· An Interview with An Taoiseach Sharon Collinge & Ruth Stafford

· The Treasure of the Deep (Short Story) Robert Martin

· Pollution Chris Dent

· Interviews with the Dublin Team (not available on web) Patrick Swendell

· An Taibhse (Short Story)Catherine Cotter

· Playing in Croke Park Declan O'Dwyer

· A Trip to France Eoin Stafford, Eoin Mc Partland & Joseph Canning

· The Fight Among Brothers (Short Story) Jessie Joyce

· Pairc an Chrocaigh David Howley

· To Be in Secondary School Omar Borie

· Recycling Orlaith Burke & Orla Condon

A Trip to Tipp. Josh Dunford & Chris Fennell

· Bullying (Poem) Eoin Stafford

· An Interview with An Tanaiste Catherine Cotter

· Invasion From Above (Short Story) Hannah Farrell

· Making our Confirmation Stephen Montague

· A Delicious Recipe Killian Hopkins

· T.V. Review Ruth Stafford

· Sneachta in Aibreain Stephen Montague

· Horoscopes Ruth, Sharon & Catherine

· Sport - Brian Kerr Interviewed Kym Masterson

· Music Reviews Sinead Ni Ghriofa & Caoimhe Mac Andrew

· Conflict in Kosovo Colin Hughes

· Computer Games John McGrath

Our Interview With The Taoiseach! By Ruth Stafford and Sharon Collinge

As Sharon's Dad is the Head of Protocol in the Taoiseach's Department, he kindly arranged for us to interview the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern. The day turned out to be much more interesting than we had expected. Due to a change in the Taoiseach's schedule, it turned out that we had to leave school an hour early ( which we didn't mind at all). Due to this change in time Eoin Stafford had to come too. By three o' clock we had arrived at the Government buildings, all set and ready. A half an hour later we were waiting patiently in the "Bullet Room" for the Taoiseach to arrive to meet us.

He was extremely friendly, shook all of our hands and posed for pictures. As we were walking through the corridors, we bumped into our local T.D, Seamus Brennan. He was equally friendly and he too posed for our photographs. Our luck continued as we bumped into Cecilia Larkin and she too shook our hands.

Later as we made our way out, we met, the former Minister for education and the present Minister for public Enterprise, Mary O' Rourke. We also spotted Proinnsia de Rossa on his way to the Dail and both Una Claffey and Brian Lenihan in the Dail. One of the things that made our day so memorable was the fact that both the Taoiseach and the Politicians that we met were so courteous and friendly.

Read on for our exclusive interview with the Taoiseach!

The Big Interview THE IRISH TAOISEACH BERTIE AHERN

1 If you were stranded on a desert island who or what would would you like to have with you?

'Nelson Mandela. His lifestory of coming from an African tribe, becoming a lawyer, being jailed for 30 years, then being freed and elected President of South Africa and guiding it through to freedom and equality, is one of the great stories of our times'.

2 What is your favourite T.V. programme?

'Sports programmes, although I have extremely little time to watch T.V'.

3 What has been the most exciting part of being the Taoiseach?

'Signing the Good Friday Peace Agreement on April 18th, 1998 in Belfast'.

4 Who is the most famous person you ever met?

'I have met a few! Maureen Potter, the Pope, Sylvester Stallone, Mother Teresa, Yasser Arafat'.

5 What is the best thing about being the Taoiseach?

'Helping people make good decisions for the country'.

6 What is the worst thing about being the Taoiseach?

'That there is never enough time to do all you really want to do'.

7 What are your hopes for Ireland in the near future?

'An Ireland at peace, North and South. An Ireland where everyone gets a fair chance to get a good education, proper qualifications and a good job. An Ireland that looks after our young, our senior citizens and those with special needs in a generous, committed way'.

8 If you weren't Irish what nationality would you like to be?

'I have no idea. But if I was not a proud born and bred Dub, I would be very happy to be a Cork person like my Mam and Dad'.

9 What is your favourite day of the week and why?

'Sunday. Because I spend it with my daughters whenever it is possible for us to get their busy diaries in line with mine'.

10 What is your ideal holiday destination and why?

'Kerry. The beautiful countryside. The fantastic people. The sheer relaxation of the place. And by the way, I wouldn't mind having the great Kerry football heritage as part of my birthright'.

