Carrigaline Community School Newsletter

Ni neart go cur le chéile

Welcome Back - A message from the Principal

I'd like to take this opportunity to welcome everyone back to a new academic year. A special welcome to our new First Year students and those new students joining us in years 2-6. We're delighted to have you as part of our school community and we hope that your time with us is a rewarding and happy one. As always, it has been a busy few weeks getting up and running for 2026-2027.

A very special congratulations are extended to the Leaving Cert Class of 2026 for their successes in the Leaving Certificate and Leaving Certificate Applied State Examinations - they were a wonderful group of young adults to work with over their time in CCS and they’ve made us all incredibly proud. We wish them all the best in their future endeavours.

As we begin our journey through this academic year we encourage all students to get actively involved in school life, be it partaking in some extra-curricular activity (of which there are many) or being part of the Student Council. Being involved in some way helps students to integrate more into school life, create new friendships and build resilience.

The Board of Management will be ratifying the new Child Safeguarding Statement at its October meeting along with the first re-ratification of the Bí Cineálta (Anti-Bullying) policy.

I hope everyone has a happy and successful year.

Paul Burke

Principal

Welcome back to everyone and a very special welcome to our 1st Years.

On Tuesday the 1st of September in late summer sunshine our new 1st Years arrived in for their very first day in secondary school. They were welcomed by teams of Transition Year Mentors and by their Year Heading Team of Mr Ryan and Mr McCarthy.

There was a mixture of anticpation and nervousness as they were escorted to meet their class teachers and of course their new class mates with whom they will be sharing the journey throughout school.

There was a lovely sense of joy and togetherness. A special thank you to the Transition Year students who helped bring a sense of calm and purpose to the morning.

Ballyhass Lakes - Transition Year bonding day.

On Monday the 7th of September our TYs set off in the early hours to visit Ballyhass lakes, an outdoor adventure centre located outside of Mallow. They were accompanied by their class teachers and Year Heads. It was a fabulous opportunity to begin the process of making new friends and to set the tone of togetherness that underpins the Transition Year programme.

They returned in one piece, tired by delighted with the experience.

A huge thank you to Ms O' Donovan for coordinating this worthy event.

New students Years 2-6

This year we have 28 new students joining CCS from Year2 - 6. We extend a warm welcome to these students and hope they are settling in to life in CCS. We are cetain that the students in each year group will help them to get settled in. We acknowledge that changing schools can be daunting but we are all here to support you.

St Vincent de Paul Carrigaline: Could You Spare a Few Hours?

Over 50 years in Carrigaline

The Society of St Vincent de Paul has been part of Carrigaline for more than 50 years. It began as a small group of local people looking out for their neighbours. The town has grown a lot since then, but the idea hasn't changed: people helping people, quietly and with respect.

What we do in the community

Our members visit households going through a difficult time, whether because of illness, bereavement, sick children, job loss or the rising cost of living. We help with food, fuel and household bills. Just as importantly, we offer a friendly face and a listening ear. Every request is handled in strict confidence.

Supporting Carrigaline Community School

We work closely with Carrigaline Community School so that no student misses out. This includes [helping with back-to-school costs such as uniforms and books / contributing to school trips / supporting lunch provision]. Families can contact us directly, or the school can put them in touch with us discreetly.

The challenge we face

More families are turning to us for help, but our volunteer numbers have not kept pace. Many of our members have given decades of service and retired, and we are down to just a few volunteers and need new people to join us to carry the work forward.

Get involved

You don't need any special experience, and any time you can give is welcome. We urgently need help with home visits, and also church gate collections. Training is provided and Garda vetting is required. Call us directly on 0899632178 and we can have a chat about how you can become involved in an extremely necessary and worthwhile service to our community or visit https://www.svp.ie/ways-to-help/volunteer-with-svp/ .

New footpath provided by Astra Construction

Thanks to the support and expertise of Stephen McCarthy and Astra Construction a new footpath was laid over the summer. The path leads from the bypass gates around the side of the school building and will ensure that students don't end up with muddy feet on the way into or out of school in the future. Astra Construction also kindly created a social area outside Nigel's Coffee Dock which can be used all year round. We are very grateful for the continued support we receive from Stephen and Astra Construction.

