St. Colman’s College Claremorris – Parents’ Newsletter – Halloween 2011

We are now well settled back into the new academic year. We wish our parents, students and staff well for the year ahead and look forward to working with them to ensure a quality education for all of our students. We also hope that you have a pleasant and restful Halloween Break!

Building and Maintenance Work during the summer: Much of the interior of the building has been painted, some floor covering replaced, and much of the exterior has been power-washed. Some trees have been cleared close to the prefabs which permits more light to enter the classrooms. Approximately 40 extra lockers have been installed.

We intend to replace many of the school windows over the next few months, thanks to a Summer Works Scheme Grant. Most of the single glazed and dilapidated windows are being replaced with modern double glazed ones. This will have a positive environmental and visual impact on the building and will reduce our fuel bills.

We would urge those of you have not yet paid the School’s Voluntary Contributions thus far to forward your contributions as soon as possible. We would appreciate if everyone would make an effort to contribute in the interests of fairness.

We intend to make a claim for a rebate of taxation on voluntary contributions made by parents/guardians to the school. Where parents/guardians make cumulative contributions of €250 or more to the school we can claim back the tax paid by PAYE taxpayers. We will be seeking the cooperation of parents in this matter and will be in contact later in the academic year.

We were delighted with the results achieved by our Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate students this year. Most if not all achieved their potentials. We were particularly satisfied that students of all abilities did well.

Saturday Detention takes place from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on selected Saturdays. Students and Parents will be notified in advance. Weekday detention is scheduled for 1.15 p.m. to 1. 45 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday of each week. Students will be further penalised for being late for, missing or disrupting detention.

Students leaving the school without prior permission will be suspended for one day, initially. If there is a repeat further sanctions will be considered.

Students are allowed to have mobile phones in their possession. However they must have them turned off during and between classes. They can use them during the “Big Lunch” but only discretely. Where a student uses the phone/audio equipment inappropriately the School Policy will be enforced and the equipment will be confiscated for a limited period. Where a student continues to break the rule the privilege will be withdrawn and more serious sanctions will be imposed.

Anti-Smoking Policy: Under Health and Safety Legislation it is the legal duty of school management to ensure that the College building is a smoke free zone. If we fail to do so we are liable to significant fines (€3,000 for each incident) that would have to be paid from your contributions and your school’s funds. In addition we regard it as our duty to protect young and impressionable boys, particularly first years, from the dangerous and insidious example set by students who smoke on the school grounds. Under the school anti-smoking policy, ratified by the Board of Management, students caught smoking or in the company of smokers either within the school grounds, out of bounds or outside at the front gate will be fined €10 and those caught in their company will be similarly fined. This fine must be paid immediately or the alternative, under the policy, will be one day’s suspension. The money collected in these fines will be used to provide additional resources for the benefit of all the students. Repeat offences will see more serious sanctions.

Uniform: I take this opportunity to remind parents and students that we expect students to wear the correct uniform while attending school. Shirts should be worn neatly tucked inside pants, particularly during class time and between classes. We have introduced a rule this year that students must wear white undershirts/vests/t-shirts. Coloured, multi-coloured undershirts, sports jerseys or undershirts with visible writing on them are discouraged. We have also introduced a voluntary code for the wearing of black shoes/runners. We would urge you to purchase black shoes/runners the next time you are replacing your son’s school shoes. Next year we intend to enforce a mandatory code.

Please ensure that all of your sons’ books, school bags, gear bags, jumpers and jackets are adequately labelled with their names as we are unable to locate missing articles if they are not so labelled.

We hope that first years students (and parents!) are settling in to the transition from primary school. We understand that it is a traumatic time in the lives of these young men and there will be difficulties in the journey. If you have any concerns please contact either myself, Mr. Keane, Ms. Egan (Year Head) or first year tutors Mr. Pat Keane, Mr. Daniel Hyland and Mr. Rory Hynes.

