Dear parents, guardians,

We are writing to you regarding the roll out of Bí Cinéalta (New Anti-Bullying) Guidelines for all secondary schools.

In line with the new guidelines, we are surveying all stakeholders.

 Please see link below for our parent survey.

https://forms.office.com/e/f4fbAnTBvb

 Your input and feedback will be invaluable to enable us to draft our new Anti-Bullying Policy which the Board of Management will ratify later this year.

We kindly ask that all parents complete this survey by Monday 10th March.

 In order to facilitate the mandated staff training around these new guidelines, we will be closed on Thursday 10th April. Please note that there will be no lessons or after-school activities for students on this date.

 Thank you for your support with this important work.

 Kind regards,

Pádraig Conaty, Principal

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I hope this message finds you well.

Following Eoghan Cleary’s recent talk for parents, organised by our PSA, we would like to take a moment to thank all who attended and contributed to the engaging and thoughtful Q&A session. A number of pertinent questions were raised, many of which related to how we can better understand, connect with, and guide our teenagers — particularly in light of the recent Netflix series Adolescence and the considerable media discussion it has generated.

In response to this timely conversation, we are sharing some valuable resources that we hope will support you in continuing these discussions at home:

•              A recent article by Eoghan Cleary in The Irish Times: Adolescence: Five truths about our boys we need to address urgently

•              A Parent Toolkit developed by Dublin City University’s Anti-Bullying Centre: Addressing the Impact of Masculinity Influencers on Teenage Boys.

•              An insightful episode from The Irish Times podcast, In the News, featuring Dr Darragh McCashin (School of Psychology, DCU), titled Watching Adolescence?, available on all major podcast platforms.

These resources provide critical insight into how online masculinity influencers — often encountered by teenage boys via social media — can promote restrictive and potentially harmful ideologies, particularly around gender roles, emotional expression, and relationships. As highlighted in the DCU report, these influencers form part of a broader “ecosystem” of content and culture that may exploit the real challenges our young people (boys and girls) face, including struggles with identity, mental health, belonging, and perceived societal expectations.

As a school, we recognise the importance of fostering healthy beliefs, prosocial involvement, and equitable standards of behaviour. Our SPHE Department is currently reviewing the DCU toolkit and will begin integrating its core themes into relevant parts of the curriculum where appropriate. These discussions will be guided by principles of empathy, agency, and respect — enabling our students to safely navigate online spaces and to critically engage with content they may encounter.

We understand that parents cannot do this alone. These conversations are most impactful when they are shared between school and home. We encourage you to explore these resources, reflect on their messages, and consider how you might begin or continue these important discussions with your child.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support and partnership.

 Kind regards,

Pádraig Conaty, Principal                  

Mick Heffernan,  Deputy Principal

Dear Parent/Guardian;

Please inform your child to lock all bikes on campus. Here are photos of bikes that are unlocked and a bike with a lock that is not being used.

Thank you,

HCETSS

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Following comprehensive feedback from a range of stakeholders, and informed by visits to several large post-primary schools, we have made the decision to transition to a new school management platform: Tyro.

Beginning Monday, 28th April, we will move from VSware to Tyro. Over the following two weeks, key data currently stored on VSware — including behaviour records, attendance information, school reports, family and contact details — will be securely transferred to the new system.

In early August, we will complete the transition by adopting the Tyro School App, which will replace both our current school app and our payments platform. This will allow us to streamline all school communications and parent interactions into a single, user-friendly platform. Tyro will enable real-time updates to attendance records and provide easier parental access to the school calendar, noticeboard, and payment functions.

Tyro is already in use by a growing number of schools nationwide. Designed by the original founder of VSware, it retains a familiar layout while offering a more intuitive design and enhanced functionality.

To support a smooth transition, we will provide step-by-step setup instructions next week, allowing you to activate your Tyro account over the Easter break.

Thank you for your continued support.

Kind regards,
Pádraig Conaty
Principal

This webinar will explore the stress response, anxiety and the impact this can have in the home environment. Parents will be introduced to best practice strategies that can support children and young people to develop skills in emotional self-regulation. Spaces are limited, so early registration is recommended.

Register here

Dear parents/guardians, 

School will close at 12.00 on Friday 11/04 for Spring break as per the calendar.

Kind regards, School Office

Reminder - school will be closed for students on Thursday 10th April.

This is to facilitate Bí Cineálta training for all staff. Please note that there will be no lessons or after-school activities for students on this date.

2 weeks to go to the first draw on 1st May!!
All Weather Pitch Fundraising Lotto- Spot prizes added!
 

All money raised from this fundraising initiative will be put towards installation an all weather multi sports surface.

The facility will be a great asset to the school and local community, and will give students a greater level of physical education and increase the range of sport and fitness options the school can offer regardless of the weather conditions.

We hope that the weekly option of 1 line for €2.50 will allow everybody to contribute. Please pass the word on and invite friends and family.

It would be hugely appreciated if you can contribute €5 for 3 lines, and you never know you might just win!

You can sign up at our fundraiser webpage below:

https://www.ourfundraiser.ie/org/hcetss 

The following spot prizes have been added to the first draw on 1st May:

·                     €100 gift voucher for Peggy Kelly's Gastropub

·                     Family Pass Cinema Ticket- 2 adults + 2 children (or 1 adult + 3 children)

·                     A beautiful set of red and white wine from D-Six wines

Thank you so much.

Pádraig Conaty, Principal

and the Parent Staff Association

Dear Parents and Guardians,

A huge thank you from the Parent Staff Association for supporting our raffle and tuck shop run over the three nights of the school musical.

With your help we have raised €3,145 for the school!

Monies raised will be put towards improving the student experience on our new campus; such as efforts to install an all weather multi sports surface.

The lucky prize winners are as follows:

Thermomix Machine: Raquel Menequez

Mini 3D printer: Cathal O'Toole

Sole Seafood & Grill €200 Voucher: Joyce Downey Kelly

Fallon & Byrne Wine Hamper: Ruth Bannon

€50 Dunnes Voucher: Liz Rylands

Wine Set: Laura Mulrooney

If you were not there on the night to collect your prize; please call in to the school office to collect.

Congratulations to all and thank you for your support.

From the PSA

Dear Parents and Guardians,

HCETSS is carrying out a school self-evaluation this year.

School self-evaluation (SSE) empowers a school community to affirm good practice, to identify areas that merit improvement and to decide on actions that should be taken to bring about improvements in those areas.

HCETSS aims to carry out a SSE every 3 years.

Focus groups of students have been enlisted to contribute feedback; and now the school is looking for 3 parents from each year to take part in focus groups too.

These focus groups are being run at the school on the evening of 27th March at 7pm. It will probably take 2 hours of your time that evening.

The school is keen for a broad range of parents to take part- parents of children interested in sport, parents of children interested in the arts, science, parents of children who are excelling in school, parents of children who are struggling in school, parents of children with additional needs etc.

If you are interested in taking part in these focus groups and can spare the time on the above date we would appreciate it if you could register your interest by email to psa@hcetss.ie by Thurs 20th March.

This is your chance to positively impact the running of the school over the next 3-4 years.

Many thanks,

from the PSA