School Mock Election Next Monday 3rd February.  All second level students have a vote.  Canvassing starts today, Thursday.

On Wednesday 18th December the FE students of the College gathered to mark the end of the first term and the Christmas holiday.  There was a great supply of goodies, particularly, some students brought along some of their specialities as can be seen from the photos.  The students were serenaded by Ms Kathleen Kinsella, the Chaplain, and Ms Clare Fox who sang some special carols before getting all those present to join in some of the old favourites.

We wish all our students a peaceful Christmas and look forward to seeing you in the New Year.

Collinstown Park Community College and the Microsoft Datacentre projects have been linked for nearly two years.  Watch these two videos via YouTube to see how the partnership developed and how our wonderful new Data Centre Academy operates.

The start of the partnership:  Click here for LINK

The Data Centre Academy: Click here for LINK

There will be an Open Day in early 2020 where prospective students can see the Data Centre Academy and find out more.

On Monday 16th December Healthcare and Nursing students joined the Hairdressing class to learn some extra skills.  They were shown by the tutor and students the various aspects of Hair Care that might be useful to them in a care setting.

Students had great fun while building up their knowledge and skills.  Thanks to Emma McEvoy the Hairdressing expert and Averil Whelan from the Healthcare Department who organised this area of the course.

The Society of St Vincent De Paul provides help to thousands of families including the provision of food and food hampers. The food hampers are delivered by local volunteers to local families.

TY students, along with their Religion teacher Ms Hogan, ran the SVP Food Appeal in CPCC.

Students brought in items such as tins of fruit, tins of soup, beans, cereals, pasta, rice, tea and biscuits. We delivered the food to SVP in Clondalkin last Thursday 12th December. They were very thankful for all the donated items.

We are delighted that students in CPCC are making a difference to someone this Christmas.

Thanks to everyone who donated kindly.

On Thursday 12th December the members of staff from KN CIRCET who have been mentoring some of our current Sixth Year students visited the school. The students have been doing the mentoring sessions in the KN offices in Cloverhill Industrial Estate. This time it was our turn to be hospitable and show the visitors around our school.

We had a good mentoring session and then the students showed their mentors around the school.  The Library, the Beauty room, Engineering room and, above all, our new Data Centre Academy were the highlights of our visitors’ circuit of the school.  The visitors were welcomed to the school by Scott Nugent, one of the mentees and guided around by Bradley O’Neill, another of the mentees.

On Thursday 21st November Fifth and Sixth Year Leaving Certificate Engineering students visited the Arigna Mining Experience under the guidance of Mr Flood, a native of nearby Leitrim. Despite being a miserable day the students had a great time.  They went, in two groups, a mile underground into the old mines to be shown the harsh realities of the working conditions: working in poor light, lying down in puddles of water, picking and shovelling at coal.  They also experienced pitch blackness when the lights were switched off, as well as the  sound effects of one of the explosions used to loosen the coal.

The guides were retired miners who answered all the questions that students had.  Engineering students learned where some of the raw materials they use come from, the mining process and the harsh realities of work thirty years ago.

Following the mining experience students got the chance for a walk on the Shannon Boardwalk in Leitrim village with Mr Flood explaining the subtleties of the engineering work that allowed the boardwalk to float above the water.  Finally the students enjoyed  a break in Supermac’s in Carrick-on-Shannon before returning to Dublin.

On Wednesday 20th November Further Education students in the school took part in the annual table quiz.  This year in addition to the normal General Knowledge, Visual, Smell and Taste rounds we had the first Touch round.  It proved a challenge and a delight for students.

Continuing on a trend, the eventual winners turned out to be Business Administration students.  It was a very enjoyable morning and was followed by a quick cup of tea and cakes before students returned to their studies.

The first Microsoft supported Data Centre Academy outside the USA was officially opened in Collinstown Park Community College on Tuesday November 12th.  Representatives from Microsoft: Bob Reitinger, Paul Englis, John Hardy  and Gary McLoughlin joined with the CEO of DDLETB Paddy Lavelle, representatives of other data centres, contractors, DDLETB staff and the current students of the Academy to celebrate the official opening of the Academy.

The ceremony was performed by Councillor Trevor Gilligan, Deputy Mayor South Dublin County Council, who congratulated all involved before cutting the ribbon.  All of the speakers lauded Microsoft’s contribution and the work of all who had been involved in the set up of the Data Centre Academy.  They all wished the current students the best of luck in their learning and internships.

On Thursday October 17^th our Sixth Year students went on an overnight trip to Tanagh in Co Monaghan along with their teachers Ms Kinsella, Mr O’Malley, Ms Hogan and Ms Kenny.

A Retreat is time spent away from one’s normal life. Our Sixth Year students spent time together in a relaxed friendly environment. To start off the retreat, students enjoyed water activities to help them bond. This was followed by a Reconciliation Prayer Service guided by Ms Kinsella (our school chaplain).

Other activities on our Retreat included a Guided Night Walk in a forest, Meditation and a Trust Walk.

Students worked in groups and listened to each other. The activities helped students to come to a better understanding of themselves, their relationship with others and to reconnect with God. A great day and night was had by all.