Congratulations to our under 14 Boys Basketball Team and their coach Ms. Marie O'Mahony, on winning the All-Ireland in the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght this afternoon. They recorded a 49 - 9 victory over Larkin CC, Dublin.
Skibbereen Community School 1 - 1 Ardscoil na Mara
Skibbereen Community School win 3 - 1 on penalties.
Report by Sean Spenser
Reaching the quarter finals of the Munster Cup is a remarkable achievement, especially when you take into account the fact that it is the first year that Skibbereen Community School has existed. Tramore were set to be their biggest challenge as of yet. A fantastic team travelling all the way to Lyre from Waterford to play the match. Both teams had a lot on the line, but both ready to give their all.
After a fairly cagey start from Skibbereen, it looked like Tramore would have an easy win, comfortable in possession and threatening to break through at any moment. Twelve minutes in, a misplaced pass fell straight to Thomás O'Mahony. Unfortunately he did not watch the bounce as it sailed over his head, allowing the striker to run into the box one on one and slot home. 1-0 to Tramore and they didn't look like letting it slip. Skibbereen picked up the pace a bit as the half went on, but couldn't find the final incisive pass to break the well organised defence of Tramore. Going into half time a 1-0 scoreline was very fair. Tramore had left the foot off the pedal a small bit after their first goal, but were fantastic defensively.
Half time seemed to be a changing point in the match. Skibbereen seemed to be able to break down Tramore that little bit easier in the second half, yet Tramore still seemed to be able to hold off all attacks. Everything looked hopeless until the fifty fourth minute when James O'Neill won a free kick out wide, after holding off three players, all trying to foul him. About 30 yards out a shot wasn't impossible, but a cross seemed more likely. The ball was whipped with pace into the box, but was cleared by the first man. James O'Neill ran out to meet the ball, took one touch and looked to put in another cross. It bobbled up just as he was about to hit it and his cross looped over the keepers head into the net. With less than five minutes left Skibbereen had equalized. As the final whistle blew, Skibbereen would have considered themselves very lucky to still be in the game. With less possession and an early goal against them, it was remarkable that they kept their heads high and got back into the game.
Extra time was a cagey affair. Neither team wanted to risk too much going forward, but both teams were giving it their all defensively. The only real chance of extra time fell to Jack O'Brien in the second half, as he ran through on goal, with the ball at his feet. However playing over a full game of football is eventually going to take its toll and as he went one on one with the keeper, the defender just about caught up, meaning he had to take his shot early. It proved no real test for the keeper who saved easily to his left.
With extra time over it left only one thing, the lottery of a penalty shootout. Whether you love them or hate them, they play a massive part in every knockout competition around the world. With arguably even more pressure on the takers at schoolboy level, the nerve needed to take one is amazing. Many people would back away, but someone has to take one. With the teams takers chosen, it was time to take to the stage. Skibbereen were set to take first. Captain Robbie Minihane was left with the challenge of getting his team off to a flying start. He buried home in the bottom left of the goal. Tramore's taker missed the target leaving it 1-0 Skibbereen. Next up was Isaac Harte. He scored one of the calmest penalties you'll see. He smashed it bottom right, sending the ball through the side netting. Tramore again failed to hit the target, leaving Skibbereen in a very comfortable position of 2-0. As Eoin Murran took his walk to the spot, the pressure was building and building. If he could bury this, it would leave Skibbereen in an exceptional position. However he blasted it over the bar! Tramore's number 3 capitalized and finished right in the side netting, making it 2-1. Still time for a comeback for Tramore. Jack O' Brien knew what he had to do - score to leave his team in a great position. He placed it high to the keepers right. The keeper stood his ground and got nowhere near it. Not the greatest penalty, but it did the job. As Tramore's 4th taker stepped up, he knew the situation - miss and his team was out. He placed it low to Cormac McCarthy's left, only for Cormac to read him exactly and make a diving save to win the match! None of the Skibbereen players realised what had happened as they looked at the ref, waiting for the verdict. The Tramore players however were fully aware of the conclusion. All of them head in hands dreading the long trip home. Once the ref had made sure of the final result, there was a sudden burst of joy (and relief) from the Skibbereen players. They were through to the semi-finals. A fantastic result to add onto this fairytale run. Who knows how far they can go!
