All posts by Dan

Athletics day in national stadium

Today was the first ever national Educate together second level athletics competition as 17 ET secondary schools from all across Ireland met in Santry to compete in the athletics event. Our own Belmayne ETSS athletes did brilliantly with medals for the mixed relay team, Ciaran in the 800m, Tristan in the 100m, Dain in the shot put and javelin and Marianne in the high jump.

The day ultimately belonged to Cellbridge who took home the overall trophy but Belmayne are going to get to their training and we’ll be back next year.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

Today on the 16th of March, the whole school community celebrated St Patrick’s day by dressing up in bright green colours and performing the céile, a dance they all learned for this occasion.

It was super enjoyable seeing everyone participating in the events and having the parents council come in to treat everyone with donuts. It was a great day celebrated right before the students got an extra long weekend.

CGE Beach Clean

Our Global Citizen Education committee has organised a beach clean on the 17th of May. This is part of their work on the SDG’s (Sustainable Development Goals) . This year they chose to focus on life below water. 109 student have agreed to help clean a local beach.

2nd Year Boys Basketball record fantastic win

The second year boys basketball team recorded an emphatic win against Clougher Community college from Crumlin. The boys and coach were confidant as they had a lot of their squad back following injury and covid lay-offs but they couldn’t have predicted how the match would turn out.

A resounding 30-17 victory was the final result due to star performances from many including Dane who scored 18 points, and Vinayak who could miss with a succession of tricky 2 point shots. It’s on to the next opponent for the lads.

Boys GAA miss out

Well done to our GAA team who lost to an excellent Colaiste Ghlor na Mara team in Balbriggan today. Super work to keep fighting to the end and congratulations to Dylan, Josh, Harry and Kale for registering scores for Belmayne ETSS. – Daniel

New Canopies for yard

Today, Tuesday 1 of March 2022, new shelters were built in the school for students to sit out
and eat their lunch without worrying about weather. The canopies are great, protection from the rain and wind and maybe even the possibility of more outdoor classes as the weather grows better. – Sophie Timmins

Pizza Lunch

Many thanks from the entire school community to the parents council for coming in on Monday and providing us with a hot lunch – PIZZA!!

Many students commented how kind it was of the parents council and it was clear that everyone really appreciated the gesture

Girls Basketball Victories

On the 7th of February the Belmaynes 2nd girls basketball team comprehensively beat Ardscoil La Salle by 30 points. The score was a whopping 38-8 to Belmayne ETSS. The 1st girls basketball team also came home victorious as they won by 7 points the score was 15-6. 

Well done to the two teams who did an amazing job for their 3rd game this year.

Football win for the 2nd years

This week on the 7 of February, Belmayne ETSS’s very own 2nd year football team played against The Donahies. And they exceeded all of our expectations with a phenomenal 3-1 victory. 

At the Clongriffin Astro pitch, Belmayne won its first league match with goals by Josh and Harry and an overall phenomenal job by the team, and even though they conceded 1 goal – a great job to the main goal keeper Matt.

Let’s hope this win won’t be the last, and that we go on to achieve bigger leads against bigger teams and in bigger leagues. – Report by Ousmane

Thursday Chess Tournament – Part 2

Week Two of the Belmayne Breaktime Chess Tournament kicked off and it did not
disappoint!
The first game was Miguel vs Victor and it was an intense game to say the least, both
players constantly putting each other in check. Miguel played the one chess move that
Netflix lovers know so well, that’s right he played The Queen’s Gambit. This magnificent
move gave Miguel The Crown (another one for the Netflix lovers).
Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, a match between Páidí and Rowan had just gotten
underway. Páidí worked hard for this as Rowan tried to keep him at bay but sadly for Rowan
it came to a close when Páidí locked him in a checkmate!
Whilst all this drama was unfolding, a game was also in play between Nine and Morgana.
Nine kicked off the game with a Pawn to E4 move, otherwise known as The King’s Pawn
Strategy. This is the second most popular move, just behind The Queen’s Pawn Strategy.
However, there was no winner as the bell rang, rematch perhaps?

