Interview with Anne Mulhall By Eliott Greene Anne Mulhall is the guidance counsellor at Sandymount Park Educate Together. Many students see her on a weekly basis, so we thought we might ask her some questions.

What does being a guidance counsellor mean to you?“It’s a privilege for me; it’s a very special role in a school and I feel very lucky to hold the role.”

What did you want to be when you were younger?“I actually wanted to be an architect or a fashion designer.”

What made you want to be a guidance counsellor?“I wanted to be one because I was working as a German teacher and I loved building strong relationships with my students.”

Do you think we could make any improvements in the school?“Yes, I think there is always room to improve things. It’s always good to keep talking to each other and to review all aspects of school life.”

What are your hobbies?“Meeting friends, yoga, watching movies and having fun.”

What’s the most interesting place you’ve lived/been?“India, because it is so different to any other country that I’ve been to.”

Leonardo Da Vinci By Vencel Gera

May 2019 will mark 500 years since the death of the world-renowned polymath, painter and inventor, Leonardo Da Vinci. Leonardo painted many famous paintings, such as the Mona Lisa, The Last Supper and The Salvator Mundi.

Da Vinci also sketched out designs for scuba equipment and tanks. His most famous idea was his flying machine (a.k.a. The Flying Screw), which

back then in the 15th century, was nearly

impossible to create.

Now, in 2019, in honour of Leonardo da Vinci, a company called ‘Pal-v’ which is situated in the Netherlands, made a flying car that has helicopter wings that can retract. The design is very similar to Da Vinci’s idea, except it is a car instead of just a seat. This idea might revolutionise air travel, just like Da Vinci’s inventions of the scuba equipment made it easier to explore underwater. The car flies thanks to folding helicopter blades which are derived from Da Vinci’s invention: the aerial screw. This invention might change the way we travel forever, if this vehicle somehow gets popularised. Kylie Jenner just got eggedBy Stephen O’Connell

At the moment, the news is all about the egg. The photo everyone is talking about is just this simple picture of an egg.

This picture was posted on Instagram on January 4th 2019, with the caption “Let’s set a world record together and get the most-liked post on Instagram. Beating the current world record held by Kylie Jenner (18 million)! We got this!”

The egg has smashed Jenner’s world record and is on 50.4 million likes at the time of writing and will probably grow even more before this is published. The post they were trying to

Leonardo da Vinci’s “Flying Screw”

Anne Mulhall, our Guidance Counsellor

beat was of Kylie Jenner’s baby daughter with her small hands wrapped around her mother’s finger.

Time Traveller?In October 2018, a very mysterious picture was posted. The caption underneath says, “This is a meme from the future, you will not understand this now.” This suggests the people who

posted this photo knew the egg was going to be posted and change the world forever. The picture of the egg will be remembered as the best Instagram post ever!

Crisis On The Border of MexicoBy Méabh Lunn

Due to violence and oppression, many people including children are trying to cross into the US from Mexico. Most are seeking asylum, or the right to live in the United States, until their asylum is granted however they are ‘detained’. 48,019 people are in custody after trying to cross to the USA, including 1,928 family units.

Due to the fact that immigration records are not available for the public, it is impossible to see why these people are being detained.

On Christmas Eve, an eight-year-old boy died after several days in US custody. In December, a seven-year-old girl died after being apprehended with her father.

Most of the asylum seekers attempting to cross the border are from Honduras and are fleeing poverty and gang violence. This journey is approximately 1,500km, or the length of Ireland roughly five times.

U.S. president Donald Trump has said the that there is a crisis on the Mexican border; what he doesn’t say is that it is not just young drug dealers trying to cross the border, but families fleeing violence and oppression.

In April 2018, the US government began a ‘zero tolerance’ policy, this meant that children could be separated from their parents if they had crossed the border illegally. Attorney general, Jeff Sessions said when announcing the new policy “If you are smuggling a child, then we will prosecute you and that child separated from you as required by the law, if you don’t like that don’t smuggle children over our border.”

This crisis has brought widespread criticism to the Trump administration which has caused them to furiously back-pedal and blame anyone other than themselves. The policy was recently removed but not all separated families have been reunited.

Europe day: a bank holiday?By Meábh Lunn

The EU has said that they are considering implementing another bank holiday in the middle of May to celebrate Europe day.

Europe Day already exists but it is not an official holiday.

The day is supposed to be used to celebrate the union of the European Union and to bring together the European countries.

The suggested date is the 9th May.

A Croatian MP by the name of Ivan Jakovcic has said that, “Having the 9th of May as a public holiday is not for the sake of holidays but so that we can show our unity and fight for our values”. A Spanish MEP, Maite Pagazaurtundua, said it “will most probably be passed”.

