Good morning Parents / Guardians,
As we reach the end of another busy week in school, I would like to thank our students and staff for their continued hard work and positive engagement. I am sure you are all looking forward to the long weekend during which we celebrate St Brigid’s Day and the beginning of spring. The signs of Spring remind us of new beginnings, growth and hope. We wish all our families a safe, restful and enjoyable bank holiday weekend.
Please take note of the specific points of information below. Have a lovely long weekend and we look forward to welcoming students back refreshed on Tuesday, 3rd February.
Kind regards,
Sarah Green
Principal
U19 Soccer Final vs Kylemore College
Hard luck to our U19 Boys Soccer Team who lost today’s league final to Kylemore College. With a tight scoreline of 1-0, there was very little between the two teams and all who had the pleasure of watching the match got to witness a great performance from both sides. Thanks to all the supporters – staff, students, parents and guardians and family members who came out in force to cheer on the boys. We were so impressed by their positive attitudes, their teamwork and how they kept in the game right up to the last minute, showing a lot of determination. We couldn’t be prouder of them and their dedicated coaches, Mr Whelan and Mr Eustace. Onwards and upwards!
Pre-Junior Certificate & Leaving Certificate Exams
The SC PE Hall has been set up today for the LC Established Mock Exams which begin on Tuesday. We wish all our 6th Year LCE students the best of luck. Parents and guardians, please review your child’s timetable with them. Please make sure they attend their exam on time each day. Our LCE exam rules state that students cannot leave the exam hall within the first one hour of the exam. This is to avoid disruption and disturbance to all who are sitting exams in the exam centre.
Leaving Certificate Established Mock Timetable
The JC Mock Exams begin on Friday, 6th February. Again, parents of JC students, please review the exam timetable. Our JCE exam rules state that students cannot leave the exam hall within the first one hour of the exam. This is to avoid disruption and disturbance to all who are sitting exams in the exam centre.
Junior Certificate Mock Timetable
The LC Applied Mock Exams begin on Monday, 9th February. Again, parents of JC students, please review the exam timetable:
Leaving Certificate Applied Mock Timetable.
Our LCA exam rules state that students cannot leave the exam hall within the first 45minutes of the exam. This is to avoid disruption and disturbance to all who are sitting exams in the exam centre.
Any student who is entitled to accommodations for their exams under the RACE Scheme will have their accomodations in place for the Mock Examinations. Thank you to our SET Lead Teachers and SNAs who coordinate our Separate Centres.
The Mock Examinations can be very challenging for students so please be extra supportive of your child as they commence this set of important exams.
3rd & 6th Year Parents – Date for your Diary
3rd & 6th Year Parents – Date for your Diary Parent / Teacher Meeting – Thursday, 26th February at 4.15 – 6.45pm on the Senior Campus.
Webinar for Parents – ‘Talk to your Child/Teenager about Vaping – Get the Facts’
We are aware that some of our students are smoking vapes and purchasing vapes that contain other substances in them from local shops. It is illegal for a young person under 18 to smoke vapes. We are taking it very seriously if we find someone using a vape in school with sanctions up to and including suspension and / or referral to the Board of Management. Please discuss this issue with your child and ensure that they are aware that vaping is not tolerated on the school grounds under any circumstances. Please read the details of an upcoming webinar for parents / guardians below. If you need to have a difficult conversation with your child / teenager, please consider attending this webinar. You can listen on your phone and you don’t need to have your camera on or participate. As a parent / guardian, knowing the facts about vaping and substance abuse is empowering.
A HSE online webinar for Parents entitled ‘Talk to your Child/Teenager about Vaping -Get the Facts’ will take place on Tuesday, 3rd February 2026 from 7.00pm — 7.45pm.
The webinar topics include:
-What are E-cigarettes /nicotine pouches?
-Health risks
-Facts and figures
-Tips on talking to your child/teenager about vaping.
Interested parties may book HERE. Please be advised that spaces are limited and on a first come first served basis. As of Friday evening, there are 74 places available.
Incoming 1st year Meeting
We had a fantastic turnout on Thursday at our first general meeting for our incoming 1st year students with a packed house full of excited students and parents / guardians. Thanks to all the staff from our Transition Team that helped on the night. We know it really helps the new 1st years and their parents / guardians to put faces to the names of some key staff who will support them as they transition to secondary school.
The first group of students came in for their CAT4 Profiling Afternoons this afternoon and we look forward to seeing the students from St Ultan’s, MQA 1&2 and St Louise’s on 6th February from 2.45pm – 5.30pm and to keep building on the positivity of these initial settling in experiences.
