SciFest@StNathy’s – A Report (continued)

TY students were a great help on the Day. In groups of three, they set up and manned stands in Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Agricultural Science.  At the Biology stand, hearts were dissected with precision, while colour-changing chemical reactions were demonstrated at the Chemistry stand. The Physics stand encouraged students to participate in experiments involving sound while the Ag. Science stand had a wormery and challenged students to identify the breeds of farm animals.

TY Students at the Biology Stand

The remaining TY students performed a wide range of tasks, ensuring that the day ran smoothly.  In addition to setting up the hall and helping junior students to display their work, they met and greeted the visitors, made and conducted a Science Quiz and took photos throughout the day. Their quiz consisted of 10 multiple choice questions and the prize was a pair of Sony V55 DJ Headphones, kindly given to us by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI). Over 300 students entered this competition. At the end of the day a correct entry was selected at random. The lucky winner was Lucas Galad, class 1H.

TY student at the Information Stand

The Prizes

Students anxiously await the announcement of award winners

The judges had made their decisions by 3p.m. and the awards ceremony began. First to receive their prizes were 22 students who were awarded Medals of Merit. These were presented by Mr. Denis Naughton, T.D.. The recipients (in no particular order) were Gemma Hallworth and Rebecca Caulfield, class 1M, What are the Effects of watching too much TV?; James Finn and Aaron Finn, class 1S, The effects of Technology on Children; Éinrí Hunt, class 1S, Salers; Lukas Galad, Mohammad Abdullah and Patrick Coleman, class1H, Do video games affect you?; Sarah Rooney, Megan Regan and Dominic Mahon, class 1R, Is your phone as clean as you think?; Letitia Williams, Gabrielle Kuisyte and Shelagh Doherty, class 1R, Hot Phones; Zara Loftus, Marita O’Hanlon and Ellie Moffatt, class 1H, Boys to the Left, Girls to the Right; Ciara McElroy and Ciaran Treil, class1B, Which Tea Bag is the best? and Erin Phillips, Roisin Duffy and Caitlin McDermott, class 1S, Is my phone a Health Hazard?

Merit Award Winner

Next up were the awards in the Life Sciences category. These were presented by Dr. Eadaoin Tyrrell, Sligo I.T.. First place went to Aoife Coleman and Louise Costello, class 1M, with their project Will the next generation be able to communicate without the use of Technology? In second place were Jack McDonnell and Jamie Mitchell, class 1S, with their project What is Ebola?  Third place was awarded to Leanne Collins, Lauren Frain and Nicole McGrath, class 1B, How Bad is our Grammar?  while fourth place went to Elise Phillips, Ilana Phillips and Anna Regan, class 1S, Why 5-a-day?

Award Winners in the Life Sciences Category

1st Place Physical Sciences & Technology Category

The Physical Sciences/Technology awards were presented by Dr. Sheila Gilheany, IOP. In first place were David McHugh, Patrick O’Grady and Darragh McNicolas, class 2M. Their project was How can we make the farm a Safer place?  In second place were Jack Casey and David Phillips, class 1H, with their project Is liming your land worth the cost? Third place was awarded to Aaron McNamara and Kevin Kenneally, class 1S, How DRS works on an F1 car, while fourth place went to Mathew Dillon, Shane O’Connor and Josh Carney, class 1R, How to prevent injuries due to Football Boots.

Best Individual Project

The top three awards were presented next. The Best Individual Project, was awarded to Roisin Maloney, class 1M. Her project was called Can we live without Polymers? Runners-up, Junior Scientists of the Year, St. Nathy’s College 2015, were Lisa Rushe and Samantha Durcan, class 2J. Their project was called Ill-Discipline. They investigated the effectiveness of Penalty Sheets, as a deterrent against bad behaviour in St. Nathy’s College.

Runners-Up, Junior Scientists of the Year 2015

The top award, Junior Scientists of the Year, St. Nathy’s College 2015, consisting of a Trophy and €100, was awarded to Darragh Beirne, Oisin Phillips and Mathew Coyle, class 1H. Their project was called Is the time right for LEDs? It looked at the saving that could be made in a typical household by changing from standard incandescent light bulbs to LEDs.

Junior Scientists of the Year, St Nathy’s College 2015

Junior Scientists of the Year, St Nathy’s College 2015

Well done to all the students who entered projects in this competition. The prize winners will have the opportunity to continue their research and to present their projects in the next round of SciFest, to be held in April in Sligo IT.

This Science Fair would not have been possible without the help of so many people (Judges, Exhibitors, Presenters, Colleagues and TY students) and the sponsorship received from both the local community and national organisations. In particular, we would like to thank McHugh’s Wholesalers, Imelda Towey, Thompson Butler, Aurivo, Dooney’s Menswear, Pallas Foods, First Class Office and FDK Engineering of Ballaghaderreen, along with SciFest Ltd., SFI, IOP and the Royal Society of Chemistry.

