Teagasc Talk to the Farming Club and AgScience Classes, 28th October

Many thanks to Mr. Mike Dineen of Teagasc for giving an excellent talk to the School’s Farming Club and the 6th Year Ag Science class recently. He spoke about the latest research work being done at Moorepark and the latest innovations in dairy farming such as red clover silage swords, mainatining milk fat production during late spring, pasture digestibility and amino acid supply, environmental emmissions and home grown protein sources for winter milk systems. Thanks also to Mr. PJ Fitzgerald, Mr. Peter Swanton and Eoin Keane, 6th year for organising the visit.

Senior Boys Football Team win first game in Corn Uí Mhuirí, October 26th

Well done to our Senior Boys Football Team and their coaches/support staff of Mr. Tony Harrington, Mr. Colman O Driscoll, Mr. James McCarthy , Mr. Chris O Brien and Mr. Elliot Connolly on beating Presentation Secondary School Milltown of Killarney in the first round game of the Corn Ui Mhuiri. The final score was 14 points to 1-9.

Match Report by Murt Murphy, Irish Examiner.

Skibbereen deservedly got their Munster Colleges Corn Ui Mhuiri campaign off to a winning start when they beat Presentation Milltown on a heavy surface at Ballyvourney. However they were made fight all the way by the Kerry side who will regret wasting two great second-half goal chances that might well have cost the West Cork side.

Overall Skibbereen were physically stronger and in centre forward they had their star performer in Niall Daly who troubled the Pres Milltown defence all afternoon and kicked some superb points, while Sean Connolly in the corner was also a thorn in the side of the losers.

Pres Milltown had an outstanding defender in full back Shane Clifford who kept tall full forward Luke Shorten quiet before Shorten moved out the field in the second half and duly did some damage. Gearóid Evans was superb at wingback while the Kerry side dominated midfield thanks to the impressive Liam Evans and Fionann Griffin but lacked penetration up front, the outstanding Dara Hogan was ploughing a lone furrow.

The first quarter saw both sides try to get used to the conditions and they were level at 0-3 apiece after a tit-for-tat spell. Niall Daly converted an early free for Skibbereen but Gearóid Hassett levelled after Mark Murphy was fouled. Skibbereen then took the lead when Sean Connolly converted a mark after Dara Hogan had given Milltown the lead.

While mistakes on both sides saw scoring chances being coughed up Dara Hogan kicked a superb long-range point as Donal O’Callaghan and Hugh O’Donovan forced Pres Milltown turnovers.

Connelly levelled from another mark, before Niall Daly cut through to give Skibbereen a 0-4 to 0-3 lead. Two Dara Hogan frees helped Pres Milltown retake the lead but Skibbereen regained control thanks to the promptings of Daly and Cathal Hegarty and they hit four unanswered points from Shorten, Kevin O’Driscoll and two from Daly to retire 0-8 to 0-5 in front at half time.

Two early second-quarter points from Luke Shorten and Daly saw Skibbereen move five clear and Pres Milltown were under the cosh. But then the turning point of the game came in the 40th minute when Dara Hogan played Fionnan Griffin and he rounded the keeper but found himself seemingly almost too close to goal and somehow put it wide. The miss laid the foundations for Skibbereen to kick on with points from Daly and Connolly but Dara Hogan kept Pres Milltown within range and after another Griffin goal attempt drifted wide, Skibbereen appeared to relax. Hogan dropped a free short in the 61st minute that Darragh Clifford finished to the net, but it was too little too late for the Kerry side.

Scorers for Skibbereen CS: N Daly (0-7, 2fs), S Connolly (0-3, 2marks), L Shorten (0-3, 1m), K O’Driscoll (0-1).

Scorers for Pres Milltown: D Hogan (0-7, 5fs), D Clifford (1-0), T Gosney and G Evans (f) (0-1 each).

SKIBBEREEN CS: S O’Shea (Illen Rovers); D O’Callaghan (Castlehaven) H O’Donovan (Clan Na Gaeil); D O’Hourihane (O’Donovan Rossa), C Hegarty (Tadgh Mac Cárthaigh), F Hurley (O’Donovan Rossa); T Ó Donnabháin (Clonakilty), S O’Connell ( Castlehaven);K O’Driscoll ( O’Donovan Rossa), N Daly (O’Donovan Rossa), B O’Driscoll (O’Donovan Rossa); L McCarthy (Kilamcabea ), L Shorten (Tadgh Mac Cárthaigh), S Connelly (Illen Rovers). Subs: C Coombes (O’Donovan Rossa) for L McCarthy (56), D Cleary (Castlehaven) for K O’Driscoll (59).

