Glenart College Science Blog: 2012

(Left - Right: Niamh Cloran- Doyle and Rebecca Lyons)

This Summer, while most Junior Cert students will have their heads out of the schoolbooks, two students from Arklow Community College will be busy brushing up on their Chemistry at an academic camp in England.

Niamh Cloran-Doyle and Rebecca Lyons have both won school scholarships to a 3 day residential Salters Chemistry Camp, held in the University of York from 13^th- 15^th August. The girls are really looking forward to spending three days and two nights at the University of York, staying in the University Halls of Residence, and using the laboratories. They will carry out new, exciting experiments, and have the chance to delve into areas of chemistry that are perhaps not covered at school. In the evenings, practical work in the labs is put on the back burner, and students will enjoy a variety of social activities like a fun quiz or tenpin bowling.

This is not the first time Arklow Community College students have taken part in Chemistry Camps. Previous scholarship winners for Chemistry Camps in Swansea University and the University of Manchester include Gary Long, Kyle Connolly-Carey and Brian Ormonde- Murphy.

Arklow Community 1^st Years
“Commit to Get Fit” Programme

All of Arklow Community Colleges 1^st year students are taking part in a programme to get active and get fit.

“Get Fit & Beat the Bleep” is a challenge for first year secondary school students on The John Murray Show in association with Dublin City University.

By getting fit and beating a Bleep Test, First Year Secondary Students could win €1000 in equipment for their class, and a place on a three day sports and activity camp at DCU.

Professor Niall Moyna from DCU - fitness mentor to All-Ireland Champions Dublin - says that fitness is the key to tackling many of our obesity and health problems. He believes that by incentivising young people to get fit we could save billions on health care in the future.

As part of Operation Transformation 2012 Professor Moyna is running a challenge to a Fifth Year Class in Athlone Community college to pass the “Bleep Test” within 8 weeks. All 9 girls in the class failed this basic fitness test and 9 of the 19 boys! They now have been given an incentive of 1,000 euro to spend as they wish as a class if they pass.

The first stage of the Challenge requires all First Year Classes who want to participate to undertake a “Bleep Test” for all students.

Here are some pictures from Arklow Community Colleges bleep test, that were taken on Friday 3^rd February in Arklow Leisure centre. Students will be tested again in 8 weeks time to see if their fitness has improved. In the meantime under the guidance of Ms O Reilly and Ms Corbett, physical fitness initiatives and challenges will be created over this period to motivate students to get active and move more.

Latest News (April 2012)

Arklow CC is one of the most Improved Mixed school for FITNESS in the country!!!! (Results of the John Murray show fitness challenge.) we made it into the top 10!! Well done to all the Students in 1 U class.....you should be proud of yourself!!!'s

Heres what the John Murray show website says....

Aside from our three winners the Top 10 classes which improved the most (in no particular order) were:

Mixed

· Bishop McEgan College Cork 1

· Portlaoise College Laois 1

· Coláiste Cholmcille Donegal 1.1

· Athboy Community School Meath 1

· O Carolan College Meath Class4

· Presentation de La Salle College Carlow 1B

· Arklow Community College Wicklow 1U

· PCC Falcarragh Dorin

· Boherbue Comprehensive School Cork 3

· Presentation de La Salle College Carlow 1D

In celebration of their success...all 1st Years climbed the Sugar Loaf and went to Bray to play basketball, soccer, tennis and have a trip in the Zorb ball