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What is an Active School?

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The Active School Flag (ASF) is awarded to schools that strive to achieve a physically educated and physically active school community.
Section 1: Physical Education
The main aim of Physical education in St Michaels College is to develop the all-round personality of an individual which includes physical, mental, social, emotional, and moral aspects. 
  • To promote Physical Education as a meaningful learning experience.
  • To encourage the individual to strive and work towards their own targets in all aspects of Physical Education.
  • To encourage individual pupils to participate in a range of physical activities or sport and to encourage a greater awareness of the body and its abilities, limitations and mechanisms.
  • To encourage a healthy atmosphere within the Department.
  • To encourage enjoyment and self-participation and allow pupils/students to participate at their own level and pace
  • To promote ideals of sportsmanship and sport for sports sake.
  • To encourage a long lasting participation in physical activity in one or more of its many models.
  • To ensure that each and every individual has the opportunity to develop their skills to the full.
To provide and develop information and experiences relevant to the career provision available in physical education, recreation and leisure industries.
Well Being and Physical Education
Wellbeing in junior cycle is about young people feeling confident, happy, healthy and connected.  PE contributes to the Wellbeing programme by providing learning experiences which support students in being better able and more motivated to include regular physical activity in their lives, thereby contributing to their overall experience of wellbeing. 
Physical education fosters the balanced and harmonious development and general wellbeing of the child through a diverse range of experiences providing regular, challenging physical activity. Physical education provides all students with enjoyable and worthwhile learning opportunities where they develop their confidence and competence to participate and perform in a range of physical activities. Students in junior cycle are at an important stage of their lives where they are making their own decisions about if and how they will include physical activity as part of their lifestyle. Learning in physical education is designed to ensure that students appreciate the importance of participation in regular moderate physical activity not only for their physical wellbeing, but also for their psychological and social wellbeing. By providing a broad and balanced range of activities, physical education aims to build students’ motivation and commitment to participate in regular, enjoyable and health-enhancing physical activity. Education for physical and mental health should not be seen as separate but rather as an opportunity to make connections between lifestyle choices.

Made with Padlet

Qualified Subject Teachers
Ms. Lorraine Scanlon
Mr. Maurice O' Connor

Time Allocation
All students receive a double timetable period of pe each week
1st year                   2 classes per week - 80 minutes
2nd year                 2 classes per week -80 minutes
3rd year                 2 classes per week -80 minutes
5th year                 2 classes per week -80 minutes
6th year                 2 classes per week -80 minutes

Overall View of PE Programme and Strands in St Michaels College

Transition year

Transition years are not timetabled for physical education however they engage in a flexible program of health related activities during the course of the year:
PE module -10 weeks swimming/gym/ aqua-spinning at Ballybunion leisure centre (used to fulfil physical recreational element of Gasice Award GAA Coaching Course (Workshop) 26k Gaisce Adventure Journey First Aid Course TY physical development module. Games (Unihoc, Basketball, Soccer, Gaa, Frisbee, Olympic Handball). Surfing Rock Climbing/Orienteering/ Spinning Classes.

Senior Physical Education
  • Health Related Physical Fitness—developing learners’ understanding of health related physical fitness now and in the future.
  • Sport Education—providing learners with an enjoyable and authentic experience of organised physical activity as they learn to perform playing and non-playing roles.
  • Contemporary Issues in Physical Activity—encouraging learners to critically reflect on their own and others’ experience in physical activity and sport.
  • Adventure Education—encouraging learners to challenge themselves and co-operate with others as they learn to solve physical activity challenges.
  • Personal and Social Responsibility—encouraging learners to take responsibility for themselves and their learning in physical education class including respecting the rights and feelings of others.
  • Teaching Games for Understanding—develops learners’ tactical awareness and decision making skills in a variety of games.

The school active slogan   ‘St Michaels on the move to improve’

