Dear Parents,
I hope you are all well and having a nice weekend.
5th Year Devices
I am aware that many of you have ordered your device for September. Please remember to give this your attention in order to avoid delays. The presentation and Frequently Asked Questions documents are still available on the school website.
Phone Pouches
As we reach the closing stages of the school year, I am happy to report that the introduction of the phone pouches has been hugely successful in largely eliminating unauthorised phone use during the school day.
We have had some infringements in recent weeks and phones have had to be confiscated as a result. Occasionally a parent will call to Reception demanding the return of the phone before the confiscation period has expired. The phones are not returned early, resulting in some cases to offence being taken by the parent.
In order to avoid such issues I would ask that you encourage your sons and daughters to comply with the policy which has resulted in greatly reduced levels of screen time and significantly more social interaction between the students.
Homework Club
I am in the happy position of being able to extend the 1st Year Homework Club to 2nd Year students from Wednesday.
The club operates from Monday to Thursday in room 201 for one hour after school and a teacher is available to assist the students.
If you would like your 2nd year child to attend please ask them to sign up at Reception tomorrow.
Japan
The tour to Japan which will take place during the February 2027 mid term break has a small number of places available and is now open to all students who will be in 5th and 6th year next year. The available places will be filled by a lottery. Please contact swilson@goreycs.ie if you have any questions.
5th Year College Information Day.
The Guidance Department has organised a College Information Day for all 5th Years on
Thursday April 23rd in GCS. Talks include: Studying in Ulster (almost full), Apprenticeships (almost full)
and each Maths class will attend three talks from the following Colleges:
UCD, DCU, University of Galway, SETU, TUD, IADT, Maynooth University, BIFE, University of Limerick.
On Friday April 24th all 5th years will attend one talk during Period 4, from the following selection:
The Navy, Irish Rail, Fitness, Lashes & Brows, Creative Arts, Trinity College (full), Computer Science,
Ambulance Service, the Motor Industry & Zurich Insurance Apprenticeships.
Students were asked to sign up for one these talks.
We would be very grateful if you could ensure your child has signed up for a talk, posted on 5th Yr Teams.
Sports Tour to Orlando
If your son/daughter is interested in a sports trip to Orlando in 2027, please email rmartin@goreycs.ie with any questions.
This is open to all year groups as will be during mid term or Easter break .
There are places available for all year groups on the 2027 Ski trip to Italy. Please send any queries of interest to efoy@goreycs.ie
Attendance
Please encourage your child to aim for excellent attendance for the remainder of the school year. The loss of school time has a significant academic and social impact on the students and will lead to poorer academic outcomes. This in turn will influence the future career path.
Please remember to send the absence e mail in relation to appointments and absences by 8.30 each morning. This system is working well and enables the school to fully support your child.
Renovations Update
Areas of the school resemble a building site at the moment as essential renovations are being carried out. Fencing has been erected in the impacted areas to ensure that the school remains a safe environment for all of the students and staff.
The roof of the gym has been completely replaced at this stage and now the builders are covering all of the outside walls with an external wall insulation or 'wrap-around'.
All of the school buildings will go through this process between now and September and this will be followed by all of the external doors and windows being replaced.
Due to the scope of the job the Summer period would not provide sufficient time to carry out the works. This work will cease for the duration of the state exams.
The results will be worth the current inconvenience as the conditions for all members of the school community will be improved significantly.
Thank you as always for your ongoing support.
Regards,
Michael.