There were huge achievements for Moate Community School at this year’s BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition with a total of five awards, one special award, three first place and one third place category awards.

Transition Year students Ella Ryan and Rachel Hamm were awarded the Irish Aid Science for Development special award, along with 3rd place in the new Health and Wellbeing category for their project Banana Bandages: A Sustainable Approach to Wound Care. They won an Irish Aid funded bursary that will enable the girls to travel on a schools visit to Africa, together with a perpetual trophy.

In the Junior Categories, three groups of Second Year students were awarded first place category awards.  Kerry Sun, Terry Heffernan and Domhnall Molloy won 1st place in the Technology category for their project EweAlert: A Warning Device to Notify Sheep Farmers of Dog Attacks.

Sibéal Egan and Doireann Naughton won 1st place in the Health and Wellbeing category for their project Fowl Play: Investigating the Effectiveness of Improved Husbandry and Diet at Reducing the Bacterial Contamination of Eggs. Niamh Noone, Laura Fox & Lucy Keane won 1st place in the Biological and Ecological category with their project Optimising Hydroponics for Use in Developing Countries.

 

Four other groups of Moate TY and Second year students presented their projects at the exhibition.

5G radiation: A Help or Hindrance to Biological Processes? – Seara Henson and Eva Fox

Developing Ash into an Environmentally Friendly Fertiliser – Kate Nally and Darragh Kennedy

Lead busters: Harnessing Woodlice for water cleanup in developing countries – Ciona Lawless, Lauren Fox

BioGuard: A Sustainable Weedkiller for the Future – Leah Winters, Millie O’Donovan and Lilly Daly

All students presented their projects to the judges with enthusiastic and knowledge of their investigations. The four-day event, including three nights was a great experience for all in developing key skills and new friendships.

Ms Margaret Mandal brought a group of TY, Second and First Year Students from MCS also travelled to Dublin on the Thursday to support their competing fellow students and explore the exhibition.

Ms Irene O’Sullivan and Ms Mairéad Cusack mentored these five projects since the beginning of the year. Their capable and committed leadership is key to the amazing achievements of the students.

 

BTYSE Competitors and Prizes

Back row: Ella Ryan, Darragh Kennedy, Seara Henson, Lauren Fox, Niamh Heduvan, Eva Fox, Kerry Sun, Laura Fox, Niamh Noone, Lilly Daly, Cíoná Lawless, Leah Winters, Domhnall Molloy, Millie O’Donovan

Front Row: Kate Nally, Terry Heffernan, Sibéal Egan, Rachel Hamm, Lucy Keane, Doireann Naughten

 

Names for Visiting students & teachers

Back row: Ms Irene O’Sullivan, Aoibheann Kelly, Lucy Brown, Lucy Carroll, Emma Wright, Aoife Howlin, Elodie Cullen, Ilaria Cullen, Méabh Gorman, Holly Dufficy, Seán Farrelly, Eve Callaghan, Sarah Keane, Ella Lacey, John Mitchell, Cody Coyne, Fionn Campbell, Aaron Fegan, Ms Mairéad Cusack, Ms Margaret Mandal

Front row: Gemma Coolohan, Gráinne Coolohan, Mollie Quinn, Sorcha Aspell, Ava Finlay, Aimee O’Meara, Aoibhín Doyle, Shania McManus, Amy Madden