Halloween issue 2014

The College Press —————Friday, 24th October 2014 Issue 1 Volume 10————

The Halloween Issue Student Interviews

School Captains spills all!

And much much more…

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College Press Editorial Team Editors: Amy Farrell, Cara Mooney, Laura Hannon Student Contributors: Fionn O’Sullivan Ciara Kiely Saoirse Talbot Aveen Van Der Hoven Elaine Hayden Finn Morrison Rachel Thornton Sam Burke Caroline Kane Caitlin Breen Megan Hoare Ciara McNally Lauren Muldowney Caoimhe Murphy Gbemi Ladegan Fergus White Mary Enright

Special Thanks To: Mr. Doyle, Ms. Jenkinson

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Editorial Welcome back everyone!!

Countdown to Summer Holidays begins now...only 239 days to go! (sorry exam years…)

Firstly we’d like to say farewell to our former editor Eveanna Sutton! We wish her all the best and will miss the optimism she brings to College Press. But thankfully we know our new editor Laura Hannon will match Eveanna’s positivity and UMPF! JOHN CARPO AND ALAN KELLY WHERE ARE YOUR ARTICLES?!?!

We wish you all the best with the year ahead, Till next time; Xoxo...

Amy, Cara and Laura 3

HOT

NOT

Halloween

Braids (summer’s over)

Woolly jumpers

Facebook (kindaa 2013)

X Factor & Love/Hate

Nike Airmax (sorry boys)

Twitter & Instagram

Bad eyebrows (soz girls)

Colour Black (when isn’t it)

Justin Bieber hairdo ( V 2011)

Film Review: If I Stay ‘If I Stay’ directed by R.J. Cutler is a cinematic take on the impeccable novel written by author Gayle Forman.

The film is a narrated story by the main character Mia (Chloë Grace Moretz) as she recounts her life up until the point of a tragic car accident that takes the lives of her whole family including her young brother Teddy (Jakob Davies).

The story line is heart wrenching as we see a young sixteen year old girl enduring an abnormal out of body experience and having to make a choice nobody should ever have to make. Mia has to choose between life and death, waking up an orphan or letting death swallow her up with the rest of her family. More importantly, she has to choose between death or Adam ( Jamie Blackley) her heartthrob of a boyfriend whom she loves with all her heart.

Throughout the movie we learn the background story of their relationship played out 4 in a small town called Portland. Mia is

into classical music and has a very high chance of getting into the prestigious Julliard School of Arts in New York City, miles away from Adam. Adam is in a rock band that has potential to do very well. We see the contrast of the couple come together as they crash and burn but somehow always find a way back to each other. This relationship pattern portrayed by R.J. Cutler with the help of Forman truly gives the audience hope that Mia will keep fighting.

Mia also looks back on times with her family, the beauty of love and care is really portrayed brilliantly as we see Mia, Teddy, her mother (Mireille Enos) and her father (Joshua Leonard) embark on some amazing family trips, and heartaches.

Every time her parents and brother show up on the screen in a memory of Mia’s, your heart breaks again and again as you come to realise that they are no longer in existence, they are gone and Mia has to decide if she should stay.

The story is beautifully crafted for the big screen by the actors chosen. Moretz she gives so much emotion to her role that you just want to jump into the screen and reach for her to comfort her. We see the people she may potentially leave behind, her grandparents (Stacy Keach) and (Gabrielle Rose), her friends, relatives and, of course, Adam. Each character is played perfectly as they fight to try keep Mia in this world by telling her that she still has a family and that they love her too much to lose her.

Blackley really steals the screen as he entraps the whole audience in his rage of love and anger as he tries to imagine life without his beautiful Mia and we see him go to great lengths to try and keep her with him.

This film is a perfect portrayal of the book - I saw most people leaving the cinema with tears in their eyes or mascara cascading down their face. This movie truly was brilliant with a fantastic, unexpected ending that made the whole cinema react accordingly. I would highly recommend this movie to anyone who likes a good romantic sob story.

