Cobh Mixed National School -Bellevue

Now enrolling for September 2025. Speak to us this week to learn about the school with the highest teacher-to-student ratio in Cobh.

We decided to celebrate World Book Day by making pancakes on this day, so we are calling it Pancake Thursday this year. The children in the Senior Room prepared the mixture for the pancakes during their Gaeilge lesson. As it was ‘World Book Day’ we had a special prize for the most improved reader. We all had a great day, and we all went home well fed and well read.

Bishop’s Visit

On Wednesday 5th of June, we were delighted to welcome Rev. Bishop Paul Colton and his wife Susan to our school to celebrate the Bishop’s 25th Anniversary as Bishop.

The children were so excited to meet the Bishop and his wife. Rector Elise Hanley along with all the children delivered a beautiful service with readings and prayers and songs.

After the service the children presented the Bishop with a card they had made which represented all the things the Bishop enjoyed. The children also presented his wife Susan with a beautiful bouquet of flowers and 2 tickets to visit Spike Island. Both the Bishop and Susan have not been to Spike Island yet and were delighted with the tickets.

After the service and presentation, the children had an opportunity to ask the Bishop questions. The Bishop told the children about his time in school as a young boy which interested the children very much. We then had some refreshments and enjoyed talking with the Bishop and his wife Susan. Everyone enjoyed the Bishop’s visit and the beautiful weather on the morning. The Bishop thanked everyone and gave the children no homework for a night which they were delighted with.

The children in the Senior Room made lighthouses with real working lightbulbs and circuits that we made ourselves. We also learned how to make a switch so we could turn our lighthouses on and off.

Dance classes with dance teacher Sinead Sheppard School of Dance have begun in the school and will continue on for 7 weeks. The children are all enjoying the dance classes. The benefits of dance includes improving body balance and posture, developing spatial awareness and rhythm, improving flexibility, and fitness and also promotes neurological fitness.

This month the children and staff and music teacher Matthew Breen made a special visit to the Cobh Community Hospital. The children wore Christmas jumpers and Christmas hats, and they sang Christmas carols accompanied by music from Matthew on the keyboard. The residents were thrilled and enjoyed the performance as they sang and clapped along with the children. There was a lovely Christmas atmosphere, and it was great to spread a little Christmas cheer to the residents of Cobh Hospital.

Heritage Council Visit

Another visit from the Heritage Council. We began the morning with an introduction to spinning and the steps involved in making clothes. The children got to handle actual sheep’s wool and other fabrics that were used for clothing in Ireland long ago.

The second weaving project that we did involved old CD’s and wool, and finally we did a solar dyeing experiment which involved jam jars, food colouring dye and vinegar, which can be used to dye different fabrics.

A huge thank you to The Heritage Council again.

📢 Exciting news for parents! Cobh Mixed National School is now enrolling for 2024! 🎉 With a personalized teaching approach, a close-knit student-led environment, and the highest teacher-to-student ratio in Cobh, we're dedicated to fostering a supportive learning experience. Join us for an enriching educational journey this coming year. Contact us today for a tour of the town-centre school! 🏫📚

🎶MUSIC CLASS 🎵

There was great excitement with the return of the music lessons in our school. Assistant Director of Music Matthew Breen, from St Finbarr’s Cathedral Cork visits our school every Monday morning for half an hour as part of the Church of Ireland Music Scheme. He teaches music theory, singing, choir and music history to all the children in the school from Junior Infants upwards.

WE'RE STILL ENROLLING JUNIORS-6TH FOR SEPT 2023. CALL US FOR AN INFORMAL CHAT OR TOUR.

Isn’t it distracting/a disadvantage for students having different ages to learn different things in the same classroom?
On the contrary, research strongly supports the idea that mixed-age classrooms are better for students(*1).

According to Professor Peter Gray, “‘Children have more to learn from others who are older or younger than themselves than they do from age-mates. In the mixed-age play, children scaffold the behaviour of younger ones, so that the latter play within their zones of proximal development and thereby stretch their abilities to higher levels. Even when they are not playing directly

with older children, younger children in age-mixed environments learn by watching and listening to older ones. Conversely, older children practice nurturance and leadership in interactions with younger ones and learn by teaching, and they are inspired by younger children to engage in activities that build their creativity and capacity for imagination.”

Indeed, Cobh Mixed National School has the double advantage of not only having mixed-aged classrooms but also being a small school. For example, our Reading Buddies program sees senior class students paired with junior students to read stories and books to them. As well as forming multi-age bonds, this instils a sense of pride and nurturance in the older students and reaffirms the joy of reading along with individualised attention in the younger students.

For further information on the benefits of mixed-age classrooms, including the academic, social and inclusive benefits, we recommend this article from the American Centre for Evaluation and Education Policy;https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED504569.pdf