A brand new conversational Irish After School Class has started in the Prep school for boys in the senior classes. Boys will practice their Gaeilge in a relaxed and enjoyable environment, focused on games and fun!

A brand new After School Club has started in the Prep School. The boys will be exploring all things Harry Potter related, whilst engaging in “magical” activities that are linked with the curriculum.

The last day of school before mid term was St. Valentine’s Day. Students from the older classes gave a talk on the history of St. Valentine. We celebrated our February mass with the theme, Love one another. Classes were busy making cards for their loved ones and the teachers received some lovely treats for the staff room!

Students from 4th year in the Secondary school visited the Prep School to mark Safe Internet Day.  The older boys gave a very informative presentation to our students on how to stay safe whilst using the Internet. All students also entered a colouring competition to mark the event and the winners from each class were put forward to a national competition. All students also received Safe Internet Day bands.

Our 6th class boys have been taking part in the Junior Entrepreneur Programme under the guidance of parent, Mrs Denise Tormey. The boys worked in groups to come up with suitable products and then presented their ideas at a Dragon’s Den event in the Prep school. Dragon’s, Paul Lyons from Ecco Ireland, Sergio Las Heras from DAOL Office Supplies and Mrs Rose Healy, Business teacher from the secondary school judged the event. The winning idea will now be developed further by the class and they will sell the final product.

The boys in Ms. Cummins’ 5^th Class have been learning all about the democratic process in class. They worked together to create posters about how the General Election works and made a very interesting presentation to the whole school at morning assembly. This topic also created a fantastic opportunity to look at the history of politics in Ireland. Dr. Jordan and Ms. Cummins took the boys from 3^rd – 6^th Class right back to 1921 as they learned about the Anglo-Irish Treaty in History lessons. The 5^th Class boys then set up their own election in which our senior students were asked to vote for either Pro-Treaty or Anti-Treaty candidates. The boys were all assigned official roles including Returning Officer, Deputy Returning Officer, Poll Clerk, Exit Poll Staff and Count Staff. The boys were incredibly busy as ballot papers were stamped, names crossed off a list of voters, votes cast and exit polls carried out. The election ran very smoothly and we await the final result when the count is complete!

This week we have been celebrating Catholic Schools Week 2020. Our morning assemblies have been centered around the theme of ‘Living in Harmony With God’s Creation’ with teachers and students from 3rd – 6th Class leading reflections relating to the daily themes. Classroom teachers have also been leading mindful moments throughout the day and encouraging the students to discuss and reflect on these daily themes during activities.

Our 4th Class boys have been busy sorting 3D shapes in Maths and investigating rocks in Science lessons.

 The boys in 3rd Class had a fantastic time in computer lessons this month, creating their own computer games on Scratch. They eagerly demonstrated the games to classes around the school. The boys in Senior Infants were really impressed and enjoyed trying the games out for themselves.

See link below for a great list of 100 books all children should read before leaving primary school. Whilst not compiled by CBC teachers, we are in agreement that this is a handy resource for parents to have and encourage all of our students to spend more time reading!

100 Books

The Prep School was delighted to once again welcome the Medical Students from UCC’s Surgeon Noonan Society to our school last Friday as the lunchroom was transformed into a hospital ward for a Teddy Bear’s Hospital Fundraiser.

This event involved the boys and girls from CBC and Scoil Mhuire bringing their “sick” or “injured” teddies or furry toys, along with a donation, to the team of Medical Students who examined the teddy much like a GP or hospital doctor, prescribed some tender loving care with a side of 5-a-day fruit and vegetables, and offered some bandages for good measure! This activity aimed to demystify the healthcare experience for children and remove any stigma/fears they may have about hospitals and doctors, while raising funds for those less fortunate than us in the third world.

The boys in Junior and Senior Infants began their Hurling training with Liz  this month.

Mrs. Lowry treated the Junior Infants to a Breakfast Party this morning. The occasion provided lots of opportunities for oral language development as the boys discussed restaurants, food and breakfast.   The Senior Infants were delighted to be invited to the party too and it was a great way to end the term.

Our 5th Class boys have really been enjoying their trips to the labs for Science classes with Mr. David O’ Connell this term.

The boys were also very lucky to be chosen to take part in a Forensic Science workshop in December which they thoroughly enjoyed.

This month our Senior Infant boys embarked on a Kindness Project whereby they carried out a kind deed every day. As part of this project they wrote Thank You notes to Cork City Ambulance Service, Cork City Fire Brigade and the Gardai, thanking them for all they do to help people and wishing them a Happy Christmas. They were delighted to receive the following responses. Well done boys!

This year’s Christmas concert took place on Wednesday 18th December and featured fabulous performances from the CBC choir as well as our growing troupe of very talented musicians. Directed by our Music Teacher, Ms. Sonya Keogh, a medley of songs from Les Miserables was met with enthusiasm from the audience and you could hear a pin drop when soloist Matthew Keane performed Castle on a Cloud. The Junior Infant Class, led by teacher Mrs. Denise Lowry, recited The Present by Christy Keneally and there was also a surprise performance from the teachers who sang their own version of The Twelve Days of Christmas! The concert always marks the end of the school term and is a wonderful occasion for the school community to come together before breaking up for the holidays.

On Tuesday, our 2nd and 3rd Class boys visited AIB on the South Mall to perform Christmas carols for customers and staff. Accompanied by class teachers and Ms. Sonya Keogh, our Music Teacher, the boys performed beautifully and created a wonderful ambience throughout one of Cork’s  landmark buildings.

Staff and students at the Prep School were delighted to welcome back our friends from CBS Sexton Street , another ERST school, for a day packed full of activities last Wednesday. Once again students from 5th and 6th Class hosted the visiting school. The boys were split into smaller groups as they attended GAA training, card making and computer coding sessions throughout the morning. Mr. David O’ Connell put on his very enjoyable Science Show before staff and students from both schools descended on the secondary school canteen for lunch. A big thank you to students throughout the school who donated Selection Boxes for the 6th Class boys to bring back to the rest of their school as well as our 5th and 6th Class boys who also donated a book each to the boys who travelled to Cork for this special occasion.  It was fantastic to see connections being made throughout the day and the smiles on the faces of hosts and visitors alike at the end of the day spoke volumes.

Our Senior Infants were very excited to use their brand new Tricky Word Hunters to help them find tricky words in their class reader this morning. The boys had great fun searching for the words and practicing writing them on their word sheets.

We had some very special visitors to the Prep School last week when Mrs. Blaithín McDonnell from the Parents’ Council arranged a visit from Sarah and her new assistance dog from Dogs for the Disabled. They were accompanied by some of the other dogs from the charity as well as Irish International rugby player, Peter O’ Mahony, who fielded questions from the boys on topics relating to rugby and all things canine! It was a very enjoyable occasion and the students enjoyed learning about how the Assistance Dogs help people with physical disabilities.

The Preparatory School Parents’ Council organised a very successful International Day in November, highlighting the many different nationalities that are represented in our school. The day was very enjoyable for the boys and their teachers. A very big thank you to all the parents for their tremendous work putting it all together.

Many thanks to all families who were so generous in donating food for 2019 Food Appeal. All food will be donated to Cork Penny Dinners this year.

https://www.echolive.ie/corknews/Inspirational-schoolboys-raise-1000-for-Cork-Penny-Dinners-c42fec10-31c8-4645-bef5-63b985be69db-ds

CBC 3-03 v 1-01 Gael Scoil Uí Choráin