Tips to help you settle...

Join a club or team!

In the Academy, we have a long list of clubs you can join and we regularly ask students to make suggestions about new clubs we could introduce. This year, we have the following clubs available: Hurling, Camogie, Football, Lego Club, Chess Club, Gaelic for boys and girls, Coding Club, Drama, Choir, Homework club, Basketball, Netball, Traditional Group, Orchestra, Athletics, Cross County. Joining a team or club is a great way to make new friends and also helps you feel a part of the school community.
Talk to people you don’t know in your class. Introduce yourself, ask them what they enjoy doing in their spare time.

Try something new!

See every lesson as an opportunity to learn something new. Try your best in all the subjects you get to experience in Year 8.

We have lots of things in place to help make the move to a new school a little easier and we want you to feel a part of the school community.

Student Council

At the Academy our pupils have a voice in the decisions made regarding the day to day running of our school. Each year group has two representatives to put forward the views of their fellow pupils. This allows pupils to have a say in what they would like to change about school life.

We are a Caring School

We have a Zero Tolerance approach to bullying behaviour in our school. Bullying behaviour comes in lots of different forms and we have reminded you of these types below. If someone is upsetting you or has engaged in any of these behaviours, it is important you tell your Form Tutor immediately. We are very lucky to have our own School Counsellor in school and you can go and speak with her if you are finding things difficult. Your Form Tutor can refer you or you can send her an email directly.

We do not anticipate that bullying behaviour will be a significant problem in our school. However, in every school there will be those who try to show bullying behaviour others.

What is bullying-type behaviour?

Bullying-type behaviour is that is targeted, repeated and intended to cause physical or emotional harm. This may be:

Physical violence:

Fighting, pushing, shoving, theft, spitting and so on.

Verbal violence:

Name calling, speaking offensive rumours, racist comments, threats and so on.

Visual:

Offensive texts/notes or other material, graffiti, or damage to others’ possessions.

Victimisation:

Excluding someone from an activity or from a particular group, ignoring or not talking to someone, laughing at or ridiculing someone. Putting pressure on someone to break school rules e.g. to miss class, to vape and so on. Cyber bullying behaviour e.g. text messaging, online messaging apps, chat-room bullying behaviour.

Every student has the right to enjoy his/her education in an environment in which (s)he feels safe.

This means;

Speaking up for someone who needs support
Telling someone who is in a position to help. This may be a prefect, your Year 13 friend, senior prefect, class teacher, form teacher, year head.

Bullying behaviour is too important not to report!

Counselling

We provide an accessible counselling service for all pupils

Counselling is a confidential relationship where you are offered a place to talk, to be listened to and given support. The aim of this service is to help the pupils gain a better understanding of themselves, relationships, and other aspects of their lives. Counselling is available for lots of reasons, e.g. bereavement, stress or when you may feel sad, confused or hurt

NO PROBLEM IS TOO BIG OR TOO SMALL

Hi, my name is Una and I am the school counsellor. I visit school every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

I realise that starting a new school can be full of mixed emotions of feeling scared, alone, overwhelmed, lost and excited at the same time.

Most young people soon settle in and make new friends but sometimes problems arise and you just need someone to talk to in confidence without feeling judged. My role is to understand and help you manage your difficulties with support.

Since I began coming to this school, young people of all ages have come and found support for issues such as bullying, friendship difficulties, difficulties at home, depression, not feeling understood, struggling to keep up at school, lack of confidence and self-esteem. These are just a few of the issues that young people have come to talk about.

Even if you don’t feel able to explain how you are feeling, don’t worry, because I have a few art materials that can help you find a way of expressing your feelings without being judged – and no art skills are required.

Year 8 - "What ifs"

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