Don’t forget the tissues !!!!!!

By Megan Hoare

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The Rugby

The Rugby

The ref

Two times

Cookies

Mr. Walsh

Woodwork

Great

JEAN MAGEE 1T

Girl’s rugby

Two times

Sweet and sour noodles

Ms. Kelly

Art

Grand

VICTORIA CHANDERS 1X

So there you have it! The ref gets the first year seal of approval, Ms. Kelly and Mr. Walsh rock and boys have a better sense of direction than girls.

No

Didn’t get lost

5. Did you get lost during your first few days?

6. Favourite thing about the school.

Don’t know!

Ms. Kelly C.S.P.E. Chicken roll.

P.E.

Tech-Graph

Chicken and mayo

Class

Pretty Class!

4. Favourite thing to get in the ref?

3. Favourite teacher?

1. What were your first impressions of Newbridge College?

2. What is your favourite subject?

CORMAC KING 1V

BEN JONES 1Y

Interview with first year students by Fergus Whyte

Anti-Bullying Ambassadors Hi Everyone, If you were at the Open Night a few weeks ago you probably saw lots of people around the school with blue A’s painted on their faces. Well that was us, the Anti-Bullying Ambassadors.

The Anti-Bullying Ambassadors are 10 TY’s who went to a training course up in Dublin a few weeks ago and were trained by Alex Holmes, the founder of this programme. We aim to stamp out bullying in the school and to make it an altogether more fun and happy place. We are here to help if anyone has a problem or just needs someone to talk to, feel free to come to us at any time.

We have lots of fun things planned for the next few months and we hope you are as excited about it as we are.

Caitlin Breen

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Did someone say Hogwarts?

Friday last myself and my fellow editors of the College Press sat down to the long anticipated task of interviewing our highly esteemed School Captains. We talked to them about school, college, mangos, and well, Rob Kearney.. Ladies and Gentlemen I give you your captains: Eleanor Younge, Rob Buckley Aoife Ruttledge and Jimmy O’Brien.

1: If you could be any famous person who would it be?

Eleanor – I’m happy being school captain (She’s being sarcastic… isn’t she?)

Rob – Chumley from pawn Stars (wait, who?)

Aoife – Angelina Jolie Jimmy – Kit Harrington (You know nothing Jon Snow) 2: How did you feel on your first day in Newbridge?

Eleanor – Excited but also scared because none of my friends were starting in Newbridge with me, I knew nobody!

Rob – I was scared as well, I knew hardly anyone Aoife – I was really nervous for the first day but also excited to meet everyone Jimmy – Nobody from my primary school came to Newbridge so I was also scared 3: What are the top three things on your bucket list?

Eleanor – Travel the world, learn to surf and marry Rob Kearney (our money is on you Eleanor) Rob – I want to go skydiving, run a marathon and see the northern lights Aoife – I’m with Eleanor, traveling the world is a definite on the bucket list Jimmy – I want to go to all 7 continents, finish a triathlon and live in America for a while 4: What motivates you?

Eleanor – food (interesting..)

Rob – I like the feeling of success Aoife – food (actually food is pretty accurate.. admit it) Jimmy – success 5: What teacher will you miss the most?

Eleanor – I think everyone but especially Ms. Scully Rob – Johnno Newsome Aoife – All of them Jimmy – It would have to be Mr. Falvey 8

6: What’s your favourite aspect of school life in Newbridge?

Eleanor – definitely the people Rob – the whole atmosphere in school Aoife – the people for me too Jimmy – I like how you can be friends with the teachers 7: What are your hobbies?

Eleanor – knitting, hockey and basketball Rob – rugby (surprise surprise) Aoife – fishing and making rice krispie buns (some chocolate would be really nice right now..)

Jimmy – rugby (again… surprise surprise)

8: If you could be any fruit or pizza topping what would it be?

