TY Students Attend Inspiring Careers Talk at Ludgate Hub for International Women’s Day

To mark International Women’s Day, students attended an inspiring careers talk at the Ludgate Hub, where a panel of accomplished women shared their personal career journeys and experiences across a range of industries.

The speakers provided valuable insight into what it truly takes to build a successful and fulfilling career. Key themes included resilience, adaptability, teamwork and hard work, with honest reflections on overcoming setbacks and embracing opportunities for growth. One quote that particularly resonated with students was:

“Hard‑working people are luckier.”

The session encouraged students to reflect on their own strengths and ambitions, while highlighting the importance of perseverance, collaboration and continuous learning. It was an engaging and motivating event that showcased strong female role models and left students with practical advice they can carry forward into their future careers.

Cork ETBI Apprenticeship Expo

Cork ETBI APPRENTICESHIP EXPO will be held on Wednesday 11th March from 1.30pm to 6.30pm in Cork College of FET- Bishopstown Campus (T12 EE94).

This is a great opportunity to learn about 75 + apprenticeship options available. 

Meet their team of dedicated instructors and tour their workshops.

Link with and chat to current apprentices or attend a talk from a Senior Training Advisor. 

This is an event not to be missed for those who want to know more about Apprenticeships.

The Grounded Minds Programme

The Grounded Minds Programme is coming to our community. Please link in with our local family resource centre for more information on this great programme.

5th & 6th Year Agricultural Science Students Visit Clonakilty Agricultural College

Our 5th and 6th Year Agricultural Science students enjoyed a fantastic and informative trip today to Clonakilty Agricultural College as part of the Agri Aware Farm Walk & Talk series.

The Agri Aware Farm Walk & Talk series is designed for second-level students preparing for their Leaving Certificate Agricultural Science exam. During the visit, students had the opportunity to explore many aspects of farming through expert-led discussions and demonstrations. Topics covered included crop management, farm health and safety, soils and fertilisers, silage production, breeding and livestock management. The event allowed students to see first-hand the techniques and practices they learn about in the classroom and how they are applied on a working farm.

Agriculture is a hands-on industry, and events like Agri Aware’s Farm Walk & Talk provide students with a real insight into the practicalities of farming and the hard work farmers undertake every day. Initiatives like this are extremely valuable as they allow students to apply their classroom knowledge in a real-world setting while also highlighting the exciting career opportunities available within the agricultural sector. The experience is particularly beneficial for students who may not come from a farming background.

It was also wonderful to meet some past students who are now studying Agricultural Science in MTU. It was great to see how well they are doing and how much they are enjoying their course.

A huge thank you to Mr. Shanahan for organising such a worthwhile and enjoyable trip for our students. 

Poet David McLoghlin Visits SCS

Ms. Lordan's Transition Year and Fifth Year English students participated in a Poetry Workshop under the instruction of the prize-winning poet, David McLoghlin. 

David is the author of three books of poetry and has contributed to many literary journals. 

Students learned new tips on how to improve their writing and created their own poems with David's guidance. 

David works through the Writers In Schools programme, which is provided by Poetry Ireland.

Twitter: @poetryireland
Facebook: @poetryireland.eigseeireann
Instagram: @poetryireland

TY Mini-Company

Well done to JFW Golf, Cáca Milis and suck.sure who represented Skibbereen Community School yesterday in the Celtic Ross Hotel at the regional finals of the Student Enterprise programme. 

Best of Ireland School Musical Awards

Very Exciting News!
Last year’s Musical Group “Grease” have been nominated for multiple awards at this year’s ‘Best of Ireland School Musical Awards’.

This is an All Ireland competition and so it is a great honour to be nominated in so many categories.

The awards take place next Tuesday 3rd March in Dublin. The very best of luck to all our nominees.

Boys U15 & U17 Rugby

The boys U15 and U17 rugby teams travelled to Clonakilty RFC today for a ‘Munster Emerging Schools Blitz’ day.

The two U15 teams played games against Bantry, Carrigtwohill and Midleton and played very well despite very wet conditions.

