Mission Statement-
Gallen Community School is a caring and Christian Community, committed to quality and excellence in education and central to this is our motto “Creideamh and Cultur”. In this environment of faith and nurturing we aim to share with parents the spiritual, moral and intellectual formation of their children. We pursue an educational programme which is broad, balanced and challenging. We pursue a pastoral care system, which encourages self-esteem and promotes a sense of personal and social responsibility. Our goal is the informed student who prizes truth, appreciates the value of learning and is mature and honourable.
Changes
to Gallen
C.S. Board of Management
In January 2017 Eamon Dooley resigned from the Board of Management and Mary Cotter Bracken was nominated as the new Laois /Offaly ETB representative. One of the staff nominees applied for voluntary redeployment and has accepted a transfer position in late May therefore there will be a new staff nominee elected in August 2017.
Current Priorities for the Board of Management:
- Continue to support the principal and staff in maintaining academic excellence and also providing opportunities for students to engage in and be supported in their social and personal development and wellbeing
- To examine factors that may lead to an increase in enrolment over the coming years given the decline of population in our primary schools /transport routes.
- To ensure all the partners continue to engage in Strand Three to maximise the potential for engagement of learning so as all students reach their potential and beyond
- To examine and reflect on possible actions needed following completed reports by the DES/ NDFA and Pario regarding safety issues along the river Vis a Vis future flooding and fire escape routes.
- Completion of current review of Health and Safety Policy.
Work commenced on these priorities and will be ongoing. To date, a Health and Safety consultant was appointed and a Health and Safety Policy has been reviewed and ratified. Some risk assessments have to be completed in September 2017
The Board has been informed by the principal following her meetings with Schools Bundle 1 that the H&S review regarding the evacuation route has been completed by PPP Co. The Report was finalised and a copy was issued to the School, the chairperson and another Board member received a copy of this. PPP Co confirmed that all recommendations are being adopted across SB1 & SB2 Schools. Two signs were installed also and the path has been gravelled. The Board is awaiting a technical report on proposed solutions to flooding from the DES which has been drawn up by PPCo in consultation with the NDFA.
Board members are still concerned about the lack of a barrier along the riverside in the event of an emergency evacuation and are keeping this matter under close review.
The Board of Management utilised the free service provided by ACCS to conduct an ICT audit within the school and D. Redmond provided a report for the Board. The recommendations are being looked at. A subcommittee will be set up to look at an overall digital strategy for the school. We have received an ICT grant and to date the Board have sanctioned that the Wi-Fi system in the school to be upgraded over the summer. Two computer rooms are being upgraded to windows 10 and the school will work with the company Wriggle to implement a coherent move to Microsoft 365 for all staff and students and use this platform to start to embed some of the other Office365 services into teaching and learning.
Trustees
A meeting was held on July 7th 2017 between the principal and the Trustees of Gallen CS. Bishop Francis Duffy, Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise, Mr Joe Cunningham, CEO of Laois /Offaly ETB and Sr. Rowena Galvin, Provincial of the Cluny Sisters travelled to Gallen CS to meet with the principal. It was an informal meeting where the role of the Trustees in the school was discussed. The principal gave an overview of the school year 2016/17 to the trustees. She thanked them for their interest in our school and for their BOM nominees who are very committed Board members and have given a great deal of time to our school this year.
School Development Planning
Policies reviewed / ratified by the BOM 2016/2017
- Cluny Centre Admissions Policy
- Health and Safety Policy
- Code of Behaviour
- Staff Bursary Policy
Industrial Dispute
In October 2016 the Chairperson and Principal attended a meeting with ACCS and then met the other Board members to explain how the industrial dispute was affecting schools There was three possible situations facing community schools. Following discussion the decision was taken that on Health and Safety grounds the School must close on Thursday 27th for the first day of the strike. A letter was posted home to parents explaining the situation.
School Self Evaluation and actions taken in 2015-2016
Due to Industrial Action whole school planning meetings were not held during the year but informal meetings also took place with different groups and subject planning meetings were not affected. The SSE staff which is cross curricular met for regular lunch time meetings and focused on some of the themes from the Instructional Leadership course that 3 staff members attended.
