Thanks to Ms. Lordan, PE Dept. for the pics.
15-04-2021
Dear Parent/Guardian,
It is that time of year when students in First Year need to make choices regarding what subjects they would like to study for the remainder of their Junior Cycle. 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 giving them information and advice on how best to choose subjects that suit them. 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.
The 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.
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, April 21st .
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 21 st of April 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,
Mr. Anton O Mahony,
Principal.
Please click on the button below for an important Information Powerpoint on Subject Choice.
Congratulations to the Lucky Dip Winners, who signed up to the Green Schools Water Saving Challenge on Teams. The winners are Kate Hegarty and Poppy Kilpatrick in 1F.
Keep an eye out for the next challenge coming next week and sign up on Teams to be in with a chance to be the next Lucky Dip Winners.
The School Community would like to congratulate our former past pupils Aoife Casey, Emily Hegarty, Paul and Gary O Donovan and all the team members from Skibb Rowing club who represented Ireland so well at the European Championships in Italy last weekend.
Dear Parent/Guardian and Students,
The School Community looks forward to welcoming you back to school on Monday, April 12th. Alot of work has been done to keep the school environment safe and we ask all students for their support with infection control. The following return to the school protocols need to be observed.
All Parents/Guardians are asked to complete an online Covid declaration form before their son/daughter can return. Click on the button below for this form or click on the Covid 19 section of this website. This must be completed by 1pm on Friday, April 9th.
2. Parents/Guardians and Students are asked to read the new revised Covid Plan on the school website.
3. The School Canteen is not available at the moment so all students must bring in their own refreshments for the day.
4. Students must enter the building through their assigned entrances. They must sanitize their hands on entry and should regularly wash/sanitize their hands throughout the day. Numerous wash stations are located throughout the building.
5. Students are asked to have their own sanitizing liquid and wipes with them at all times.
6. Mask wearing is compulsory and a mask should only be removed to eat and drink.
7. All students are asked to maintain social distancing at all times. Students are asked not to move the social area seating from their socially distanced marking points.
8. Students are asked not to congregate in the corridors, outside classrooms, in toilets and in the social areas. All desks should be sanitized before the start and end of class.
9. Students must use their assigned toilet blocks in the school and are asked to keep them in order.
10. Students who wish to sign out must inform their Year Head and be collected by a Parent/Guardian. Students who sign out will not be allowed return to the building that day.
11. Unfortunately Ball playing is not permitted at this time.
12. Full uniform must be worn.
We thank you for your co-operation and we look forward to seeing you all on Monday 12th.
Regards,
S.C.S Management.
29th March, 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.
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,
Mr. Anton O’Mahony – Principal
We wish everyone in our school community a very Happy Easter. We would like to thank you all for your efforts during these very challenging times. We wish to thank all our LRC, 5th and 6th year students for all their hard work with infection controls whilst in the building. We wish to thank all our 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Years for their efforts with online learning and we look forward to welcoming you back into the school after the holidays. We wish to thank our hard working staff who have put in huge hours with teaching, preparation, and administration and who have supported our students with online learning. Thanks to those staff who have kept the building safe. We thank all our parents/guardians for their continued support. We hope everyone gets some rest over these holidays.
Yours sincerely,
Mr. Anton O Mahony, Principal.
Mr. Tom Foley, Deputy Principal.
Mr. Diarmuid Ó Donnabháin, Deputy Principal.
Please click on the button below for the latest Adjustments to each Subject in this year’s Leaving Cert Written Examinations 2021.
Many thanks again to all the Second Year PE students who submitted these photographs while out exploring their local area. The first three pics are from Holly McIntyre and Abbey Caverely.
We had two contrasting challenges this week.
The first was a deceptively tricky card test that asked students to apply their short and long term memory, organisation skills, concentration, focus and of course a shade of luck wouldn't go astray.
The second soccer challenge tested speed, agility and co-ordination.
The second test proved to be the more popular of the two, probably by virtue of its short duration and there was no stopping the razor - sharp Kingstons, Cathal and Katie, who shared top spot with 23.
I challenge any of the soccer stars we watch on our screens to compete with these two sporting geniuses.
Speaking of stars, Dylan Hourihane and Daniel Nzunu can compete with the very best and have learned their skills from the top coaches in SCS and the Skibbereen Club. They came in joint second with 19 turns.
Draws were probably inevitable in a one minute competition but I didn't expect 4 students to have the same score. A quartet of familiar names shared third place just one point behind as Hannah Sheehy, Cathal McCarthy, Ella Hayes and Matthew Benn all brought in 18. Second years Orla Seymour and Marie Hurley came 4th with 16. Kate O'Connell retained her consistent form with 14, followed closely by fellow first year Felix Prateesh 13 and Caoimhe Flannery and Michael O'Leary on 12.