By Ruth Stafford and Sharon Collinge

The Treasure of the Deep

I was daydreaming at another one of Dr. Ray Johnson's boring history lectures when the thought first entered my mind. He had been blabbering on about the history of Spain when he mentioned the word "ship". Ever since my father bought his yacht when I was seven the only things I had a real interest in were ships and boats and when he mentioned lost treasure along the South Coast of Ireland I just had to research it. It turned out it was the Spanish Galleon Ship of the fleet that had tried to invade England. It was destroyed by a huge storm and the remains were never found. The next time I met my best friend, Peter, I asked him if he was interested in going on a diving expedition. He took an immediate interest in it and we decided to go sometime in June. First we had to rent diving gear and learn how to use it. The boat was no problem, my Dad never used his anymore and he knew he could trust me. After all I could name every part in the whole boat. All I could think about for the next three months was the expedition. The training wasn't very hard to find. We got it for a good price and we made a new friend as well. He was a large, well-built man of about thirty. His name was Tony Nolan and he was an expert on diving and could also supply us with any equipment we needed. We invited Tony along on our expedition. Finally the big day came when we had to pack our stuff. We each packed two suitcases, one with our clothes and the other with diving gear. I had made out a list of what to bring but I was so excited I just threw everything in. I don't think I have ever seen a suitcase so packed. The next day we set off for Cork. It took us five hours to get there and two hours driving around Skibereen looking for our hotel. Our first dive was a disaster. Two unfriendly sharks attacked us. We were about 50 feet down when Peter started hitting me. I looked at him as if to say what, he pointed west. When I turned around I got the fright of my life. I searched my memory wildly trying to remember what Tony had thought us in case of shark attack. I remembered that sharks have a keen sense of smell so without thinking I wet my pants. The sharks didn't leave but they did retreat a couple of feet and that gave us enough time and space to get away. Tony was waiting for us on the boat and when we told him what happened He laughed and said, "I forgot to give you these" and handed us some little purple tablets. "Attach these to your belt and if a shark comes peel off the plastic. It'll turn the water purple and frighten any sharks". "You bloody moron Tony, we could have been killed. I owe my life to drinking three cans of Coke". The second dive was much more successful. We didn't find the actual treasure but we did find a sunken ship. This time Tony came with us. We had just passed the shelf when Tony started gesticulating at us like a lobster was pinching him. He swam down a couple of metres then swam up to get us. He brought us down a fathom or two. Then we saw it. It was huge, it must have been one hundred metres long and the mast was about fifty mitres. I checked my air gauge, I had about fifteen minutes left and I would have to head back. The three of us circled the ship twice to check for danger. The coast was clear. We swam into the hull of the ship. My heart filled with disappointment when I saw a typewriter, this couldn't be the Galleon but I decided to search around anyway. All we could find was a safe and a small leather bag. When we got back to the beach we looked in the bag. There were about two pence and a small key. When we realised that the key might open the safe we were filled with excitement, but our hearts sank when all we could find was a small piece of paper. We left it until it dried and tried to make out what if said. It wasn't in English and it had some directions and odd looking writing on it. Tony thought it looked Spanish and since he was half-Spanish himself he should have known. "I bet my mother could translate this" he said casually, "I'll give her a call tonight and ask her". "Alright" I said "but you can use your own phone, International calls cost a fortune". That night I heard the best news ever. It was directions to the Galleon. I couldn't sleep that night, all I could think about was the news headline "THREE DUBLIN MEN FIND THE SPANISH ARMADAS GALLEON" and the treasure, the sweet sweet treasure, although I knew we wouldn't get to keep the treasure we would get a hefty finders fee. The next day I got up at about eleven o'clock. Tony and Peter were filling the boat with petrol and making a picnic at the same time. As soon as I had my breakfast I checked all the gear, everything was perfect. It was a lovely day and the sea was calm. I felt I could achieve anything. We set off at about three o'clock. My nerves were beginning to get to me and I wondered if we would meet our two ocean friends again, this time we would be prepared. Tony was going to come with us and we all had the tablets and a small combat knife and if the worst came to the worst we could find our way back with my wrist compass. At first the water was cold but the longer you stayed in the warmer it got. After about fifty or sixty metres some of the colour had been filtered out of the spectrum and we were forced to turn on our torches. Suddenly I saw it, it was massive. I had a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach. The other ship was small compared with this. It was the Galleon, the fame and moneymaking Galleon. We swam down to this magnificent ship. All I could think of was treasure. We circled it once and were surprised to find no holes. We swam to the hull and knocked down the door. As we entered I saw something quite disturbing. There was a skeleton sprawled over a sea chest with a dagger in his hand. I knew at once that this was the chest, the chest that would make me famous. Tony picked up a piece of rotting wood and pushed the skeleton off. We all grabbed the chest and started to pull. It was very heave but we managed to drag it along the bottom of the ship. By the time we got it out of the hull, a lobster had pinched Tony twice and Peter had crushed his left foot so everybody was feeling tired and irritable but very excited. We managed to take it to shore with great difficulty so by the time we got home we were too tired to try opening the chest or even to talk about it. That night I had a dream. I was in a courtroom and I could see the jury but I could not see the judge. The jury was looking down at me whispering to each other. Most of them had either a wooden leg, a parrot on their shoulder or an eye patch. Suddenly there was a banging noise and a creaky voice said "Silence, silence". Everything went dead quite. The judge turned around, he had a bony skeletal face with maggots crawling around it. "We are here today to put Dermot Egan on trial for trespassing and robbery." He then called out the first witness. It was the skeleton that we had found sprawled on the chest. He stared asking me questions in Spanish. When I couldn't answer them the judge boomed out "Did you or did you not read the note inside the chest"? Suddenly I woke up. It was about 12 o'clock and the sun was shining brightly. I had my breakfast and soon forgot about the dream. It was only when Tony and Peter complained of nightmares that I began to feel uneasy. That night I closely inspected the chest and then I prised it open. It shone so brightly that my eyes hurt. The only thing that stood out was a crinkled up piece of paper. I picked it up and read it. This is the treasure of the King of Spain. Anyone who reads this is damned unless they return it to the place they stole it and if they do not return it the curse of Mindos will be on them and they will die a painful frightening untimely death and spend eternity in The rest of the note was ripped off but I didn't like the sound of it one little bit. That night I had the same dream but the skeleton could now speak perfect English. I answered all his questions and at the end of the trial the judge said "You have until tomorrow to return the chest. We would normally kill you but as you are the great, great, great, great, grand nephew of Richard Egan, the great sailor, we will let you off…but… only if you never tell anyone of your experience." I agreed. The next day I managed with great difficulty to get the chest back on to the ship. Neither Tony or Peter ever mentioned the ship or the chest or even the expedition again, it was as if they had been brainwashed or frightened into silence forever.Robert Martin 3rd June 1999