Plans were drawn up to implement a multitifaceted approach on the agreed Strand 3 “Student engagement in learning” for September 216. Work begin on preparing to include a new section in the student journal for September 2016. Staff had an inservice in August 2016 and all students had one or two classes dedicated to explaining how they can engage more in their own learning. A workshop was held for parents in September 2016 which also addressed this theme.
A review of the TY Work experience programme was undertaken and in September 2017 we are reverting to a full day on a Friday. While employers were happy to continue supporting our school, parents in a small majority favoured a return to the 2 weeks work experience due to some problems transporting students to a workplace.
All classes were timetabled for 40 minute duration as per DES circular in September 2016.
School Inspection: Management Leadership and Learning – December 2016
In December 2016 the Board of Management welcomed Eibhlin Ni Scannlain and Ann Daly to our school where they undertook a MLL Inspectoion. We had a long meeting where we got an opportunity to outlined our priorities as a Board and to highlight the good work that is being done by school managment and staff. We got an opportunity to formally respond to the Report which forms part of the Final report.
Reponse to the Report: “The Board of management acknowledges the positive MLL report as undertaken by the Inspectorate in December 2016. The BOM welcomes the affirming comments regarding the inclusive ethos in Gallen Community School and student care being at the heart of the school which was corroborated in responses to questions from both parents and students. The Board is proud of the acknowledgement in the Report of their commitment to ensuring that Gallen CS remains a focal point for the community. The report recognises that parents are both welcome in the school and have a strong voice in policy development.
It is gratifying for the Board of Management that the quality of management and leadership, teaching and learning, as well as the overall impression of the school as an inclusive, caring and supportive educational environment have been highlighted in the report.
We are pleased that the broad range of subjects and the co-curricular and extra curricular activities reflect the commitment of the staff to extending students’ learning experiences and the acknowledgement of progress implemented from previous recommendations. The Board appreciates confirmation of the Third Strand of SSE being best placed for our school and that management and staff are well placed to build on progress and improve.
The Board would like to thank all members of the school community for their hard work and commitment to our school”
Reponse to address the recommendations in the Report:
“The recommendations of the Inspectorate will be addressed as part of the school’s improvement plan in the immediate future. As stated in the report, the Board and senior management demonstrate a good capacity to lead school improvement. Senior management will meet with subject departments to ensure uniformity in their planning based on the analysis of learner outcomes. Senior management will also continue to support teacher collaboration and observation in an effort to share already very good practices in the classroom.
Since the inspection took place, work has already commenced on steps to implement the recommendations contained in the report. These include:
- Review of TY work experience is completed with parents, students and employers and a TY team is in place.
- An SEN team has been set up and all resources will be appropriately deployed.
- Timetable for Sep 2017 will allow sixth years have a double PE class
- Our application for a French Assistant has been approved.
- The Student Council welcomes the opportunity to undertake leadership training and have suggested ways of extending student involvement across the school.
All recommendations in the report will be progressed, and we will continue to work in partnership with staff, parents, students and the wider community to achieve the excellence to which we aspire.”
In-Service Training
Gerladine Kenna attended the ACCS Convention with the Principal in March .The Board of Management agreed to fund three staff members to complete the Barrie Bennett Instructional Leadership Course over a two year period. Two staff members along with the deputy principal attended.
In-service was provided for all staff on:
- Getting students to engage in learning – Supergeneration August 2016
- Using Edemodo- delivered by a staff member
- Using Interactive whiteboards- delived by a staff member
Staff members attended in-service on a variety of topics including:
Numeracy
Project Maths
CPD for newly qualified teachers.
Science Teachers re: Junior Cycle Framework,
Subject Association Meetings
Assessment of LCVP Portfolio Work,
Guidance Counsellors Supervision
Chaplains Conference
SESS seminars
NAPD Annual Conference
ACCS Education Conference,
ACCS , Annual Conference,
ACCS Allocations workshop
Curriculum & Special Needs Education
The school offers a great choice of subjects at Junior and Senior Cycle. While Transition Year is optional the vast majority of students in third year pick it. Science was timetabled in the core and students followed the new syllabus. Students in first year sampled other subjects on a rotational basis throughout the year and picked their subjects for second year in April. Students in second year continued to follow the new English syllabus. It is envisaged that there needs to be a review of how the first year modules are working before Christmas 2017 due to changes in time given to some subjects under the new specifications.