Eleanor – a what? *repeats question* ohh.. that’s a weird one, em I’d have to go with bacon; because I’m sizzling and Jalapeno; because I’m hot (again sarcasm… we think) Rob – pepperoni maybe, have to stick with the classics Aoife – hmm, a strawberry Jimmy – mango definitely 9: What’s your idea of a perfect date?

Eleanor – Go to the playbarn together and play in the ball pit and eat pringles (any nice younge men out there willing to take a chance on our girl Eleanor?)

Rob – Game of Thrones marathon Aoife – April 14th, because it’s not too hot and not too cold, all you need is a light jacket! But I like the idea of the ball pit too. (and Miss America goes to…)

Jimmy – Lord of the rings marathon (original…)

10: Finally if you could go to any other school but Newbridge where would you go?

Eleanor – I’m still waiting for my Hogwarts acceptance letter (*sigh* aren’t we all) Rob – Nowhere else, I like Newbridge (nawww) Aoife – You can’t beat the School of Rock (we wish we’d thought of that one..)

Jimmy – Clongowes *cue shocked gasps of horror* Thank you to all four of the School captains for being so cooperative, we wish you every success in the future! We hope you get that date Eleanor x

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HeForShe HeForShe is a solidarity movement for gender equality that was developed by UN Women, the United Nations entity for gender equality and the empowerment of Women. Its primary goal is to mobilise one billion men by July of 2015 to help communities around the world develop sustainable and transformative programs to promote gender equality. UN Women is an organisation that has and is continuing to accelerate progress on meeting the needs of women and girls worldwide. It has created HeForShe, a campaign which brings together one half of the human race in support of the other half for the benefit of all citizens of Earth. HeForShe engages men and boys as agents of change for the achievement of gender equality and women’s rights. The campaign encourages them to break the silence, speak out and take action against inequalities faced by women and girls across the globe. Gender inequality is one of the most persistent human rights violations of our time, which is still manifesting in egregious ways around the world. This movement is primarily about freedom and unifying efforts in the struggle for absolute gender equality.

The HeForShe campaign was launched on the 20th of September 2014 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. At this event, UN Women Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson gave a speech to introduce the world to this fresh, innovative campaign. She articulated the urgent need to bring men into the fight for gender equality stating that “At the current rate, 15.5 million girls will be married in the next 16 years as children, and it won’t be until 2086 that all rural African girls will be able to receive secondary education.” Women have been doing formidable work in bringing about positive changes for women, however Watson raised a very important question in her speech “how can we affect change in the world when only half the world is invited or feel welcome to participate?” Hilary Clinton gave a memorable and iconic speech on Women’s rights in Beijing in 1995, which was one of her most famous speeches as First Lady of the United States, however only 30% of her audience were male. No country in the world can yet say that they have achieved gender equality, exhibiting the desperate need to revolutionise the way we live, in order to empower both sides of humanity.

The critical operation for gender equality was originally perceived as a struggle led only by women for women, however in recent years, men have begun to stand up in addressing inequalities and discrimination faced by women and girls. This is because gender equality is not only a women’s issue, but a human rights issue that affects males to the same extent as females. Whilst this particular movement may be about encouraging males to take a stand against the inequalities faced by women and girls, dozens of other campaigns have been developed to combat violence and oppression faced by men and boys across the globe. It is an indisputable fact that men and boys have faced extensive brutality and ill-treatment to the same degree as their female counterparts. This is particularly evident in developing countries where males are forced into paramilitary groups at young ages and face poverty and tyranny due to corruption within their country’s government. Rape, human trafficking and slave labour are enormous issues that face both males and females across the world and campaigns have been established by the UN, Unicef and countless other global organisations in the hope of bringing about lasting peace and equality on Earth.

