P.E. Update & 16th Challenge

Johann von Goethe's quote 'A really great talent finds its happiness in execution' comes to mind when I think of the high standards reached by our students in the kick catch challenge and is testament to the dedication of our gaelic football coaches in SCS and the local clubs.

The brilliant Cathal Kingston set the bar high on the very first day of the challenge with a magnificent 92 and he retained the lead right through to the final day. The Tadhg Mac Carthaigh club will be proud of his heroic effort.

In a competition dominated by Kingstons, Katie kept her consistent form going and produced a stunning 90, narrowly missing out on a share of the lead. Close contender Caoimhe Flannery once again showed her class , bringing in 80. The extraordinary dominance of these girls seems to know no limit.

Fourth and fifth positions were separated by a single point with rugby star Matthew Benn shading it from 1D's talented Ella Hayes. I am familiar with Ella's sporting genius from P.E. class and expect many great performances in the future.

Sixth to twelfth positions all went to second years. National athlete Gavin Sweetnam brought in 63, all rounder Daniel Nzunu 57 and P.E. expert William O'Donovan 54.

We had two Castlehaven stars in 8th and 9th, Orla Seymour 53 and Hannah Sheehy who got 50 despite feeling ill. That is the Haven spirit for you!

Emer Caverley picked up 10th with 49, Tara O'Regan 44 and Cathal McCarthy 42.

Such was the standard in this competition that everyone who got into the top 20 scored over 30.

Challenge 15:

'In order to see birds, it is necessary to become part of the silence', Lynd.

The bird identification project attracted both familiar and new contestants.

Among them, we welcome our youngest competitors to date, Aodhan and Lilian.

Once again, the great Katie came out on top with a huge total of 32 species identified. On this occasion, she generously acknowledged the advantage she had over others, living in a virtual Paradise for flying creatures. Plus the Kingstons provide a generous supply of food which attracts birds from far and wide.

Ferdia Dennis McAleavy's finely tuned observation skills of the birds of the Lakemarsh and his garden was evident in his detailed and often poetic description of the 26 birds he saw. This relegated me to third place with 25, despite living near a bird sanctuary in Rosscarbery.

A single bird separated fourth and fifth place and Emer Caverley's 16 gave her the slender lead.

I am delighted to see Felix Pratheesh join the action and he shared fifth place with the O'Mahony clan of Fiona, Aodhan and Lilian.

Gavin repeated his kick catch finish here with 12. Caoimhe and Daisy Griffiths came in 7th with 9. Marie O'Sullivan returned to the top ten with 8. Daniel and Emer Dennis McAleavy shared 9th place with 7 . Kate O'Donovan took the final top ten position with 6.

The 16th Challenge:

Details of this two minute solo competition kindly suggested by Caoimhe Flannery has already been sent to your teams app.

Solo and bring the ball around your waist.

A solo and circling action equals one.

Good luck everyone.

PE Pic of the Day

PE+Pic1.jpg

Many thanks to Daria Milczarczyk in 2A who sent us in this pic from her PE Walking/Photo challenge. Many thanks also to all of Ms. Keating’s Second Year Walkers. Keep the pictures coming please!

pe pic collage.jpg

World Book Day, Thursday 4th March.

reading pic.jpg

SCS registered to receive this year’s very special Digital National Book Tokens, which we will send to every student. You can download this Book Token to your device and use it with any participating bookshop. Even though bookshops are closed right now, most offer an online ordering service.

 

 

 

Benefits of reading:

 

  • Improves brain connectivity.

  • Increases your vocabulary and comprehension.

  • Empowers you to empathise with other people.

  • Aids in sleep readiness.

  • Reduces stress.

  • Lowers blood pressure and heart rate.

  • Fights depression symptoms.

  • Prevents cognitive decline as you age.

 

 

 

See links below for details of fun competitions with amazing prizes!