Support is provided for students with Special Educational Needs. This was done through providing extra class divides in some subjects, withdrawing students from class either individually or in small groups and co-teaching . This year some staff members engaged in team teaching and it is the hope that this will continue next year. Application was made to the Special Education Needs Organisor for resource hours and/or assistive technology as the need arose. Applications were submitted to the State Examinations Commission for Reasonable Accommodations for students sitting State Examinations. Applications were submitted to the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) for Educational Psychological Assessments for students identified as requiring assessment and a number of students were assessed or had assessments reviewed during the year.
The students in our Cluny Centre follow programmes designed to meet their needs in accordance with their IEP’s. Three students completed their Junior Cert and one student completed his Leaving Certificate . Close co-operation is fostered between the co-ordinator and principal with short meetings held after school and a weekly meeting with the principal, co-ordinator and the SNAs which proves to be successful in keeping all staff informed and working as a team.
Progression from second level
The vast majority of our students progressed on to third level this year with the remainder going to PLC colleges. The principal reminded Board members that the numbers of students who progress to Higher education each year fluctuates. A lot of factors have to be taken into consideration for each year group and it is important that we highlight the successes of all students who complete a Leaving Certificate and achieve their individual goals. A very successful Careers night was held in our school in November and is scheduled to take place again in November 2017.
Pastoral Care:
Our Mission Statement highlights Gallen CS as a caring Christian community and all members of staff take an active role in the Pastoral Care of the students as an integral part of their work in the school. A class tutor is appointed to each class group and each year group has a year head. A weekly year head meeting takes place .
The Guidance Counsellor and chaplain are available to meet students as the need arises and staff can bring any concerns they have to the attention of the Guidance Counsellor, Chaplain, Deputy Principal and/or Principal. A weekly Pastoral care meeting also takes place which is attended by Principal,Deputy, Resource teacher, Chaplain and Guidance counsellor. A Traffic Light system is used to inform staff of students who need some consideration that week.
A book rental scheme operates in the school. The Parents Association funded two sets of additional books for first years to help alleviate the weight of school bags. School management do not ask parents for a voluntary contribution. During the year we were aware more families are feeling the effects of the economic situation as collection of monies for book rental and mock exams is becoming more difficult but for the scheme to be successful all parents who sign up for the scheme must contribute. Various payment plans were put into place to assist parents with the payments.This issue has been discussed by the Parents Association and at Board of Management meetings throughout the year. It was agreed that the principal informs all parents that book rental needs to be paid before students receives their books in Spetember de to non payment of book rental by some . Individual cases may get altenrative payment plans.
School celebrations take place at the beginning of the year with an Opening year mass and at Christmas we have a Christmas Carol service. In 2016/17 the chaplain promoted the Diocesan John Paul 11 Awards in conjunction with some parents and the Parish Liturgy group. A group of students received bronze medals from Bishop Francis and one student achieved a Gold medal in a ceremony in the Cathedral in Longford. Some students attended the Youth Congress in January 2017 as part of the mental health initiative “Cycle against Suicide”.
The school achieve School Ambassador status in September 2016 and has also been awarded the same for 2017 which will be recognised at a ceremony in autumn 2017. This initiative will continue next year in an effort to support students in their understanding of mental health and the sources of help that is available in their school and their communities.
The student council has met regularly and given some very good feedback on school policies and school matters. At Easter they held an Easter egg hunt with funds going to a past Student who is going to Africa on a summer programme. The student council also discussed the implementation of a prefects system next year and also a trial peer mentoring programme. The school will be advised by the team in Castletown Co. Laois who provide training and assistance for schools.
Guidance
The DES did not give a curricular concession this year for a Guidance counsellor but the principal was able to retain the post within the staff allocation . The Guidance counsellor had timetabled classes and one to one counselling accross all years during the year by appointment or referral. She is also a member of the Pastoral care team that had scheduled weekly meetings.
