WELCOME
We are very excited to welcome you to Coláiste Chiaráin in late August.
This webpage contains some information that will be useful to you in the process of transitioning from your Primary School to your new Secondary School.
Below you will find information relating to your first days in Secondary school, your timetable, finding your way around our school, our extra- curricular activities and some frequently asked questions.
We hope it gives you a flavour of our innovative and progressive school community.
We look forward to welcoming our new Form 1 class of 2024-2025 to our school on August 26th. (Provisional Date)
Leadership Team & Staff of Coláiste Chiaráin.
Principal's Welcome - Mr. O'Sullivan
Principal
Your journey is about to begin. I welcome each and every one of you as you embark on this exciting journey in Coláiste Chiaráin. We are so honoured and privileged to have you with us and we look forward to you reaching your full potential in all aspects of life. Coláiste Chiaráin has so much to offer you, from a wide choice of curricular options to the many extra-curricular activities that take place throughout the school year.
There is something here for everyone and this will help you reach the excellence that we strive to achieve for all.
Although making the move from primary school to new surroundings can be daunting, it is an exciting time too, a time where you will get the best support from our dedicated staff so that you reach your potential. Make every moment count as you journey with us; be the best that you can; enjoy the experience. To Parents/ Guardians, I thank you for entrusting your young people with us and I look forward to working with you over the next few years.
Welcome to Coláiste Chiaráin !
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FAQ
For your convenience we have compiled a number of Frequently asked questions below.
What are the arrangements for the Entrance Assessment in May?
The Assessment for incoming First Years will take place on Monday May 20th, 9.30am – 13:00pm, in Coláiste Chiaráin. Please take the time to reassure your son/daughter that this is a routine entrance assessment, there is nothing to worry about and everything will be explained clearly on the day.
Your son/daughter will require a pencil and eraser for the assessment and a small packed lunch for breaktime
Should you require further information or if your son/daughter cannot attend the assessment please contact the office on 061 397700 or admin@cco.ie
What are the arrangements for Form 1 students starting in August
Coláiste Chiaráin is reopening for all new FIRST YEAR students on Monday 26th August, 2024 at 8:40a.m. (morning registration) and concluding at 1.05p.m.
Please note that the First Years will finish school at 1.05pm on Monday 26th and Tuesday 27th August as part of their Transition Programme.
These dates are provisional andwill be formally confirmed in the coming weeks (Last Update 21/02/2024)
What do I need to bring on my first day?
You’ll need to bring a pencil case including some coloured pens, a pencil, an eraser, pencil sharpener and a set of colouring pencils.
You should also bring a notebook and a snack for your break.
Transport Arrangements
Parents are asked to make arrangements to drop and collect students for the first two days of school term, Monday August 26th & Tuesday August 27th. School will conclude at 13:05 on both days.
Canteen Facilities
Who can I go to for help.
Your Subject Teachers can help if:
- You are worried about class work / You can’t do all of your homework
- You have questions about something that you don’t understand in class.
- You have forgotten / lost something needed for class
Your Class Tutor can help if:
- You have questions about your new school
- You don’t understand your timetable
- You are unsure of the school rules
- You are finding it hard to settle into your new school
- You are being bullied or feel unsafe
- You’re sick and need to go home.
- Your locker will not open
We are a caring and welcoming school community. If you need support, please talk with any member of staff and they will assist you.
I would like to find out more about school rules and policies
If you would like to read our school policies, please visit the policy section on our school website.
Mr. James O'Shaughnessy
Deputy Principal
I am delighted to welcome you to Coláiste Chiaráin and I look forward to working with you over the next 6 years. As Deputy Principal with responsibility for the Junior year groups, I will be getting to know each of you individually over the coming year and hope to help you foster and enhance your unique gifts and talents. I will strive to support you and encourage you to work to the best of your ability.
Your First day at Coláiste Chiaráin....
What to Expect !
- All parents will receive an email before August 26th with full details about your son/daughter’s First Day.
- On Monday 26th August, students can be dropped at school for 8.40am and will be directed to the General Purpose (GP) Area. The Management Team and Yearhead will meet students for a formal assembly before the Class Tutors escort them to their base classes.
- When you first arrive in Coláiste Chiaráin, you will be partaking in an induction programme – this means that we will spend your first two days getting familiar with the school building, meeting your classmates and teachers, getting assigned a locker and working with your class tutor. For these first two days of school, first years will be the only students in the school so you will enjoy plenty of time and space to get to know the school.
