Dear Parents/Guardians,
Glanmire Community College has been selected for the Safe Routes to School Programme, operated by Green-Schools-Ireland which we are now in the process of. In order to further develop this process we ask all parents and guardians to complete a short survey regarding our student’s journey to school:
Please click here to complete the Survey
Click here for instructional video and further information
The Safe Routes to School Programme is designed to encourage as many pupils and students as possible in primary and post-primary schools to walk and cycle. It has three aims:
- To accelerate the delivery of walking/scooting and cycling infrastructure on key access routes to schools.
- To provide “front of school” treatments which will enhance access to your school grounds.
- To expand the amount of bike parking available at schools.
The Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Programme launched in March 2021 and was open to all schools in Ireland to apply for active travel funding and delivery. The programme is an initiative of the Department of Transport and supported by the Department of Education. It is operated by the Green-Schools Programme in partnership with the National Transport Authority (NTA) and the local authorities.
Green Schools Flag Award Ceremony
As you are aware, GCC has successfully been awarded the Green Schools Flag following a rigorous assessment on May 27th before the summer break. The official flag raising ceremony was organised by Green Schools Ireland on Monday this week. There was an online ceremony to celebrate our great success followed by the raising of our Green flag for litter & waste, by our principal Mr. Ronan McCarthy and head of our Green schools student committee Eoin Murphy. Please click on the link below to view the work we have done so far to achieve this, and our future targets for creating a more sustainable and environmentally friendly learning environment. Well done to all involved.
Green Schools Work to Date and Targets for 2021/2022
Pictured are: The Green Schools Student Committee; Teacher Committee: Mr. Tom Pittam, Ms Aoife Ryan, Ms Noreen Emerson and DP Mr. Seamus Kennefick; Raising the flag is Principal Mr. Ronan McCarthy with Eoin Murphy head of student committee.
Brainbox Well-being Workshop
A ‘Brainbox Well-being Workshop’ for L.C. students, facilitated by E. Costigan took place on Wednesday, October 6th. This was a most beneficial, engaging workshop, directing students towards practical, manageable, daily interventions to improve their own well-being. There was a specific focus on the importance of sleep, a balanced diet, controlled mobile phone usage and meditation.
The takeaway message for students was to focus on ‘Progress not Perfection. A follow up workbook ‘Boost Your Well-being’ has been posted on the 6th year Google Classroom. We encourage all students and parents to access it. Here’s what the students had to say:
‘The wellbeing workshop delivered over zoom to all the 6th year students was very beneficial to all of us as we learned study tips e.g. to have one study session before homework, study in blocks of 25-30 mins and to start with your least favourite subject first.’
‘We found the breathing exercises calming, these exercises would be very useful for us under stressful situations as we try and balance study, homework, social and wellbeing in our lives.’
‘We also learned the importance of food, the main message was don’t change your diet completely, keep having your treats, just add more healthy options particularly water to stay hydrated’
‘We need 8-9 hours sleep a night, and keep the phone out of the bedroom and avoid for half an hour before bed as the blue light affects the quality of our sleep.’
‘We are grateful to the school for organising this workshop as we needed this reminder of how to mind ourselves as we emerge from the effects of covid and journey through our LC year, as we all want to be the best that we can be.’
Féilte 2021
Congratulations to our GCC teachers Ms. Clare Madden & Ms. Cora McKenna on their successful Showcase and Teachmeet for the Teaching Council Féilte 2021 event last Saturday.
Forbairt
Well done to the GCC Forbairt team on the presentation of their project at the PDST Forbairt Showcase event yesterday. A key focus of our project was to develop our collective understanding of the factors that help to create an effective feedback culture. The project was focused on gathering students’ opinions to better inform the teaching and learning structures that give the best possible framework for feedback and learning. The next step of this multi-phasic project is to get teachers working together so that we can identify, share and embed best assessments practices across the school.
Sars U-13 Premier 1 Hurling Winners
Congratulations to the Sars Premier 1 team that beat Carrigtwohill in the under 13 County Hurling Final last Saturday 2 October in Pairc ui Rinn. The members of the team included no less than 17 players from GCC. Well done to: Adam Leahy, Derry Crowley, Ronan Fitzpatrick, Cormac Fennessy, Adam Naughton, Adam Twomey, Zach Deane, Adam Dunlea, Craig Nolan, Sean Sheehan, Alex Bollard, Ben Murphy, Rory Dennehy, Conor Mohally, Cathal Kelly, Cian Daly and Warren Howard.
Fire Drill
Due to inclement weather conditions we were unable to hold our planned fire drill on Thursday 7 October. We will not run a fire drill during October Assessments next week. It is our intention to hold the drill the week beginning Monday 18 October.
October Assessments
We would like to wish all our students well in their October Assessments. There are 4 main assessment windows during the school year and this is the first major one. We hope that students’ performance in the assessments will reflect the work and effort that has been put in during this first school term of the year.
We hope you have a nice weekend.
GCC Senior Management
Ronan McCarthy (Principal), Gertie Cahill (Deputy Principal), Seamus Kennefick (Deputy Principal), Sean McGrath (Deputy Principal)