Building Updates

Over the Summer holidays, when the school was quiet, a large amount of work was carried out to update the facilities. A new boiler was installed at a cost of almost €250,000, this should make a big difference in the old building in the winter months. The school applied to the Department of Youth for funding for new windows for the old building. The funding was not granted for this year, but we continue to hope the money will be sanctioned for next year.

Area B also got a facelift, with new flooring, new lockers and new student benches installed. This has brigthened up the area considerably. New lockers were also purchased for the Cafeteria and the D Area.

Child Protection and Safeguarding Statement: Parent/Guardian Consultation

Each year we are required to review our Child Safeguarding Statement and Risk Assessment.

The current statement and risk assessment is available on the school website and on a noticeboard inside the main school reception. The person in the school that you can talk to if you have concerns about a child's safety is called the Designated Liaison Person (DLP). In CCS that person is Mr Burke (Principal).

The draft statement for your consultation is available at the following link Child Protection Draft Statement. We encourage parents/guardians to complete this short survey on the draft statement by Friday 25th September. Link to survey: Child Protection Survey

Activity Fee 2026 2027

Thank you to all those parents/guardians that have already paid the student activity fee. If you are unsure if you have paid you can check it on vsware under the heading Fees.

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 2026 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.

Examples of how the cap is applied:

A family with two children attending CCS, where the students are in any year group other than TY, are asked to pay 2 x €120 = €240.
A family with two children attending CCS, where one of the students is in TY, are asked to pay €120 + €300 = €420.
A family with three (or more) children attending CCS, where the students are in any year group other than TY, are asked to pay 2 x €120 = €240.
A family with three (or more) children attending CCS, where one of the students is in TY, are asked to pay €120 + €300 = €420.
In the case where a family has two students in TY the fee is 2 x €300 = €600.

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.

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

Thank You.

Leaving Certificate Class of 2026

A huge congratulations to our students on their incredible Leaving Certificate results. We are very proud of all that you have achieved. There was a huge turnout for the Debs Ball in Rochestown Park Hotel. It was a lovely evening of celebration of a great group of students.

We wish them every happiness and success in the future as they move forward into new and exciting chapters of their lives.

Significant Achievements over the Summer break

Cork Minor Football All Ireland: Dónal Herlihy, Eoghan Ahern.

Mr Burke with the students who had their achievements over the summer recognised at a special reception in the PE Hall on our return to school

Played with Cork: Conor Walsh (U14 Basketball), Conor Collins Daly ( U14 football), Ben Barry O'Driscoll (U14 hurling), Fionan O'Sullivan (U14 Basketball), Max Connolly (U15 hurling & football), Darragh Virgo (U16 hurling)

Swim Ireland National Championships: Lily Hennessy, Amy Murphy

Cork U14 camogie: Farah Barrett, Caoimhe Kelleher, Rebecca O'Doherty.

Ali El Amoud

British Junior Para Athletics

Cork Sport and Youth Person of the Year by Rebel Wheelers

PBs in the 100m and 400m which also stand as National Para records while representing Ireland at the Athletics championships in Coventry.

World Pipeband Champion with Carrigaline Pipeband: Darcy O'Regan.

Munster & Ireland Development Hockey: James Bryan

School Business

Updates and information pertaining to the running of the school

After school study

After school study started on Monday the 7th Sep in the school library from 15.55 until 18.00 . After school study is available on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings. New students are always welcome.

Any students unsure about After School Study are welcome to start and have a taster session to see if it's suitable for them .

Forms (including details of cost) are available from Year Heads, or from Ms Mulvihill or Mr Corbett in the library after school.

Important Dates this term

Thursday 24th September - Open Day 6-8pm

Friday 25th September - School closed

Tuesday 6th October - classess end at 15.20 for Year 6 Parent Teacher Meeting 16.00-18.30

Thursday 15th October - classess end at 15.20 for Year 3 Parent Teacher meeting 16.00-18.30

Tuesday 20th October - Annual Awards Evening

Thursday 22nd October - No school for students, OIDE training for staff

School Activities

The schedule of activities (matches/speakers/assessments/outings etc) is available on the school website for parents/guardians to view. This is updated each week.

Activities and Events

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