All requests are considered with regard to class allocations and we will do our best to make sure that all students are happy and comfortable in their class group.
Our classes are mixed ability in First Year.
We offer a Taster programme to all first years. This allows every student try out the variety of subjects on offer. Once the students have sampled all the options available, they generally have a good idea which ones they prefer. The teachers of the various subjects and the school’s Guidance Counsellor will help with the decision. Students are generally asked to make this decision in December of First Year.
All students remain on site and are supervised at breaktimes. This allows them time to engage in a wide range of extra-curricular activities which helps build friendships and develop student skills and abilities in areas of interest for themselves.
All student text books for First Year are ordered by the school and are available for students on entry. A contribution of just €60 is requested.
Yes, the school canteen serves a wide variety of healthy food, with both hot and cold options available. These vary daily and are very competitively priced.
The school provides a wide variety of extracurricular activities. These activities take place at lunchtimes and after school. There is something to suit everyone. Typical activities including indoor soccer, Pres Art Picassos, book club, music, walking, enterprise, chess, table tennis, basketball and Chill Club. Other extracurricular activities are arranged, depending on the demand and the interests of students. The school has also recently added Karate Club as an afterschool activity. These extracurricular activities give the students the opportunity to be active, develop friendships and cultivate their interests and passions.
While your daughter is still in 6th Class, Ms Ross Dowd, Special Educational Needs coordinator will be in contact to ensure all educational needs are addressed and supported. A suite of supports will be provided in Presentation on a case by case basis, depending on the needs of the student. Prior to your daughter’s first day you will be invited to the school to discuss any particular needs your daughter may have. Please contact the school for further details.
Presentation Secondary School academically tracks all students from the time they start first year. This ensures that every student is appropriately supported to achieve in every subject area. Students who need any help are identified early and the benefit of this intervention is always noted by parents and students. High achievers are identified early and challenged by receiving encouragement and differentiated work. They are also urged to take part in programmes specifically designed to progress their learning such as the Centre for Talented Youth.
We use Microsoft 365 as a digital tool during the school day and to assist blended and remote learning. Each student is allocated an account which gives access to a suite of Microsoft products which can be used at home or at school. All students receive training on how to use the technology when they are in first year to ensure that they can complete any tasks they need to online.
Please see here for details of the full school uniform requirements.
Yes, there is a special uniform required for PE. Please see here for details of the full school uniform requirements.
Each year group has a Year Head. This staff member will have special responsibility for the welfare and wellbeing of the year group. They will be a link person for you should you have any concerns. You can, of course, always speak to the Principal or Deputy Principal. The phone number of the school office is 066 7141178. You can email queries to info@presentationcastleisland.ie
Yes, each student receives a locker and is encouraged to use it to reduce the weight of the school bags. Online versions of most books are available, and students may bring devices to school to view online books if they so wish.
Presentation Secondary school has a ‘Bring your own device’ policy. This means that students can bring a device, laptop, tablet or phone to school if they wish. Devices, including phones must remain switched off for the duration of the school day except when they are in use during class time. This is to protect students from the distractions that phones can bring while also utilising the technology to progress learning. If you wish to contact your daughter or if she wishes to contact you during the school day she may use the dedicated student phone in the school office.
Management and staff at Presentation Castleisland continually seek out new ways to support the education and development of all our students. All achievements are celebrated in line with our core pillar of ‘We celebrate all we do as a whole school community’, regardless of how big or small those achievements are. Key achievements in recent years include:
• Outstanding academic success of students, with multiple students achieving +600 points in the Leaving Certificate and receiving prestigious university scholarships as a result.
• 27 All-Ireland Basketball titles (including an opportunity to represent Ireland in the International Schools’ Sport Federation Basketball Championships).
• 12 All Ireland National titles in the Student Enterprise programme, with students appearing on The Late Late Show in 2021 and the Today Show in 2022.
• Strong community ties and relationships, with the successful running of A Night at the Oskars in 2023 and a community pantomime performance of Cinderella into the Woods.
• Best Water School in Munster as part of the Green Schools Initiative.
• Award winning teachers.
• Presentation Castleisland is recognised as Gold Standard in the One Good School partnership with Jigsaw Kerry.
• Wide range of subjects on offer, including Music, Wood Technology, Graphics and Engineering Technology. Physical Education (PE) is also available as a Leaving Certificate subject.
• Religious Education: Students can take Religious Education as an examination subject up to Leaving Cert. This is a programme for all students of all religious traditions and none. Students taking this subject in Presentation achieve very high grades and often take this as an extra subject for their Leaving Cert.