POLLUTION

If you want to live in a healthy environment you'll need clean air. If you want clean air you should cut back on going places in your car. Earth is surrounded by a layer of gases called the atmosphere. Acid rain occurs when sulphur and nitrogen from generating stations which use coal mix with rain. Carbon Dioxide, which can be dangerous to humans, is released by CARS. Ever since the stone age people threw anything away they didn't want which became known as waste. Any waste that is harmful to people is known as toxic waste. By Chris Dent

An Taibhse

An Mhairt a bhi ann agus bhi an scoil thart .Shocraigh me dul ag rothaiocht faoin tuath . Fuair me mo rothar sa gharaiste agus picnic sa chistin . Fuair me ceapairi , liomanaide agus seaclaide . Thug me pog do mo Mhamai agus rothaigh me faoin tuath . Tar eis tamaill bhi fonn ocras orm . Stop me ar boithrin agus leim me thar an geata . D'ith me a lan brioscai . Bhi me ag smaoineadh faoi mo Mhamai agus shocraigh me blathanna a phiocadh di. D'fheach me timpeall agus rothaigh me go tapa chuig teach a chonaic me. Bhi an doras ar oscailt agus shiul me isteach. Ni raibh aon duine sa teach. Bhi eagla an domhain orm mar bhi gach rud sean. Doscail me mo bhaiscead agus dith me gach rud sa baiscead. Tar eis tamaill, bhi tart orm. Chuaigh me isteach sa chistin agus chonaic me gloine uisce ar an mbord. D'ol me an uisce agus thit me ar an urlar.