This is a very important year in the lives of our sixth and third year students. We wish them well and will ensure that the resources of the school will be provided for their benefit. We encourage them to plan for their course of study during the year to come, to ensure that they prepare their projects early. Leaving Certs should liaise closely with the Guidance Counsellor and their teachers regarding course choices and subject levels. We would also emphasise that academic pursuits are not the be all and end all of school life and that exercise and extra-curricular activities should not be excluded from their plans. It is our experience that the students who do the best academically are individuals who take care of all aspects of their development. Let me also remind 3rd Years and 6th Years and indeed all students and their parents that it is vital that they attend school every day and that all out of school activities are organised for weekends or after school as much as possible.

Teachers are providing After-School Study again this year. Sixth years and third years are prioritised. Please contact Mr. Geraghty and/or Ms. Egan. This is a very beneficial programme for students but we would emphasise to students, particularly third years and sixth years that their study should not end there. Saturday and Sunday are ideal times to provide for revision, note taking and preparation for the following week.

The school is providing a Canteen service again this year through the company “Get Fresh”. The response to the quality of the food and service provided has been very positive among students, parents and staff. Indeed if you want a testament to the quality of the service it is the fact that a large number of teachers get their lunches in the canteen each day. We would ask you to urge your sons to respect the service and the canteen staff and to clean off their tables after them.

Bullying can be a problem in all schools and indeed in all environments where people congregate. We would urge you to be vigilant to any incidents involving your son or indeed other students as it is difficult to resolve any problems if we do not have the necessary information. We have a comprehensive Anti-Bullying programme and a highly motivated Coordinator (Mr. Roy Hession). Whilst we will do our best to be sympathetic to and provide assistance to the perpetrator of bullying our primary concern must be to protect the victim, particularly in light of the enormous consequences that bullying can have on that victim. Therefore we regard bullying as a grave disciplinary matter which will attract the most serious disciplinary sanctions.

This year we have introduced, on a voluntary basis, the iPad, ebooks initiative for first year students. Most first year students will utilise ebooks/apps instead of textbooks. However they will still be required to do their homework and classwork in the traditional way. The majority of homework and exercises will have to be handwritten. We thank parents for their support and we will evaluate the project periodically during the year.

We revived our annual school mass this September 22nd. It was our privilege to invite parents and students to attend the ceremony in the school gymnasium. Over 250 parents, students and staff members attended on the night. I wish to thank Fr. Michael Murphy for the beautiful ceremony and inspirational words, all the parents, students and staff for attending and the students and staff members who contributed to organising the event.

Our school website (www.stcolmans.ie) has been updated. It contains links to our Moodle, Facebook and Twitter sites. It also contains some of our most important policy statements, a photo gallery and other school information.

Our Moodle site is constantly being updated and developed. This is an “Online/Virtual Learning Environment” through which our teachers can communicate remotely with their students. Some teachers have uploaded subject notes, sample examination questions and answers, PowerPoint’s, videos etc. Students can access these from their home computers.

We are introducing a text messaging notification service for parents so that they can be notified in a timely fashion of school events and emergencies. We have sent out a returnable letter requesting mobile phone information from all parents. If you did not get this letter or did not return it please contact the school office and provide your mobile phone number for texting purposes. If in the future you change your mobile please let the office know immediately.

This year, again, our teachers are facilitating a myriad of extra, cross and co-curricular activities for the benefit of students. Much of this work is done by teachers on a voluntary basis. I thank them for their dedication and commitment.

Gaelic Football: We have entered teams in the following competitions: First Year, Second Year, Juvenile, Junior and Senior: Teachers involved: First Year: Mr. Roy Hession and Mr. James O’ Toole; Second Year: Ms. Carmel Cruise, Mr. Conor O’Dowd (assisted by Aiden Butler – Student); Juvenile: Mr. Ray Brandon, Mr. Daniel Hyland, Mr. Dara Conneely; Junior and Senior: Mr. Vinnie Walsh and Mr. Michael Conroy. We will also be entering Golf, Basketball and Swimming Teams.