- You will only require a notebook, pencil case and lunch for your first days.
- Every class in Coláiste Chiaráin is assigned a Class Tutor. Your Class Tutor is the teacher who will meet you with your base class group each morning for 10 minutes to make sure you are doing okay in school, that you are happy and to answer any questions or concerns you may have. Each base class group will also be given a name.
The day will begin with a presentation from the Management Team and your Yearhead.
Throughout the rest of your first two half days, you will:
Take part in “Getting to Know you” activities
Have your photo taken
Have a guided tour of the school
Receive your school books
Take part in a Treasure Hunt
Meet all your new teachers
At all times, your Tutor, Yearhead, Teachers and Management Team will be there to help you if you are feeling anxious, lost, nervous or if you are just excited with lots of questions!
Here you will find an example of a first year timetable. This will be similar to what you receive on your first day in Coláiste Chiaráin.
- Every day begins with a 10 minute tutorial with your Class Tutor
- Each class lasts for 40 minutes
- You will have 3 classes before small break (10.50 – 11.05)
- You will have 3 further classes before lunch (13.05 – 13.45)
- You will have 3 further classes before the school day ends (15.45)
- Your school day ends at 13.05 on Fridays
Each timetable is unique to you – you will share common classes like Maths, English, Irish and History with your Tutor Class. However, depending on what optional subjects you choose, you will have classes mixed with other students outside of your Tutor Class.
Establish a good routine: Organise your uniform, school bag, lunch and any other equipment you need for the next day, the night before.
Write down all your homework in your journal: Always include the ‘learning’ homework as well as the written.
Have a quiet space/station where you can do your homework: This should be clutter free. Try to do your homework at the same time every evening.
Keep a checklist of the equipment/materials that you need for every class: Keep a copy of the checklist in your locker and at home. Refer to this checklist every day to make sure you are prepared.
Keep your locker clean and clutter free: Face your books with the binder facing out so they are easily recognisable. Where necessary, use coloured folders to keep copy and textbook together in the locker. Keep a spare pencil/biros in your locker. Go to your locker in the morning, at small break, lunch and before you go home.
Declutter your bag at least once per week
Ms. Evelyn Canty
Deputy Principal
You are very welcome to Coláiste Chiaráin, on what I hope will be a fantastic secondary school experience for you. I would also like to welcome your parents and guardians, those of you that have already been with us for many years and those who are joining the Coláiste Chiaráin community for the first time. We promise to work with your son or daughter to ensure they emerge as happy, confident and hardworking young adults.
At Coláiste Chiaráin we offer an extensive range of Extra Curricular activities. We aim to develop our students’ interests and skills through the offering of a wide variety of activities to cater for all of our student population. These extra and co- curricular activities provide an excellent opportunity for students to discover and nurture their talents and develop our students’ full potential outside the classroom, in parallel with their academic development.
We offer a comprehensive range of Extra Curricular activities including:
Poetry Competitions • Culture Club • Scifest • BT Young Scientist Competition • Choir • Photography • Garda Youth Awards • Rotary Youth Awards • American Exchange • School Orchestra • Gaisce Awards • Art competitions • Student Council • Music Workshops • Annual School Musical • Foreign Tours • Student Exchange •Yearbook Committee • Ambassador School Award • Trad Group • Annual Sports Day • Green Schools •Young Innovators • Enterprise Awards • Table Quizzes Equine Club • Chess Club • Fundraising
Construction of our new state of the art building and campus began in Autumn 2018. Over the past few years we watched this project rise from its foundations to the wonderful building that has now been realised. Occupied since January 2021, the campus is fully equipped with the latest technology, catering for the most comprehensive offering of subjects, together with GAA, Soccer and Rugby pitches, in addition to hard surfaced courts for Basketball, Soccer and Tennis.
The campus incorporates over 60 teaching spaces including five Science Labs, practical rooms for Construction Studies, Engineering, Design and Communication Graphics, Home Economics and Art, a fully equipped library, multimedia studio and STEM lab, all of which facilitate the delivery of the widest-possible curriculum to our 800 students. The development of our full-size GAA, Rugby and Soccer pitches and six external court areas on the site, together with a full-sized PE Hall and fitness suite are enabling a diverse range of extra-curricular and sporting activities in the new school campus. In addition, the inclusion of a Special Education Needs Unit, will ensure that the educational needs of the entire school community are being met.
If you are interested in the development of this project, please visit our construction diary.
