Hard luck to our U16 boys basketball team & their coach Ms. Marie O’Mahony who lost to Coláiste Choilm in the Cup by 58-32.
Hard luck to our U19 boys basketball team & their coach Ms. Marie O’Mahony who lost to Mercy Mounthawk in the Cup by 58-30.
The School Community were honoured with the visit and talk with Internationally Renowned Physicist, local native Prof Séamus Davis. Prof Davis who lectures in UCC and Oxford is a famous Astro Physicist and Buckley Medal winner for his work on the Astro Telescope. He gave a fantastsic presentation to 4th, 5th and 6th Year Physics students and encouraged all to take physics as a career. Pictured is Prof Davis with Physics Teacher, Mr. Patrick McCarthy, Guidance Counsellor, Ms. Fiona Ronan. Many thanks to Ms. Orla O Sullivan for organising the visit and of course to Prof Davis for giving us his time.
Pictured below are 4th year students litter picking this week.
Many thanks to Skibbereen Tidy Towns, Cork County Council and Ms. Orla O’Sullivan, Mr. Conor Uhl and Ms. Liz Leonard for organising.
The School Community were delighted to welcome our Olympic heroes today. Past Pupils, Aoife Casey, Emily Hegarty along with Fintan McCarthy made a surprise visit. Mr. Anton O Mahony introduced each of them individually to huge applause and cheering. They spent an hour telling the captive audience about their Olympic Journey, their training regimes and their future plans. They imparted some very good wisdom to all on how to do your best in all areas of your life, enjoy the journey and to remember that the good days outweigh the bad. Fintan passed around his Gold medal for all to see and hold. Aoife and Emily took a picture next to the mural of themselves on our School’s Hall of Fame. We as a school are so proud of their achievements and want to thank them and Fintan for giving us their time today and we wish them all the very best in the future!
The School Community were delighted to welcome Evan Collins, 3rd year back to school today as a World Kickboxing Champion! Evan took gold in Budapest last weekend. He is pictured with his very proud Dad, Mr. Tom Collins and Principal, Mr. Anton O Mahony. Mr. O Mahony addressed the Third Year Group and congratulated Evan and his coach Mr. Ian Kingston on behalf of the entire School. “Evan is an example of what hard work and dedication can achieve and is an inspiration to us all” the Principal said. Evan told the audience about his journey to the final and the training required to reach these heights. Well done Evan, you have done us proud!!
Pictured below are our TY students litter picking this week.
Many thanks to Skibbereen Tidy Towns, Cork County Council and Ms. Orla O’Sullivan, Mr. Conor Uhl and Ms. Liz Leonard for organising.
Congratulations to SCS student Evan Collins on winning gold at the World Kickboxing Championships 2024 in Budapest at the weekend.
Well done on a superb achievement.
On Tuesday August 27th we welcomed our new first years for their induction day.
We look forward to getting to know them and wish them well on this new and exciting journey.
The School Community would like to congratulate each and every Leaving Cert on their fantastic results yesterday. We, as a school, are so proud of their achievements and we wish them all the very best of luck in their future endeavours.
Many had to overcome personal struggles over their six years and each and every one of them had to work hard so yesterday’s results were truly magnificent. We would like to achnowledge all of our staff who worked closely with this year group, Teachers, SNA’s, AEN Team, Year Head, Student Support Teams, SCP Teams, Admin and Auxillary staff. Yesterday’s results were also a proud moment for them. We would also like to achnowledge their Parents and Guardians who worked closely with the school over the years and congratulate them on yesterday’s results.
Over 40 Students scored over 500 points with two students, Ava and Mark scoring top marks. They are pictured below with Mr. Anton O Mahony, Principal.
THE PROGRAMME FOR RE-OPENING IS AS FOLLOWS:
2024/2025 OPENING PROGRAMME
Tuesday 27th August, 2024
1st Years only
9.00 a.m. – 12 noon
Wednesday 28th August, 2024
1st & 4th Years only
9.00 a.m. – 1.10 p.m.