Let’s all hope that it happens.

basketball reportBy Feá Maher

The Sandymount Park basketball season has begun with a great start. Paddy and Brian, along with the team have been training hard for all their matches against other schools.

With every match that they have faced, the team knows that they’re constantly improving even if they lose. I,

being on the team, will say that the matches and even the training sessions are so much fun. Everyone

Editors:Vencel GeraAva GillGreta Whipple

Reporters:Andrew CumminsMéabh LunnEnea Lambe

Feature Writers:Feá MaherStephen O’ ConnellSofia Shields

Secretary

shows respect for one another and plays well together.

Call for submissionsSend in your poetry, drawings or short stories to the editors. Email them to Aoife F.: afleming@sandymountparketss.ie

Brexit: all you need to knowBy Meábh Lunn

What is Brexit?Brexit is the UK leaving the EU, the word is a combination of Britain and exit. The word is in the Oxford English Dictionary.

Why is Britain leaving the EU?On the 23rd of June, 2016 a referendum was held to decide whether or not Britain should leave or stay in the EU. Leave won 51.9% to 48.1%; over 30 million people voted.

What is the breakdown across Britain?England, 53.4% leave, 46.6% stay.Wales, 52.5% leave, 47.5% stayScotland, 38% leave, 62% stayNorthern Ireland 44.2% leave 55.8% stay

When will the UK leave?The UK was due to leave on the 29th of March 2019, but this didn’t come to pass.

Is Brexit definitely happening?In Britain, there is a law that states Britain must leave the EU by the 29th March 2019, so unless the UK has another referendum where majority votes remain, the UK will leave the EU.

What is all this talk about the Irish border?The Irish border might turn into a ‘hard border’ which would mean that there could be checkpoints, customs posts or surveillance cameras at the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The UK and the EU both do not wish this to happen but cannot reach a deal regarding this issue, it is the most likely outcome.

What is article 50? It is the agreement between all EU member states. It regards what would happen if an EU state decides to leave the EU.

How long will it take for Britain to leave the EU? It has been agreed that there will be a 21-month transition period.

Could there be another referendum?A group called ‘The People’s Vote’ are calling for another referendum; however Theresa May is against the idea.

Will the UK be able to re-join the EU in the future?

Yes, but they would have to start a new application process.

Will the EU still use English?Yes, as it is still one of the most commonly spoken languages in Europe.

Will the UK be barred from Eurovision?No.

Self-Driving Car EpidemicBy Andrew Cummins

Recently there has been a self-driving car epidemic. Self-driving cars are cars that drive themselves (pretty self-explanatory). I think self-driving cars are good, as it shows that our technology is improving, and it will also help to reduce the number of car crashes, as the cars will be smarter on the road too. It will also reduce CO2 output into the environment, making it amazing. Go technology!

plogging at sandymount, 6th february

Green ColumnBy Meábh Lunn

Children gathered on the 19th of January to protest against the government’s climate action plan. The march was organised by activist group ‘Climate Case Ire’.

At its peak, the march had over 500 people, all campaigning for a better climate action plan.

They were addressed by young people from all over the country including 11 year old Nicole Murray from Kilkenny who gave this passionate speech:

“I won’t have a vote for another seven years. But another seven years of greenhouse gas emissions will be a disaster,”

Children need their voices to be heard!

“We always think of Ireland as a green country, but if we continue as we are, it will be nothing but a dump.

“To me wildlife is very important. But we are being very selfish, and we’re not taking care of animals and fish as we fill the oceans and beaches up with plastic.”

There was a national climate strike on March 15th, which welcomed over 8,000 to Dublin. We at Sandymount Park enjoyed participating in the march!

What’s The Deal With The Palm Oil?By Sofia Shields

At the moment, palm oil is one of the many problems our world is facing. Recently, our school wrote letters to the company Cadburys, informing them how upset and disappointed we are, that they are one of the many brands that unfortunately use this substance. We want to be the generation that saves our planet, not the one that destroys it. And to do that, we have to take part in protecting our environment at

every chance we get.

Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil that comes from palm fruit. One of the trees of which it grows on, is the African oil palm. They flourish in tropical and moist areas. It grows in Africa, but Indonesia and Malaysia are the main palm oil producers. People are cutting down these trees to get this substance.

In Indonesia, an area of the rainforest the size of ten football pitches is destroyed, every minute! Not only are they destroying a huge amount of forest, but they are taking away the lives of thousands of innocent animals as well. 80% of orangutans’ habitat has been lost in the last 30 years. This is a really serious matter. Not only are the orangutans being destroyed but

98% of Indonesia’s natural rainforest may be gone by 2022! These facts need to change! We need to make a change! So please, do all you can to save our planet!

A selection of Sandymount Park ETSS placards, used in the Climate Strike 15th March