ACADEMIC LIFE

SCIFEST

SciFest promotes Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education through the provision of a forum for students at the local, regional and national level to present and display their scientific investigations.

SciFest@Clongowes (an online event this year!) featured entries from both Elements and Syntax students. Well done to all of the students who participated, who really shone, demonstrating their capacity to research, collate and communicate science.

2021 SciFest Winners and Commended Students

Elements Highly Commended:

Peter Gibbons Arthur Jaggs Luke Duggan McGettigan James Maguire Richie Hyland Maxim Staysukaytis Noah Dunne Jack Reams

Bristol Myers Squibb Passion for STEM Award:

James Lee

AbbVie Young Innovators Awards:

Caolan Lannon Tom Walsh

Captain’s Prize Students’ Choice Award Winner:

Max Sweetman

Elements Overall Runner Up SciFest 2021:

Patrick Jones

Elements Overall Winner SciFest 2021:

Tim Boyle

Syntax Highly Commended:

Colin Simon Fellowes Ibai Juntilla El Busto Connor Caso

Syntax Overall Runner Up SciFest 2021:

Mike Chen

Syntax Overall Winner SciFest 2021:

James Keenan

ELEMENTS ART COMPETITION

Elements boys took part in an Art Competition this year with the boys asked to choose a tree on the grounds of the College to study and draw. Mrs Brennan, their teacher noted that ‘they paid particular attention to line and texture in the creation of these stunning

Lino prints’. The choosing and cataloguing of the trees would not have been possible without the help of College Librarian Ms O’Loughlin and Fr Rector Michael Shiel SJ. Ms O’Loughlin helped the boys obtain information on the trees in Clongowes whilst Fr. Michael Shiel obtained maps and documents pertaining to the trees on the grounds of the College. A wonderful ‘virtual gallery’ was launched where the boys could showcase their work. Touchingly, Mrs Brennan had a message for her students that I’m sure will resonate with all those who have attended the school – ‘Clongowes Wood College is a very special place. We hope this exhibition reminds you in some way of what a beautiful place it is, and the beautiful people, and indeed trees that inhabit it’.

CLASSICS NOW COMPETITION

Matthew O’Donohoe (Rudiments) took the honours at the Digital Myth competition run by Classics Now this year. The brief to students was to “reimagine ancient myths of the Greek and Roman world using digital technology.” Students were encouraged to recreate and adapt one of the myths which they have studied as part of their Junior Cycle Classics course, using a digital platform such as Minecraft, Scratch or Fortnite. The competition was organised as a collaboration between TCD, UCD, NUIM and the Classical Association of Ireland Teachers.

Matthew chose to do his competition entry on the tragic myth of Orpheus’ trip to the underworld following the death of his wife, Eurydice. In the story, Eurydice is bitten by a snake on her wedding day and perishes. Orpheus, her bereft husband, decides to venture into the underworld and strike a deal with Hades (the king of the dead) to win back his wife. Matthew’s video, which was produced in Minecraft, is shot from the first-person perspective of Orpheus as he makes this journey.

As a renowned musician and storyteller himself, Orpheus would no doubt have approved of the twenty-first-century equivalents of his craft. While Minecraft may be a far cry from Orpheus’ tortoise-shell lyre, Matthew’s retelling of the myth, like Virgil before him, can still sing night and day of poor Eurydice: “te veniente die, te decedente die canebat”

CHEMISTRY OLYMPIAD

Five students were recognised for their participation in the Irish Chemistry Olympiad. Certificates were awarded to Tong Wu, Jack Darcy, Daniel Stokes, Kieran Barrett Gomez and Taehyeon Lee.

A special congratulations must go to Tong Wu who was awarded the Gold medal at the Olympiad. Tong has now been selected for the national team that will represent Ireland at the International Chemistry Olympiad hosted in summer 2021 by Japan.

BREBAS CHALLENGE

Some 14 students from Clongowes made it through to the 2021 Bebras Challenge National Finals which took place online in April as part of TechWeek Ireland. TechWeek Ireland is a festival of technology aimed at students, parents and the public which took place from 17th - 23rd April 2021! Well done to Patrick Jones (Elements) came second in the 12-14 age category and Seán Hallissey (Syntax) came first in the 14-16 age category.

MATHS MODELLING

The annual Maths Modelling project for Syntax and Poetry groups commenced on May 18th. The Maths Modelling Project aims to solve ‘real-world problems’ with mathematics. The students work to build mathematical models in a bid to address the problems they’re presented with. This year unfortunately due to Covid restrictions the event had to be held virtually. Over 25 young modellers took part in the project which takes place over six months and is led by Clongowes physics teacher, Mr Stephen O’Hara and Professor James Gleeson from the University of Limerick (UL).

This year the boys were faced with three different problems:

Problem A: Can solar power have an impact in Ireland?

Solar power offers a pollution-free source of energy and heating, but the Irish climate is not very well-suited to taking advantage of this opportunity. However, the efficiency of solar power devices continues to improve, and they may become more competitive in the near future.

