Iveragh Day
Feedback
In order to continuously improve and make this day the best it can possibly be we need students’ feedback.
1st Yrs Click here.
2nd Yrs Click here.
3rd Yrs Click here.
Tys Click here.
5th Yrs Click here.
6th Yrs Click here.
Re: Iveragh Day
Dear Parent/Guardian
We hope to have our sixth Iveragh Day on Sept 16. It is a full school day and we expect everyone to attend.
As outlined in our mission statement we want our students to experience the history, archaeology and sheer beauty of where they live while they are with us at Coláiste na Sceilge.
This outing is also part of the Active School Flag project which we started last year and aims to make our school a healthier and happier place.
List of locations:
1st Years Top of the Rock viewing Platform, Cahergal Fort, White Strand
2nd Years Derrynane House, Abbey Island and Derrynane beach
3rd. Years Ballinskelligs and Bolus Head
Transition Years Cnoc na dTobar
5th Years Water Sports Caherdaniel
6th Years Team building with Eclipse in Kenmare
The outing will give teachers and students the opportunity to see each other outside of class and so get to know each other better. There will be lots of teambuilding opportunities for students and of course the outing will provide plenty of material for essays and project work so lots of homework material too.
By the time our students have completed their schooling with us we hope they will know Iveragh better, appreciate and enjoy their environment and have some great memories too.
Each year group will be accompanied by their Year Head and class teachers as well as someone who has been trained in first aid. There will be approximately one adult for every 10-12 students and we will have two cars at each of the locations should there be any accidents.
As students will be bussed to and from most of the locations the cost for each of the students will be €10 to be paid to their class teachers by Friday,18 Sept.
We are keen that all students take part so if the cost is preventing this happening students should inform their Year Head and we will see what we can do.
There is information on equipment and so on in the consent form you received.Consent forms should be returned by Friday ,18 Sept.
They have a saying in Ballinskelligs: Is fearrr seachtain sa Phríoreacht na bliain ar scoil, that a week in the Parish of Prior (Portmagee,The Glen and Ballinskelligs) is better than a year in school. We are looking forward to finding out and hoping for sunshine.
Yours faithfully,
John O’Connor, Gillian Fitzgerald,
Principal. Active School Flag Co-ordiantor.
What the students say……..
Iveragh Day
Jack Curran 1D
Our day started out as usual going to school on the bus. When we arrived at the school we went to our first class where the teachers did the roll call. From there it was straight onto the bus. I was really looking forward to it as it was my first outing with Colaiste and also the fact that I had never been over the water previously.
We were fortunate enough that the day was beautiful and there wasn’t one cloud to be seen in the sky.
When the bus dropped us off we were a ten minute walk away from the first ring fort which was called Cahergal. The ring fort was a circular shape made with stone neatly placed on top of each other. I have learned from History that there is a growing interest amongst visitors to our country in historical sites like this.
We were then split into groups for games and activities. We walked to a second fort where we had lunch. It was here that Ms Golden our year head told us half a story about this man who didn’t believe in fairies and unfortunately we had to come up with the ending ourselves as part of our homework.
We went from there to a golden sandy beach. It was here the groups competed against each other in a variety of games. The games were great fun and the competition between the groups was intense as the ultimate prize for the winning group was ice cream. It was an extra special day for me as I won the penalty shootout which resulted in the group winning the overall prize.
We returned back to school at ten to four just in time for the bus home. The day was a good mix of games, history and sight-seeing and I look forward to our next school outing.
The End
Iveragh Day
On the 20th of September at nine o’ clock, after registration everyone gathered in the mall and waited for their principal, Mr. O’ Connor to make announcements on where each year was to meet. After that, everyone scurried around, collected their bags and joined their year.
I, Aisling Wharton was one of the students from 1st year and could not wait for the day of fun and laughter to begin!!
When everyone was seated on the bus, we headed off. Our first stop was Cahergull Fort. Cahergull Fort was built around 600AD. The walls surrounding it are four metres high and five metres thick. When everyone was inside the fort, we split up into our groups (1a, 1b and 1d) and played games such as Tag and Unscramble The Hands!
Next, we headed off to Lecanabuile Stone Fort. Lecanabuile means, ’Hillside Of Summer Patorage’. This fort was built in 800 – 900 AD. The walls are three metres thick. I really enjoyed this fort and its spectacular views were breath-taking!
Soon after that, we descended on Coos Craune Beach, where we played team games to gain points for the competition. The prize was worth fighting for as it included getting the first bus home and a delicious ‘99’ from ‘Banks Sweet Shop’!
