Following a magical and spiritual evening of wonderful carols in PCS the previous evening the choir and orchestra serenaded a proposing couple at Dublin Airport during their annual performance at Arrivals. They appeared on RTE news, UTV News and The Irish Independent. 
Thanks to Ms O’Driscoll, Ms McGlynn, Mr Maynes and all of the students and staff who support the choir, orchestra and traditional group which make Christmas a very special time in PCS.
Congratulations to Emily O’Donovan (2G) who became the youngest tennis player in Ireland in her age category (U16) to reach the National Matchplay Finals.
On Friday 2nd October 2015, all of Ms. Moran’s Sixth Year Geography classes went on our Fieldwork Trip. We went to our local beach in Portmarnock to study the different processes that exist in a coastal environment, such as Longshore Drift, Deposition and Erosion.
We had two tasks to complete. The first was a Wave Survey. This involved us finding out the direction of Longshore Drift by watching how an orange moved in the sea and also identifying the type of waves that were present on the day. This would tell us if the waves were depositing or eroding. The second task was a Beach Survey. In this task we identified and measured the different slopes on the beach along with analysing the size and roundness of the various materials on the beach. This would tell us about erosion and deposition.
It was a fun day out on the beach in the sunshine and we got some really good results that we can use to complete our Leaving Certificate Geographical Investigation work. (More images in the Flickr stream).
All of the Library Words of the Day animations can be viewed in the new Library page above. Click Word of the Day 3 to see the latest one.
On 22nd October Students from Portmarnock Community School participated in the Annual Cross Country event in the Phoenix Park. The weather for this year’s event was very pleasant in comparison to previous years. This year we had 46 competitors and we managed to bring home an astonishing 40 medals.
The day commenced with the First Year Girls event in which Heather Marshall ran an outstanding race finishing Third. The First Year Girls won Best Overall Team.
Conor Gleeson had an amazing run in the First Year Boys Competition finishing Second. The First Year Boys team finished fourth overall with only 4 points in the difference from getting medals so keep training and in the next race you will be successful.In the Second Year Boys event Aaron Cullen strode over the finish line comfortably and won the race. The Second Year Boys won Best Overall Team.
The Third Year Boys Team looked very strong with Craig Giles coming in First and Darren Keane following soon after to take Third place. The Third Year Boys won Best Overall Team.
In the Senior Girls Competition we had two amazing performances from Lara McEvoy and Alannah Byrne both of whom finished Second and Third respectively (both of these girls ran against senior girls). The Senior Girls Team finished Third overall.Eoin Keating ran a very impressive Senior Boys race finishing Second. The Senior Boys Team finished 4th overall.
Thanks to Ms Malone and Ms McDonald for their coaching and mentoring.
On Wednesday 14 October 2015 we hosted our Annual Academic Awards attended by proud parents/guardians and teachers and beaming students. Mr Higgins excelled once more with his coveted certificates and Southern cross painting. Ms O’Driscoll’s impressive string quintet played ‘Trumpet Voluntary’ by Jerimiah Clarke and an extract from ‘Canon’ by Pachelbel creating a wonderful atmosphere.
Mr Fitzgerald introduced Mr David Hickey as our guest speaker. He is a former footballer and current selector for Dublin and the current Director of Transplantation. He was awarded two all-stars for Dublin in 1974 and 1976. He won the All Ireland with Dublin on three occasions in 1974, 1976 and again in 1977. David has won two League Medals with Dublin in 1976 and 1978. He is a consultant urologist and transplant surgeon.
Mr Hickey spoke of how we must be true to ourselves and not accept the status quo if we are to make a mark on our world. We must blend compassion with ambition and help the vast majority of the population who are not as privileged as us. His simple and truthful message will echo in the future actions of all who were present.
Mr Hickey presented our awards with the assistance of our Prefects. Deputy Head Boy, Conor Holland and Deputy Head Girl, Fiona Tighe introduced our Students of The Year who are awarded for their overall contributions to school spirit. Caoimhe O’Reilly, Cormac Donnelly, Aliza Alias, Maedbh Donnelly and Aisling Moore were the worthy recipients.
Mr Dempsey then presented the Junior Certificate Awards assisted by Prefect Jack Nicholson. Twenty six students received awards for excelling in the State Exam and Emma Doyle was awarded the Gold Medal.
Mr Clarke presented the Leaving Certificate Awards on behalf of Mr Fitzgerald. The overall Gold Medal Winner was Kate Finnucane who is studying Science in TCD.
Our Principal Ms Deeney then presented Daniel Burke with the Ger Kenny Maths Award. Daniel is studying Actuarial Studies in UCD. The Principal’s Award for contribution to the school community went to Rhiannon Curtis-Davis who is studying Primary Teaching in DCU.
For a full list of award winners click here. Photos to follow.
Every day in the Library the Word of the Day is displayed and explained. Now we present the movie version! Try to use these words and expand your vocabulary. There will be a new post every week and competitions to follow. Thanks to the Library team for all of their hard work.
Hard luck to the team who lost their preliminary round cup game to O’Connell’s. However, the scoreline does not do justice to the efforts of the PCS team who did everything except score.
The lads found themselves 3 nil down after 20 minutes of schoolboy defending. 2 goals were totally avoidable with one resulting from a great save by Steven James. But his defence watched as the opposition forward ran in to tap home the leftovers. As the half wore on PCS created numerous opportunities but the closest they came to a goal was a post that denied Karl Stanley. A great move then resulted in a penalty which was dispatched clinically by Karl Lynch into the bottom lefthand corner of the net. O’Connell’s then scored on the counter attack to make it 4 – 1 at halftime. Troy Hennessy came on in the second half and provided support and added to the creativity of the tireless Kevin Healy in the PCS midfield. Kevin’s range of passing and Troy’s link up play were vital as PCS searched for a way back into the game. PCS pressed for the entire second half with wingers Karl Stanley and Ciaran Gregan enjoying more of the ball. Darren Daly dropped deep to help the PCS cause but the team were unable to capitalise on a string of guilt edged chances. Healy was then unlucky to have a superb free kick saved by the O’Connell’s keeper who got down smartly to his left. The Porto agony was then compounded when O’Connell’s then grabbed a breakaway goal to seal the deal 5 – 1. The team then suffered the loss of the indefatigable Max Slobodkin and keeper Steven James who made several great saves on the day. PCS had lots of football in them but could not cope with the more direct play of the opposition. Making the most of the hard fought opportunities that come their way and tightening up in defence will be necessary in the season ahead.
