Nine students from Castleisland Community College were acknowledged for their outstanding achievements in all aspects of school life, at a recent Kerry ETB Awards Ceremony in Tralee recently.
Alex Fleming achieved the award for the Best Leaving Certificate results. Alex is now studying Physiotherapy in University of Limerick.
Kevin Daly received his medal for achieving the best results in a combination of Business Studies subjects in all of Kerry ETB.
Christian Steinborn received a medal of distinction to acknowledge achieving the best results in Kerry ETB schools, in a combination of Technology subjects.
Student council award winner, was Padraig O’ Connell, president of the student council.
Kevin Keane was acknowledged for exceptional involvement in the life of the school at Junior Cycle.
Labhaoise Walmsley received her award for her outstanding involvement in the peer mentoring programme. This is an initiative where Transition Year students, support first year students on a weekly basis in a supervised setting.
Brian Lonergan achieved the coveted Transition Year award for his many contributions to the Transition Year Programme.
Two students, Ryan Maguire and Mark O’Donoghue received awards for their excellent academic results, both achieving 9As in higher level papers at junior cycle.
School Academic Excellence Award Winner was Alex Fleming.
Alex, throughout his six years in Castleisland Community College was an exemplary student, whose hard-work and determination has paid dividends for him.
As a student, he interacted well both with his peers and his teachers. He was always pleasant and co-operative in his dealings with others. Upon exiting a class, he could always be heard saying ‘thanks’ to his teachers, a small but significant gesture.
He worked diligently and methodically in all subjects and showed respect to the other learners in his environment, he always engaged well in group-work and worked effectively alongside other students.
Alex excelled in all subject areas, exhibiting a natural flair for science subjects – chemistry and biology, which, coupled with his work ethic saw him gain great achievements in this sector.
He also maintained a good balance between study and sport which saw him play a pivotal role in the school’s U-19 boys’ basketball team winning the All-Ireland B Cup final during his Leaving Certificate year.
He was also a keen, tactical footballer on the school’s senior panel. He has been a great role model for the younger students in our school, showing that it is possible to attend to one’s studies but still balance the extra-curricular activities with academic work.
Best Technology Student / Castleisland Community College Award Winner: Christian Steinborn.
Christian showed a great love for all three technology subjects very early on in his days at Castleisland Community College.
It is with great pride that the college can claim him to be one of their own.
From a family steeped in the engineering tradition – his attention to detail and accuracy in everything he did, ensured that this award was made possible.
He achieved three As in his Junior Certificate in technology subjects of : Technical Graphics/Materials; Technology Wood and Material Technology Metal.
Christian then went on to study engineering, DCG and Construction at Leaving Certificate and achieved exceptionally well in all subjects.
He received three national awards for his ‘Easy Coil’ invention in Transition Year. He appeared on Junior Dragons Den and was awarded the Sean Lemass Enterprise/Entrepreneur Award from An Taoiseach Enda Kenny.
Christian is still manufacturing and selling his products today. A gifted student of which his teachers know they have not heard the last of.
He will no doubt inspire the youth of tomorrow to follow in his footsteps in his future chosen teaching vocation.
Christian is now studying Woodwork and Technical Graphics Teaching at the University of Limerick.
Exceptional Leadership in the Student Council Award Winner: Pádraig O’Connell.
This year’s student council award winner is Padraig O’Connell in sixth year. Padraig has been a valuable member of the council since he joined us as a first year student.
He was unanimously voted as the chairperson of the students’ council this year and, no doubt, he will do an excellent job.
Pádraig is a hard-working, intelligent student who never hesitates to put in that bit of extra effort. He is an active participant of the student scouncil who always has a good idea to share and is always ready to lend a helping hand.
He demonstrated his leaderships skills last year when, on his own initiative, he organised for students to avail of the student card scheme.
He was also dynamically involved in the establishment of our ‘Daisy Room’ which is our school’s mental health corner.
He is a fantastic ambassador for the school and is a very articulate young man. His reliability and maturity were evident when he addressed a large group of parents at our recent open night.
Padraig is highly motivated and shows a steadfast determination in his pursuit of academic excellence.
Exceptional Involvement in the Life of the school at Junior Cycle Award Winner, Kevin Keane
Kevin is an exemplary student whose enthusiasm for all facets of school life makes him a worthy recipient of this award.
He has represented the school in many sporting activities including badminton and football. He also performs with the school choir at many events including the annual open night and at masses. In addition to this he is an active member of the school’s students’ council and thus was chosen by his peers to represent their voices, showing that he is held in high esteem by other students. He engages with lunchtime activities in school such as chess, draughts and table tennis. Furthermore, he has a love of animals which he exhibits every year at the school open night, showcasing his array of unusual pets to those that visit the school.
He speaks passionately and fervently about each of his pets and enthralls those that meet him as he explains their care needs and habits.
His ability to engage with both adults and children alike shows that he is naturally a good communicator, mature beyond his years and certainly is a great role model for the younger students in the school. Kevin is currently in Transition Year and is actively participating in all aspects of the programme.
Transition Year Achievement Award Winner, Brian Lonergan
Brian has made an outstanding contribution to Transition Year. He is a student who fully grasps the concept that the more you put into Transition Year the more you get in return.