Man of the Match: James O' Neill - The central midfielder had a game to remember. He did everything he needed to do. He would have been happy with his first 50 minutes. He was fantastic defensively, great on the ball, very rarely gave the ball away. However, when you add to that the fact he scored an equalizer with 4 minutes to go, just enhances the fact he had a great performance. He had a fantastic extra time, winning every loose ball, winning every physical battle and playing every right pass. His goal had only made him even more determined to win! For the extra time period, he was basically a one man wrecking ball, stopping every Tramore attack. A great performance after getting his team back into the game!
Starting XI: Cormac McCarthy, Eoin Murran, John Leahy, Robbie Minihane, Thomás O' Mahony, James McCarthy, James O'Neill, Jamie O'Driscoll, Jack O'Brien, Isaac Harte, Donnachadh Maguire.
Substitutes: Feilim O'Donovan (Thomás O'Mahony), Jason Nott (Donnochadh Maguire), Tuan Shorten (Jack O'Brien), Jack O'Brien (Tuan Shorten).
A massive thank you to Ardscoil na Mara who travelled all the way down from Waterford to get the game played. They played a fantastic game of football, which really was close. It could have gone either way. Unfortunately the game was decided by a lottery, which is a bit unfair considering how well they played. I'm sure they will go on and give a good go at winning any other competitions they enter.
S.C.S would like to acknowledge and congratulate Skibbereen's U16 team on becoming Munster Champions recently in Thomond Park. Many of the players are from our school and we are extremely proud of their achievement.
First Year class 1E took part in an 'Active Friendship Walk' this week, where all students took time out to enjoy each other’s company and get to know one another. Encouraging friendship is very important to all in Skibbereen Community School. Many thanks to a wonderful first year student, Jack O’Shaughnessy for suggesting it and to Ms. Orla O’Sullivan and Ms. Ann O’Farrell for organising.
Well done to all who took part in our very first Easter Egg Hunt in Skibbereen Community School. Great fun was had by all as students searched the school looking for clues from random places like teacher’s cars to counting lights in the canteen. Interesting information was also retrieved in the responses that include “seven women and one lucky man” who work in the canteen! The school building was seen in a whole new light.
Pictured below are some of the students who took part and who kindly helped to organise the hunt. It was such a success that we hope to make it an annual event. Thanks to our principal Mr. O'Mahony for sponsoring the eggs and to Ms. O’Sullivan’s second year class 2D who created the challenging questions!
This week Skibbereen Community School took part in the promotion of 'Organ Donor Awareness Week'. Ms. Avril Cooke spoke to a very captive audience about the importance of donating organs in what are always very difficult circumstances. Organ donor cards are now available in the school. Well done to all and especially to Avril who did an amazing job.
Well done to all who helped out with our beautiful Easter display in Skibbereen Community School. Pictured below are some of the students who kindly helped to decorate the school. Back due to popular demand is our now legendary Easter tree in the school. If you have a minute to spare, come and have a look!
Pictured below are TY students hard at work on their social placement at Castlehaven GAA club.
Pictured below are the members of the SCS Sailing Team who competed in the Munster Finals recently. The team performed very well, with one crew narrowly missing out on qualifying for the Nationals.
The success of the Transition Year cook off motivated 4th year Home Economics students to participate in a bake off. It was a great success, so good in fact, that the desserts were devoured by the judges and students before any pictures were taken of their dishes, so our apologies for the lack of pictures of these delicious desserts!
Fergal Youelle came 1st and he also received a certificate for 'Best Culinary Skills' - well done Fergal.
Second place went to Stephanie Deasy & Olivia Cotter for their delicious rich chocolate & raspberry brownie dessert.
Sarah Gough an & Rachel Deasy came 3rd for their baked chocolate cheesecake.
Best teamwork went to two diligent participants Fiona Kingston & Emma Sweetnam.
Lisa Harte & Katie Cronin won an award for 'Best Presentation'.
The award for 'Most Improved Chefs' went to Jack Collins, Brendan Keohane and Paul Keane.
Well done to all involved!
Congratulations to Class 4B whose film "Drink" has been selected for screening at the 2017 First Cut! Youth Film Festival. Their film will screen on the afternoon of April 27th as part of a Schools Open Submission programme. All screenings take place at the Mall Arts Centre in Youghal. They have been invited to attend the screening of their film on the big screen at the 2017 festival.
Well done to First Year Class 1D who recently made a film on alcohol awareness. Jack Marks and Ellie McCarthy were the directors of the film.The very talented Dylan Murphy, Joe Collins, Gearóid McCarthy, Daniel Cotter and Sean Twomey were wonderful actors. They made it look effortless.