SciFest@StNathy’s 2015 – A Report

The Faculty of Science at St. Nathy’s College, Ballaghaderreen, held a Junior Science Fair on Friday 30 January 2015.  One hundred and forty First and Second Year students competed in the competition, with a total of 58 projects. They arrived into the large Sport Complex hall, at 9a.m., amid an air of excitement and anticipation.  They earnestly set about setting up their posters and displays. Project titles were varied, many reflecting the interests and life experiences of this group of 12 – 14 year olds. Titles included “Nasty Nicotine,” “How to prevent injuries from Football Boots,” “The effects of video games on Children,”  “Does wearing foundation give you spots?,” ”How Social Media affects our lives”, “Ill-discipline,” “Computer radiation,” “Should Energy Drinks be banned from Schools?” and “Which Gender has better Concentration?”. Topical issues such as “How can we make the Farm a Safer Place?” and “What causes people to drink alcohol?” were addressed as were more technical questions such as “Could we live without Polymers?” and “How do Crystals form?”.  Despite the diversity of the problems that these students set out to solve, they shared a common enthusiasm to share their ideas and findings with anyone who would listen! Bring on the Judges!

Setting Up

Student Projects

Student Projects

More Student Projects

More Student Projects

Official Opening and Welcoming Address

Official Opening and Welcoming Address

Seven Judges, from the world of Science, had the onerous task of interviewing the students and picking the winners. The Judges included Mr. Joe Dillon and Mr. Pat Cummins of Aurivo, Mr. Pat Curran, Mr. Alex McDonnell and Fr. Martin Jennings, former Science teachers at St. Nathy’s College, Ms. Jemma Freeman, a Science graduate and former student at St. Nathy’s and Ms. Sheila Porter, Founder and CEO of SciFest, who acted as Chief Judge. These judges, who generously gave of their time, made the students feel at ease as they asked them questions, and probed to determine their depth of knowledge and understanding of their projects. They worked throughout the day, consulting with each other and visiting some projects up to four times during the day before making their final decisions.

The Judges

While the competing students were busy setting up their projects and impressing the judges, others were busy setting up demonstration tables. Dr. Eadaoin Tyrrell, of the Life Sciences Dept., Sligo I.T., challenged students to determine how strong they are, as well as informing students of courses available in Sligo I.T.. Dr. Sheila Gilheany of the Institute of Physics (IOP) spoke to students about careers in Physics while Mr. Cyril Furey, of Arran Chemicals, Athlone, spoke to students about the importance of taking a Science subject for their Leaving Cert., and career opportunities open to Science graduates.

Dr Sheila Gilheany, IOP

Students take a break!

U-16 Girls Basketball Team All-Ireland Finalists Schools Cup 2015

The St Nathy’s College team that faced Gort Community School in the All-Ireland Schools U19C Cup Final in the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght. Picture: Barry Cregg/SPORTSFILE

Maeve Cox of St Nathy’s College looks to get her shot away despite pressure from Lisa Della Chiesa from Gort Community School. Picture: Barry Cregg/SPORTSFILE

Megan McCormack of St Nathy’s College in action against Lisa Della Chiesa from Gort Community School. Picture: Barry Cregg/SPORTSFILE

St Nathy’s College’s Shannon Doherty shields the basketball from Hannah Keenan of Gort Community School. Picture: Barry Cregg/SPORTSFILE

St. Nathy’s College Success at BT Young Scientist Competition 2015

St. Nathy’s College, Ballaghaderreen had two projects in this year’s BT Young Scientist Competition. Both projects did very well and were ‘Highly Commended’ by the judges. In addition, one of the Projects, “Analysing Le Chatalier’s Principle”, by Leaving Cert. student, Annie Regan, won the ISTA (Irish Science Teacher’s Association) award for the project best promoting the Science Curricula in Irish Second-Level schools. Annie was kept very busy at the RDS as Chemistry teachers from around the country quizzed her on her discovery of a new experiment to demonstrate oscillating reactions.

The second project, by Second Year students, Saoirse Duffy and Roisin Byrne, looked at differences in the shell strengths of different poultry eggs. Much of this project was taken up by optimising a chemical technique to measure the percentage calcium carbonate levels in the shells. They found that duck eggs were stronger that chicken eggs. The levels of calcium carbonate in duck and free range chicken eggs were about the same and significantly higher than that in battery chicken eggs, despite the fact that battery chickens are supplemented with calcium in their diets.

Well done to all three students.

Annie Regan Leaving Cert. Analysing Le Chatalier’s Principle.

Saoirse Duffy and Roisin Byrne (2nd Year) Strong Eggs

2nd Year & LC Students who travelled to the BT Young Scientist Exhibition in the RDS.

Junior Scientists of the Year D.Beirne, O.Phillips, M. Coyle

Best Individual R. Maloney

Runner up Junior Scientists of the Year 15 L.Rushe, S.Duncan

Congratulations to all First Year students who participated in the Science Fair held in the Sports Complex on Friday 30th January. All those who viewed the projects were very impressed with the variety of topics and research and display, as well as with the quality of the work done. Special thanks are due to the T.Y. students for their practical demonstrations on the day. Thanks, too, to those Second Year and Leaving Cert. students who presented the projects which they had brought to the B.T. Young Scientist Competition in the RDS. Visiting judges (including former members of staff), personnel from SciFest Ireland, the Institute of Physics, Sligo I.T. and Athlone I.T. all commented on the energy and enthusiasm which filled the Sports Complex on the day. Special thanks also to the members of the Faculty of Science in St Nathy’s College and, in particular to Dr Oonagh Redmond for the immense amount of hard work that went into organising the various aspects of the day. Finally, our thanks go to our very generous sponsors, without whom it would not have proved possible for the day to be so successful and rewarding for our First Year students.

First Year
Boys Football Team
2014-15

First Year Boys Football Team 2014-15