The annual Scoil Na Mainistreach Maynooth Cycle, part of our Active Schools Week took place on Friday 18th May and was a huge success. Bigger than any previous Maynooth Cycle nearly 100 pupils cycled the 16km round journey from Scoil Na Mainistreach to Maynooth University and back. This year we were delighted to be joined on our journey by pupils from Scoil Mochua, Primrose Hill and St. Patricks N.S. The cycle also acted as a fundraiser, to raise money for the Friends of the Coombe Hospital in conjunction with the Galway Cycle. The Galway Cycle group got fully behind our venture and provided much needed support on the day to help the event run as smoothly as possible providing Marshals, bicycle repair, bus transport as well as refreshments and treats for all cyclists. Local Community Garda Aidan McGuane and colleagues Fiona and Brendan were on hand to ensure the safe passage of all pupils on the route. Almost €1500 has been raised by the pupils and to their family and friends we say a big thank you for their generosity. Huge thanks also to Jolanta Rossiter for taking the pictures from various vantage points along the route.
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The Better Golf professionals at the GUI Academy at Carton House provided golf lessons to 30 boys from 2nd class today in the beautiful sunshine. Boys received instruction in Driving, Short Game and Putting. The Coaches offered expert tips and advice to the boys to help them improve their game. Many of the boys showed great potential and in the time they were there listened and took on board the advice given to them.
Lessons for children interested in learning the game are available year round at the GUI along with Summer and Easter camps. For anyone interested in finding out more about lessons available check out the Better Golf Website http://www.bettergolf.ie/ Check out the gallery below as Shane from Mac Fitness put the 4th and 5th classes through their paces in the Friday sunshine. Huge effort from all the boys especially the boys who had just completed the Maynooth Cycle!
Friday sees the culmination of a very successful Active Schools Week in Scoil Na Mainistreach with a number of very active events lined up for the boys. Our 6th Class boys wll depart for Maynooth at 10am in our now annual Maynooth Cycle, which links in with the magnificent Galway Cycle Charity group who this year are raising money for Friends of the Coombe a very worthwhile charity and one that is close to many peoples hearts. So popular has our cycle become that we have had enquiries from other schools about coming on board and this year we welcome our friends from Primrose Hill,Aghards and St. Patricks who will join us on our 16km round trip. An escort provided by our local Community Garda Aidan McGuane and colleagues will ensure the safe passage of all cyclists through all the major junctions on the route. They will be backed up by members of staff of the schools as well as some marshals from the Galway Cycle Team. Excitement has been building in the 5th and 6th classes all week and preparations have been ongoing in the background. We are delighted to have the Galway Cycle team of organisers Anne Marie and Sarah on board who have a number of surprises lined up for the cyclists when they arrive at Maynooth University. We will arrive back and pass through Celbridge Main St between 12.15 and 12.30pm, For parents and friends wishing to track our journey, follow the link on The Galway Cycle Facebook Page where there will be a live tracker updating our progress. Looking forward to a great mornings activity for the boys and the weather is looking good too for the journey too. Also on the Active Schools menu tomorrow is Snooker lessons with Irish Professional Fergal O Brien. A wonderful experience for the boys who get to witness Fergal in action and witness the work that goes in to becoming one of the worlds top players in his chosen sport. The wonderful GUI Academy at Carton House will be the venue for 2nd class boys who will have an introduction to Golf with Kenny Fahey and his team of Golf Professionals. There was a hugely positive reaction from the second class boys when they heard where they were going during the week. 4th and 5th class boys will have a much more vigorous end to Active Week when they will be put through their paces by the team from Mac Fitness.