Updates from Transition Year
The TY Show auditions take place in school next week on Wednesday 4th February. Best of luck to all the students who have signed up to audition.
TY students will be on work experience from 9th–13th February.
NDP Investment Strategy for Schools
Many within our school community will have seen the publication of the NDP Investment Strategy for Schools on Wednesday. This is a strategy document for 2026 – 2030.
At this point in time, the Department of Education have announced 105 projects (80 Large Scale and Additional School Accommodation (Extensions) Projects) that will proceed to tender and construction. In this respect, proceeding to tender involves appointing a contractor to construct the building. Proceeding to Construction is the Green Light to commence building. We know that in building projects, getting to the Construction phase is a long and difficult process. Often, the construction phase is the shortest in duration!
There is disappointment that St Seton’s is not listed within the 105 building projects announced on Wednesday. However, the Board of Management of St Seton’s and I were not expecting it to be listed as we have not been sanctioned to progress to tender to appoint an integrated project team (IPT) who will design the new school. Our project has not begun working through the various stages of the building programme. We know the Department’s plan is to appoint an IPT for St Seton’s new school building in 2026. This team will draw up the plans and produce a report which is the stage 1 report.
The timeline that we are aiming for and lobbying for is to be on the Tranche 2 list of projects to go to tender and construction that will be announced post 2027.
“The first tranche of projects covers the initial two-year period of NDP rollout, and the next tranche of projects will be finalised and published afterwards (post 2027) following a stakeholder engagement process to identify the next most urgent priorities.”
By the end of 2027, it is my aim for there to be plans in place for the new building and for us to be in a position to move to tender for a contractor. This timescale is ambitious by any standards and certainly for School Buildings but that is what we are fighting hard for and putting a lot of political pressure on to achieve. We remain resolute to campaigning for getting our building built.
Yard Enhancement Works
The new fencing works on the JC will finish on Tuesday / Wednesday of next week. Following this, we await the next phase of the Yard Enhancement Works on the Junior Campus which include the installation of two Padel courts and posts and markings for soccer and basketball.
Fencing works will commence late next week on our Senior Campus. There will be a new fence running from the Field at Candle over to the tennis courts to block off the bushes where despite our best efforts, some students continue to engage in antisocial behaviour. There will be additional fencing installed at both sides of the building to block access around the back of the school and provide additional security. There will be a final fence installed preventing access into the central link tunnel area which runs between our two Senior Campus buildings. The next phase of development on the SC Yard will be the clean up of the tennis courts and installation of new posts and goals.
Anseo Attendance Challenge – 19th January – 11th February 2026
As we enter another of our current Attendance Challenge, please encourage your child to aim for full attendance next week. It’s another short week so all the more reason to see our attendance on Tuesday increase! Good habits around attendance have to be practiced. If your child is struggling with their attendance, please reach out and talk to us. We will always work in partnership with you as parents / guardians to collaborate and work together to help your child experience success in school.
Celebrating School Success:
- Well done to the TY debating teams who took part in Round 1 of the “Label Jars, Not People” event with BYS on Wednesday, and thanks to Ms McDarby and Mr Kiely for their support.
- Eleven 5th year students graduated with a Level 6 Certificate in STEM Skills from Maynooth University yesterday. They completed the programme in TY last year. The students who graduated are Malachy Byrne, Katelyn Doran, Adam Kerrigan, Paul Kerrigan, Donovan Lynch, Oisin McKenna, Conor Murphy, Keith O’Toole, Erin Percival, Katie Phelan, Bi Meng Sun. Thank you to Ms Griffin for her leadership of the programme and her support for the students.
- Well done to the U15 Girls team who drew their match on Monday. They have one more match next week and we are hopeful they will progress if the last result goes their way! Thank you to Ms Mollison and Me Eustance for coaching this group.
- Congratulations to our 5th and 6th year LCA students who completed their Task Interviews last week. Students did incredibly well and examiners were very impressed, commenting on the warm and welcoming atmosphere in the school. This positive feedback is testament to the high quality teaching and learning happening in our LCA Programme. Thanks to all the staff who supported the students to achieve so highly.
- Our TY Students enjoyed a wonderful trip to Go Quest this week. They had a great experience and had to put their problem solving skills to the test!
Friday Reflection
“St Brigid’s Day signals the turning of the seasons — a reminder that with care and patience, new beginnings can flourish.”