PRES MILLTOWN: D Kingston (Beaufort); D O’Connor (Milltown/Castlemaine), S Clifford (Laune Rangers), M O’Callaghan (Keel); D Evans (Listry), D Corcoran (Keel), G Evans (Keel); L Evans (Keel), F Griffin (Keel); T Gosney (Listry), E McCarthy (Annascaul), C O’Brien (Milltown/Castlemaine); D Hogan (Milltown/Castlemaine) , D Clifford (Laune Rangers) , M Murphy (Keel).

Sub: G Quirke (Milltown/Castlemaine) for D O’Connor (45), J Clifford (Listry) for M Murphy (54), M Byrne (Keel) for E McCarthy (58).

Referee: D Hickey (Tipperary)

SCS Students attend Farm to the Future Ideation Day

Pictured below are students who attended the Farm To The Future Ideation Day in Farm Zero C in Shinagh House, Bandon today.

The event was hosted by The Ludgate Hub, AgTechUCD, and Munster Technological University’s AgriTech Ireland Cluster.

Lego Club Halloween Challenge, Oct 25th

Well done to those students who entered the Lego Builders Design Challenge sponsored by our School Completion Programme. The Challenge for these designers was to quickly create a Halloween themed item from a box containing thousands of random lego pieces. Pictured is Ms. Mandy Twomey and the team of deisgners. First prize went to the Tower of Horrors!

First Year Trip to Scala Retreat Centre

First years had the opportunity to attend Scala Retreat Centre this term. It was an occasion for first years to reflect and continue to build friendships and relationships outside of the normal school setting.

A huge thank you to the Scala team and the supervising teachers Ms. R. O’Brien, Ms. D. Hennigan, Ms. O. O’Sullivan, Ms. G. Callaghan, Mr. S. Mannion and SNAs Ms. A. O’Farrell and Ms. M. McCarthy.

Munster Championship Round win for our Junior Ladies Football Team today, Oct 21st

Well done to our Junior Ladies Football Team and their coaches, Ms. Ella Ryan, Ms. Anna Ward and Mr. Ger Carey on beating Mercy Mounthawk, Tralee in a cracking Munster Championship Round match on the All-Weather pitch in Banteer today. The final score was 4-16 to 3-10. Many thanks to Ms. Kate O Donovan for accompanying the squad.

Wins for our U16 and U19 Girls Basketball, October 20th

Well done to our U16 and U19 Girls Basketball Teams and their coaches Ms. Maria Wilson and Ms. Noirin O Brien on beating Scoil Mhuire Crosshaven at home in the league. Final results were 40 to 14 for the U16’s and 40 to 22 for the U19’s. Well done to all involved.

First Year Maths Challenge

Well done to all first years who took part in the SCS ‘Maths Challenge’ today.

Congratulations to the overall winners: Ellen, Carla, Emma, Aoife & Maria who each won a €10 voucher for the school canteen.

Many thanks to Ms. E. Ryan, Ms. M. Breen, Mr. M. Moore & Mr. D. Murphy for organising & to the 4th year Sports Administration class for all their help in running the event.

Transition Year Trip to Leinster House & National Gallery

As part of our TY Sustainability module, 18 students travelled to Leinster House to develop their understanding of how the Oireachtas works and the link between community activism, Law and Politics.  

Research shows that emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities are responsible for an approximate 1.1° global temperature increase since 1850-1890, and finds that rises are expected to reach, or exceed, 1.5°C by 2040 (IPCC, NASA). The world is currently on course for an estimated 3° rise by the end of the century (UN).  

Within this context, students assessed the Government’s climate actions to date. It was surprising to note that Ireland’s emissions rose instead of falling in 2021 (EPA). In advance of the visit to Leinster House, a working group drafted a number of suggestions in the form of an open letter. The letter was signed by 1,282 students and staff at 5 West Cork schools over a 48-hour period: Skibbereen Community School, Sacred Heart Clonakilty, Mount St. Michael’s Rosscarbery and Schull Community College. The letters and signatures were presented to all three Cork South West TDs – Deputies Michael Collins, Holly Cairns and Christopher O’Sullivan – who were very interested in discussing the issues with the students. 