5th and 6th class pupils were treated to a golf lesson from Club Pofessional Brian Cosgrove at the magnificent Killeen Golf Club this morning. In balmy conditions, Brian gave the boys a putting and chipping demonstration on the clubs chipping and putting greens which were in wonderful condition. A number of fun games were set up to challenge the boys and the competitiveness of the boys came to the fore. The 'Cliffhanger' putting game lived up to it's name with Cian Byrne and Matthew Mooney holding their nerve with match winning putts. In the Swing Studio the big hitters were put to the test in a longest drive competition using the Trackman Technology. Padraig Gildea was pushed all the way by Cormac O Sullivan, both of whom had drives close to 180 yards. Padraig credits his golfing ability to the many hours spent practicing while on his holidays in Wexford. All in all a wonderful morning was had by the 30 boys with many saying they would love to get into playing golf more often. For those interested in knowing more about the popular Junior Golf section in Killeen Golf Club, check out this link here where you will find out details of the coaching, lessons, games and activities open to children from 9 to 18 years of age. Many thanks to Brian and the staff of Killeen Golf Club for laying on the facilities and introducing the boys to golf in such perfect conditions. Golf lessons for 5th and 6th Class boys in Killeen Golf Club, Tennis and Power Football the order of the day for Active Week Day 4
Follow our Cyclists tomorrow morning as they make their way to Maynooth at the link below
https://livetrack.garmin.com/session/64dd5709-2c56-4619-9c3a-b79551797c8a/token/C62F9AFC8D189B50CBFB251286247 On Thursday we were privileged to welcome to Scoil Na Mainistreach, Irish Power Soccer International Player, Patrick Flanagan. Patrick gave gave a demonstration of Power Soccer to pupils and teachers in Infants, First Class and Fourth Class. "Powerchair Soccer is one of the fastest growing variations of football/soccer in the world. It allows people with more severe disabilities to participate in sport and the world's most popular sport at that. It is played the same as soccer, two teams, two goals, two halves, one winner. Players have specialist foot gear in the form of indestructible guards which are used to strike the ball". We are lucky to have in amongst us a rising star of the sport in Tommy who joined in with Patrick and wowed the audiences with his skill. We captured some of the magic of the occasion with some pictures below. Also check out down below a clip of the Irish team, featuring Patrick, in action at the World Cup in Florida last year. Tennis was the order of the day on day 4 of Active Schools Week. Local Tennis coach Michael Donaghy introduced pupils to the game of tennis. The boys were taught some of the skills of tennis and played some simple tennis games. The lessons as always proved popular with all the boys as can be seen in the pictures below. A number of boys have had experience playing tennis but the majority were playing for the first time and Michael was very impressed with the skill levels of the boys. For more information on Celbridge Tennis Club and coaching available for young and old check out the flyer below. Busiest day of the week with all classes Active for large parts of the day. Badminton and Gymnastics took place in the hall side by side in a first for Active Week. Dennis from Excel led the gymnastics and as everything Excel related the boys thoroughly enjoyed it. Badminton coach Ashutosh was on hand to introduce classes to Badminton. Aman in 5th class is our resident Badminton champion and has been winning medals and trophies at a national level for some time now. He had a wonderful opportunity to showcase his talents alongside his Dad and in front of his very impressed classmates. Rob from Barnhall brought Tag Rugby to 3rd and 4th classes and we got to see some budding Leinster and Ireland stars in action. Having the Tag on the field was a real treat for the boys and there was an extra swagger about some of the players in action as a result. Mr Mulreid provided Soccer skills to the Junior classes and the boys from Droichead on the yard. A few Liverpool fans in these classes looking forward to the big game next week no doubt (and the coach too!). Not often we'd associate the Library with Active Week but such was the schedule today that space was at a premium. Some fierce fighting took place within the walls of this normally peaceful room with local Kenpo Karate Coach, Eddie Downey putting the boys through some very frightening moves. Wouldn't like to be getting on the wrong side of some of our second class fellas when they get angry! Finally one of the highlights of boys time in primary school is our annual trip to the Celbridge Paddlers on the canal, up beside the Lyons Estate. Organised with the help of Mrs Fleming, the Club came out in force today with coaches and other members providing backup on the water. The boys were shown on the bank how to use their paddles and on entering the water different strokes to use. The competitive nature came out in the boys as they got to race each other up the canal and we got to see some potential Canoeists in action. Over the next few days, further details and more pictures of all the activities will be published and contact details for those looking to take part or join some of the many clubs who have been helping us out on Active Week. Celbridge Paddlers have offered boys 2 free sessions on Sunday mornings at 11am, to try out further Canoeing and decide if they would like to pursue it further. Judging by the action on the water, interest will be quite high. |