Mikey Finn, a Leaving Certificate student, has represented the school and the country at the European Youth Parliament in Croatia. We are very proud of his achievements.

Mr. Pat Keane brought three students to the Mock-European Council in Stormont Castle, Belfast on 21st October. The students, Adam Gallagher, Luke Merrick and Gearoid Lyons represented Spain.

Mr. Sean Foody our long serving Woodwork and Construction Studies teacher retired this summer. We acknowledge his enormous contribution to the school community in a professional and an extra-curricular capacity. He was responsible for the renovation and updating of the Woodwork Suite to make it one of the finest such facilities in the country. He always instilled a love of his subject into his students and was very ambitious for them. He was also centrally involved in the school’s Tug-O-War team during the 80’s and 90’s. Because of his inspirational leadership the school and its students won a number of regional, national and international titles.

The ‘Living Room’ project is being coordinated by Ms Kelly, Ms Donoghue and Mr Hynes. A room in the old House has been transformed into a comfortable living room to be used by students at lunchtime. Chess and Draughts Club will begin after midterm on one lunchtime per week. Other clubs will follow like Book Club, Board games and Guitar. The room will be a haven for students to relax on a given day and will be subject to clear rules to ensure it remains in such good condition and continues to be fit for purpose. We welcome any donations of board games, chess/draughts sets, coffee tables, armchairs etc. Contact the school or the teachers listed above for more information.

A team will attend the “EuromedScola” Session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on November 12th to 14th representing Ireland. They are Adam Gallagher, John Huane, Gearoid Lyons, Stevie Donnellon and Luke Merrick. They will be accompanied by Mr. Pat Keane.

There is a Study Skills Class for 1st Years on Monday 7th November. Parents of 1st Years and 3rd Years are invited to a Free Study Skills Seminar in the school at 7 p.m. on Monday 7th November. Both will be presented by Michael Bond an experienced educationalist and presenter.
Please note that we return to school after the Halloween Break on Monday 7th November.

School Information

Board of Management Members 2011-12: Rev. Msgnr John O’ Boyle (Chairperson), Seamus O’ Brien, Maud Finn, Billy Freeley, Chris Boyle, Norma Kean, Daniel Hyland, Roy Hession. Jimmy Finn (Secretary)

Parents’ Association Members 2011-12: Michael Coleman, Seamus Commons, Michael Gilmore, Mary Dixon, Francesca Gibbons (Chairperson), Anita Finn (Treasurer), Mary Freeley (Secretary), Liam Coen, Helen Brady, Joe Gilmore, Karl Keaney, Eileen Trench.

Students’ Council Members 2011-12: Luke Gibbons, Sean Keady, Tautyvas Kersulis, John Mortimer, Adrian Larkin, Aaron Ronayne, Piotr Senator, Donal Heaney, Mark Hession, Sean Killeen, Donal Kirrane and Ryan McLoughlin.

Prefects 2011-12: Adrian Larkin, John Brennan, P.J. Byrne, James Commins, Oskars Danilovs, Michael Finn, Harry Grogan, Niall Higgins, Sean Killeen, Shane McGuinness, M.J. McTigue, James Shaughnessy.

Year Heads 2011-12: Ms. Mary Egan (First Year), Mr. John Coggins (Second Year), Mr. Pat Keane (Third Year), Ms. Bronagh McLoughney (Transition Year), Ms. Michelle Howeley (Fifth Year), Ms. Majella Kelly (Sixth Year)

Class Tutors 20011-12: 1A – Mr. Rory Hynes, 1B – Mr. Pat Keane, 1C – Mr. Daniel Hyland, 2A – Mr. Vinnie Walsh, 2B – Ms. Michelle Howley, 2C – Ms. Sandra Hynes, 3A – Ms. Mary Egan, 3B – Ms. Bronagh McLoughney.