We were happy campers leaving Coos Craune Beach as we had collected an amazing quota of one hundred and ten points!
Our final destination was the White Strand where we had exhilarating fun. We had relays, sprints and penalties. Ms. McGill, Mr. Keating and Ms. Fitzgerald were as good as Stephen Cluxton, making it impossible for us to score. Everyone had a most enjoyable day and are very grateful to the teachers for their hard work and dedication. We were thrilled to be going home on the first bus and picking up those lovely ‘99s’ on route to Colaiste Na Sceilge.
I was sad when this great day came to an end. However I’m giddy with excitement at the prospect of repeating this day of exhilarating fun again in the years to come.
Iveragh Day is one great adventure not to be missed by any student in Colaiste Na Sceilge!
By: Aisling Wharton
Iveragh Day Diary
Mikayla Corcoran 1B
On Thursday night I was very excited getting my clothes and other things ready for the next day. We were going to be learning about our locality so we were going over the water for our adventure.
I went to bed early Thursday night as I needed sleep as we would be walking a lot the next day.
When I woke up at 7:30 I got up, had breakfast, got dressed, made my healthy lunch and waited for the bus. The bus came I got on and off into school I went.
When the bell rang I went to my first class which was Home Ec. with Ms Collison for roll call.
Then we had to wait at the stage for Mr O’Connor to tell us when we could go. Soon after we were given the go ahead to go to the main doors where we then met Ms Golden and she took another roll call to make sure we were all there. When that was done we went up to the bus took our seats and Ms Mcgilll counted us to make sure we had all got on the bus. So off we went all the first years along with Ms Mcgill, Ms Golden, Ms Collison, Mr Keating and Ms Mccarthy.
When we arrived over the water we got off the bus and took a view at Bally Carbery castle, we couldn’t go down to it as it was too dangerous as there are loose stones as it was built in the fifteenth century. Then we picked up a bit of rubbish as Mr O’ Connor said we should leave the place tidier than it was when we landed. Soon after we started walking to a ringfort nearby , I was enjoying myself at this stage as it was nice to get to know what is in our locality. We got to the ringfort, had a look around, we took a drink and Ms Golden got us all together and took a few pictures and we played a game that didn’t really work out for our group 1B but still it was a bit of craic.
Personally I enjoyed it anyway.
We carried on, we came out of the ringfort and started walking to another ringfort a short walk away. By this stage our legs were starting to ache a bit but that was no harm. We landed at the next ringfort and admired the views. It was certainly spectacular, I never knew the views from up here were that good. Anyway when we went into the ringfort we sat on the wall and ate our small break as we felt famished. Ms Collison took a view of our lunch to see how many items we had from the food pyramid that we were learning about in Home Ec. in school. We took a few minutes to relax and had a chat with our friends until Ms Golden said “it’s time to go” so we packed up all our belongings and off we went in an orderly manner!
Our next stop was at Cooms Crom, where Ms Fitzgerald met us and set up a few games for us. First there was a crawling race, then a wheelbarrow race and finally a three legged race for every race. If our group came first we would get 50 points, if we came second 25 points and third 10 points . We had a drink and off we went. It took about 30-35 minutes to walk to get to the white strand, so our legs were very sore . While walking Nikki, Tara and I were having a conversation so we didn’t really feel the walk and the time going by. We took a break half way and had had a drink of water as we were parched with the thirst! We carried on walking to the white strand we eventually got there and we badly needed to use the toilets but they were locked unfortunately so we had to hold it in, that was a bit of a struggle. We walked down to the beach and sat on the walls and ate our lunch as we were starved from all the walking. After eating, we took a few minutes of a break, and then it was time to get back in action with more games and we were told these are the more competitive games. First off we had sprints, first for girls and then for the boys. Then we had a few relays and then the long jump and penalties and a few more games. At the end the teachers counted up all the teams’ points and the group with the most points get the first bus home and also stopped in Banks for ice cream and that was group 1D, the Aonad. It didn’t bother me, I just wanted the first bus home as I was tired and cold.
When the bus came for us we got on and Ms Golden told Nikki and I that she was giving us merits as she was happy with us for taking notes about the ringforts and the castle. I was very happy and proud on the way back to school. When I got on my school bus and went home I curled up on the couch for the evening, having had a really exhausting but inspiring day. I’m looking forward to Iveragh Day next year.
The End.
By Mikayla Corcoran 1B