He had the best attendance out of the year’s cohort. Extremely popular amongst his peers, Brian has a strong work ethic and is an overall team player. There is no activity he has shied away from.
He is also a keen sportsman both in school and outside and has won many awards including the Christy Ring Trophy for his hurling skills.
He is an active member of the football, soccer and basketball teams in the school. He was a member of the Kerry U-17 SSE Airtricity Soccer League team last year.
He is currently training with the Kerry U-17 footballers. He has shown exceptional leadership qualities throughout Transition Year and was, at times, instrumental in motivating his peers with his inspiring willingness and enthusiasm.
Brian was a member of the very successful Planet Savers’ team. He also took on the manager’s role in the Build a Bank team, he was MC for the college fashion show and a member of the Junk Kouture team among others.
Brian showed great determination when his business ‘Heart of Gold Eggs’ was wiped out overnight by a mink raid. He didn’t give up but started again and went on to win the Most Enterprising Student at the County Enterprise Awards last year. He has benefitted hugely from Transition Year and is now excelling in fifth year.
Junior Certificate Academic Award Winner, Ryan Maguire
Ryan is an intelligent and capable young man who has a mature approach to his studies.
He worked for and achieved a very high standard of academic excellence in his Junior Certificate. Ryan’s teachers remarked on the focused manner in which he saw projects through to their conclusion and leaving no stone unturned in the process.
He is a dedicated and hardworking student and has proven to be a quiet confident role model with a passion to excel in all areas and goes about his work in a diligent and unassuming manner. He has had an exemplary attendance record down through the years.
Ryan has an excellent relationship with his peers and is always extremely respectful in his dealings with staff.
He is involved in all aspects of school life. He is very active in all areas of sport within the school as a member of both the football and basketball teams.
This interest also extends beyond the school where he is very active and very dedicated in many sporting disciplines.
He has successfully juggled the academic and sporting aspects of his life in order to achieve all his goals.
Ryan is a natural leader on the field of play and has a pleasant manner which the other students appreciate and respect.
He is currently studying in fifth year and is already well on track in his preparations for Leaving Certificate by participating in all aspects of the programme.
Junior Certificate Academic Award Winner: Mark O’Donoghue
Mark’s positive attitude and work ethic is always evident for both his peers and teachers to see.
He achieved a very high standard of academic excellence in his Junior Certificate demonstrating his ability and interests in a wide spectrum of subjects.
He is a quiet confident role model with a passion to excel and goes about his work in a quiet unassuming way.
Mark is a consistent, focused and diligent student who always ensured that his work was of a high standard.
He is a very talented musician playing the accordion with the schools traditional music group. He has displayed his musical talents at various events throughout the year and has proved to be very giving of his time in order to do so. As a valuable member of the school’s football and soccer teams, he has demonstrated teamwork skills.
Mark has had an exemplary attendance record down through the years. He has an excellent relationship with his peers of genuine mutual respect.
He is always extremely respectful in his dealings with staff, always polite and courteous and displays a degree of responsibility and reliability at all times.
Currently studying in Transition Year, he readily participates in all activities both academic and extra-curricular displaying many leadership qualities.
Peer Mentor Award Winner, Labhaoise Walmsley
Labhaoise is an excellent leader, mentor and team mate. Her motivation and commitment to the programme never wavered.
She always had a sincere interest in the well-being of her mentees and they felt so comfortable around her.
Always in good humour and with an infectious attitude her mentees felt supported and she instilled confidence in each of them.
Even when Labhaoise had a sport injury she continued to take part in peer mentoring activities and this enthusiasm, inspired and motivated her mentees to participate also.
Labhaoise is an avid sportswoman and has four All-Ireland football medals and four All-Ireland basketball medals.
She also pours a lot of time and energy into supporting younger children outside of school whether it be with the Basketball Academy for U-10s and or training a football team with the Desmonds club.
Furthermore, Labhaoise took part in many Transition Year projects last year. These included the Young Social Innovators project as part of the Think Pink: Fighting Back Against Breast Cancer campaign. Labhaoise’s contribution to this group was inspiring and made an impact on both the school and local community.
She was also a member of the Junk Kouture competition showing her creativity and willingness to step outside her comfort zone and inspire others.
Best Business Studies student, Kevin Daly
Kevin was a keen student of business, regularly displaying his appreciation of the nature of the world of commerce and the market forces that influence it.
He was self-motivated and regularly submitted extra written work seeking feedback that he would take on board and later implement.
He was always willing to take guidance and valued the application of the success criteria given in the instructions for successful answering.
His determination to seek clarity and offer his understanding was always evident and showed the characteristics of a self-directed single minded learner.
He connected well with the practical aspect of the world of business and was able to bring this experience to academia.
His willingness to arrange a class visit to the family enterprise was a very welcome initiative where links with the business community are important ways for students to get an appreciation of the world of enterprise.
Always aware of the external factors, and with an eye to the future, Kevin displayed his ability to understand the priorities especially in his final year and committed whole heartily to the learning process. Congratulations, good wishes, health and happiness to them all in their future careers.
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