 

Weekly ‘Show Your Shares’ competition

https://www.worldbookday.com/show-your-shares/

 

Design a ‘National Book Token’ competition

https://www.worldbookday.com/competitions/design-a-national-book-token-2021/

 

 

Brighter Days Ahead. March 2nd 2021.

Daffs pic.JPG

Daffodils symbolise rebirth and new beginnings. They are signs of hope and brighter days ahead.

 As we welcome many students back to onsite classes our Level 2 Horticulture students were on hand to bring a pop of colour.

 They planted these daffodils back in late October and we were delighted that by our return to the school they had bloomed, with many more yet to flower. Many thanks to Kevin, Padraig, Colm and Ms. Collins.

Letter from the Chief Medical Officer to Parents/Guardians.

department of health.png

Dr Ronan Glynn,

Deputy Chief Medical Officer,

Department of Health, Miesian Plaza,

50 – 58 Lower Baggot Street,

Dublin 2.

26 February 2021

To parents and guardians,

Through your hard work and willingness to buy in to public health guidance over the past two months, we have made real progress in suppressing the most recent wave of COVID-19. This progress has meant that primary and post-primary schools and the wider provision of childcare can now commence on a phased basis.

The importance of schools for the overall health and wellbeing of children cannot be overstated, and the risk of COVID-19 has been carefully weighed against the very real harm that can be caused by sustained school closures. Schools are at the heart of our communities and they play a fundamental role in the social lives and wellbeing of our children; this is particularly true for children who have special educational needs, are disadvantaged or who may have been disproportionately impacted by school closures over the last year. Our priority is to ensure a safe return to schools for students, their families and school staff, which is why we have recommended a phased return to in-school learning.

In making this recommendation, the NPHET’s most significant concern is that it will be taken as a signal by parents and wider society that other forms of household mixing, and mobility are now acceptable. We cannot afford for this to happen at this time. Despite the progress we have made, COVID-19 is still circulating at high levels in our communities.

We must do all we can individually and collectively to ensure that the reopening of schools results in the minimum possible upward pressure on the reproduction number. Please avoid congregating at school gates over the coming weeks. Please do not have play dates or organise after school activities which involve household mixing. And please continue to work from home unless essential. It is only through your continued buy-in to these measures that we can ensure that our children will get back to school and then stay back in school.

I know these are difficult requests. We all – adults and children alike – want to meet up with our friends and neighbours and get back to our old routines. And we will get there. We now have three very effective vaccines with, hopefully, three more on the way. Over the coming weeks, older people, and those at high or very high risk of severe disease will be vaccinated and we will see substantial increases in supply from April onwards. And we are already seeing the very positive impact of vaccines in our nursing homes and among our healthcare workers. If we can combine this rollout with a continued suppression of the disease through March and April, we will have many more options in terms of easing of measures and should be able to provide much greater levels of certainty to people about the months ahead.

Finally, I want to take this opportunity to thank you for all you have done to keep your family and our communities safe over the last year. I also want to thank all teachers, principals and school staff who have worked so hard to ensure measures have been put in place to limit the risk of spread of COVID-19 in schools. It has been this kind of work, done quietly and by the majority, which has underpinned our national response to COVID-19 and which, ultimately, will see us through to brighter days ahead. Kind regards,

Dr. Ronan Glynn, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health.

Important Information for Leaving Certs and their Parents/Guardians from the Department, Feb 26th

Department-of-Education_Standard_LOGO_2021-e1609950477238.png

Please click on the buttons below for important information about the Leaving Cert Exams and Accredited Grade System and for a letter for parents from Minister Norma Foley.

A Guide to State Examinations and Accredited Grades for Leaving Certificate 2021

Letter to Parents/Guardians from Minister Norma Foley. (English Version)

Letter to Parents/Guardians from Minister Norma Foley. (As Gaeilge)

Returning to School Spring 2021

poster2 jpeg.jpg
Poster1Jpeg.jpg

Information for students, parents and families

From Department of Education 

Last updated on 24 February 2021

Below are guidance and videos we have created with some back to school advice for parents and children attending primary and post primary school. You are encouraged to watch these videos with your child before they return to school.