In the card challenge, the top three were separated by the slimmest margin. Our leader Katie Kingston was once again victorious with 41, followed by Caoimhe Flannery 42 and Ella Hayes 43. We had such fun doing this challenge when teams were pitted against each other. I miss that wonderful spirit created by students combining their talents and working towards a common goal. That said, I am looking forward to the days when classes compete against each other and my P.E. class take on the formidable 1A. Cathal McCarthy came 4th with 51. First year Felix Prateesh completed the task in fifth with 74. There was one more consolation prize which goes to Matthew Benn for finding a unique and interesting approach to the task, which I will use at a future date.
World Record Update
'All our dreams come true if we have the courage to pursue them' - Walt Disney.
Meanwhile the Sean Daly story just gets better and better. The world record holder has been cementing his position as number one in the world in the one minute two ball bounce. On Thursday, I received the fourth video which showed Sean add an extra 31 bounces to his 800 in 59 seconds! It really is astounding watching a master sportsman in action. That Sean is a student in our school performing a difficult skill to this high standard is even more amazing. But to my astonishment, the story does not end there as Sean dismantled his own record on Friday evening adding an extra 51 bounces to the total. The new world record now stands at 882. The next step in this journey is to follow the detailed list of instructions sent to us by Guinness World records, details of which I will let you all know in time.
Challenge 19 has been posted to your team app.
Using any ball you like, how many baskets can you score in a row or consecutively from a distance of 10 feet?
11th March, 2021.
Dear Parent/Guardian of First Year Students,
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.
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,
Mr. Anton O’Mahony – Principal.
How lucky we are where we live! Many thanks to all those students who explored their locality and sent us in a pic. It’s very difficult to choose your favourite isn’t it?
'Sports do not build character, they reveal it', Harvard Brown.
A mere two weeks ago, Sean Daly achieved what seemed to be impossible and set a new world record of two hours and six minutes for the blindfold two ball bounce. His time decimated the old record of 35 minutes.
Shortly after this remarkable feat, Sean told me he had set his sights on two other records he felt would suit him. The first was the one minute two basketball bounce which stood at 656. On Saturday evening a new video arrived on my Teams screen. The video portrayed our amazing sixth year in a performance so devastating, the old time barely registered and Sean's new record stands at 800.
The thrill of sporting participation may be cancelled at the moment but the hopes and aspirations of our students are very much alive. My understanding of heroism has shifted from watching professional sporting athletes on television to the wonderful students of our school and their sporting accomplishments. SCS students are doing extraordinary things, setting new world records and pushing themselves to the limit in challenges or just participating for the sheer joy of involvement. The real stars are those who are getting on with the action.
The 16th Challenge.
Caoimhe Flannery's solo and circle challenge attracted our biggest number of participants to date and we welcome all new members. Students' speed, agility and co-ordination were tested to the limit in this competition and second year rugby and gaelic star Matthew Benn shows he has these fitness traits in abundance. His astonishing 125 in two minutes gave him his first victory to date and is testament to the great work being done by the O'Donovan Rossa club.
Another star emerging from the Skibbereen club and a new name on the top of the leader board is Megan FitzGerald, who produced her highest finish to date with 113, putting 1E on the map and a second place finish.
Third to seventh positions are all familiar names in all our challenges, students who have one thing in common, an insatiable desire to achieve higher levels of performance and the ability to find ways of achieving it. Our overall leader Katie Kingston stretched her lead at the top with a third place finish here and a score of 108. She was followed closely by her near rival Caoimhe who scored 104.
Daniel Nzunu's 97 gave him fifth.
Two Castlehaven stars Hannah Sheehy and newcomer Kate O'Connell shared 6th position with 86. The athletic Gavin Sweetnam was just two points behind with 84. Joining the action for the first time and going into the top ten with 81 came Eoin O'Sullivan. I expect to see a lot more from Eoin in the weeks ahead and indeed all the new members who have joined us.
A number of students were knotted together between 60 and the high 70s. 1E's Rachel Connolly was 9th with 76. Second years William O'Donovan and Tara O'Regan shared tenth with 71. 1Ds Ella Hayes scored 70 in 11th , Abaigh Buckley 65 in twelfth and Frank Hurley 60 in thirteenth.
14th to 18th were as follows, Kate O'Donovan, Orla Seymour, Cathal McCarthy, Daisy Griffiths and Michael O'Leary.
Challenges 17 and 18 have been sent to your teams app. .
Test number 17:
Place a starting marker on the ground and then a second marker 5 steps away. Each time you dribble the soccer ball around the marker and back you score one point. This is a one minute challenge.
Test number 18:
This is especially for you Abigail and Ronan but of course all are welcome. Get someone to shuffle a pack of cards and then lay them randomly on the ground with the card numbers concealed. Then turn 2 cards. If they match, take them up. If not keep going until every card is turned. You have to take note of the number of times you turn two cards. This is quite a tough challenge and will test your memory skills. To spice things up, I will buy the winner of this challenge some delicious chocolate and leave it in Fields for you. Good luck everyone.
If anyone wants to join the action and did not get the details, please let me know.
Ms O'Mahony.
