travel to Derry to take part in the Derry Choir Fest. They will be competing in the Post-primary schools competition as well as taking part in the Big Sing workshop. It is the 10th year of the Derry Choir festival with eighty choirs from around the world taking part in various aspects of the festival.  There has been exceptional committment and dedication at choir rehearsals over the past weeks from the students and their parents. Our school community would like to wish our choir and their teachers Mr. O'Connor and Ms. Heaney McGreal the very best of luck.

Coláiste Muire Ballymote celebrated Maths Week by having a "Problem of the Day" posted by Ms Cryan each day, maths games and also by holding The Maths Week Olympiad for second years on the 19th of October. The event saw some of the school's second-year mathematics students participate in a competition that not only showcased their mathematical prowess but also emphasized the importance of mathematics in the modern world.

Mathematics is often considered a challenging subject by students, but initiatives like Maths Week play a vital role in changing that perception. It's not just about competition but also about promoting a love for mathematics and problem-solving.

The "Problem of the day" and the Maths Week Olympiad challenged students with a series of thought-provoking mathematical problems that spanned various mathematical domains. By participating in such events, students not only enrich their mathematical skills but also gain a greater appreciation for the subject. Well done to all who participated!

Well done to the Eastern Harps Minor boys team who won the A Championship Final at the weekend on a scroeline of 4-10 to 0-3 againist St Marys.

Well done to your own students involved in the team. Them being David Lyons, Conor Hannon, Josh McHugh, Cillian Duggan, Ciaran Connolly, Conor Dwyer, Sean Hannon, Michael Cosgrove and Eoughan Nerney. And to past students Ryan Duffy, Daniel Gardiner and Robbie Taylor.

This was the second match of the league for both U16 and U19 girls basketball teams. They travelled to Grange to put up a tough fight against a strong sided U19 and U16 team. The U16's started off well in the first quarter of the game. The U16's fought hard and brought it back to a one basket game at one point. The girls worked hard and had alot of possession throughout the game but unfortunately the ball just would not go in the basket for the girls. They were very unlucky but look forward to the next challenge. 

The U19's got off to a great start getting the first basket of the game from a fast break. It looked very promising from the outset however once Grange got into the swing of the game they clocked up a few quick baskets which proved a difficult path for Colaiste Muire to come back to. This didn't stop the girls from battling on and giving everything they had to narrowly miss out by three baskets in the end. With one win and one loss the next game will be one to look forward to. Well done to all the girls involved. They did extrememly well. 

A bittersweet day for the boys basketball at Coláiste Muire with the u16s losing Narrowly, and the u19s winning, at home against Grange. Both teams played excellently and gave what they had against a tough opposition.

Despite a tough start, the u16's controlled most of the game but were unlucky in their chances, with their opponents capitalising on each oppurtunity. The u19s also had a tough game with the game tied for the best part of two quarters but were able to gain a reasonable lead towards the end of the game leading to a win. 

Excellent work from both teams on the day.