May...summer's in sight, days getting longer and warmer, but still plenty of action around CMMG. it's a hive of activity as we prepare for the State Exams, and graduation, and school tours...so much to do, so little time!
To mark the end of our
CMM Galway year we held our inaugural Awards Ceremony, gathering our entire student cohort together in the study pit to acknowledge and celebrate the considerable achievements of our students this year.
Awards were divided into five categories. Our Academic Achievement Awards rewarded the students from each year for their performance in our week 10 and 20 exams, presenting certificates to the top 15 in each year, with an overall award for the top performing student. Congratulations to our top Academic performers this year, Maja Kasinska (1st year), Karina Stonyte (2nd Year), Reenu Joby (3rd Year), Darragh Forde (5th year) and Samuel Bak-Sommaria (6th Year). Samuel received the Shield as 'Best Senior Academic Student', While Lucy O'Connor received the 'Best Junior Cycle Results' Shield
Our second set of Awards we called the CMM Croí Awards, celebrating the Cineáltas, Misneach and Meas (Kindness, Courage and Respect) shown by our students over the year. Each of the students was recommended by their teachers, and with over 90 individual recipients it demonstrates the high regard we teachers have for our students, and how wonderful our students can be. We also nominated an individual winner for each year, with this years Croí winners being Konrad Zbien (1st Year), Daniella Ehiedu (2nd year), Ellie Folan (3rd year), Lucy O'Connor (5th year) and Tiffany Djoukang (6th year). Tiffany was awarded the honour of being the first name on our special new shield as 'Student of the Year'
Our Student Leadership Awards saw our Prefects, our Student Council, and our School of Sanctuary leaders acknowledged for their student voice efforts this year. Phebean Ogundare becomes the first name on our 'Student Council Chairperson' shield. Tiffany and Mya Nyoni received their award as our School of Sanctuary leaders, while Head prefects Julia Matysik and Ali Amirouche were engraved on our 'Roll of Honour' shield.
Sporting achievements were acknowledged with Awards going to David Obiydavid and Jack Devery as Junior and Senior Soccer Players of the Year, Evan Smith was awarded Volleyball Player of the year, Megan Cubbard and Hussain Diarrassouba won Badminton Players of the Year, Mya Nyoni and Cara Kelly won the Girl's basketball Senior and Junior MVP while Anthony Muoneke and Filip Rogowicz won Junior and Senior Boys basketball MVP. Boxing sensation Michael Mullaney was awarded the 'Sports Star of the Year' shield
Finally, we also awarded our Non Sport extra-curricular awards. Sophia Leydon and Alana Solla Brown were awarded Senior and Junior Artist of the Year, while Collin Calanoc and Anastasia Yaseniuk were rewarded as Senior and Junior Musicians of the year. Star Bakers were Senior student Laura Brannigan and Junior Marysia Doogan, and our STEM Award winners were Senior Julia Matysik and Junior Devna Shyjla Prasad, with Tymur Cherynk winning the Best Technology student. Karina Stonyte was awarded the 'Environmental Awareness' Shield, while Third Year student Josh Tyrrell was awarded the special 'Diocesan Award' celebrating his exemplary attitude and kindness throughout the year.
All in all it was a very important occasion, with the premise being that 'if you can't see it you can't be it', hopefully inspiring our students to follow in the footsteps of those that took Awards this year. At one stage we invited all students who had taken part in a school event, or played on a school team to stand up and noticed that over half the hall, around 350 students stood up to the applause of students and staff alike. Long may it continue!
Our second and fifth year groups enjoyed a spectacular day out to Emerald Park recently, swapping the pending exam anxiety for pending roller coaster anxiety for a few hours. Plenty of fun, plenty of wild rides, plenty of animal watching, a few chips and plenty of laughter and singing, especially on the busses. A big thank you to all their organizing teachers and SNAs, especially those who braved a ride or two!
Our Class of 2026 left us as they have lived their life in
CMM Galway over the past five or six years, graduating with flair, with style, with kindness and above all, with respect.
The ceremony was beautifully arranged and organised, the speeches from Head Prefects Ali and Julia perfectly delivered with a joyous mixture of poignancy and fun, everyone cooperated wilfully, everyone takes away their little slice of CMM memories as they depart us, to fulfill 'Hess's Law'.
Well done to all the teachers, canteen staff and students who came together as one to organize, decorate, photograph and feed the many participants in our LC Graduation 2026.
Without doubt we will truly miss you around our school; you brought laughter, joy, fun, and yes, a few dodgier moments. Your voices will echo around the corridors, your shadows still hang around those classroom seats.