Back to school advice for Post primary Students

P.E. Update - Sean Daly Sets New World Record

Prepare to be amazed everyone.

Skibbereen Community School has our first ever world record holder. Super star Sean Daly has smashed the old time of 35 minutes in the blindfold basketball bouncing competition and the new record stands at 2 hours and 6 minutes.

Back in February, Sean's brush with record breaking fame hit the headlines, when he achieved 480 bounces in a minute which gave him second place in the world. Sean went one better on this occasion, setting a formidable time for anyone who wants to challenge him.


I am fully aware of the challenges this particular test presented for our students, as many will not have access to two basketballs that bounce well. However, we can always revisit the competition when we return to our beautiful sports complex.

New heroes are emerging all the time and I am delighted to see Julia Cotter take second place on this occasion with a time of 3 minutes and 51 seconds. Julia's performances in all the challenges have shown a steady improvement but this is her best achievement to date.

Caoimhe Flannery's epic charge continues with another top 3 finish and a time of 3 minutes 2 seconds. Marie O'Sullivan takes fourth place with a time of one minute 30. A string of participants were knotted together just under the one minute mark. Fifth to tenth positions were as follows: Tara O'Regan, Matthew Benn, Daniel Nzunu, Megan Fitzgerald and Kate O'Donovan.

Daniel's V Challenge:

Our two overall leaders shared the top positions in the V challenge. A stunning performance from the irrepressible Katie Kingston saw her wrap this competition up with a phenomenal time of 12 minutes 25 seconds. Take a bow Katie. This was an amazing achievement.

Near rival Caoimhe Flannery claimed second place in a time of 4 minutes 29 seconds.

Abigail Fowler continued her recent impressive form and made it a 1, 2 and 3 for the girls from class IA with 3 minutes and 10 seconds.

Yet another first year 1E's Abby Kelleher picked up fourth with 3 minutes exactly. One thing is clear, the first year girls have talent coded into their DNA. All rounder Daniel Nzunu's 2 minutes 48 gave him fifth place.

Class mates Julia Cotter and Cathal McCarthy shared 6th place with 2 minutes 38 seconds. Just 2 seconds separated Matthew Benn from Ferdia Dennis McAleavey with Matthew edging ahead on this occasion. Ninth and tenth place went to Emer McAleavey 1.45 and Megan Fitzgerald 1.25.

Challenge 14.

This is a 2 minute test.

Firstly, mark a distance 20 feet from a wall.

Then kick a football against the wall and count your catches. You must alternate your kicks from right foot to left foot after each catch.


Challenge 15

As the weather is forecast to improve, I am setting you a challenge to go out and identify as many birds as you can.

Send your list on to me.

Some of the teachers are joining in on this test and they have every intention of putting it up to the students in this particular challenge.

Good luck everyone.

The deadline for both challenges is Friday at 3 o’clock.

JOIN US TUESDAY NIGHT: HELPING KIDS STAY SAFE WHILE GAMING ONLINE

kids safe.jpg

Dear parents/guardians and teachers everywhere,

 

Please Join Me @8PM this Tuesday night February 23rd  as we host our 2nd webinar to discuss all things Gaming!  

imon Walsh and I will be joined by a team of avid Trend Micro gamers and gaming families to explore the gaming world.

Our goal is to empower parents and kids everywhere to be online safely, responsibly and to have fun😊.

Practical tips, advice and resources will be shared on the night!

 

This is a FREE WEBINAR, all parents, guardians and educators are welcome to join.

Please share with friends, family, local schools and community!

 

Join us Live on Facebook  @TrendMicroEurope

Or Join us on our Zoom Webinar Meeting ID: 930 7349 6414 Password 165008

All details available https://internetsafety.trendmicro.com/events#ireland

Irish Sign language interpreter will be present.