Physical Activity

National Fitness Day 2017
29th of September
Take on the Teachers Challenge
The day started with the morning mile at 8.30am at the gym, all students and teachers were encouraged to take part.
On Friday, at the start of each class period each teacher took on a student in a specific task.
The task took 5 to 10 minutes max!
How do we decided which student takes on the teacher?
Not all students may feel comfortable doing this task in front of the class, so it is important to offer them a choice. Any student that would like to partake will raise their hand. Teacher will pick a number from e.g. 1-20, writes it down, asks each student to pick a number. Student that picks the correct number will represent the class in the challenge against the teacher.
What challenges did we do?
  • Arm Wrestle (best of 3)
  • Wall sit (who can hold the position the longest)
  • Sit ups – who can do the most in a minute (ask Ms Scanlon for exercise mats)
  • Push ups -who can do the most in a minute (ladies can do modified version if they prefer)
  • Plank – who can hold the plank position the longest
  • Hand Hold – who can hold their hands out straight for the longest without letting them drop – can hold a water bottle/weight in each hand to make it more challenging.
  • Balance – who can stay on the balance board the longest, while holding wooden egg and spoon.
  • Clothes peg challenge – who can put the most pegs on the line in a minute (Ask Ms Scanlon for cord and pegs, just set up in room in the morning)
  • Ball and bucket shots – try and shoot tennis ball into bin/bucket – who can get the most in the bucket in a minute wins or student/teacher can take 10 shots each, whoever gets the most wins.
  • Teacher who has a classroom near the ping pong table can take on the student in a quick game of ping pong -first to 5.
  • Skipping – who can get the most skips in a minute (ask Ms Scanlon for skipping ropes).
  • Boules - the objective is to throw or roll heavy balls as close as possible to a small target ball, whoever gets the closest is the winner (ask Ms  Scanlon for the boules)
Teachers can pick a particular challenge from the list and do that challenge at the start of each class, or if they have an idea for a challenge themselves they are more than welcome to do so. 

Section 3: Partnerships
Taster Sessions: So far this year we have had rugby taster sessions from our Munster development officer and beach volleyball taster sessions from beach volleyball Ireland!
Local Physical Activity Opportunities
There are so many physical activity opportunities available to teenagers in the local area. Our active school committee have researched and found a variety of clubs in the local area that can hopefully accommodate all interests.

What Clubs?
St Josephs Basketball Club Duagh
Aerial Gymnastics Club
Listowel Emmets Gaa club
Listowel Community Centre
Gloden Glove Kickboxing
Kerry Crusaders Running Club
Kingdom School of Taekwon-do
Listowel Pitch and Putt
Ballybunnion Leisure Centre
​Trojan Boxing club
Listowel Celtic Soccer
North Kerry Cricket Club
Listowel RFC
Listowel Badminton Club
Listowel Athletic Club
Listowel Lawn Tennis Club
Lartigue Basketball Club

Running & Walking Routes

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​School Running and walking routes
There are various walking and running routes around the Listowel area. St Michaels College is connected to Listowel town park which can be seen in the picture below.  The Park has a variety of interlinking trails that people can choose from.
We have an school run every Friday morning, which starts at the school gym at 8:30. Students and teachers run the outer lap of the park before the first class. The initiative started as TY project last year and has been very successful since. It is called morning mile with a smile!
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River Walk
The walk starts at Listowel town square and follows finger signs along track and minor road by the banks of the River Feale (famous for salmon fishing) as it flows by Listowel Castle into Childers Park (known locally as Cow's Lawn) and through the Garden of Europe with more than 2,500 trees from all over Europe and Ireland’s only public monument to the memory of those who died in the Holocaust. Exit at southern end of the Park, keep left and with the wood on your right, skirt the park, passing a pitch and putt course on your left, continue along back to the town centre. n easy walk, approx. 1 hr
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Sive Walk
Start in the Square, follow William street and turn left into Market street. Follow this untill you are at the start of the R553 Ballybunion Road. Walk 75 meters and then turn left through the metal gates. Follow the disused railway line until you come to the road. Turn right and follow the road and take the first right again. Cross the river and follow the loop untill you are again
at the river crossing. Take the same roads back to town from here
Cliff Walk in Ballybunion

Ballybunion is just 10 minutes from Listowel is and here there is a cliff waslk.  Bromore Cliffs are, quite simply, spectacular. A walk through this area of scenic beauty is the perfect way to spend a morning or afternoon. The walk along the cliff top is safe, easy, well fenced and suitable for all ages (of course children must be supervised). The sheer 180-foot cliffs have been sculpted by nature over thousands of years.
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The Shannon Way (Ballybunnion/Ballylongford/Tarbert)

​This route offers a 21 mile (35 km) country walk between Ballybunion & Tarbert. Beginning in the Seaside Resort at Ballybunion, it winds its way up to the top of Knockanore (altitude 267 m). Because of its isolated location the Flat countryside, Knockanore offers wonderful panoramic views of all the neighbouring counties from Cork to Galway. From here the walk passes through bogland filled with heathers, grasses and mosses, through farmland as far as the village of Ballylongford, on to Saleen Pier and onward through farmland in Sallow Glen. The Shannon Way finishes with the John F Leslie Woodland Walk in Tarbert

Active Schools week: Taking place the 13th to 17th of November

Active Schools week