Nuair a dhuisigh me bhi me ina lui ar leaba. Chonaic me seanbhean agus rith me amach as an seomra. Rith an seanbhean agus i ag screadail sios an staighre. Shleamhnaigh an bean agus chonaic me taibhise ag teacht amach as an bhean!!! Bhi eagla an domhain orm. Rith me amach as an teach agus nior stop me do mo rothar. Rith me abhaile agus nior rothaigh me faoin tuath aris. byCatherine Cotter

Hi! My name is Declan O' Dwyer and during my time on the St. Olaf's school team, I have played in Croke Park SEVEN times. 1. When I first got on the team in third class the team made it to the final in Croke Park where we played De La Salle Ballyfermot. We won by a point. 2. The next time we got to Croke Park was against Scoil Bhride where we were beaten well. 3. The following year within 5 days of each other we were beaten in two finals first by Scoil Chaoimhin and 4. Five days later by Scoil Pilib. 5. Our next final was in Hurling and we had a bit of luck winning. 6. Last year we played St Johnstown losing by 5 points. 7. My most recent time playing in Croke Park was this year against Star of the Sea when I was captain. We were well beaten by Declan O' Dwyer

On the 21st of May Old Wesley sent a team of hopeful 12 year olds to France. We left at 2:10 from Dublin to Beauvais. The flight took one and a half hours and when we arrived we were gobsmacked to find the airport was so small. The bus didn't come for an hour but we didn't give tuppence because we spent our time playing pinball and laughing at a little fat dog in the corner. When the bus came we got on and chilled out with Mac Daragh's gameboy. When we got to Bethune we were not highly impressed because we were tired and hungry and the cheap food didn't really satisfy Andy Boyle's hunger. Late that night we got to the boarding school and found our beds. We messed for a while until Herbie ( Andy's dad) came in with his belt and everything got pretty messy.

The Teams France: Nancy, Armentieres, Cambrai, Valenciennes, Duisans, Bethune Ireland: Old Wesley Holland: Hilversum

Other teams were supposed to come but they didn't show.

On Saturday morning we were allowed to go into the town to spend a bit of money. We were allowed to go on our own because it was easy to find the town centre as it had a huge tower in the middle of it. We looked around for a while but we didn't see anything we liked. After a while we went to one shop and it seemed to have everything in it. Staffo bought a penknife and Red bought a laser pen. Everything was so cheap in the town compared to the prices of 8fr (£1.20) for a mars ice-cream in the rugby club.

When we got back to the clubhouse there were some warm up matches. Our coach split us up into to two groups and we each played two games The first team that we played were a team called Nancy. We were surprised at a lot of things when we got onto the pitch. They are allowed to hand-off in the face and they are allowed to punch your hand before you tackle them. Before we saw any of the teams we thought they would all be quite small and young. The second team we played who was from Holland they had a player that was 6ft. We played two other matches and drew one of them. After the matches we ( Parko, Staffo and Joe) went for a swim in the swimming pool that was near the rugby club. After that we went back to the boarding school to get ready for a dinner dance. We left the club at about midnight and went back to the dorms and had a good night sleep.

On Sunday morning we woke to the sound of a whistle being blown. We were told we had to pack our bags because we were leaving that day and would be going straight to the airport after the games. When we got to the rugby club we had our breakfast of hot chocolate and a chocolate bun. We played on the bungee run until 11:00 when we played our first league match against Valenciennes. Score: 20-0 Man of the match: Ian

Our next match was against our rivals, Nancy. We lost the match to a very close score. Score: 5-10 Man of the Match: Philip

We qualified for a semi-final and won it. Score: 15-10 Man of the match: David

Before the final we got a break and took a big break with the new KitKat chunky. Before the final Clive gave us a team talk ' Do it for your country, do it for yourselves but most importantly do it for respect.' We got ready and did our stretches while David eagerly watched. We played our guts out to win the final and come home champions of Paris. On our way to the airport we played poker and stopped in a cheap copy of Mc Donald's. We got to the airport at 7:30 and we were well on time for the flight. We played on the pinball machines and then we departed from Beauvais Airport. We arrived in Dublin at about 9:30 and collected our bags. The best bit about Dublin airport was coming through the departure gates when everybody is looking at you. Everyone on the team thought that the trip was good fun and well worth it.