Our Junior Curriculum
- Irish, English, Mathematics, Science, History
- Choice of 4 Languages
- 3 Optional Subjects
- 2 JC Short Courses
- Wellbeing Programme – Physical Education, CSPE, SPHE, Wellness.
Uniquely, We Offer:
- French
- German
- Spanish
- Italian
- Chinese
Option Subjects
Students select 3 subjects from the following
- Geography
- Wood Technology (Woodwork)
- Engineering (Metalwork)
- Home Economics
- Business Studies
- Graphics (TG)
- Art Craft and Design
- Music
Leading on from our Junior Cycle we offer excellent subject Choice for Leaving Certificate subject offering.
Click Here for more information on our Senior Cycle Subject Options
Junior Cycle Short Courses
Junior Cycle Students can study two Short Courses from the list below.
All Junior Cycle students will study a Short Course in STEM. (Science Technology Engineering & Maths) and a second from the list below:
- Chinese Language & Culture
- Media Production
- European & Global Studies
- Experimental Science
- Coding
- Innovation, Creativity & Entrepreneurship
- Performing Arts
A Track Record in Curricular Innovation
- All students study a STEM short course (STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths)
- We have been teaching coding since 2002
- We were the first school in limerick to offerLeaving Certificate Computer Science
- Leaving Certificate Politics & Society (Since 2016)
- Senior Cycle Physical Education from 2024
Our Sporting programme at Coláiste Chiaráin offers a wide variety of sports to both our boys and girls. These include:
Coláiste Chiaráin has long been an innovator in the use of technology in teaching and learning. In Coláiste Chiaráin we foster the use of technology where appropriate by providing the infrastructure and training for students to use a wide variety of hardware and software platforms.
On entering the school every student is given an account on G Suite educational platform. On Google Classroom teachers set assignments and share resources. Using Google Drive, students can create and share amazing projects both online and offline. Our aim is to develop students who can adapt to the ever changing developments in the area of technology to ensure they are equipped for success. Our new campus has been designed to ensure the seamless use of technology. This is reflected in our curricular offering where we have led the way in offering Coding at junior cycle and Computer Science at Leaving Certificate along with a STEM short course for all of our students at Junior Cycle. We are passionate about technology and committed to the useful and appropriate integration of ICT to support quality teaching and learning.
Our school had the honour of winning the Best Overall School in the Republic of Ireland at the 2024 BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition in addition to our Coláiste Chiaráin student Seán O’Sullivan winning the overall BT Young Scientist and Technologist of the Year Award.
We are incredibly proud of our achievements in the STEM, Technology and Wider Science areas.
Supporting Student Wellbeing
Our student supports are to the forefront of everything we do in Coláiste Chiaráin. Every day, your son or daughter will benefit from some or many of these supports. Students will meet their class tutor each morning for roll call and general pastoral care while the Year Head and class tutor will look after the entire year group in terms of tracking their academic performance and looking after discipline issues.
We have 2 Guidance counsellors available for our students along with a Home School Liaison Officer to liaise with you the parents, a School Completion officer and a student support team made up of 12 staff members. We have a fantastic Special Educational Needs and Learning Support team in Coláiste Chiaráin who will be happy to work with you the parent in providing the very best opportunities for your child’s specific needs. Students in 1st Year can also benefit from Peer Mentoring where they are assigned a buddy from Transition Year to help and guide them through the initial transition from Primary school.
In addition to the many school supports for our students, all students follow a comprehensive wellbeing curriculum as part of their Junior Cycle. Through the Wellbeing programme, students will be learning the knowledge, attitudes and skills to enable them to protect and promote their own wellbeing and that of others.
Student wellbeing is supported through all of our subjects and by all of our teachers. Core concepts of the wellbeing curriculum are delivered through the subjects PE, SPHE, CSPE and Wellbeing. For More information on the Junior Cycle Wellbeing Curriculum – Click Here.
It is our aim to nurture a school environment that is safe and welcoming. We pride ourselves in having a positive school environment in which students can achieve and succeed both inside and outside of the formal classroom.
Form 1 Students Wellbeing Walk 2019 – Knockfierna, Co. limerick.
Email: admin@cco.ie
Telephone: 00 353 61 397700
Coláiste Chiaráin is a co-educational secondary school operating under the patronage of Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board. www.lcetb.ie
News - School Updates
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Contact Details
Coláiste Chiaráin
High Street, Croom, Co. Limerick
Tel: +00 353 61 397700
Email: admin@cco.ie
Disclaimer
The contents of Coláiste Chiaráin's web pages are provided as an information guide only.