Thursday 29th August, 2024
3rd & 6th Years only
9.00 a.m. – 12 noon
Friday 30th August, 2024
All Students
9.00 a.m. – 3:50p.m.
PLEASE NOTE: School Buses will run in accordance with these times.
2024/2025 SCHOOL CALENDAR
October 2024 mid-term break:
28th October to 1st November, 2024. (inclusive)
Christmas 2024 holidays:
School closes on 20th December 2024 and re-opens on 6th January, 2024
February 2025 mid-term break:
17th February – 21st February 2025. (inclusive)
Easter 2025 holidays:
School closes on 14th April 2025 and re-opens on 28th April, 2025
Other Closures:
3rd February 2025 – St Brigid’s Day
17th March 2025 - St. Patrick’s Day
5th May 2025 - May Bank Holiday
Staff Training Days
23rd January 2025 – Cluster Day
8th May 2025 - Whole School Planning
Skibbereen Community School would like to wish our past pupils, Paul O Donovan, Emily Hegarty and Aoife Casey the very best of luck in Paris!
Cake Sale update! We would like to say a huge thank you to all the amazing people who helped organise and fundraise for our bake sale and coffee morning last Sunday in the Presbytery.
Thank you to Fr Heinhold and Fr Evin. Thank you to all those who donated baked goods, to those who worked tirelessly in the background offering their time and effort and of course a big thank you to those who popped in for a cuppa and some cake after mass on Sunday!
We were blown away by everyone's generosity! The cake sale was a huge success raising over €1500 for such a worthy cause. This money will help send our 5th year students to Lourdes as volunteers in September! We are so grateful and lucky to be part of such an amazing community! THANK YOU!
Many thanks,
Ms. Rosie O Brien,
Chaplain.
6th Year Students will sell their Used School Books, Notes and Revision Handbooks to incoming TY and 5th year Students on Friday, June 21st at 2pm until 4pm in the School Canteen. The School is only providing a premises and will have no involvement in any financial transaction or dispute.
Eight Skibbereen Community School students participated in the prestigious All Ireland Schools Athletics championships in Tullamore, last weekend.
All had qualified by finishing in the top three in their province and were among over a thousand athletes from more than 300 schools,over the two days of track and field action from minor (u14) to Senior (u19).
All eight students achieved top performances ,with three outstanding performances from field athletes Lorraine Coakley and Katie Kingston and track athlete Caoimhe Flannery.
Lorraine Coakley who had a best throw with a very impressive 9.83m in the Junior(u14) shot ,had the same throw as the gold medal winner ,but Lorraine's second throw was shorter, and so was awarded the silver medal for her mighty efforts.
Katie Kingston participating in the Senior Girls (u19) category ,was 2nd in a highly competitive javelin competition(600g) with a huge throw of 38.05m, with only 67 cms separating the top 3.
Katie was also 6th in the discus(1kg) with a throw of 27.99m
Caoimhe Flannery , ,had a great battle with last year's champion and eventual winner from Loreto Dalkey ,before finishing in 2nd place in a PB of 5;10.4.
Both Katie and Caoimhe will be eligible for this competition, for the next two years.
Other SCS athletes results;
Adam O'Donovan (Intermediate ) 4th in Javelin and 7th in Shot.
Elaine O'Sullivan (Intermediate) 7th in Javelin and Diana Coakley (Intermediate) 4th in Hammer
Sam Kingston (Junior) 6th Javelin and Evan O'Sullivan 7th in Javelin.
The School Community would like to wish all our Junior and Leaving Cert Students the very best of luck in their exams which start tomorrow!
Please be early on the first morning to familiarize yourself with your exam centre and the process.
Make sure to have a copy of your exam timetable on prominent display in your home and check it regularly.
Make sure to have all the proper writing materials with you, Pens, Rulers, Maths Sets, Log Tables and Calculators etc.
Bring a packed lunch as there are no canteen facilities available.
You may sign out between exams but make sure you arrive back in plenty of time.
Full uniform should be worn as clothing should not be a distraction!
