Supervised Study is provided every Monday – Thursday evening in the school. It is a quiet and supervised space for students to complete homework and study. There are both one hour and two-hour options available to facilitate those with part-time jobs or younger students with less homework. Teachers from a variety of different subject backgrounds supervise in the evenings and are available to help students if needed.
Our free School Meals Programme is run by Fresh Today using all fresh ingredients which are preservative free. The menu for the week is posted on the notice board in each year group’s area every Monday.
In 2022-23 we introduced an exciting pilot with the introduction of student laptops for our new 1st Year students. We believed that these devices would greatly enhance learning, give our students valuable skills for their futures and support creativity, collaboration with other students and innovation in teaching methods.
We embarked on a consultation process with the Board of Management, teachers and the Parents Association. Following a vote of confidence from the stakeholders, we met with parents of new First Years and were delighted with the positive response to the plan to run a pilot programme with their children.
Following extensive research on the best device in terms of value for money, we chose the Lenovo 300E which has a high specification at a competitive price. It is a 64GB Model with an 11.6” Touch Screen, 4GB RAM, 10 Hour Battery Life and includes 3 Year Warranty and a Digital Stylus Pen. The cost of the laptop is €359 with an additional €120 once off fee for Wriggle, the company who will configure the devices and provide IT support to students over the three years of Junior Cycle.
Our greatest challenge has been to ask families to fund the purchase of devices. The cost-of-living crisis of recent years has further increased the financial burden on many in our community. To mitigate the costs involved for this first cohort of students in 2021, we changed the uniform to reduce costs and waived book rental fees and other costs associated with starting school and launched a Cabinteely Laptop Grant Fund to support families with the purchase of devices.
The pilot has been an interesting journey, with lots of learning for teachers, students and parents. We set up a Student Digital Team who run clinics at lunchtimes to troubleshoot issues with their classmates. Students have become confident and skilled in their use of Microsoft 365 and ebooks. They are learning how to research and to problem solve independently using their digital skills. They are improving their skills in research and in problem solving and are also developing the softer skills, collaborating and working in teams more fluidly. On a practical level, school bags are lighter. We believe that the move to one-to-one devices will create access for these students to college courses, apprenticeships and training courses that otherwise would have been impossible.
In Cabinteely Community School we work with language school partners to invite students from throughout Europe to spend a year learning with our students.
The participation of visiting students provides a more diverse and interesting sharing of experiences for all students.
Our Transitions Coordinator supports our visiting students to make the cultural transition to Ireland and to the context of the Irish education system.
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