We will have Q&A time for parents/educators

Transition Year - Subject Choice 2021/2022

CREST.jpg

23-02-2021

Dear Parent/Guardian,

It is that time of year when students in Third Year need to make choices regarding what subjects they would like to try as part of their TY programme. This is an important task that will have implications for their future career and life paths. It would be important that you take this opportunity to discuss these choices with them and ensure that the choices they are making are well informed and best suits their interests and capabilities.

The school’s Guidance staff and TY co-ordinator have worked with the students giving them information and advice on TY modules, activities and how best to choose subjects that suit them and their future plans. In addition, the guidance staff have created both a YouTube presentation and a PowerPoint to give parents and guardians a better understanding of the subject choice process.

A further presentation on TY activities and modules, has been created by the TY co-ordinator. These presentations can be viewed at the following link and the PowerPoint can be found in the resources section of the SCS website under parent’s zone. We would strongly urge each of you to take a look at them before discussing your son/daughter’s choices with them.

https://youtu.be/3XYY0k2vpBE

Further more detailed information on subject choice, college options, study skills etc if you require it, is available on the Guidance and Counselling Section of the school website. All choices need to be completed and submitted to the school through our online VSWare portal on or before Wednesday, March 3rd .

To do this you will receive a text from the school with details of how to access the portal. Once you enter the portal, please enter student choices in order of preference by following the step by step guide carefully.

Please also note that while we will do our best to ensure that all students get their top four preferences, there are no guarantees that this will be the case for everybody. Students who do not enter their choices at this stage run the risk of a much more limited choice at a later stage.

Best Regards,

Mr. Anton O Mahony,

Principal.

Leaving Certificate Examinations Update – 18-02-2021

crest.jpg

Dear Leaving Cert Student,

I hope you are all well. Students and teachers have been waiting for some time now for clarification on 2021 examinations. Thankfully, as I’m sure you are all aware from media reports, the Department of Education has now announced a twin track approach of exams and accredited grades for Leaving Cert students.

If you are interested in reading the full text of the Press Release, you can access it at the link below: https://www.education.ie/en/Press-Events/Press-Releases/2021-press-releases/PR21-02-17.html

In this Press Release the Minister for Education Norma Foley TD confirmed that Leaving Certificate 2021 examinations will proceed and students will also have the alternative option of applying for grades accredited by the State Examinations Commission (SEC), to be known as SEC-Accredited Grades.

The main elements of the new arrangements for LC 2021 are outlined below:

• The timetable for the written examinations in June has been published today and is attached to this mail. • The results of the Leaving Certificate 2021 process will issue to students within the required timeframe for CAO admission to higher and further education.

• All exams are to be conducted subject to public health advice and providing, as far as possible, access to the examinations for very high-risk students.

• Additional assessment components, such as orals, practical performance tests and coursework will run, subject to public health advice with components in certain subjects not running for public health reasons. Assessment will be arranged by the State Examinations Commission (SEC).

• An Accredited Grades system, to be operated by the SEC, will be available whereby Leaving Certificate candidates can opt to have grades in some or all of their subjects (to be known as “SEC Accredited Grades”) issued to them at the same time as the examination results.

The elements of the SEC Accredited Grades system will include the following:

➢ The professional judgement of each of the candidate’s teachers which will not be subject to appeal

➢ A form of in-school alignment to ensure fairness amongst candidates at school level

➢ Approval by the school principal of the estimated subject scores

➢ A process of standardisation at national level to ensure as much fairness as possible amongst this year’s candidates

➢ The SEC Accredited Grade and examinations outcomes will have regard to the pattern of results in 2020 and previously, with more details of the process to be determined by the Minister having regard to advice from the SEC

➢ A right for students to appeal in respect of their Accredited Grade which will comprise a process review focused on examining possible errors in the transmission and processing of student data.

• Provision as far as practicable for out-of-school learners or students studying one or more subjects outside school to apply to receive Accredited Grades through the devising of an appropriate and practicable process

• It is intended to prepare and publish, in consultation with stakeholders, accessible and detailed guidance for parents, students, teachers and schools to be issued as soon as possible.