PR
A member of staff liaises regularly with the local press and sends in articles for publication. Another staff member works with Transition years students to publish an in-house newsletter during the year. The school website is updated every week. Our school newsletter “Gallen CS News and Views” is printed at Christmas and at the end of year. A copy of both Newsletters was sent to all parents/guardians. The website publishes this school report along with a report from the Parents Association and Student Council.
Student Achievements
Positive behaviour and student achievements were recognized and acknowledged at year group assemblies throughout the year and highlighted on the student notice board in the GPA area, on the TY Newsletters, Gallen CS News and Views and on our school website. The Junior Merit awards continued. This year we moved our annual Academic Awards night to one hour on the Friday afternoon before the Halloween break so all the school community could see and be inspired by students who excelled in their house exams and others who excelled in the Junior and Leaving Certificates. These award winners were determined by the results achieved in the State Examinations. A Board of Management Scholarship was given to the student who achieved the highest grades in the Leaving Certificate. Gallen CS scholaships were awarded to all who got more than 500 points in their Leaving Certificate. Subject Departments presented awards for outstanding achievements in particular subjects. Awards were also given for Junior Certifate achievements.
Health and Safety
Sodexo continues to offer a comprehensive facility management service to our school. Weekly meetings between the principal and the Facility Manager ensure health and safety matters are prioritised. Two fire drills were held during 2016/17. A staff member is a safety representative and carried out an annual audit with all the staff in practical subjects. Items of concern were highlighted at the weekly meetings with Sodexo who took the necessary actions.
To date, a Health and Safety consultant was appointed and a Health and Safety Policy has been reviewed and ratified. Some risk assessments have to be completed in September 2017
The Board has been informed by the principal following her meetings with Schools Bundle 1 that the H&S review regarding the evacuation route has been completed by PPP Co. The Report was finalised and a copy was issued to the School, the chairperson and another Board member received a copy of this. PPP Co confirmed that all recommendations are being adopted across SB1 & SB2 Schools. Two signs were installed also and the path has been gravelled. The Board is awaiting a technical report on proposed solutions to flooding from the DES which has been drawn up by PPCo in consultation with the NDFA.
Board members are still concerned about the lack of a barrier along the riverside in the event of an emergency evacuation and are keeping this matter under close review.
Extra-Curricular activities
Students participated in a wide range of extra-curricular and co-curricular activities during the past year including:
Juvenile, Junior and Senior football,
Ladies Football
Junior Rugby
First year hurling during PE programme and lunchtime.
Badminton
Swimming
Junior Maths Competition,
Study Skills Seminars,
Offaly Enterprise Awards,
Young Scientist and SciFest
Maths Week, quiz and competitions,
School Musical “Guys and Dolls”
TY outings & tour to Paris.
Seachtain na Gaeilge,
1st year tour,
Visits to Cinema, Ice skating, Theatre and National Gallery.
Community Involvement:
The Board were happy to facilitate different community groups in the school over the year, these included Sandra Julian Dance classes, Naomh Ciaran Club, Ferbane Belmont minor club, Foroige, community games. They were pleased the Lynx cycling club did a fundraiser for our Cluny Centre in September 2016 and the GAA hosted Mike Denver in the school in November 2017 and the Cluny Centre was again the recipient. Thanks are expressed to our facility management company Sodexo for their support in these events.
Report of Parents Association 2016/2017
The Parents Association continued for the second year of their term. Meetings were held in Classroom 1 in the school. There were four Parent Associations meeting held during the 2016/2017 academic year and there was excellent discussion and contributions from all members. Arlene Guinan took over as secretary following the resignation of Rosemarie McLynn as her son has finished school and Geraldine Keena was elected chairperson.
In late September, Geraldine Kenna addressed parents of first years at a meeting and spoke about the role of the Parents Association and how they as parents/guardians can assist their son/daughter in school.
There was a workshop held for all parents/guardians on how to engage and assist their child in learning and making the best of the opportunities given to them in school. It was a very informative and thought provoking meeting and well attended.
The following are some of the range of topics discussed at meetings and worked on over the year by the Parents Association.