POP GOSSIP

After the recent cancellation of his American tour due to exhaustion, If you were thinking Heavenli was the Cricket board apparently approached leaving the group to spend more Robbie to become the ambassador for the time with her boyfriend Matthew Cricket World Cup as they think that he you are right but just only until will liven things up they get back from Australia

J from Five hurt his ankle while playing Soccer in San Remo when he ran to get Keith Flint from the Prodigy The ball and he bent his ankle to the side on the motorbike madman had two Astroturf serious accidents in one week but he luckily escaped with only cuts And bruises

Britney Spears not only has had a number-one And is been sponsored by Tommy Hilfiger It's been a long wait but Geri But she is now dating 'N Sync singer is back on the scene with her first ever Justin Timberlake solo single. ture Geri style , with "Look at me"which is packed with attitude and style

Friends star Courteney Cox is rumoured The talented foursome who were To be staring in an advertising campaign for. Encouraged by a music teacher Anti-dandruff shampoo Head and Shoulders to become a band our Leanne The brave star is going to admit she's had dandruff Fiona, Kate, Min and are being and then again her confession might not be so managed ex-spice girl manger hard because she would be getting a lod of cash Siomon Fuller

THE FIGHT AMONG BROTHERS

"Where are you going now ?"I asked impatiently. It was the twenty first of December 1921 and it was my birthday. I had been waiting for this day now for over a month because Micheal was going to plan something nice and we could take a break from all this war and mess, but by the look on his face I could tell it was cancelled. "De Valera has picked me to talk to Lloyd George and try to straighten out this blood and flesh war. I can' t get back on time to go on the holiday so were' e going to have to call it off. " His voice sounded worried and nervous and I almost had sympathy for him but this was the one day of the year that was for me and not for him like all the rest. A week later he came back. The harbour lights were misty as the fog came down near the sea and out of nowhere appeared a dim shine and then, the sound of the water parting reassured me that his boat was coming. When he got off the boat and into the car he looked sad. "Kitty I got the twenty six but no more and I signed for the oath of allegiance. I don 't know what Dev 's going to do to me. " I looked at him and he had water in his eyes. I couldn' t believe that he, an Irish man, that the English was afraid of, was crying, but I didn't care I still loved him, He went to Dev and from the car I could hear the shouting. "I told you not to sign I mean the twenty six I might cope with but the oath. Oh God no, I'm not swearing to that. I thought we were partners in this and I know you hate all this war and so do I but it's our country." Dev's voice rang out through the building and then two ghostly shapes came out through the door followed by about fourteen others. "We 're going to start our own army Kitty and we need your help." For once he sounded a tad excited. "Michael Collins, you must be mad getting me to help. Oh no, I'm not getting shot, do you hear me ? " but in the end I was putting up posters about the election between two people who were once like brothers. When the day of the election came he couldn't sit in his chair so he paced the room up and down until the wireless began to call out the votes. "Eamonn De Valera : 43%. Michael Collins : 57% " We had won !but then the voice of an old friend began to talk. "The voters aren't always right and I plan to keep on fighting, so Collins I hate to say this but without talking there's force and we're going to win". Civil war broke out across the land against fathers and friends, brothers and brothers and strangers against strangers. The day he proposed to me and I said a bewildered yes even though I knew that something was going to happen to him, but I loved him all the same. I got the telegram that night. It was a single gunshot to the head and the man who fought and talked for Ireland's freedom was dead and also the man that will always be in my heart. I cried as I read the note and knew he had died a loved man. by Jessie Joyce

A Trip to Tipp

We left Naomh Olaf G.A.A Club on the road to Tipperary at 11 o` clock with the sun shining overhead. We were going down the country to play three teams from Tipp,Clonaulty Rossmore, Holycross and Borrisily. The journey was long and boring and just as we entered Tipperary the rain started to lash down!

When we arrived in Clonaulty Rossmore clubhouse we took our hurleys and helmets out of the cars and made our way into the dressing room. The dressing rooms were massive; much bigger than ours back in Dublin. Our first match was against Borrisily. We ran out onto the pitch and we were immediately hit by the freezing cold. We expected to be up against it when playing Borrisily but we soon found out they weren`t all they were cracked up to be. By the second half we were well on top and Borrisily didn`t look like coming back. We beat them well and were in good spirit when we returned to the dressing room. Waiting for us in the dressing room was an assortment of cakes, crisps and sandwiches. Our next match was against Clonaulity Rossmore. Clonaulity was our manager's former club and this match meant al ot to him. We started off well and within ten minutes we were three goals and one point ahead. However Clonaulity fought hard and by half time we were level. After a tough team talk we went out and slowly went on top. We won the game handy enough and our manager was delighted. Our next match was against Holycross. This was to be our hardest match. They were a great team but due to a late goal by Fergal Mairtin we won by a point.