As SCS and Carrigtwohill were the only U17 teams that travelled, we played a full pitch 13 a side game. Two of our boys kindly offered to play with the competition but Skibbereen proved much too strong for Carrigtwohill and came out on top today.

Both U15 teams and the U17 team have now qualified for the Finals days in March, and will do SCS proud.

Mercy Hospital Cancer Talk, Feb 25th

Many thanks to Mr. Paul Ahern, Clinical Nurse Specialist in Urology and Ms. Lousie O Brien, Community Fundraising Director from the Mercy Hospital who gave an Information Talk on Testicular Cancer to all 5th and 6th Year Male students today. Many thanks also to Mr. Conor Uhl, Ty Coordinator for organising.

U.C.D and Trinity College Scholarships

The School Community wish to acknowledge and congratulate Ms. Meabh Collins, Leaving Cert 2025 on receiving an undergraduate Scholarship from Trinity College Dublin and to Ms. Miriam Dahm, Leaving Cert 2025 on receiving an Undergraduate Scholarship from University College Dublin. They are both pictured with a very proud Principal, Mr. Anton O Mahony.

Munster Schools' Cross Country

The Munster Schools' Cross Country Finals  took place in Riverstick on Thursday.

Despite all the rain in the last few weeks,the ground conditions were remarkably good,so the races were fast and furious.

Caoimhe Flannery paced herself superbly throughout  the 3,000m course  and finished very strongly  to finish 2nd  out of the 44 qualifiers, from all over Munster.

With the first 15 individuals  and  3 teams qualifying for the All Ireland  Schools' Cross Country, Caoimhe will now  proceed to the finals in Belfast on March 7th.

Well done Caoimhe!

LRC trip to Skibbereen Heritage Centre

The LRC students enjoyed a trip to our local Heritage Centre on Friday 13th February.

They heard stories about the famine that reinforced what they had already learnt in their course 'Around the World in 80 days'.

Thanks to the staff in the Skibbereen Heritage Centre .

Italian Tour Day 3 & 4 – Pompeii and Amalfi

It turned out that the weather gods were not on our side on this trip (the curse of the Home Economics tour strikes again…!)   We woke to a yellow rainfall and storm warning for our trip to the Amalfi Coast – not ideal but “we’re not sugar cubes” as they say so off we went.  

Even in the rain & fog the Amalfi Coast has a mystical beauty as our bus driver expertly snaked around the coastal cliff road, definitely not for the fainthearted (we were in good hands).  A quick stop in Positano to admire this pretty vertical village, has to be see to be believed.  A little further along the coast, we stopped off in Amalfi to explore the quaint cobbled streets.  The Church of Saint Andrea was an imposing presence in the square and as is customary when visiting a new Church, we claimed our three wishes and lit a candle for the remainder of our trip.

Due to the inclement weather our visit to Amalfi was cut short in favour of a longer visit to one of Europe’s largest shopping centres, a cross our students bore bravely.  After drying out here and some lunch, our next stop was Pompeii where the majestic Vesuvius was hidden under cloud and the rain continued to pour.   But every cloud……… who knew rain ponchos would be the discovery of the trip – soon to be making an appearance in SCS – you heard it here first!

Pompeii did not disappoint.  We were guided through the villages giving us a fascinating glimpse into life over two thousand years ago.  A recently opened aerial exhibition gave us a unique perspective of the layout of the houses below.  We really just scratched the surface of what is here to discover.  Our guide told us there is at least another one hundred years of excavation still to complete.  Definitely on our list of places to return to.

Back to our hotel then for a quick change (we ditched the ponchos), before arriving at the cookery school for our pizza making class.  Mama Lucia demonstrated the technique for making the dough.  Students then made their own, chose their toppings before baking in a spectacular wood fired oven. The evening was made more special by the arrival of a group of traditional Sorrento dancers and musicians – everyone got involved, such fun!

The singsong continued on the bus back to the hotel where we all reluctantly packed our bags for our early morning journey to Rome.   And yes you guessed it …..day four greeted us with yet more rain…….. slightly soggy, a few more bits of shopping and  a few more slices of pizza,  we arrived safely at the airport after an amazing few days.