The film was shot on location in the school grounds. This film is very powerful and clearly shows the effects of alcohol on relationships as the boys continue to drink and cannot walk properly. They also have a fight in the corridors.
Shane Kingston plays the role of a strict principal who has his hands full with these difficult students. The film ends with the students suspended from school and all the class saying “Don’t Drink!”.
The film has been entered into a competition with drugs.ie and youth media. Well done to all and to Ms. Orla O’Sullivan for organising this film as part of Religion, where the issue of alcohol is addressed. Best of luck in the competition! The film can be accessed on youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVfkNbJPKuE
Congratulations to our junior ladies football team who had a tremendous win over Christ the King secondary school in Clonakilty yesterday. They will now progress to the A county semi-final. They are pictured below with coaches Mr. Harrington and Mr. Hayes.
Best of luck to the School Sailing Team that compete in their first school's regatta in Schull today.
Fourth Year students Brigid O’Sullivan, Katie Harte, Christina McCarthy, Siadbh Redmond and Dermot Hegarty gave three informative presentations on internet safety in Ms Orla O'Sullivan’s SPHE and Religion classes. Anti-Bullying is already an integral part of the curriculum for these classes.
These presentations are part of a leadership programme with Foróige where participants will become McAfee Internet Safety Ambassadors and will be qualified as Foróige leaders. These students are a credit to our school as they trained extensively in this area by attending a workshop with a representative from McAfee. It is based on the three principles of cyber safety, cyber security and cyber ethics.
First and Second Year students learned a great deal about the topic of internet safety including cyber security hot spots, how to safely block pop ups, and turn off geotagging. They also learned about how to act ethically online and how to create more secure passwords.
All the students participated well and were very vocal in conveying their experiences. The feedback was very positive, so much so that the students are now going to be giving their presentation to other classes in the school. Well done to everyone on continuing the promotion of a bullying free and cyber bullying free school.
Well done to 2nd Year class 2D who recently made a film on alcohol awareness. Orla Casey was the director and Claire O’Donovan and Katelin Brennan were the assistant directors. Mark Hegarty was the musical director. Emily Wiseman played the main character.
The story line is as follows:
Emily was drinking alcohol at home and at school all day. This culminated in her falling in school and being given out to by two teachers Conor O’Neill and Robbie McCarthy. Emily shows the dangers of alcohol in the body as she cannot cope with school. The rest of the class all played their parts as onlookers. The song “The Climb” was carefully chosen. The whole class benefited from this experience and it led to a class discussion on the topic.
This film has been entered into a competition with drugs.ie and youth media. Well done to all and to Ms. Orla O’Sullivan for organising this film as part of SPHE, where the issue of alcohol is addressed.
Well done to 2nd Year class 2B who recently made a film on alcohol awareness. Darragh Coakley and Marie Regan were the directors of the film. Marie Regan also filmed and edited it. The very talented Ritchie Burchill and Micheál Collins played the main characters. Well done boys. They have a very bright future ahead of them in acting, if they decide to pursue it.
The film was shot at a location, just outside the school grounds in a disused area. Ritchie Burchill, Micheál Collins, Jerry O’Driscoll, Daniel O’Sullivan, Ethan Ball, Joshua Brosnan, Robbie McQueen, Luke O’Connell and Brian O’Driscoll were "drinking alcohol" and “having the craic”. A fight breaks out between Ritchie and Micheál where Ritchie strikes Micheál. Micheál falls to the ground and dies with the impact of the fall. Ritchie and all of the onlookers, run off. This film is very powerful and clearly shows the effects of alcohol on relationships. The film has been entered into a competition with drugs.ie and youth media. Well done to all and to Ms. Orla O’Sullivan for organising this film as part of SPHE, where the issue of alcohol is addressed. Best of luck in the competition.
Pictured here is Candido Taboada from Spain being welcomed into Skibbereen Community School by staff and students. The school community is really looking forward to working with Candido who will be here for a year as part of the European Voluntary Service funded by the Erasmus Plus Programme.
Congrats to the U16 1/2 Footballers and their coaches, Mr. Colman O Driscoll and Mr. Maurice Moore on defeating Coachford today on a score line of 1-13 to 1-05.
Pictured below are our second years after observing the Stations of the Cross during lent in St. Patrick’s Cathedral Skibbereen. A wonderful class was had by all with more requests to do it again. It is important to take time out during lent for what is really important. Well done to everyone and a special thanks to Ms. Orla O’Sullivan and Ms. Michelle Murray, our Religion teachers, who organised the class.