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Having said this, inequalities also exist and affect males even in the most advanced countries, where they are imprisoned by gender stereotypes and suffer from domestic violence to the same degree as women. A prime example is the role of a father being valued less than that of the mother in a family or young men suffering from low self-esteem or mental illness being unable to ask for help due to a fear of, as Emma Watson so perfectly phrased it, “looking less macho”. Men have been made fragile and insecure by a distorted sense of what constitutes male success. Recent research has also shown that members of the public are far more likely to intervene in an assault on a female by a male than in an assault on a male by a female. These shocking discriminations have been brought about by blatant stereotyping and a high level of ignorance among the human race. Men and boys suffer from sexism in their own ways and possess the same emotions and fears as the opposite sex. They face the same difficulties as females, who possess an identical ability for violence and discrimination against men. A horrifying fact which Emma Watson stated during her acclaimed speech was that “in the United Kingdom, suicide is the biggest killer of men between the ages of 20 and 49, eclipsing road accidents, cancer and coronary heart disease”. Men do not have the benefits of equality either. However once they are liberated, once they feel free to be strong and sensitive and realise that men do not need to be aggressive in order to be accepted, things will change for females as a natural consequence. HeForShe demonstrates how men and women’s rights shouldn’t be seen as two opposing set of ideals, but rather as a united front for complete gender equality.

Fighting for women’s rights has too often become synonymous with man-hating and this must stop in order to revolutionise our world and ensure equality for all, in every aspect of life. Feminism by definition is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. It is the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes, and unfortunately there is not a single country in the entire world where all women can expect to receive these rights, highlighting the essential reason why HeForShe has been created. Equal rights for women cannot by achieved by man-bashing, and whilst equality for women is at the core of this campaign, which is the first of its type at the UN, many other movements have been put in place to end inequality faced by males worldwide. Women have, for many years been campaigning for women’s rights. It is now time to invite the other half of the world’s population to unite with these courageous ladies. Criticising this campaign as a discrimination against men or as an incomplete movement for equality is completely misguided. HeForShe galvanizes men and boys to become advocates for gender equality, however the participation of all is required to fully implement these significant changes. By committing to take action against all forms of violence and discrimination faced by women and girls, you are undertaking the HeForShe commitment, and subsequently becoming one of those “inadvertent feminists” whom Emma Watson spoke so highly of throughout her speech, describing them as changing today’s world, which is so desperately in need of more of these upstanding figures.

I ask all reading this article to join the HeForShe campaign and spread the message, whether it is to a friend, your family, or your entire school community. We all benefit socially, politically and economically from gender equality in our everyday lives, as when women are empowered, the whole of humanity benefits. Gender equality liberates not only women but also men, from prescribed social roles and gender stereotypes. Men and boys are taking a stand for gender equality across the world and I encourage all males to register online at

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HeForShe.org, as only 1,627 Irish men have registered so far. It is vital to remember that it is not the word ‘feminism’ that is important, but rather the idea and ambition behind it. This movement is building and as each day ends, we grow closer to a world in which gender equality is truly a basic human right, considered by all to be a fundamental part of human life and essential to world peace. Whether you are male or female, rich or poor, African, American, European or Asian, Gender Equality is your issue too. As the Dublin-born author, orator, political theorist and philosopher Edmund Burke once said, “All that is needed for the forces of evil to triumph is for enough good men and women to do nothing.” I will leave you now with Emma Watson’s words of wisdom, “if not me, who? If not now, when?”.

Share your insights, contribute to the global conversation on gender equality, donate, or retweet and share official content from HeForShe social media channels by following or liking the following: Twitter: @HeForShe Instagram: @HeForShe Facebook: HeForShe or UN Women YouTube: HeForShe Email: HeForShe@unwomen.org Website: www.HeForShe.org or www.unwomen.org

By Ciara Kiely. *********************************** MEMES Parent Teacher meetings be like:

Looking at pics of yourself in first year like:

SEE PAGE 18!!!

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That one kid that reminds the teacher about homework

Maths be having students with the mental stability of Mr. Croker

Boys haircuts be like: Say goodbye to your leaving cert you missed that one class at the start of fifth year.