That’s all for this week’s Belmayne Breaktime Chess Tournament. Come back next Thursday
for more of the tournament.

~ Finn
“A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kickboxing” – Emo Philips

School-wide Chess Tournament – Round 1

Today here at Belmayne ETSS, the Breaktime Chess Tournament commenced! With 14
players, 10 minutes on the timer and 7 games to play, it was about to begin.


The first win of the tournament went to Victor who managed to checkmate his opponent
within 1 minute, using strong offensive tactics to take the crown.


Meanwhile, over the other side of the room there were rook-ie mistakes being made, as
people were having trouble actually starting the matches on their iPads. In this time of crisis
opponents had no choice but to join forces with one another and sort out this tech-tastrophe!


Simultaneously, another match had just begun between Conor W. and Páidí. Conor began
the game using the Amar opening, which can also be called the Paris opening, involving
moving your right Knight to H3.

Sadly though, no winner was announced as the bell went.

That’s all for now on the Belmayne Breaktime Chess Tournament for today, but be sure to
check back in next week, when the tournament will really get under way.
Remember, life is like a game of chess. You cannot undo the moves, but you can make the
next step better!

  • Finn
    Special mention to Páidí, Miguel and Jack W. for authenticating my terminology 🙂

Acoustic Picnic – Part 2

The whole school had been waiting patiently for the 18th of November as it marked the second Acoustic Picnic. You could feel the excitement that beckoned around the school as the first Acoustic Picnic had left the audience in awe of the talent within Belmayne ETSS. 

This concert did not disappoint and certainly brightened up the month of November. 

The concert featured nine talented performers with compelling acts ranging from poetry to rock and roll, giving everyone something to enjoy. The event kicked off with Miguel and Tammy (both returning acts) performing ‘Hey Soul Sister’. Tammy’s elegant voice was pitch perfect accompanied by Miguel’s precise piano playing which perfectly complemented the song. They certainly started the concert on a high as the crowd were already loving it. Next up was Kaelan with the first Earth Day poem of the concert, written by himself! He recited the poem confidently whilst spreading the message of Earth Day and allowing the crowd to reflect on the true value of our planet. Kaelan was followed by Vinayak who performed Mozart’s ‘Sonata in G major’, once again showing his brilliance on the piano and how to truly master an instrument. Next up was Jack who performed ‘Nothing Else Matters’ by Metallica. He performed with class and made a tricky song look easy. Tara was up next, reciting the second poem of the event. She spoke with pride and spread an important message that we all needed to hear. Next was Yeira who performed ‘Believer’ by the Imagine Dragons on the piano. Every note was perfect and had the audience bobbing their heads along to this catchy song. Matt then performed ‘Shallow’ from A Star is Born- it sounded brilliant, with his strong guitar playing and great voice he really perfected his performance. The concert was coming to an end, the distant sound of the school bell was looming in the air, however there was one more act. Matt, Vinayak and Nayan ended the concert with their rendition of ‘Stairway to Heaven’ by Led Zeppelin. They were all in harmony and even gave Led Zeppelin a run for their money!
This rounded off another successful Acoustic Picnic, with students raring for the Winter showcase on 16th December which is most certainly going to amaze the school once again with the talent that oozes from Belmayne ETSS. – Jack Winkless

Pizza Day

Today we had pizza at lunch as a treat from the parents’ council and Ashling. As you can see we all enjoyed it and definitely went back for more 😊 Thanks to the parents’ council from all the students in Belmayne ETSS.

School Wellbeing Trip to Wicklow

The Upper Lake in Glendalough

Today Belmayne ETSS went for wellbeing trip to the mountains of Wicklow. First and Third year Classes went to Glendalough while Second Year classes went on a trip to Crone’s Woods near Enniskerry. It was a great experience and the weather was fine for most of the
day. The scenery was breathtaking and the walk was wonderful. Covid permitting we hope to go on further and longer trips in the new year

Crone’s Wood