The next day was the final. We were playing Holycross again. We were determined to keep our wining streak and with a brilliant performance we hammered Holycross and won the tournament! BY JOSH DUNFORD AND CHRIS FENNELL

BULLYING By Eoin Stafford

I didn't mean to hurt him When I threw him down the stairs I didn't mean to hit him in That rugby game we played, I didn't mean to make him cry When I teased him in front of the lad I didn't mean to take his money Now I wish I never had The only thing I meant to do Was just to make him laugh

Pairc an Chrocaigh

Faoi dheireadh thainig an la: an cluiche ceannais . Bhi Scoil Olaf ag imirt in aghaidh Realt na Mara . An dara la deag de Bhealtaine a bhi ann agus bhi an scoil go leir ar scetimini mar bhi suil againn go mbeidh an bua againn .

Thosaigh an chomortas tar eis La Fheile Padraig agus bhi cluiche againn gach seachtain, agus tar eis cupla cluiche bhi a fhios againn go raibhimid nios fearr na chuid de na foireann eile. Bhiomar an-laidir i lar na pairce agus bhi na thosaithe ag fhail a lan scoireanna. Chriocnaiomar ar bharr ar sraith, agus bhiomar istigh sa cluiche ceannais. Bhi se a ra ag a lan le daoine go raibhimid ag iomaint ar fheabhas. Agus bhi bua againn in aghaigh James Street nios luath sa chomortas.

Sna laethanta raibh an cluiche thosaigh an scoil ag ullmhu don la mor. Bhi na paisti ag deanamh brat agus bonnog agus bhi cupla bus ar ordu.!

Ar maidin an cluiche bhi me ar scetimini mar bhi me ag imirt mar lan-tacaigh ar foireann na scoile. Chuaigh me ar scoil go moch ach nuair a shroich me an scoil bhi an foireann go leir ann romhan. Ni raibh aon suim againn in obair scoile a dheanamh mar bhiomar ag smaoineamh ar an gcluiche. Ag a deich a chlog ghlaoigh an Priomhoide orainn agus bhi se in am duinn dul. Ar an turas go Phairc an Chrocaigh thainig beagain imni ar na buachailli agus agus nuair a shroicheamar an seomra gleasta bhi na buachailli an-ciuin. Chuireamar ar ngeansai peile orainn thug an baniisteoir, an t-Uasal O' Murchu, an 'teamtalk' duinn. Ansin amach linn ar an bpairc.

Nuair a chuamar amach ar an bpairc chualamar na paisti ag screadail agus chonaiceamar na dathanna suas san ardan. Bhi an phairc an-mhor agus bhi na h-ardain ullmhor. Thogadh ghrian-ghraf den foireann agus tar eis tamaill chaith an reitoir an sliothar isteach.

Ar an la bhi foireann Realt na Mara nios laidre na foireann Scoil Olaf. Bhi a lan imreoiri thar cionn acu. Bhiomar faoi bru on chead noimead agus ag leath-ama bhiomar chun deiridh. Sa dara leath an sceal ceanna a bhi ann agus sa deireadh bhi bua glan orainn. Ni raibh dioma mor orainn mar la spreaguil a bhi ann agus thaitin se go mor linn.By David Howley

TO BE IN SECONDARY SCHOOL

This is my last year in St. Olaf's. It seems like yesterday when I was in Junior Infants. I am going to St. Benildus next year am very excited about going to a new school .I hope I get into a good class. We did our entrance test a few months ago . I passed my entrance test . I will be going to Benildus on the first of September along with most of the boys in my class . In Benildus we will have a different uniform and we will be able to go home for our lunches. We will have a different teacher for every subject and we will have a knew head master . I will be one of the youngest in my new school. I will have to be very careful in case I get bullied by any people older than me. I don't think I will get bullied because my new school will be well supervised. I think my teacher is kind as well as my principal . All my years were great in St. Olaf's. It is hard to believe I will be out of my school in less than one month. by Omar Borie

Recycling

Our environment belongs to us all and it reflects what we do to it .We may think that there is little point in taking any action to protect the environment because the little bit each person does will have no effect but in fact, in everyone made a contribution the impact could be tremendous.

The most effective way of reducing the amount of plastic litter in the environment is to reduce our consumption. The most important contribution must come from the consumer and the fact that it is not biodegradable adds to the problem. Statistics show that our consumption of plastics is increasing at an alarming rate every year.