Indicative Dates.

The following indicative dates have been provided by the Department of Education:

• May 14th – Closing date for collection of evidence of learning from 6th year student for the purpose of establishing an estimated mark.

• May 28th – Schools will close for all students to allow the final week for completion of alignment process and data entry related to SEC Accredited Grades by schools.

• June 4th – Closing date for schools to enter/return all data from the school to the SEC relating to SEC Accredited Grades.

• June 9th – Written Leaving Certificate examinations to commence in schools.

• The SEC will issue revised dates for submission of Leaving Certificate course work and the scheduling/arrangements for LCA tasks and interviews in the coming days and weeks.

Updates regarding the Leaving Certificate 2021 including an information video can be accessed through the following link

https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/d3ea2-leaving-certificate-2021/#leaving-certificate-2021

Enjoy the remainder of your break, we will bring you further information once it comes to hand. Your guidance teachers will be arranging meetings with you next week. I will attend these meetings to go through the process, give you any updates and answer any of your queries.

Mr. Anton O Mahony,

Principal.

Please click on the button below for the Leaving Cert Timetable of 2021

5th Year - Senior Cycle Subject Choice Feb 2021

Crest Eurostyle.jpg

15-02-2021

Dear Parent/Guardian It is that time of year when students in Transition Year need to make choices regarding what subjects they would like to keep for senior cycle.

This is an important task that will have implications for their future career and life paths. It would be important that you take this opportunity to discuss these choices with them and ensure that the choices they are making are well informed and best suits their interests and capabilities.

The school’s Guidance staff have worked with the students over the last week of term giving them information and advice on future career paths and on how best to choose subjects that suit them and their future plans best. In addition, the guidance staff have created both a YouTube presentation and a PowerPoint to give parents and guardians a better understanding of the process.

This presentation can be viewed at the following link and the PowerPoint can be found in the resources section of the SCS website under parent’s zone. We would strongly urge each of you to take a look at them before discussing your son/daughter’s choices with them. Click on the blue link below.

Senior Cycle Subject Choice for 5th year 2021 Parents Recording - YouTube

Further more detailed information on subject choice, college options, study skills etc if you require it, is available on the Guidance and Counselling Section of the school website. All choices need to be completed and submitted to the school through our online VSWare portal on or before Wednesday, February 24th .

To do this you will receive a text from the school with details of how to access the portal. Once you enter the portal, please enter student choices in order of preference by following the step by step guide carefully. Please note that you can change your choices as often as you want up to the 24th of February after which the portal will no longer be accessible. Please also note that while we will do our best to ensure that all students get their top four preferences, there are no guarantees that this will be the case for everybody

Students who do not enter their choices at this stage run the risk of a much more limited choice at a later stage.

Best Regards,

Anton O Mahony,

Principal.

P.E. Update & 11th & 12th Challenges

A huge thank you to the growing number of students who are taking part in our challenges. While the reassuring din of sport may be put on hold at the moment, behind closed doors, great feats of accomplishment are happening. Students are digging deep and pushing themselves to limits they have never reached before and overcoming struggles along the way.


Katie Kingston set this week's sit up challenge and the standard was off the richter scale. Skipping champion Sean Daly laid down the gauntlet on day one, setting a formidable target of 72. This score seemed destined to keep him right on top of the leaderboard. But yesterday evening at the final hour, a new superstar emerged from class 1A when Abigail Fowler matched his impressive 72.

The girls from class 1A are a force to be reckoned with as the dynamic duo of Katie and Caoimhe have dominated our attention in all our events to date. In the sit ups, an excellent 67 snatched third place for Caoimhe with Katie just two sit ups behind in fourth.

Once again, solid performances from Cathal Kingston and Daniel Nzunu with 57 see them share fifth spot with rowing and P.E. specialist Rowan O'Driscoll, who joined us today.

Hannah Sheehy is never too far from the top and didn't disappoint us this week either. This time last year Hannah was lighting up the basketball court with her sharp shooting in the county quarter final. A year on, she is continuing to show her class with 52 sit ups completed in a minute.