We were given a tour of Leinster House and observed Leader’s Questions in the Dáil Chamber where we were publically welcomed by Tánaiste Leo Varadkar. We also sat in on a discussion in the Seanad where the proposed Electricity Costs Emergency Measures Bill 2022 was being debated.  The visit was an incredible opportunity to witness democracy in action and the experience sparked plenty of healthy discussion, debate and engagement.  

We picnicked in St Stephen’s Green and finished off our trip with a whistle-stop tour of the National Gallery, where we were able to enjoy works by Caravaggio, Goya, Van Gogh, Monet and Picasso! 

Hard Luck to our U19 Boys Soccer team in the Munster Cup, October 13th

Hard luck to our U19 Boys Soccer Team and their coach Mr. Conor Uhl on losing by 3 goals to 2 in the Munster Schools Cup against Ballincollig Community School on Thursday, Oct 14th. They played extremely well on the day and were very unlucky. Many thanks to Mr. Uhl and to Mr. O Shea for accompanying the lads.

Junior and Senior Ladies Rugby Teams in Munster Blitz, October 11th

Well done to our Junior and Senior Ladies Rugby teams and their coaches Ms. Aoife Breen and Ms. Anna Ward on representing us so well in Munster Rugby’s Schools Blitz held in Cork on October 11th. The Seniors won 2 and lost 1 game. The Juniors won 4 out of 6 games against school teams from Beara, Bantry, Mallow, Hospital in Limerick, and Youghal.

TY Students Attend Annual Cork Mental Health Seminar

Transition Year students attended ‘The Annual Cork Mental Health Seminar’ in The Clayton Hotel today.

Students heard the real life stories and struggles of international footballer Claire Shine, Cork comedian Tadgh Hickey and Cork based Youth Officer Liam Doocey.

A big thank you to the organisers, bus drivers and the supervising teachers and staff who gave up their time to bring the students to today’s event: Ms. Rosie O’Brien, Ms. Deirdre Hennigan, Mr. Stephen Mannion, Ms. Shirley Wycherley and Mr. Chris O’Brien.

Ukraine Food Appeal

West Cork Appeal is a Bandon based voluntary organisation that was set up in response to the war in Ukraine. They are based in the old library in Bandon Shopping Centre and fundraise and organise shipments of aid to Ukraine.

They have sent shipments of aid directly from West Cork to Ukraine and this Christmas they intend to organise a shipment of food and other aid from West Cork to Ukraine and are seeking donations from the local community in order to do so.

All of this week, October 10th- 14th SCS will be collecting non-perishable food items such as pasta, rice, canned food and medical and hygiene supplies such as toothpaste, plasters, and bandages to donate to the West Cork Appeal.

There will be a donations box outside the Chaplain's office all week and all donations are welcome. Any small donation will collectively make a massive difference. Thank You!

5th & 6th Year Agricultural Science Classes attend Darrara's Open Day

5th & 6th Year Agricultural Science Students attended Darrara’s open day today.

Many thanks to Mr. Shanahan and Ms. O’Brien for accompanying them.

U16 and U19 Girls Basketball, Oct 5th.

Hard luck to our U16 Girls Basketball Team on losing to Coláiste Choilm, Ballincollig on a scoreline of 46 points to 30. Well done to the Senior team who beat them by by 49 points to 32. Well played to all involved and many thanks to the coaches, Ms. Maria Wilson and Ms. Noirin O Brien.

6th Year Biology Trip to Fota Wildlife Park

Pictured below are 6th year Biology students taking part in a leaving cert Ecology field trip to Fota Wildlife Park on Thursday Sept 29th.

Many thanks to Ms. Gretta Burchill, Ms. Emer Quirke and Mr. Liam Shanahan, Biology teachers & to Ms. Máire Cullinane, SNA for accompanying the students.

Apprenticeship Roadshow in West Cork

This is an event that should not be missed for anyone considering an Apprenticeship.

Cork Training Centre are bringing the apprenticeship roadshow to West Cork.

The Roadshow will be held in Coláiste Pobail Bheanntraí on Thursday 13th October from 7pm - 9.30pm. Apprentice Presentations will begin at 7.30pm.

There will also be employers from the West Cork area present on the night along with representatives from the New apprenticeships.


TY Trip to Cobh & Spike Island

TY students visited Cobh and Spike Island yesterday as part of the TY OP programme.

They had a walk around Cobh where a Cruise Liner had just docked.

They also had a guided tour of Spike Island.

Many thanks to Mr. Cormac Levis, Ms. Evelyn Collins and Ms. Mary Crowley Harte for accompanying them.