Reducing the amount of paper you use is the best means of reducing consumption. The recycling of the paper would save on collection and disposal costs and reduce the requirements for expensive landfill sites. Many different forms of paper can be recycled. With modern technology a good lot of standard of stationery using recycled paper is possible. Glass is one of the most recyclable things. Glass recycling is a practical way for everyone to contribute to conservation and environment. The use of old glass can achieve considerable savings in raw material and the energy needed to make glass

INVASION FROM ABOVE

"Fuel supply is okay" I informed my Dad. He sighed with relief. He had been waiting for this holiday ever since Earth had become partners with Topia. The rocket ship launched into space. When we reached Larx the planets capital we were greeted by two blue aliens but we weren't surprised. There were aliens all over the place then. After all it was 2247. The two aliens showed us to our hotel. Our hosts brought us to our room , opened the door and shoved us in. We heard the door lock behind us. There were at least 20 other life forms in the room. Aliens , humans and talking animals from Zoonia. It was later revealed to us that the Topians were planning to take over all 25 known galaxies and everyone in the hotel were hostages. We had been tricked! One day Percy a huge elephant went mad from being in a confined space and charged at the so far un-openable window. He crashed right through. We were free! An alien called Adam came up with a plan to get everyone back to their own planet. The smallest person/ alien/ animal was picked to steal a space craft each. They would then fly it back to the hiding place of the hostages and everyone from their planet would get in and go home. Just my luck to get picked for Earth. The hardest part was finding a place to get into the shuttle stables. "If they catch me , I'm going to plead insanity" whispered a hare. We found a small hole which was made larger by all the beings with claws. Crawling through was extremely difficult but I just about made it. I jumped into the nearest craft and burst out the stable door just like in the films. My parents took over the controls when they got in because I can't drive properly. When we got home we warned everyone about the invasion. Soon , all the planets in the 25 galaxies had formed a huge army and when the Topians arrived we outnumbered them 100:1. We never had any trouble from the Topians again. byHannah Farrell.

MAKING OUR CONFIRMATION

The two sixth classes of St.Olafs N.S. of which I am one will be Confirmed on the 26th of May in the Church of the Ascension of our Lord, Balally. We are being confirmed by Bishop Martin Drennan. This is an important time when we end our time at St.Olaf's, a time which we have enjoyed and a time which we won't forget.

In school we learn about the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit and we learn about how to prepare for Confirmation. Most of our class are going to a course called Faith Friends where groups of friends go to a parent's house to understand Confirmation and to have a bit of fun. On Tuesday May 11th, our last meeting will take place and I'll be sorry to see it end as I have enjoyed the fun we had. Stephen Montague

WHAT A DAY!!!!

On the 25th of May a quiz was held in Ballyroan N.S. Three teams were entered from St. Olaf's. They were mostly sixth class apart from two fifth class. Everybody was exited because it was the day before our Confirmation. My quiz team was made up of Francois Gray, David Howley, Stephen Montague and John McGrath.

As we entered the hall the noise of people calling their team-mates rang in our ears. It was all drawn to a close by the Quizmaster's voice, Mr. Jackson.

My team did exceptionally well in the first three rounds. The questions varied from anagrams to maths and General Knowledge. After round five we were let out and given some light refreshments.

It was very tight from then on in. Just when it looked like despair for Olaf's an exceptionally bad round for the team coming in second place let Olaf's slip in and grab joint second. Then it went into a tiebreaker round and Olaf's scored 2/3 and claimed second place. We were awarded a plaque and seven pounds each. What a Day !!! By Francois Gray

You will need: 25g cocoa powder 50g Icing sugar 50g chopped nuts 50g Philadelphia Chocolate Hundreds 'n' Thousands

What to do:

Put Philadelphia, nuts, icing sugar and cocoa powder in a mixing bowel and mix well. Then roll the mixture into balls (about the size of marbles.)

Sprinkle an area with Chocolate Hundreds 'n' Thousands and roll the rumballs in them By Killian Hopkins

Every Monday and Thursday night thousands of people get ready to sit down and watch Friends. It appears on T.V almost every night on a series of different channels. Friends is an enjoyable series with six main characters: Phoebe, Joey, Ross, Rachel, Chandler and Monica. Phoebe is a dim-witted guitar player who works in a massage parlour. Joey is equally dumb and is an unsuccessful actor. Ross has been married twice and has a son called Ben much to his sister Monica's envy. Monica is a chef and is in love with Chandler who is a businessman. Together they make Friends a hilarious Programme. Friends is set in down-town New York in two apartments, owned by Monica and Chandler, and a coffee house. In a recent episode of Friends Ross and Rachel got very drunk and decided to get married! Friends is now on its fifth series and has become a very popular programme. It has meant stardom for six young actors and actresses and is set to go down in History. By Ruth Stafford