Dear Parent/Guardian and 5th Year Students,
The School Community looks forward to welcoming our 5th Year Students back to school on Monday, March 15th. Alot of work has been done to keep the school environment safe and we ask all 5th years for their support with infection control. The following return to the school protocols need to be observed.
All Parents/Guardians are asked to complete an online Covid declaration form before their son/daughter can return. Click on the button below for this form or click on the Covid 19 section of this website. This must be completed by 6pm on Thursday evening, March 11th.
2. Parents/Guardians and Students are asked to read the new revised Covid Plan on the school website.
3. The School Canteen is not available at the moment so all students must bring in their own refreshments for the day.
4. Students must enter the building through the assigned 5th Year Entrance. They must sanitize their hands on entry and should regularly wash/sanitize their hands throughout the day. Numerous wash stations are located throughout the building.
5. Students are asked to have their own sanitizing liquid and wipes with them at all times.
6. Mask wearing is compulsory and a mask should only be removed to eat and drink.
7. All students are asked to maintain social distancing at all times. The 5th Year Social Areas are at the top section of the Sports Hall and in the Basketball Court Marquee. Students are asked not to move the seating from their socially distanced marking points.
8. Students are asked not to congregate in the corridors, outside classrooms and in the social areas. All desks should be sanitized before the start and end of class.
9. Students can use any of the toilet blocks in the school until a full return but are asked to keep them in order.
10. Students are not allowed down town at luchtime at the moment and students who wish to sign out must inform their Year Head and be collected by a Parent/Guardian. Students who sign out will not be allowed return to the building that day.
11. Unfortunately Ball playing is not permitted at this time.
12. Full uniform must be worn.
We thank you for your co-operation and we look forward to seeing you all on Monday 15th.
Regards,
S.C.S Management.
OUR SCHOOL AT YOUR FINGERTIPS
Helping parents/guardians, students, staff and our school community to stay up to date with the latest school news and upcoming events. Parents/guardians, students and staff receive important push notifications about short-notice changes and urgent information straight to their mobile device. Registered and verified parents/staff will be able to submit digital forms in the coming weeks. Users who set up a profile can also chose for which news feeds they wish to receive push notifications. Download it now from the App Store or from Google Play Store. For security reasons, it is important that a Student/Staff Member registers the App with their school email address.
Dear 6th year student,
The State Examinations Commission have issued a new circular updating arrangements for the 2021 exams. The sections of this circular which contain new information of particular relevance to you are 1 and 4 which refer to coursework deadlines and the candidate self-portal designed for you to indicate your subjects, levels and choices.
I have summarised these sections for you here:
Section 1 - Coursework Deadlines
LCVP Portfolio of Coursework - March 12
Economics - March 15
Design and Communication Graphics - March 19
History - April 23
Geography - April 23
Agricultural Science - April 23
Engineering (project) - May 7
Art - May 20
Construction Studies (project) - May 28
Please note that these are deadlines issued by the SEC. However, I would strongly advocate that you make every effort to complete these coursework pieces in advance of these deadlines to allow you enough time for revision for the written exams. In this regard you should adhere to your teacher's advice and associated deadlines.
Section 4 - Self Service Portal
This portal is designed for you to check your subject entries, levels and indicate your intentions regarding whether you want to take accredited grades, sit exams or both.
The portal will open at 12 noon on March 10th and close at 6pm on March 16th.
A further opportunity to review your levels will be available at the end of April/start of May.
It is important to note that you will not be able to change your mind about sitting exams after March 16th.
However, at the April/May review you will be able to withdraw your decision to sit exams if you so wish.
The final levels you indicate in April/May will be those that you will receive accredited grades in.
However, if you intend to sit the June exams you will have the usual opportunity to change levels on the day of the exam.
Before accessing the portal for the first time, you will need to set-up an account. For this you will need your exam number. These numbers are now available to be collected in person from the school office from today.
You will also need a Pin number to access the portal which for most students will be the first four digits of your PPSN Number.
Once you set-up an account, your first task should be to check that all the subjects you wish to be registered for, are on the portal. This is particularly important for students doing subjects outside of the school.
Further information for students taking subjects entirely outside of school will issue shortly. However, students in this category should note that the SEC have stated that you 'will be required to provide substantial evidence of your learning to be eligible for consideration for accredited grades'.
Having checked your subjects; you should then check the levels in each subject taking note of points 6 and 7 above.
You should then proceed to indicate your choice regarding accredited grades and exams.
My absolute advice to you is that everybody should sign up for accredited grades even if you are going to sit the exams. I say this as the running of the exams is subject to public health advice which means there is a likelihood, albeit slim that an outbreak in June could cause a cancellation of one or more exams. Also, God forbid you may be ill yourself for whatever reason for one or more exams. In either of these scenarios, you will need to fall back on your accredited grade.
I would also strongly advise that everybody sits the exams as you can then get the best grade from the two systems. But this is ultimately a decision for each of you.
Further information and guidance regarding coursework and procedures will be issued shortly.
Best regards,
Mr. Anton O Mahony,
Principal.
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.
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!
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/
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.