Seventh to 15th places go to Kate O'Donovan 50, card stack champ Cathal McCarthy 49, Dylan Buckley 45, Millie Coakley 43, Diana Coakley 42, Matthew Benn 41, Grace Bohane 36 and Emer Caverley 34.

Megan Fitzgerald and Abby Kelleher shared 16th with 31.

The rest of the top 20 places went to Marie O'Sullivan 30, Michael O'Leary, Tara O'Regan and Julia Cotter .

11th & 12th Challenges

The details of the latest challenges have been sent to you on your team app.

The 11th challenge is to see how long you can bounce two basketballs while blindfolded?

Sean Daly has suggested this challenge and reminds us all that the world record is 35 minutes. I suppose you could use different balls for this challenge. Good luck everyone.


The 12th challenge has been suggested by Daniel Nzunu and will test your core to the limit.

How long can you stay in a V position with your legs upwards? You cannot use your hands to keep your legs up. Have fun doing this one folks.

Please send your results to Ms. O'Mahony by Friday at 12 o’clock please.

You are all welcome to join us.

P.E. Update & 10th Challenge

On reflection, the task of stacking playing cards in a tower sounds like an easy one. In reality, this test turned out to be one of the most challenging to date, second only to the juggling contest. While many students tried and failed, perseverance paid for others. Those who studied the video on teams of master stacker world champion Bryan Berg found his tips to be an invaluable resource.

At the conclusion, we had a tie at the top with three students assembling awesome 5 story creations. Cathal McCathy's stood tallest by virtue of the fact that he was using bigger cards and he might have gone higher had he not run out of them. Talented first year, Diana Coakley once again did 1F proud with a solid building, mounted on the top of her desktop. Front runner Katie Kingston's relentless march continued into this challenge and she shared top spot with a work of precision. Cathal, Diana and Katie's achievement is an amazing feat for amateur stackers and they should be very proud of themselves.

Star basketball forward Orla Seymour shared second spot with the gifted Caoimhe Flannery who produced 4 story high stacks.

Grace Bohane showed there are many ways to build a house of cards and took third place with 3 and a half stacks.

Megan Fitzgerald followed her running feat last week with precision stacking to three stories this week.

One of the more beautiful creations I received was from Abby Kelleher who shared fifth place with Matthew Benn who is climbing up the leader board rapidly after a slow start.

We had 8 more contestants who achieved 2 stories.

No mean achievement. Don't knock it until you've tried it.

The 10th Challenge:

Sit ups. How many can you do in one minute?

The details have been sent to your team apps and already many of you have tried it. Please study the video before you start and keep your knees bent. Thank you to Katie for suggesting this challenge.

Vote for our former Student, Ms. Enya Breen for part of Irish Women's Rugby Team of the Decade

enya breen.jpg

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE GET VOTING - for SCS Past Pupil and absolute legend, ENYA BREEN - When you open the link it looks at first as if you have to vote in different categories but in fact you only get to vote for one person and you will find Enya in the group of 3 players called outside centres! Enya represented our school, and prior to that, Mercy Heights across the entire range of sports and excelled at each and every one of them. And more importantly than that, she is an amazing person and a role model for all!- SCS PE Department.

https://www.thefrontrowunion.com/2021/02/ireland-women-team-of-the-decade-backs/

School/Online Classes Closed on Friday, Feb 5th for Junior Cycle Staff Training

Dear Parent/Guardian,

We wish to inform you that the School is closed for online classes on Friday, Feb 5th to allow all Staff attend Department of Education Training on the new Junior Cycle. Your son/daughter’s teachers will have assigned them work on Microsoft TEAMS.

Yours Sincerely,

Senior Management.

Parent/Teacher Meeting Progress Reports

crest.jpg

2nd February, 2021

Dear Parent/Guardian,

Due to Department of Education guidelines, we are unable to have Parent/Teacher meetings in the school. Instead, a Progress Report has been compiled for your son/daughter which you may access through VS Ware.