SCS is delighted to be involved in the JCSP programme. JCSP stands for Junior Certificate Schools Programme. The aim of JCSP is to develop students’ literacy, numeracy, group work and communicating skills. It ensures that students actively participate in their learning.
JCSP students participated in several initiatives this past school year.
All second-year students went on a trip to the cinema in December to see the movie Wonka.
All second year SPHE students attended a Bullying workshop in SCS, by Bully4u.
As part of students’ wellbeing, yoga mats were purchased for students’ use for meditation, across several year groups.
The Science & Engineering departments obtained additional resources & materials to improve student learning.
Third year art students went on an art trip to see the ‘Ardú’ street art trail in Cork city and saw murals in several locations around the city.
Ms. O’Sullivan’s second year SPHE class have been very busy creating, designing, and decorating the JCSP notice board in SCS, informing us of what initiatives SCS students were involved in.
Well done second years, they did an excellent job designing and decorating the JCSP notice board in SCS. As a thank you for all their work, Miss Roberts, (JCSP coordinator) gave them some treats!
Wishing you all a fantastic summer.
Classes for all 3rd and 6th Years finish on Thursday, May 30th at 3.50pm.
Exams for all 1st, 2nd and 5th years will finish at 12.10pm on Friday, May 31st. Buses will depart shortly afterwards.
Students are asked to clear out their lockers and put any rubbish in the nearby bins.
Junior Cycle and Leaving Cert State Exams Start on Wednesday, June 5th
Tips for before, during and after a State Exam
What to do the night before an exam
Check the times of exams the next day - don’t assume or guess!
Pack your bag and pencil case carefully; gather your pens, pencils, eraser, maths sets, calculator, coloured pencils, and markers.
Don’t forget you can’t ask for these during the exam.
Make sure to write in blue and black pens only: make sure you have these and spare pens packed.
Go back over what your teachers told you with regards to layout of the paper and timing. When you go in the next day, you should know how many questions you must do on each paper and allow time for each one.
What to do on the day of the exam
Be organised: get up on time, give yourself plenty of time to eat breakfast, and get to school before 9am
Wear your uniform, clothing should not be a distraction!
Calm yourself before you begin - breathe!
Focus: try to see the exam as a chance for you to prove what you know.
Be smart: remember your exam paper has thousands of words on it which can give you clues, such as the right spellings to use for answers throughout the exam: use it to your advantage!
What to do during the exam
At the start of the exam:
Read the questions with your pen in your hand and underline key things you must answer
Present information well to maximise your grades - presentation is key.
When answering questions:
Read and check back over the question again to make sure you are answering exactly what is asked
Remember to use diagrams in subjects where they are either required (such as on the Geography paper) or to add context to your answer
Read back over your answers when you finish a section
Stay the distance: each exam is timed for a reason, so don’t leave early.
If you have spare time:
Do an extra question; remember, all material must be corrected by the examiner
Keep writing; you are permitted to extend and develop your answers by indicating on the paper what the extra information relates to (such as by writing “extra information for question 2”).
If you are running out of time:
Make a list of the remainder points you would include in an answer if you don’t have time to finish it in full
List the points you would make if you are short an answer to a question: a few points are better than nothing.
What to do after the exam:
Stay on track. Try to not to discuss the exam paper with your fellow students: you are all different and comparing could lead to upset and could distract you from your next paper.
Get something to eat and enjoy some fresh air.
Go into quiet room and relax for the afternoon exam.
Enjoy a good break in the evening. Try and refocus by getting some fresh air or exercise and then move your focus on the following day’s exams.
Congratulations to our First year Girls Football team and their coaches, Ms. Kate O Donovan, Ms. Anna Ward, Ms. Ella Ryan and Mr. Ger Carey on winning the County Championship today in Ballincollig. They beat Mitchelstown on a score line of 2-11 to 1-4. They are a fantastic bunch who trained throughout the winter in very difficult conditions. We are very proud of their success and we wish to thank the girls, their coaches, their clubs and coaches and their parents for all their support this year.