Honours maths:

When people walk slow in front of you

Composed by Caoimhe Murphy and Gbemi Ladengan 13

3C’s Trip to the Dáil For our CSPE action project, my class recently had a trip to the Dáil in Dublin.

It was a fantastic visit and we learnt a lot about how the Dáil works and about Leinster House’s history.

The first thing we visited when we got to the Dáil was the public Gallery so we could see where all the Dáil meetings took place, the Dáil sits 166 TD’s and meets 3 days a week and 2 Fridays every month. The two leading parties at the moment are Fine Gael and Labour and the two opposing parties are Fine Fáil and Sinn Féin.

The present Taoiseach is Enda Kenny (Fine Gael) and the present Tanáiste is Joan Burton (Labour). Every Government term lasts 5 years and then there is a general election. The Ceann Cabhairle is the only member who is definitely going to be reelected as a TD. The last general election was held in 2011 and the next one will be held in 2016, if in the very unlikely case that the vote turns out equal (an equal amount voted yes and no) the Ceann Cabhairle will have the casting vote.

Some facts I learned about Leinster house were that it was originally called Kildare house because it was owned by James Fitzgerald, the Earl of Kildare when it was built in the 1740’s. It was then bought by James the first Duke of Leinster and was renamed the name it has today. However, it was only in 1815 when the R.D.S. bought Leinster House, that the Dáil was built.

The Senate, There are 60 members in the Senate. Celtis Markevich was the first woman to be elected. 43 members of the Senate are elected by their communities, 6 members are graduates from Trinity College and 11 members are elected by the Taoiseach.

This is a brief description of my class’s trip to the Dáil, which we all thoroughly enjoyed and are thankful to everybody who helped out. I hope you learnt something that you didn’t know about the Dáil from this paper, I know I learnt something new on my visit!

By Caroline Kane

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‘Ain’t no Mountain High Enough’ On the Wednesday the 1st of October the transition year students from TYD, TYE and TYF set out in high spirits on a hike to complete the adventure journey element of the Gaisce award. After being thrown out onto the side of a road at a secret location in Wicklow we began the trek to the top of the first mountain we were to conquer- Prince William Seat. It was clear in the first twenty minutes of departure that this would be a bit more difficult than just making it up the stairs to the top of senior house, but with the bus having left there was no option but to keep walking until we made it to Knockree Hostel where we would stay the night. Everything seemed to be going well until we led on one of the ever famous ‘short cuts’ that brought us through thick gorse bushes. Which was followed by more people getting lost and going up another mountain that everyone else went down. Eventually we all safely reached the hostel where we began to feel apprehensive for the day that followed.

After being woken at seven o’clock and having breakfast we were on our way again. We stopped to have mass over looking Powerscourt waterfall. We weren’t soon on our way again when we stopped to have lunch at the bottom of the final (and biggest) mountain we were yet to climb; Joust. This is the part when we all began to envy the people who made the responsible choice of sleeping the night before. Halfway up the mountain- when everyone felt like there was no end in sight –we embraced our inner Julie Andrews and belted out a rather screechy rendition “The Hills are Alive” from The Sound of Music, followed quickly by “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus, then Marvin Gaye’s “Ain’t no Mountain High Enough”. Upon reaching the summit we mostly ran the whole way to the end knowing that the bus and civilisation would soon be in hand.

A special thank you to Mr. Corbett, Mr. Howard, Ms. Murray, Ms. McCluskey, Fr. Matthew and Fr. Luke for giving up their time to come with us and for keeping us on track (well, for most of the time). It was certainly an eventful but enjoyable two days that we certainly won’t forget. The highlight of TY so far.

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Sixth year Interviews Thankyou to Alice Murphy, Will Jennings, Connor Johnson and Niamh Leahy Q: Do you have any advice for the new first years?

Alice: Try to make friends with as many people as possible; don’t just stick to your class!

Connor - Try and make as many friends as possible Will – Yeah same as Cj! Niamh - Try to get involved in as much as possible Q: What is your favourite subject?