The dates for the issue of these Progress Reports are as follows:

· 1st year March 2021

· 2nd Year February 2021

· 3rd Year December 2020

· 4th Year March 2021

· 5th Year January 2021

· 6th Year December 2020

How to access your Progress Report:

· Prior to the release of the Progress Report for your son/daughter you will be issued with a username by text message, whereby you will be able to access the reports.

· Please click on the link in your text and you will get access to VS Ware

· You will then be able to set up your own password

· Please click on your son(s) / daughter(s) name.

· Under Assignments, please click on “Learn More” and you will gain access to the Progress Reports here.

If you have any issues please email the school info@skibbereencommunityschool.ie .

Yours sincerely,

Anton O’Mahony – Principal.

P.E. Update & 9th Challenge

Cross country runners are a special breed. They laugh in the face of hurdles and make no excuses. Rough terrain, soggy pools, hedges, wind and driving rain had all the impact of a whispering breeze on the gallant students who took part in SCS' latest 5km challenge.

It seems fitting that Ferdia McAleavey, the boy who created the test that drove a huge body of students to participate, finished victorious at the end. Ferdia has always been a talented cross country runner but his heroic effort here culminated in a new personal best of 18 minutes 28 seconds, that brought him to his knees in exhaustion at the finish line from the sheer effort he put into it.

Nothing seems to slow Caoimhe Flannery's relentless climb to greater heights of achievement and so it was in this one. With her mom and sister driving in the comfort of a car behind her, Caoimhe braved the wind and drenched pot holed roads and achieved a new personal best of 19 minutes 10 seconds, shaving a phenomenal 29 seconds off her previous best time.

Ten members of my short course P.E. class made the top 20 in this challenge making them the top class in the school on this occasion. Gavin Sweetnam was the first of this class to cross the line. Gavin is a specialist 400m and 800m athlete but his 20 minutes 27 seconds shows the diversity of one of SCS' finest athletes and a third place finish here.

Donal O'Callaghan competes on a razor's edge in P.E. gaelic and basketball and brought those high standards into this challenge completing it in 20 minutes 50.

Nothing separated the Haven star Hannah Sheehy from one of our most consistent performers Daniel Nzunu with both athletes achieving a time of 24 minutes.

6th place goes to rugby legend Matthew Benn who was just 32 seconds behind. Joint seventh goes to Cathal McCarthy and Daisy Griffiths who both recorded times of 27 minutes exactly.

The great Katie Kingston came in at 28 minutes despite having to negotiate a fairly testing track with gates and ditches on route.

Ninth position is shared between two girls who are always up there in the top ten, Megan FitzGerald and Tara O'Regan who recorded the exact same time of 30 minutes 40.

Places 11 to 16 go to Diana Coakley 32 4 who is the first to put 1F on the map, Kate O'Donovan 40 minutes, Orla Seymour 43 34, Michael O'Leary, Julia Cotter and Christina Hurley.

9th Challenge:

Card Stacking:

Build the highest tower. As the last few challenges involved some quite strenuous workouts, I am giving you the task of creating the highest stack of cards that you can. All the details have been sent to you on your team App. Please send the photos of your tower to me or count the stories and let me know.

Good luck everyone and above all, have fun.

Ms. O'Mahony.

Gratitude Challenge Photos - St. Bridget's Day

February 1st marks the feast day of Saint Brigid. St. Brigid's day is an important day that represents moving from winter to spring. It marks the beginning of the lighter half of the year and the bringing of people from the darkness of winter into the brightness of springtime. A time of growth, renewal and hope.

What better day to showcase our beautiful photos from our Gratitude Challenge than on Lá Fhéile Bríde! Many thanks to all the staff, parents and students that submitted their gorgeous photos of the natural beauty around them. Let them be a reminder of how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful part of the world.

Have a great week everyone,
Ms. O’Brien, School Chaplain.