How could you model the uptake and usage of solar panels and other solar power-conversion technology? What costs are involved, and what are the benefits? Should the government consider incentivising the usage of such devices, and if so, how could it be done?

Problem B: When to buy a new car?

Buying a new car is a major decision for most of us, and we face it every few years. A new car is costly, but may be cheaper to run than older models. When a new car is first driven, it loses some of its value immediately, and then there is a slower depreciation of value year-on-year. Assuming that my current car is running well, when should I choose to invest in a new car? The trade-in value of my current car decreases over time, but I defer the up-front cost of the new car until I buy it.

Develop an algorithm (a set of rules) to help a car-owner decide what is the optimal time to buy a new car and how long to keep it before trading it in for the next car.

Problem C: Carbon savings from Covid-19 flight restrictions

with a huge reduction in the number of flights worldwide. While this has many negative impacts, one positive aspect is the reduced level of emissions and the possible slowdown of climate change. Consider how the restrictions have reduced numbers of flights worldwide and estimate how much carbon has been saved. This is a complex question, with many different assumptions needing to be assessed. Having arrived at a figure from your model, can you go further and think how this change might impact climate modelling? Well done to all of the boys who took part and a special congratulations to Mr O’ Hara who has been elected a Fellow of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications, fantastic achievement!

OUTDOOR CLASSES

It was great to see our Elements art class outside enjoying the nice spring weather when the boys returned from their Easter break!

ELEMENTS ACTIVE LEARNING

Elements exploring viscosity of liquids in the lab. Finding out why different liquids flow at different rates.

THE ACADEMY

The Clongowes Academy was set up by Fr Hilary Lawton, Prefect of Studies, back in the 1950s as a modern-day version of Plato’s Academy from Ancient Greece. Assembling on Tuesday evenings in the Bellarmine Centre, it follows a strictly academic model where each member must present a scholarly paper of some 40 minutes to his peers, who then pose questions about his research. Each paper is a culmination of the members’ exhaustive research into, and analysis of, their chosen topic. The Academy gives its members a chance to become experienced in the research process, public speaking and fielding questions from their audience. This year we had a broad and interesting range of topics delivered by the members of the Academy:

Jack Moroney: History of the NFL

Alex Wylde: Identity Politics

Daniel Groome: How Donald Trump used memes to become President

Alex Wylde: Abstract Art

Jack Moroney: The Jonestown Massacre

Richard White: Climate Change

Rory Morrin: Unsung Anti-Nazi Heroes

Jack Moroney

AWARDS

Congratulations to our students who have been awarded Academic & Diligence awards for the academic year. Well done boys!

Grammar Academic & Diligence Awards: Bottom L to R - Tom Byrne, Aodhan McGuinness, Dermot Collins, Mr ODomhnaill, Jack Shannon, Rian O’Kelly, Chris Keenan, Cian O’Brien, Ned Williams, Marcus McElligott, Phil Casey, Daniel Schacht, Mark Kelly. Syntax Gaisce Awards: Bottom L to R - Juan Medina Mengotti, Ben O’Neill, Harry Mallon, Max Duggan, Patrick Brophy, Harry Martin, Adrian Von Kempis, Joseph Moynihan, Tom Murtagh, James Wyse, Ben Smyth, Phillip Weig, Alex Hemeryck, Joey Kennedy, Connor Caso, Harry Blake, Matteo Mazzoli, James Keenan, Padraic Spillane, Brian McCarthy

Syntax Transition Year Awards: Bottom L to R - Juan Medina Mengotti, Patrick Brophy, James Mulkerns, James Wyse, Luke Boylan, George Strickland, Ben Smyth, Phillip Weig, Max Coveney, Joey Kennedy, James Keenan. Rudiments Academic & Diligence Awards: Bottom L to R - Luke O_Leary, Lukas Felten, Matthew Smyth, Tobi Baruwa, Philip McCartan, Frudi Chan, Harry Ward, Dara Fitzpatrick, James Elliott, Max Doyle, Ben D’arcy, Absent Ben Keenan. Elements Academic & Diligence Awards: Bottom L to R - Tim Boyle, Max Sweetman, James Maguire, Ms Nolan, Peter Gibbons, Patrick Jones, James Lee, John Leahy, Caolann Lannon, Tom Walsh, Brian A McCulloch.

Rhetoric Academic & Diligence Awards: Bottom L to R - Liam Duro, Jack D’Arcy, Rory O’Sullivan Sexton, Tong Wu, Kieran Barrett Gomez, Dan Stokes, Mr McCormack Matthew Sheedy, Luc Curley, Matthew Cassidy, Taehyeon Lee, James Ward, Rory Morrin, Mr O’Hara Poetry Academic & Diligence Awards: Bottom L to R - Daniel Murphy, Harry Browne, Ciaran Ryan, Harry Mac Goey, Eoin O’Regan, Alex Taaffe, Mr Condron, James Mangan, Leonardo Tresso, Brian Gaffney, Magnus Runham, Senan Noone, Tom O’Sullivan, Mr McCormack.