Alice: Construction, the class is a lot of fun Connor – DCG, I find it really interesting Will – History, because I have Mr Sherlock Niamh - Music, Ms O’Brien is really nice Q: Do you notice much of a difference between fifth and sixth year?

Alice: I found fifth year harder, there was a lot more work than sixth year. This year so far has been mostly revision.

Connor –There’s a lot more work, but it’s more fun too Will – Sixth year is definitely a lot more work Niamh - There isn’t really time for much outside of school, there’s less time for hobbies

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Q: Any regrets in school so far?

Alice: Not really, I regret having missed out on some things like the Uisce trip because I skipped ty, but I’m happy overall that I skipped.

Connor – No ragretz Will – I regret choosing economics Niamh - Should’ve dropped out Q: How has your social life been affected since starting sixth year?

Alice: There’s so much of it! There’s one night out every once in a while, but they’re always the best times Connor: It’s good, better than in fifth year Will: I didn’t have a social life before sixth year so nothing has changed

(Joking. We think…)

Niamh: The craic and buzz Q: How do you handle the stress of sixth year?

Alice: By taking a day off from studying every once in a while. I try not to overdo it or let the little things stress me out Connor: I talk to my best friend Will about it, he’s like my brother Will: I talk to my best friend Austin Niamh: Sleep Q: Where do you see yourself in 10 years time?

Alice: I hope to be an architect and living in Australia. I have family there and I’ll be a citizen Connor: Hopefully doing something to do with sports Will: Working as a Physiotherapist Niamh: Doing something with music 17

Q: What course are you hoping to study next year in college?

Alice: There’s a few courses I’m thinking about, Sports Psychology, Architecture or Sociology in either UCD, Trinity or Cork Connor: Health and Performance Science in UCD Will: Physiotherapy in Trinity Niamh: Music in Trinity

Q: If a shark and a bear had a fight, who do you think would win?

Alice: The Shark!

Connor: Shark Will: Bear Niamh: The Bear

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Ghastly Ghouls Are you going to Halloween party next week but have nothing to bring? Do you enjoy baking or know someone who enjoys baking? Then have I got a devilishly delightful dessert for you.

Now this recipe requires a batch of cupcakes ready made.

For the meringue frosting

Ghastly Ghouls

4 egg whites

One batch of vanilla cupcakes

200g caster sugar

White marshmallows (one per cupcake)

¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

Black fondant or chocolate chips

pinch of salt

1.You will need a small saucepan and a heatproof bowl that will sit neatly on top of it. Pour a few cups of water into the pan and bring to the boil. The water should not touch the base of the bowl.

2. Whisk the egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar and salt in the bowl using an electric mixer, then place the bowl above the boiling water and continue whisking until the mixture is hot to the touch and all the sugar is dissolved- about 1-2 minutes.

3. Remove from the heat and, using the mixer at a medium speed, beat until the eggs form a cool stiff meringue- about 5 minutes or until hard peaks have formed.

4. Secure a marshmallow vertically in the center of a cake using a tiny dab of the meringue, and using a spoon to heap frosting on top of each cupcake to make a ghost shape you like. Smooth the edges with the back of the spoon.

5. Using black fondant or chocolate chips to create “eyes” with a suitably menacing expression.

By Sam Burke 19

HISTORY OF SPORT IN THE SCHOOL: Newbridge college has a wide range of sports here are some of the information about these sports The college has a wide range of sports including rugby, hockey, canoeing and horse riding 1941 marked the winning of the Senior Cup by the Senior Cup team who were trained by Fr. Leahy O.P. In 1951, the year after the Junior Cup team had won the Junior Cup Final In April, 1994 the new Gym block, which incorporated a gym. Hockey in the school got a major boost with the construction of an all-weather pitch across the river beside the rugby pitches.

