As we break for the Easter holidays today, Dr. Jordan and the teachers at the Prep School have a very special message for the students and their families. A very big thank you to Amanda Banim from the Parents’ Council for putting this fabulous video together. Remember to stay home and stay safe over the Easter holidays and we hope to see you all again very soon.

A very big thank you to all families who have engaged with and embraced our new learning environment whilst the Prep School remains closed due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The teachers have been working hard to provide suitable lessons, resources and activities for their classes via our new virtual learning platform, Google Classroom, and wish to thank students and parents for their feedback and support throughout. We have compiled a list of “Useful Resources” for parents which can be found below and on our Information for Parents page. We encourage all families to take a well deserved break over the Easter Holidays so that the boys return to school refreshed and ready to tackle the final weeks of school (in whatever form that takes). Wishing you all a safe, healthy and peaceful Easter.

Resources for Parents COVID 19 CLOSURE

A Cork comic book artist has come up with a great way to get kids to be creative and keep them entertained while schools are shut for the next two weeks.

Will Sliney, who has worked for Marvel Comics for the last six years, has asked the kids of Ireland to take on an art challenge every day, set by him.

Will threw the idea out online last night and got a massive response so he has now decided to set a new challenge every 24 hours for kids.

In a tweet he said “Lots of kids are stuck at home in Ireland now. I have an idea. I’m going to set an art challenge each day and I’d love to see the drawings that people do. I’ll share them all at the end of each day.”

Using the hashtag #wewilldraw hundreds of kids have already sent the Ballycotton native their works of art.

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Will will be compiling the artwork at the end of each day and sharing them across his social media platforms so make sure to take a look if you sent him your child’s masterpiece!

See original story here:

https://www.corkbeo.ie/culture/family-kids/cork-comic-book-artist-sliney-17920826

CBC Prep School will remain closed until Monday 30 March 2020 as per national guidelines. Class teachers will contact parents by email to outline work set for the coming days. We advise that the normal routine of school hours be preserved while at home as far as practicable and teachers will be available by email at these times.

This week’s Harry Potter club students tested their wand skills by learning and performing some charms. The lesson was centred around The Power of Magnets and the boys had lots of fun using their magnetic wands. They lifted feathers, bewitched magical snowballs, summoned flowers and controlled snakes before receiving a wand permit and designing a spell of their own!

Senior Infants have been working on Procedural Writing this term. Last week the boys wrote about how to make fruit salad. They discussed all the things that they would need and then they worked out what steps they needed to complete in order to to make a delicious fruit salad. When we had written the procedure, the boys tested the instructions in the staff room. They really enjoyed eating their tasty fruit salads!

This year, Engineers Week 2020 took place from 29 February to 6 March. Students in 3rd and 4th Class were lucky to have some engineers from Stryker come to visit their classrooms to talk about the work that they do. The boys then visited the Stryker factory to see it all in action.

Last week our Harry Potter enthusiasts made wands after school. Here they are pictured ready to defend CBC Preparatory from Dark Magic forces!

Congratulations to Ray from 4th Class on winning a Tablet for his “Farm in the Future “ drawing with VistaMilk.

Congratulations to the Class of 2020, who made their Confirmation on Thursday 27th Februray. Guided by their class teacher, Ms. Sharon McAdoo, and music teacher, Ms. Sonya Keogh, the boys prepared diligently for their big day and they were a credit to the school throughout the ceremony, which was celebrated by Bishop Fintan Gavin.

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!

Hogwarts School of Wizarding & Witchcraft at CBC Preparatory School is a BRAND NEW after school educational club for 1 st – 6 th Class students that aims to promote creativity, teamwork and communication skills in a positive and enjoyable club-like atmosphere. Students will have the time and space to exercise their imagination and explore the world of Harry Potter whilst engaging in a range of curricular linked activities, designed to inspire
creativity and foster self-expression such as:

 Escape from Azkaban (Communication, Team-Work, Problem Solving)
 Ollivanders Wand Making Lesson (Visual Arts)
 Professor Flitwick’s Charms Lesson (Science)
 Professor Snape’s Potions Lesson (Science)
 What Would Harry Do? Drama activities based on Harry Potter inspired scenarios (Drama)

The club is led by class teacher, Caroline FitzPatrick, who is passionate about all things Potter related!

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.