Dear Parents,
Christmas Exams 2022
Please click on the following links to view Christmas Exam Timetables below for 1st, 2nd and 5th year. The 5th Year LCA exam schedule will also be shared once it is finalized.
1st Year Christmas Exam Timetable
2nd Year Christmas Exam Timetable
5th Year Christmas Exam Timetable
Please click on the following link to view a Revision Guide for 1st Years which was distributed to all 1st Year students at tutorial this morning.
1st Year Revision Guide Christmas 2022
TY Tour To Amsterdam
The destination for our annual TY trip is Amsterdam. In previous years all have enjoyed and benefited from this trip and many students mention it as the highlight of their time in TY.
This year, due to huge demand for places, we have 2 school tours taking place on the following dates:
- Tour 1 April 18 – 21 2023
- Tour 2 April 25 – 28 2023
As always we are dependent on our members of staff to accompany students on these trips.
4Ukrain(Ire)
4Ukrain(Ire) is a Cork based voluntary organisation, established by former Senator John Gilroy, to respond to the deteriorating conditions in Ukraine as the Winter approaches. They have recently returned from Ukraine where they held a series of meetings with the directors of several mental health facilities in the Kyiv region. Temperatures will fall to minus 20 degrees and electricity supply is uncertain. Patients are at real risk from the cold. 4Ukrain(Ire) have agreed to supply these hospitals with blankets, duvets, other bedding as well as winter coats. GCC has agreed to participate in the appeal by asking students to donate unused items. We will update staff, students and parents once we have further details.
Cork ETB Brass Band
Before Covid the Cork ETB Brass band used to visit GCC on an annual basis at this time of year and play for our Music students in the school. We are delighted to welcome the band back to the school next Tuesday morning 22 November from 10am to 11am. The band will play in the B-Block Social Area.
UCC Science Competition
Appetite for Knowledge was a Science communications Competition for Senior Cycle Students which occurred in the Aula Maxima in UCC on Thursday 10 November.
Kayla Harris, Sarah Hayes and Katie Daly presented a project entitled Food waste, focusing particularly on food waste in GCC.
Fionn Barry, Rian O Leary, Toby Tagney and Adam Hayes presented a project about Sustainable Pest control in Agriculture.
These students did themselves, their families and our school very proud on this day, well done!
Hurling Win
Well done to our 1st year hurlers on a fantastic win last Thursday in Banteer. They defeated Blarney in the semi-final and Charleville in the final of the competition. The lads put in great performances in both games and came away with the cup. Well done to both students and coaches.
Well Being Wednesday – 1st Year Breakfast
All 1st years enjoyed a healthy breakfast of orange juice and cereal bar on Wednesday 16 November in the B Block social area. Thanks to our Meitheal Team for organising.
Roman History Day: 1st year Rang Brian by Ali Whitty
Hi, my name is Ali! 2 weeks ago, Rang Brian were learning about Ancient Rome. We were learning about rich and poor Romans, lifestyle houses, clothes, food and hobbies. Poor people were called plebeians and rich people were called patricians. Plebeians wore “tunics” while Patricians wore “togas”. Patricians had big houses with a lot of rooms in them while plebeians have very small houses, and some had none. For their meals they had a lot of fruits but also has spices and chicken and plebeians had whatever was left over from the patricians’ meals. Plebeians didn’t really have any hobbies, but patricians went to Gladiator games and Chariot racing. I dressed up as a patrician, so I wore a necklace, bracelet and a headpiece, while other dressed up as plebeians so they wore long T-shirts and no shoes! To summarize if you were a born a plebeian in Ancient Rome there was no opportunity for you to better yourself. There were only two classes in society.
I hope you learned a bit more about Ancient Rome!
Information on RACE Applications
My Brain & Me – Senior Cycle Workshops
My Brain & Me workshops for Senior Cycle students started this week and will continue until the end of the month. Students are learning to use effective, evidence-based learning techniques such as retrieval practice and spaced practice. The aim of these workshops is to equip senior cycle students with some strategies for approaching their Christmas and Pre-exams. We would like to thank the teachers on our MBAM team for their continued work in assisting our students, in particular, as we approach the Christmas Assessments. Please click on the link below to view the schedule.
Signing Students Out of School
A reminder to parents to please complete the short survey (link below) on your experience of the signing-out system in the school.
https://forms.gle/JmFJeg5Sz4gkJ7Tw6
1st Year Admissions – September 2023
Letters of offer and letters of refusal have now been issued to all applicants for 1st Year September 2023. Applicants must accept the offer on or before next Wednesday 23 November 2022. We will again make every effort this year to accommodate as many students as possible, while observing the procedures outlined in our admissions policy. This ensures that the process is fair and transparent to all applicants.
Calendar Events
| Date | Event | Time |
| Wednesday 23 November | PPT Meeting for 6th Years | 4.00pm. – 6.45pm |
| Tuesday 29 November | Staff Meeting | 4.00pm. – 5.50pm |
| Thursday 1 December | Lord Mayor’s visit | 11am – 12pm |
| Monday 5 December | Incoming 1st Years Subject Choice Seminar | 7.30pm |
| Tuesday 6 December | JCT Cluster Day – School closed to students | 8.50pm – 3.50pm |
| Wednesday 7 December | PPT Meeting for 5th Years | 4.00pm. – 6.45pm |