We have a very active equestrian club which participates at nearly all the Inter school equestrian activities – show jumping, hunter trials etc. We also run our own Inter school show jumping competition and have our very own Horse Show every May. Hockey has traditionally been the major sport for the girls of Newbridge College. Approximately 175 girls play hockey with 9 teams participating in the Leinster Leagues and Cups. Training is run every afternoon from 4pm – 5pm with each team working with a dedicated coach. Although we strive to compete at the highest level in the Leinster Leagues primarily our Hockey is based on having fun.

Finn Morrison 20

Newbridge College Girls Rugby When Newbridge College girls line out on a pitch, they are usually in the normal hockey attire. However on Wednesday the 15th of October 2014, these Newbridge girls made a little bit of history, as Newbridge College’s first ever girls rugby team. This girls rugby team was the brainchild of former Irish international, Ms. C. Jenkinson and Ms. Courtney, who are both teachers at the school.

After about eight weeks of training, all members of the squad had a firm understanding of how the game of rugby should be played. With a high degree of excitement and confidence, we headed off to Clondalkin Rugby Club, where we played two games. Before the games, we had the honour of meeting current Irish internationals Sophie Spence and Nora Stapleton and recently retired Irish captain Fiona Coghlan, who represented Ireland so gallantly over the summer.

Our first opposition were The Barbarians, a mix of two other first year teams. During this first game, the rain started to pour. However with a 7 try win for Newbridge, not even this downpour could dampen our spirits. Our second game, against Tullamore juniors, was a much tighter affair. The final score of this match was one try apiece. Newbridge’s try in this match came from a spectacular run from Annalise Cullen down the wing.

All the girls thoroughly enjoyed the experience so let’s hope this is the start of many girls rugby teams to come!

The Newbridge College team: Emma Nolan, Lucy Fitzgibbon, Ruby Udell, Aoibhín Collins, Mary Enright, Caitlin Harley, Annalise Cullen, Rose Donohoe, Victoria Chanders, Sarah Doyle, Saidhbh Quinn, Grace Buckley, Sophie Lyons, Anna Kelly, Niamh Coyle, Therese Gallagher, Eleanor Traynor and Kate Buckley.

By Mary Enright

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Miscellany This time of the year I always welcome the new 1st year students to Newbridge College. By now you will know how to navigate your way around Junior & Senior Houses. You will have overcome your initial apprehension and made many friends. Over the next five to six years you will receive a great education which will set you up for the big world in later life. Respect your teachers and learn from them – they’re great people and will help you along the way. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, it will always be given willingly. Above all work hard.

Halloween – Trick or Treat I’ve written about various aspect of Halloween over the years. This year I don’t have any tricks up my sleeve but I have a little treat concerning the little world UP. Enjoy!

UP is a very strange word!

There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that is 'UP.' It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP? At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP and why are 22

the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report? We call UP our friends.

And we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver; we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen.

We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car..

At other times the little word has real special meaning.

People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses.

To be dressed is one thing, but to be dressed UP is special.

A drain must be opened UP because it is blocked UP. We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night.

We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP! To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look the word UP in the dictionary.

In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4th of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions.

If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used.

It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more.

When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP. When it rains, it wets the earth and often messes things UP. When it doesn't rain for a while, things dry UP. One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP, for now my time is UP,

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The Ireland that we live in now is remarkable. We live in a country awash with rain but we still have to pay water charges, now how does that make sense?

As someone wise said during the recent ALS Ice Bucket Challenge phenomenon, "there will be none of this when the water charges come in!" We live in a world where people are so terrified of getting Ebola that a flight was evacuated and people are now checked at airports, just incase. We live in a country where Love/Hate has more of an impact on us than any classes. We're scared to come in on a Monday morning without looking at it because someone could tell us what happens.

The recent false widow spider scandal sends shivers down my spine, the thoughts of a vicious, poisonous, spider entering my home scares me to my core.

I wish a good Halloween to everyone and to not go too crazy on the 'sesh.'

As they say don't drink and drive, it will spill everywhere!

By Ciara McNally

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