All set for the annual panto at Offaly school

Oh No It Isn’t … Oh Yes it is!! Panto-Time in Banagher College Colaiste na Sionna!

Get ready for Banagher College’s TY production of, ‘Robin Hood and His Musical Merry Men’ to hit the stage.

Preparations are in full swing for an action-packed night, full of characters, colour and song, as this musical pantomime will delight audiences of all ages.

The 2023 TY students have been rehearsing for weeks, perfecting their performance skills in acting, song and dance to bring a vibrant pantomime to the stage. Sets are being painted, final touches to costumes and props are keeping the crews busy, and excitement is mounting among the actors as they hit the final week of rehearsals.

Prince John is taxing Nottingham beyond endurance. Robin Hood and his band keep things from getting out of hand by taking the taxes back from the Sheriff and giving them to the poor. Prince John's sister, Dame Twinklebottom, announces that Maid Marion will marry her son, Tarquin, giving the Dame and Prince access to Marion's money. Meanwhile Tarquin harbours a secret desire to be a weatherman and Marion falls for Robin. Chases, weddings and prisons follow, as they normally do!

This is guaranteed to be a brilliant night out for all the family.

Put it on the calendar - Wednesday December 13th and Thursday December 14th. Curtain Up 7.30pm. Tickets at the door, cash only.

Don’t miss out!!

Senior Hurling

The Senior hurling team hosted Mountrath CS on Friday November 24th in Round Two of the Leinster PP Schools Senior B Hurling Championship.With some free flowing points early on, Banagher led 0-7 to 0-1 after just ten minutes of play. A 26th minute goal by Michael Boylan, after good approach work by Darragh Scully, set the hosts up for a 1-15 to 0-5 half time lead.

Scully and Boylan both hit the net after the interval to send Banagher College on to a 3-23 to 1-12 win despite a late Rick Bannon goal for Mountrath. Shane Rigney notched up an impressive nine points while Ruairí Kelly, Rob Duffy and Mark Kilkenny were very good in defence.

This leaves Banagher College as runners up in the group with an away Preliminary Round clash with Coláiste Mhuire Mullingar next on the agenda.

Banagher College: Éanna Mulhare, Dáire Daly, Ruairí Kelly, Eric Rigney, Robert Duffy (0-1), Mark Kilkenny, Lee Hogan, Paul Cannon (0-3), Luke Bowe, Niall Flannery (0-1), Shane Rigney (0-9, 0-6 frees), Harry Grant, Darragh Scully (1-4, 0-2 frees), Michael Boylan (2-1), Ricky Fitzsimons (0-2). Subs Used: Aaron Molloy (0-2), Rory Duffy, Daniel Healy, Evan Mannion and Morgan Glynn.

Senior Football

The Senior Boys Football Team hosted Ballymahon VS on Tuesday November 28th in the North Leinster PP Schools Senior D Competition. Thanks to early goals from Ricky Fitzsimons and Harry Grant, the half time score was Banagher College 2-5 Ballymahon VS 0-1.

Paul Cannon was doing very well at midfield and with further second half goals from Fitzsimons and Darragh Scully along with some nice points by Aaron Molloy, the boys eased to a win, Banagher College 4-9 Ballymahon VS 0-6.

Banagher now have to play Gallen CS Ferbane away in a quarter final.

Banagher College: Ivan Grant, Shay Kavanagh, Michael Boylan, Eric Rigney, Seán Lyons, Niall Flannery (0-2), Daniel Healy, Paul Cannon (0-1), Luke Bowe, Harry Grant (1-0), Aaron Molloy (0-3), Darragh Scully (1-0), Éanna Mulhare (0-2, frees), Ricky Fitzsimons (2-1), Killian Fitzgerald. Subs: Kedagh Broderick for Killian Fitzgerald, Mark Kilkenny for Harry Grant, Dáire Daly for Niall Flannery, Evan Mannion for Darragh Scully, Rob Duffy for Ricky Fitzsimons.

LOETB Podcasting Workshop

Second Year Students, Saoirse Coughlan, Ailbhe Martin and Freya Maher attended the LOETB Podcasting Workshop in Portlaoise on Tuesday November 28th as representatives of Banagher College, accompanied by Ms Flynn. On the day, the girls underwent an intensive training exercise delivered by Mr Peter Baxter, a representative from creatschool.ie, along with many other LOETB school representatives.

Study Skills Workshops

Every 3rd, 5th and 6th Year student in Banagher College has had the opportunity to attend a workshop on Study Skills given by Inspire Education this term.

3rd Years completed an “On Your Marks” programme, which provided the foundations that are critical to success in our students for their first formal state exams (Junior Cycle). Students were given the practical tools to manage assessments and coursework. “On Your Marks” also enabled students to acquire a deeper understanding of the memory system, prepare for exams and develop personalised time management techniques.

5th Years completed a “Mastermind” programme where students were expected to think and act more independently, show greater self-discipline, maturity, responsibility for and control of their learning. During the workshop, students developed a personalised approach to learning informed by the latest cognitive science research, and they investigated a range of time management and note-taking techniques, using exemplars directly applicable to their personal circumstances.

