Science Week opened in CCS when we welcomed Dr Mark Kennedy from University College Cork to school. Mark is an astrophysicist who is working in UCC as a lecturer and researcher. He spoke to Senior Cycle Physics students about his work in researching neutron stars. He also gave some great insights into the life of a physicist, and career options after finishing university. 

There was also a great Q&A session, with students asking a huge range of questions from "what are the CAO points for Astrophysics in UCC," all the way to "what lies outside the Universe"?

Many thanks to Mark for volunteering his time to visit us. 

Carrigaline Community School recently played host to a round of the Regional Chess League, welcoming nearly a 100 young players from six other secondary schools in the Cork area. 

The tournament, a significant event in the regional chess calendar, saw participants engage in multiple rounds of rapid chess. The event was a testament to the growing popularity of chess in Cork, providing a valuable platform for students to practice against new opponents and also to make new friends with a shared interest. We were delighted to see opposing teams chatting happily in the cafeteria and sampling coffees from "Nigel's" our coffee dock.  

Despite missing out on a top-three finish as a team, our efforts were significant, and a strong foundation for future tournaments was clearly established. We did record individual victories throughout the day and we walked away with our heads held high. 

A significant highlight of the tournament was the outstanding achievement of Niki Marks from CCS, who was awarded the prestigious title of top female player of the tournament. Niki’s performance was exceptional, displaying calculated brilliance and resilience in her matches, a proud moment for her, her team, and the school.

The tournament was enjoyed by everyone.  Students from all schools got to play each other, chat  and celebrated the game of chess. 

A huge congratulations to all participating schools and winners. We look forward to future league events.  A special thank you goes to Patrick Downey for organising the event.

We are one of 97 community and comprehensive schools in Ireland. Community schools differ from Voluntary Secondary Schools (such as Edmund Rice) and Community Colleges (such as Glanmire Community College). The three school types have a different structure of ownership and management. Firstly, in a Voluntary Sec School the grounds are privately owned and the school is run by a religious order or trust. A Community College is owned and run by an Education and Training Board (ETB) such as Cork ETB. We are a Community School, which means that we have two patrons - Cork ETB and The Diocese of Cork and Ross. Our school is run by a Board of Management. The Board consists of 10 members; three nominees of Cork ETB, 3 nominees from the Diocese of Cork, 2 parent nominees and 2 teacher nominees. Board members give of their time voluntarily and we are very grateful for their hard work and commitment to our school.

Approximately 13% of post primary students in Ireland attend a Community School. We are very proud to be a Community School, catering for the educational needs of those in the Carrigaline, Ballygarvan, Shanbally and Ringaskiddy area. 

Community schools typically offer a broad curriculum and focus on the holistic development of the student. Community schools are  very inclusive and are linked to the community, often making the school facilities available for local organisations and sometimes providing adult education classes. 

In CCS we have a very broad curriculum, with 19 optional subjects being offered in the senior school. We have a very comprehensive range of extra curricular activities available to students. We cater for a wide range of students, we have 4 ASD classes, catering for 24 students, we offer the Leaving Cert Applied Programme and LCVP along with a comprehensive Adult Education Programme. 

CCS is a happy, caring and inclusive school, promoting academic excellence, based on the principle of mutual respect.

Congratulations to Amy Murphy Year 3, on wining a bronze medal representing CCS in the Senior School's Swimming Gala in November. Amy got a personal best swimming 100m backcrawl in 1min and 10 seconds. Well done Amy.

Well done to Jack Keane, Donal Herlihy, Eoghan Ahern and Shane O Meara in TY, who represented the school in the National Off the Ball  “The School Sports Quiz” in aid of Pieta House. The lads were one team out of 125 schools across Ireland answering questions on all things sports related. 

Thanks to Ms Looney for organising for the boys to take part before they headed off to play their Munster senior football match.

Our first year girls had their first outing on Monday playing Colaiste Choilm in Round 1 of the Cork Cup. The girls played very well on the day and will undoubtedly build on the experience. Well done girls and thanks also to Ms Kerins and Mr Corbett.

Updates and information pertaining to the running of the school 

We appeal to parents/guardians not to park in the school grounds as we have a lot of students and staff walking into the school and parking spaces are at a premium.  If you are dropping your child to school encourage them to walk in from the Waterpark Road or drop them at the bypass road side.

Thank you to the many parents/guardians that have paid the Activity Fee or Transition Year Fee to date. This money is essential for the running of the school and enables us to give students a broad, rich and engaging experience in school. 

An annual Student Activity Fee of €120 for an individual pupil is requested to help defray the running costs of the many activities within the school.

For students in Transition Year the fee is €300, which includes the costs of most of the in school activities/programmes students take part in during TY (bonding trips, workshops and guest speakers). The TY fee can be paid in two installments of €150 if this is preferable. We request that the full TY fee be paid by 31st October 2025 to facilitate the booking of workshops etc.  

The Board of Management of the school has capped the fees to a maximum of two students per household but the full TY fee must be paid.

The Student Activity Fee (which is voluntary but relied upon) goes a distance to helping the school provide a quality service for all students. This student activity fee contributes towards:

• The vsware app including messaging

• Individual pupil insurance

• Use of locker for the year

• Cost of in house examinations (not including Pre Exams)

• Photocopying

• Materials for subjects such as Art, Wood Tech, Engineering

• Subsides the cost of buses for trips/outings etc

• Photocopying costs

• Guest speakers 

• Affiliation and entry fees for clubs and societies

• Prizes for school activities and competitions such as bonding days, masterchef etc 

• Eirquest interest testing and My Future Choice aptitude testing with 4th years

• Cognitive Ability Testing (CAT) for First Year students

• Reach plus careers programme for Fifth and Sixth Year students

• Health Week activities and guest speakers - mental health, physical health, sexual health,

• Subsidised study skills seminars

To pay the student activity fee: Go to the Fees link on your VSware app (we will no longer be using easy payments plus).

or 

Call into the school Reception ( Cheques payable to Carrigaline Community School).

Thank You.