As Junior and Leaving Certificate exams start today, I would just like to offer my support to those Scouts sitting their exams....

Before the exams begin, all sorts of things run through your mind from, “do I have the right pen” to “have I studied enough”.  This is only natural, it still happens to me today in my work when I have an important job to be prepared. The important thing to remember is, that you will be drawing from the experience of all your school days preparing for this particular exam, not just the study of the last few weeks and months.

In Scouting we ask of ourselves that we do our best and I am confident that in doing your best in your exams that you will succeed. 

I enclose a prayer that maybe useful to you as it has been to me and help you on this journey.

Dear Lord,

Sometimes I feel a little strange praying
to you because of an exam.
It doesn't really seem all that significant
when you consider the "big picture."
But right now, the test looms so large
that it is all I can see before me.

I pray to you for three things:
- the strength to handle the pressure that I feel,
- the confidence to feel secure
in my knowledge and preparation,
- and the ability to do my best.

Amen

My prayers and thoughts are with you all.

Chief Scout

Michael John Shinnick