6th Years completed a “Maximise” programme which is designed for students coming to the end of their formal assessment journeys, in 6th Year. Students learned how to use and apply specific skills and competencies to enable them to make informed decisions about their approaches to study, revision, and exams. Students were introduced to the five steps to exam success in a dynamic and structured way. Banagher College 6th Years examined the role of sleep, nutrition and technologies in overall wellbeing. Students devised an exam countdown planner as part of an exploration of effective time management tools and that builds on the evidence around spaced practice. Finally, students learned how to prepare psychologically for exam time and how to maximise exam techniques.

The content of the workshops were pitched perfectly to the specific student age group, the data was informed by the most up to date research. The workshops have empowered our students to claim ownership of their own success. Banagher College’s quest to enhance our students’ academic potential has been strengthened by these invaluable Study Skills workshops.

Junior Ladies Football

On Thursday November 30th, our Junior Ladies Football team travelled over to Tullamore to take on the challenge of Sacred Heart Secondary School Tullamore. The Tullamore girls got off to a bright start and led 4-4 to 0-1 at half time, with the Banagher College point coming from Chloe Kennedy.

Ruth Kilkenny and Ali Wynne both scored second half goals, but SHS Tullamore were eventually too strong on this occasion. Best for Banagher College on the day were Leah Dolan, Emily Corcoran and Ruth Kilkenny.

Banagher College: Sorcha Troy, Hannah Kilkenny, Leah Dolan, Rebecca Moran, Aoife Moylan, Niamh Daly, Emma Scully, Ali Wynne, Emily Corcoran, Bláithín Coirrigan, Chloe Kennedy, Anna McDermott, Ciara Kirwan, Ruth Kilkenny, Danni Turley.

Art Trip To Dublin

The 5th and 6th Year Art students had a very interesting and exciting trip to both the Irish Museum of Modern Art and the Hugh Lane Art Gallery, in Dublin, last week.They were expertly guided through two very educational exhibitions in both places with an enormous catalogue of information to gather for their pending exams and to give them a sense of the variety of Artists from all over the world.

In the IMMA, the students were gifted the experience of seeing some of Limerick born artist, Sean Keating’s privately owned pieces, all observations of the construction of Ardnacrusha Power Station, along with engineering based paintings from artists all over Europe including Ukraine, Finland and Poland, interesting pieces, both modern and contemporary, highlighting the role of artists in the expression of national identity and building nations.

In the Hugh Lane Gallery, the students got to experience the works of American Pop artist, Andy Warhol. They really enjoyed getting to see the work in detail and his unique exploration of the commercial world on canvas. Again, an enormous amount of work full of colour and history.

Parent Teacher Meetings

This term has been a busy one with Parent Teacher Meetings. At this stage, the staff have had the opportunity to meet the parents/guardians of the Sixth Year, Fifth Year and Transition Year Students.

On Thursday December 7th, it will be the turn of the Parents/Guardians of the Third Year students to meet the staff between 4pm and 6.30pm.

The remaining meetings will take place after Christmas with Second Year Parents coming in on Thursday January 18th while the First Year Parents will be welcomed in on Wednesday January 24th.

Hurling Success

Congratulations to our three past pupils, Kelan Rigney, Michael Kelly and Ciarán Daly who were all members of the TÚS Athlone College Hurling Team which defeated UCD in the recent Higher Education Division 3 Hurling League Final.

Senior Boys Soccer

West Leinster League - U-17 Soccer: Scoil Mhuire, Strokestown 2 Banagher College 1

Banagher bow out after Strokestown defeat.

Banagher College U-17 team bowed out of this year’s league after a narrow defeat to old rivals Strokestown. A battling performance wasn’t enough to help them to bounce back from last week’s defeat to Kilbeggan.

Here again, they fell behind early on, after a defensive mix-up allowed the home team striker to slip in for a goal. Despite this, they picked themselves up and fought their way back into contention, creating a series of chances before midfielder Charlie Mahon finished well after the ball broke to him in the box. With the momentum behind them, Banagher pushed hard for the lead but ultimately reached half time without breaching the Strokestown goal for a second time.

The hope was that the second half would see the away team push on for the victory they desperately needed to stay in the competition, but instead it was the home side who regained the initiative when a speculative effort from the edge of the box found the top of the net. Though Banagher College pushed hard for the equaliser, a series of half-chances came and went without the crucial goals arriving. That meant that in the end, Strokestown held on for the win that put them through to the semi-finals, while Banagher only had the consolation of a brave performance - that ultimately fell short - to console themselves with.

BANAGHER COLLEGE SQUAD: Eoghan Higgins Keane, Darragh Staunton, Damian Burke, John Gohery, Evan Mannion, Ivan Grant (captain), Oisín Lankoandé, Charlie Mahon, Daniel McDonald, Miguel Eslava, Evan Connolly, Tadhg Sheehan, Liam Harrington, Javier Gutierrez, Ronan Flannery, Shoaib Yousefi, Patrick Donaghy, Yago De Sebastian Alegria, Seán Farrell, Daniel Jiminez Matas, Nicolas Moreta, Darren Nevin, Sean Lyons, Seán Óg Larkin, Brooklyn McDermott, Jacek Boniakowski, Killian Fitzgerald, Jan Palacz and Alex Slevin.