Dear GCC Parents, Guardians & Students,
GCC Student Reflection
This week some of our own GCC students created a short video reflection to acknowledge all that they are grateful for in the school. Please click on the link below to view. Our thanks to GCC School Chaplin Ms Marie McInerney for supporting the students with their work.
GCC Ethos & Core Values Update
Lasair Programme – Supporting Principals and Deputy Principals as Instructional Leaders
Phase 1 of the Lasair Programme – Supporting Principals and Deputy Principals as Instructional Leaders began in Carlow on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. GCC is one of ten schools nationally to be selected as part of the pilot programme which is being offered through a partnership between the Instructional Leadership Programme/ETBI, the Association for School Leaders in Slovenia and the NAPD.
The aim of the programme is to provide Post-Primary Senior Leadership Teams with core skills, key competencies and resources that are significant in the leadership of teaching and learning, towards to improving school and student learning outcomes. Please click on the link below to view further details:
Spotlight on GCC Alumni: 2005 Graduate
Shane White graduated from GCC back in 2005 and went on to study Zoology at UCC for his BSc, graduating in 2009. He spent the next few years working seasonal wildlife internships to gain experience in Poland, Italy and the United States. In 2012 Shane received his MSc in Wildlife Management & Conservation in Edinburgh, Scotland, where he researched Eurasian
Lynx ecology with collaborators in Norway. Shane continued working on wolf projects in Montana and in Yellowstone National Park, before moving to British Columbia, Canada in 2013 where he continues to live with his wife Carolyn and two kids in a remote town in British Columbia surrounded by epic wilderness. Shane works for the Government of British Columbia as a Senior Wildlife Biologist. Please click on the link below to read more details and view pictures of Shane’s epic journey which has taken him from GCC to remote Canada.
Shane White GCC Graduate 2005 Bio
Mountain Lion Capture and Collaring
Ice-Fishing with my brother Ronan and the Holly Bough!
Caribou Capture and Collaring
Schoolbooks Grant Guidance for Post-Primary Schools 2024/25
The Minister for Education, Ms Norma Foley TD, has published a guidance document on the new schoolbooks scheme for all students in Junior Cycle years in post-primary schools in the Free Education Scheme in Ireland from September 2024. Please click on the links below to view a letter from Minister Foley regarding the school book scheme which we have been requested to share with parents.
Letter to parents from Minister Foley post-primary (English version)
Letter to parents from Minister Foley post-primary (Irish version)
With an existing book rental scheme in the school and a supplier framework already established through Cork ETB, GCC is well placed to roll out this initiative. There will however be significant planning required to take account of the additional responsibilities placed on the school particularly in relation to stationery. Parents are asked to note that GCC has operated a book rental scheme at both Junior and Senior Cycle for a long number of years and this will continue in September 2024.
Pupils Attitude to Self and School: Letter To Parents of 2nd Year and 5th Year Students
Please click on the link below to view a letter from the school outlining our intention to complete the Pupil Attitude to Self and School assessment over the next two weeks. The PASS survey is designed for all ages and provides us with valuable insights into your child’s mindset about school. It helps identify any barriers to learning, ensuring student well-being and fostering positive outcomes at the whole school, class, and individual levels.
GCC 1st Year Pupil/Parent/Teacher Meeting [PPTM] Monday 11 March 2024
Please click on the following link to view details of centres and registration for our 1st Year PPTM next Monday 11 March 2024.
GCC 1st Year PPT Meeting Monday 11 March 2024 – Glanmire Community College (glanmirecc.ie)
Discover Cork: School’s Heritage Project Competition Winners!
Congratulations to Sophie Murphy Rang Padraig, Transition Year who received 3rd prize in the Discover Cork: School’s Heritage Project. A huge well done also to Ms. Reeves’s, Rang Brian 2nd years History students who received certificates of participation and also to Liyou Buckley, Rang Gearoid 1st year. This was GCC’s second time entering the competition.
VSware Attendance App
We are grateful to parents for their high level of engagement with the VSware Attendance App since we introduced it in November. Please note the following:
- The App is now the only way to communicate with the school regarding your child’s absence whether it is a full day absence or partial absence.
- For a partial absence during the school day, the student must present at the school office to sign out.
- Once it is confirmed that the absence has been authorised by a parent through the VSware App, the student has permission to leave school.
- Please note parents/guardians are not required to come into the school reception for collection.
- Parents who have not downloaded the app are kindly asked to do so as a matter of priority.
GCC Pre-Examinations 2024
Parents are asked to note that just a small handful of the Junior Cycle scripts from the Pre Examinations in February remain to be returned to the school. We are hopeful that will be able to publish results to VSware towards the middle of next week.
Activities of the week Monday 11 March – Friday 15 March 2024
Please click here to view the planned school activities for the week Monday 11 to Friday 15 March 2024.
GCC Upcoming Calendar Events
| Date | Event | Time |
| Monday 11 March | GCC BOM Meeting | @ 3pm |
| Monday 11 March | GCC PPT Meeting for 1st Year students |
4.15pm – 6.45pm |
| Friday 15 March | GCC Staff Development Day | School closed to all Students |
| Monday 18 March | St Patricks Day Bank Holiday | School Closed |
| Tuesday 19 March | GCC Parents Council Meeting | @ 7.30pm |
| Friday 22 March | Easter Holidays | Mon 25 Mar – Fri 5 Apr |