Schooldays are, it is said, the best of your life. So true, but hopefully even better days lie ahead for each of you. Carry CMM: Cineáltas, Misneach and Meas with you wherever you travel...and, don't forget us, because we won't forget you
The many happy smiley faces show that our first years had an absolute blast last week at Bay Sports in Athlone. From conquering the inflatable obstacles to making a massive splash it was the perfect day for team-building and fun. Doesn't happen in a vacuum though, so well done to Ms. Jackie Dockery and Ms. Louise O'Shaughnessy and their team for organizing it all. Check out some of the best moments from the day...
The 'giddiness' in the air, the laughter, the tears, the hugs, the bunches of flowers, the cards and boxes of chocolates...the farewells. Uniforms have been repurposed as treasure troves of memories for our CMM class of 2026 as their student days come all too soon to an end...
Congratulations to our Transition Year Class of 2026 who graduated on Friday the 15th of May at a ceremony held here in the school.
It was a lovely event, planned, organised and carried out by the students themselves. There was a look back over the year in images, speeches, music, poems and the presentation of their certificate booklets.
We are very proud of our Transition Years, who went above and beyond throughout their many community based events they organised.
Well done to our boys Badminton teams who recently took part in the Connacht Division 3 finals, winning the 3rd year/TY championship while finishing as runners up at Senior level.
Albania, Algeria, Germany, Ecuador, Japan, Nigeria, Kenya,Tanzania, Poland, Togo, Moldova, Ireland, India, Spain, Italy, Palestine, Philippines, Mongolia, South Africa, DR Congo, Ukraine and the Travelling Culture...22 different cultural experiences representing those of some of our
CMM Galway students.
The old gym was transformed into a kaleidoscope of colours, tastes, smells, clothes and language all on display to help us all understand a little bit more about our fellow students.
We are truly a proud member of
Schools of Sanctuary Ireland and will continue to strive to be a welcoming, inclusive and brilliant school for everyone.
Well done to all our excellent student organisers and to Ms. Eimear Flaherty, Ms. Aisling Fanning and Mr. Richie Bell for pulling it all together so well
Some of our girls participated in the first ever Irish Maths Teachers Association Oldham Maths quiz recently. There was fierce competition and with prizes only for first place we were pipped at the post. However, it was great revision and prep for the upcoming week 30 exams, and everyone really enjoyed themselves.
A big thank you to former Galway GAA footballer, and sports psychologist Adrian Varley who gave an interesting presentation to our 5th year cohort. Entitled 'The things I Wish I knew as a teenager' it was a fascinating view into misperceptions held.
Well done to our senior and intermediate athletes who competed at the South Connacht Track and Field Finals recently. Next up for many of them will be the Connacht finals on Athlone.
What a wonderful morning. Huge thanks to everyone who supported us and who, in the early hours gathered at CMM for our first Darkness Into Light walk. It was a privilege to walk with members of our school community. Together is always better. Money raised goes straight to Pieta House.
A huge cohort of enthusiastic Science students enjoyed an exceptional day out at
SciFest hosted by
Atlantic Technological University in May. We had 13 projects entered showcasing the remarkable work of 27 students, each of whom has researched, experimented and anlaysed to a very high standard.
Over 60 projects were entered from schools all around Connacht and we were thrilled to emerge with four prizes.
Second year students Mashal Shahid, Franciszek Matysik, Gega Kolbaia won the Keenova STEM Excellence Award for their project Foodcheck, in which they designed an App to analyse the contents of foods for the presence of allergens.
Liya Walsh and Crystal Quinn were awarded runner-up in the Boston Scientific Medical Devices category for their project NeuroSwell: A Smart Headband to Help First Responders Provide Faster, Targeted Care for Brain Swelling
Yet another group of second years, Adonis Kleckovas, Rudransh Vyas and Ethan Furey was the EirGrid Cleaner Climate Runner-up Award Winners for their project Electric Footsteps Reducing Carbon Footprints
The final winners were Leaving Certificate students Tiffany Djoukang and Julia Matysik whose project A Clock Ticking on Health: Measuring Food and Drink Sources for the Presence of Antioxidants Using the Iodine Clock Experiment was the winner of the Best Chemistry Project award.
In truth, all our students displayed their projects in a truly professional manner, drawing very positive and encouraging comments from the judges. Many of them will now continue, under the mentorship of their teachers Caoimhe Dowling, Sinéad Philllips and Anthony Carey, to develop their projects and hopefully return with new updated versions next year. Well done everyone.
Our Senior Cycle History students had a great day out in Kilmainham Gaol...with a little side excursion to Liffey Valley!
End result is many enthusiastic historians ready for their LC History exam now!
Our second years took the opportunity to mark the completion of their CBAs with a giant culture quiz. Well done to all the organizing teachers, and to the winners Joe, Imran and Josh.