- Matters arising from BOM Reports
- Matters arising from Principal Reports
- Update on the reports from NDFA and DES on the safety of the riverbank.
- Policy on Special Educational Needs
- Health and Safety Policy
- Review of our Code of Behaviour
- Industrial situation and its impact in school.
- School Self Evaluation
- Junior Cycle Reform
- School attendance /uniform
- Academic Awards
- School Musical
- Moving to 40 minute classes and alternative times
- TY work experience
The following were the activities that the parents association got involved in during the year:
- Supporting our charity cycle with the Lynx cycling club.
- Supporting the workshop on student engagement in learning.
- Meeting with the Inspectors during the MLL visit
- Active involvement in the review of school Policies
- Academic Awards afternoon
- Refreshments during the week of the School Musical
- Writing to PACCS to express their concern at the implementation of the Junior Cycle curriculum.
Report from Chairperson of Student council 2016/ 2017
The student council of 2016/17 had a good year .Elections were held in the autumn and representatives from all years were elected.
Sixth year Reps: Joe Egan, Sarah Kenny.
Fifth year Reps: Bronagh Coughlan, John Dunican, Sorcha Egan , Joe Egan,
TY Reps: Katie Rigney.
Third year Reps: Ross McLoughlin, Aine Connaughton.
Second year Reps: Cathal Claffey, Sam Flynn, Aleksejs Nikolajeva, Cian Egan, Rueben O Reilly
First year Reps: Wiktoria Leszcsnska, Ava Grace Egan, Adam Spain, Casey Lonican, Sophie Loonam, Conor Delaney.
Cluny Centre Rep: Fiachrae Underwood.
Spanish Students Rep: Alejandro Perez
Chairperson : Sarah Kenny
Vice Chairperson: Aleksejs Nikolajeva
Secretary: Joseph Egan
PRO : Ross McLoughlin
Mrs O Toole was the Liaison teacher for the student council and meetings were held during lunchtime in her room.
The following were some of the items that the student council discussed or assisted with during the year:
- Appointment of chairperson, secretary , PRO.
- Role of the student council in the school
- Review of the Healthy Eating Policy
- Meeting with the Inspectors during the MLL
- Responding to correspondence from the Union of Students in Ireland
- Toilets and upkeep in the school
- Christmas decorations
- Orange Day for Mental Health
- Easter Egg Hunt sponsorship for past student going to Africa on a volunteer programme
- Review of the Code of Behaviour
Two of the student council: Joe Egan and Sarah Kenny will address the sixth year graduation class at the Graduation in August.
Ideas for 2017/18 :
- Introduction of School Prefects with training and separation of roles
- Mentoring programme for first years to be explored.
- Student application to student council instead of class nominations
- Meetings to be recorded by the secretary .
BOM (Report from Chairperson of BOM)
The Board of Management was in the 2nd year of its new term.
The Board held five scheduled meetings during the year and a number of unscheduled ones to deal with one issue that arose. All meetings of the Board were well attended and the chairperson appreciated the constructive discussion and professional manner of all meetings
Following on from last year’s Board to grant secondment to Mr Irwin for a third year, Mrs U Finnegan continued in her role as Acting Principal and Mrs F Scully as Deputy Principal.
The agenda for Board meetings include : Minutes of previous meetings and matters arising, Correspondence, Financial report , ACCS Business, Parents Association Business, Principal’s Report, School Policies and Procedures, School Self Evaluation, Anti –Bullying report, Child Protection report., AOB.
In December 2016 the Board of Management welcomed Eibhlin Ni Scannlain and Ann Daly to our school where they undertook a MLL Inspectoion. We had a long meeting where we got an opportunity to outlined our priorities as a Board and to highlight the good work that is being done by school managment and staff. We got an opportunity to formally respond to the Report which forms part of the Final report.
This year many other topics also discussed by the Board of Management including: safety along the river back, the industrial dispute and its effects on the school, school self-evaluation, enrolment to the Cluny Centre and mainstream, publicity, school policies reviewed , staff allocations and requests, new staff appointments, requests for use of school premises,
The Board acknowledges the support received from parents, teachers and students during the year as well as the support of ACCS and the Trustees.