1. bowl
2. access to an oven and a microwave
3. wooden spoon/ whisk
4. tea-towel
5. cup
6. bowl
7. baking tray
8. 6 cupcake cases
9. some sort of cookie cutter for the fondant, preferably beach themed like shells or starfish or a beach ball. ETC

1. 100g of self-raising/plain flour
2. 100g of caster sugar
3. 100g of softened butter/margarine
4. 2 teaspoons of vanilla essence
5. 10 digestive biscuits plain/ rich tea if you have them
6. A tub of Betty Crockers vanilla icing/ cream cheese frosting whatever you prefer
7. White/ pink/ blue fondant
8. Few drops of blue food dye
9. Silver pearls/ sprinkles or whatever you want to decorate the sand with

1. Preheat the oven to 360 degrees/ gas mark 4
2. Put your cupcake cases into the tray
3. Gather all your ingredients together, then wash your hands
4. Sieve your flour into the bowl then sieve in the caster sugar on top of it
5. Melt the butter in the microwave until liquified the add in the bowl and start to mix with the dry ingredients
6. Whisk until soft and creamy then add the vanilla essence and mix in thoroughly
7. Spoon them into the cupcake cases that you laid out earlier, and put them in the oven for around 25-35 minutes until risen and golden brown
8. While cooking clean up and wash the dishes
9. Spoon as much icing as you want into a bowl and add a few drops of food colouring to the icing until the colour satisfies you
10. Take the digestive biscuits and put them in an airlocked bag/ sandwich bag and crush them you could use a rolling pin or just crush them yourself
11. When the cupcakes have cooled down spread the icing over half the cupcake, on the other half put a super thin layer just so the crumbles stick on
12. Put the crumbles on and then add the decorations you want on
13. Lastly ENJOY!!!!!

Grace Daly (1 Ashe) Talking Politics

1. Free books: All secondary students will have free books up to Leaving Cert level. This means they do not have that as an expense returning to school each year, plus the school has control over the books you receive. There are also no costs for Junior and Leaving Cert students for their exams this year. 2. Phone pouches: €9 million of the national budget will be spent on mobile phone wallets/ pouches. Many people believe this money has been misspent because every school already has rules to implement mobile phone policies and safety. This is a huge waste of money as it could be spent on SNAs, equipment for science, sports, music and much more. Some schools even need building repairs. Public reaction to this has been quite negative with many people believing the €9 million pouches are “A complete waste of money at a time when children with special needs can't get a school place as most schools are looking to recruit more SNAs.” “It is not the school’s responsibility to control phone usage. Parents need to step up and take responsibility too.”                      Illustration by Aurora Leahy, 1Markievicz ​

Halloween Fun Facts

Tricks or Teats ???

Some interesting facts about St. Patrick from the Press Team!

St. Patrick's Day Bake off at Lusk CC.