Despite the inclement weather our SCS students radiated sunshine and were a credit to themselves, their families and our school.  They were complemented on their behaviour wherever we went.  As you can imagine the tour took an incredible amount of work to organise and this would not have been possible without the hard work and support of the following:

·      Our principal Anton O’ Mahony, 4th yr Deputy, Tom Foley and all SCS Management.

·      Our TY Co – Ordinator, Conor Uhl & Year Head Gretta Burchill

·      The Parents of our TY Students

·      Our tour Co-Ordinator Lyndsey O Loughlin  from Saffron Travel

·      Matteo our tour leader in Italy

·      Damien Long Coach Travel

·      Our Home Ec Department and accompanying teachers Sarah McCarthy, Laura Corkery and Emer Quirke

·      Our amazing TY students who made this trip by being such fantastic ambassadors for themselves, their families and SCS.

Arrivederci!!

LCA Horticulture

LCA horticulture group were once again graced with the presence from local horticulture educator Michael Burke.

Today students were afforded the opportunity to learn about Camellia flowers, carry out vegetative propagation of potatoes and potted their own strawberry plants. 

Again sincere thank you to Michael for giving of his time and advice. 

Transition Year Students Attend RSA Safety Event

Skibbereen Community School was delighted to host a powerful Road Safety Authority (RSA) event for our Transition Year students, along with our neighbouring school Mount St. Michael, Rosscarbery, who joined us for the day.
The programme began with an informative and engaging presentation by Caroline Casey of Cork County Council, who spoke about the far‑reaching impact of road accidents on individuals, families, and the wider community. Her message encouraged students to reflect on their responsibilities as future road users.
Students also met representatives from An Garda Síochána, the National Ambulance Service, and the Fire Service. Each service shared invaluable insights and real-life experiences from responding to road incidents, helping students understand the seriousness of road safety from a frontline perspective.
One of the standout elements of the day was a live crash‑scene demonstration. Three TY students volunteered to act as crash victims while the Fire Service team demonstrated how they respond to a serious collision. In an impressive display of skill and teamwork, firefighters cut the roof off a car to safely access the students, showing the precision and urgency required during real emergency extractions.
This impactful event reinforced the crucial message that safe driving choices save lives.

We extend our sincere thanks to Caroline Casey and to the members of the Gardaí, Ambulance Service, and Fire Service for their time and expertise, as well as to Mount St. Michael for joining us in what proved to be a memorable and important learning experience for all involved.

Italian Tour - Day 2 Sorrento Foodie Tour & Cookery School

Unfortunately we brought the rain with us to Sorrento but we decided the Italian rain would not dampen our spirits as we headed off on our tour of some of the very many artisan producers in this part of Italy.

Beginning with a farm visit that could not have been more different from our farms in West Cork - literally carved into the hillside, every last inch of this fertile coastal soil is made into terraced land. Here we were treated to a mozzarella and ricotta demonstration and tasting. This farm had a total of seven cows which produced the milk for the "fior di late" particular to this area. It was fascinating to see the orange, lemon and olive groves and how every inch of ground is used.

Then it was on to our Gelato Demonstration where there was plenty opportunity for our students to get stuck in making a deliciously refreshing lemon gelato.

Some free time for our students then to explore the cobbled streets and take in the breathtaking views of Sorrento Bay.

After lunch it was back on the bus to visit a modern Olive Oil Factory and Co-Operative - more tastings of every conceivable flavour of olive oil.

Next stop on this epic food tour was to a Honey & Marmalade Factory both of which Sorrento is famous for - the honey has a very particular flavour due to the orange and lemon nectar available to the bees, and the Sorrento oranges, harvested twice yearly make the most delicious Marmalade.

Last stop was to one of Italy 's oldest woodfired coffee roasters.  We heard the fascinating history of the Maresca Family and how their business is still thriving today. We each got an espresso- a much-needed caffeine hit at that hour of the day.

Back to the hotel then for a quick freshen up and then we were off to Mama Lucia's Cookery School where our students quite literally had to make their own dinner!

Word is that gnocchi is making an appearance on dinner menus in Skibb v soon.....watch this space! Such a fun end to our second day.