Sneachta in Aibreain

An cheadaoin a bhi ann. D'eirigh me go moch ar maidin. Bhi ionadh orm nuair a d'fheach me amach an fhuinneog mar bhi brat ban sneachta ar an talamh.Tharraing me mo eadai orm. Rith me sios an staighre. D'alp me mo bhricfeasta. Chuir me scairf timpeall mo mhuineal. Chuaigh me amach. Bhi me ar bis mar ni fhaca me sneachta comh maith riamh roimhe sin. Chaith me liathroid sneachta ar an mballa. Chuaigh me isteach agus rinne me mo lon. Duirt me 'slan' leat le mo Mhamai agus chuaigh me go dti an scoil.

Ar an mbealach ar scoil, chonaic me mo chara. Chaith me liathroidi sneachta leis. Bhuail me e ar a cheann, chaith se liathroidi sneachta i mo threo freisin. Nuair a shroich me ar scoil chuaigh me isteach agus chuireamar ar malai scoile sa rang. Thog an muinteoir an rang amach sa phairc. Rinneamar fear sneachta agus chaitheamar liathroidi sneachta. Bhi se ar fheabhas. Bhi me fliuch baite ach thaitin an la go mor liom.

On the third of June 1999 I met Mary Harney in Dundrum . She was distributing leaflets with John Smith who I also met . My Dad and Mum arranged it . At one o' clock I left the school with all my questions prepared . I encountered Mary Harney in Tesco Ireland at two o' clock I felt nervous yet excited . She spoke to me for a while telling me how they wanted to thank my Dad and my Auntie Bridge for all their support to the Progressive Democrats.

Questions: Catherine Cotter Answers: Mary Harney

Q: What inspired you to become a politician ? A: So that I could help the community and change the country for the better .

Q: How do you feel to be the first woman leader of a Political party? A: I'm very proud to be a leader and I hope my election will encourage more women to become involved in public life

Q: If you weren't a politician what could you see yourself doing? A: I would like to be a barrister .

Q: How do you feel about the lack of progress in Northern Ireland? A: It is very disappointing that a year after the people here voted by a 95% majority for the Good Friday Agreement that the politicians weren't shown sufficient courage to allow it to become a reality .

Q: What are your views on the single European currency? A: I favour a strong European Currency - it will make it easy for exportery and tourists and it will allow us to more easily understand the prices in different countries .

Q: How come such a small country such as Austria has taken more Kosavan refugees than Ireland when Ireland is at least twice the size of Austria? A: We have now taken a thousand . Liz O' Donnell a minister and I want to see us take many more . We are currently trying to put all the families in place to their life housing , welfare , education , language translation - health etc

Artists: Westlife Song: Swear It All Over Again

Westlife is Boyzone all over again and who else is their manager alongside Louis Walsh, but Boyzone's lead singer himself, Ronan Keating. The video is a bit dodgy 'cause it is basically the same scenes again and again but the song has definitely been a hit. It came from nowhere in the charts straight to number one. These boys are asured of a long and bright future.

Artists: Geri Halliwell Song: Look at Me

After shocking the world when she announced her decision to leave the world's most successful girl band, The Spice Girls, the artist Geri has decided to go solo. Geri is set to top the charts with her new single "Look At Me". The video represents the death of Ginger Spice and how there are different sides to everyone. The song has a really catchy tune and will no doubt be a No. 1 hit. She has also released a new album entitled "Schizophonic".

Conflict in Kosovo

Kosovo is a region of Serbia in south east Yugoslavia. The capital is Pristine and the area is 10,900sq km. It is the least developed of Yugoslavia's regions and is bordering Albania. The population is 2,012,500 consisting of about 210,000 Serbs and about 1.8 million Albanians.

Slobodan Milosevic who is the Yugoslavian president is trying to remove all ethnic Albanians from Kosovo. He and his army took all the Kosovo Albanian people's papers and passports and burned them and their homes. A lot of people were killed. This is called ethnic cleansing. NATO which consists of the USA and many European countries (excluding Ireland) decided to take action. They have for the last three months bombed Yugoslavia from air. They hit mainly military targets . This week the united nations have declared Milosevic a war criminal. The European Union and Russia have put forward a peace plan and at the moment this is the first sign of hope. Colin Hughes