• French and Spanish: We offer both languages to Leaving Certificate (students try both in first year and choose one). We have established links with a school in France and in Spain. Our students have travelled on an exchange to both schools to study for a week and we invite the students to Presentation for a week to experience school life in Ireland.
• Excellent feedback during a Pilot Inspection of Remote Teaching and Learning in March 2021.
• Theme weeks throughout the year including Wellbeing Week, Maths Week and Science Week.
• Health and Wellbeing padlet available to all students
In a survey completed by parents the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. 100% of parents stated that they would recommend Presentation Secondary School to others. They identified small class size and the support of the Year head as their top two reasons why their daughter settled in so quickly to first year. 94% of parents classed the support their daughter is receiving in first year as either exceptional or very good.
The wellbeing of our students was uppermost in our minds and we put in place many different strategies to ensure that they were connected:
• Each year group received training on Microsoft365
• Year heads hosted weekly online assemblies to boost the feeling of connectedness to the school community
• All students received weekly wellbeing and exercise regimes through padlets
• Staff connected with their students through online live lessons every day to maintain the momentum of learning.
• Attendance was monitored and students and parents were contacted to resolve any issues that were preventing them from attending remotely.
• School management supported students and families who were experiencing challenges with technology
• Principal was in regular contact with students and their parents during the remote learning period
In March 2021 Presentation Castleisland participated in a Pilot Inspection of Remote Teaching and Learning. Key points from the feedback included:
• There is very good provision of Remote Teaching and Learning in this school.
• The school’s policy of following the school timetable during remote teaching and learning gave structure, certainty, clarity and routine to all.
• There was excellent SEN provision for all.
• The holding of weekly Year Group Assemblies was commended.
• The Inspectors said it was ‘very obvious that communication is a priority for this school’.
• Clear, decisive messages are communicated through a variety of mediums.
• The school makes very good use of Microsoft Teams, VSware and the School App.
• Student voice is central to decision making in this school
• Students feel listened to and are included in decision making, and that is commendable.
Students regularly comment on how welcoming and friendly the whole school atmosphere and culture is in Presentation Castleisland. Respect and positivity are promoted in all aspects of daily school life, and students are encouraged and supported in all that they do. With smaller class sizes, the relationships between teachers and students are nourished and cultivated. School culture is developed by practising the beliefs, values and actions of our Ethos Tree, and also by living out our 5 Pillars every day:
1. We engage with the local community
2. We celebrate all we do as a whole school community
3. We develop an inclusive growth mindset
4. We include everyone
5. We are respectful, kind and most importantly, we are happy
On Friday afternoons, a song selected by students is played throughout the school to ensure students finish school for the week happy and content.
Yes, there is a mentoring programme in place between Transition Year students and First Years. Each First Year student is assigned a mentor who will support them during the transition period, help familiarise them with the school and act as a contact point for any queries or questions.
A comprehensive programme is in place to ensure the transition to secondary school is enjoyable for all students. Critical supports include:
Before your daughter starts in our school:
• Open Day Event to introduce you to our management, teachers, facilities and other students
• School staff connect with primary schools
• Individual tours provided at any point throughout the year by appointment
• Contact between the Special Educational Needs Coordinator and each primary school to ensure all educational needs are addressed and supported
• Induction Day for sixth class students
• Welcome Evening for Parents/Guardians
• Parents and guardians are offered individual meetings with management in August to discuss any concerns or issues before school begins
• Contact between the Year Head and incoming students
• Requests taken for your daughter to be in the same class as friends from primary school
Once your daughter is in First Year:
• Year Head and class tutors with specific responsibility for first year student welfare and wellbeing. Regular assemblies with Year Head throughout the year
• First year students will have a half day on Day 1 with their senior mentors, to help settle into our school
• Mentoring programme delivered by trained Senior Cycle Mentors
• Assigned a locker for the year, with your daughter’s name on it – free of charge
• Assigned a shelving area beside the lockers, to place bags, jackets etc.
• Assigned the canteen as a base room for break and lunch times for all first years to mix and get to know each other
• Hot meals available at low cost in the school canteen
• First Years allowed out 5 minutes early at lunchtimes and end of day to access lockers, canteen and buses
• ‘FUSE’ – Anti-Bullying Programme
• First Year induction programme ‘You Are Here’
• A variety of team building activities to promote a sense of belonging to our school
• Wellbeing workshops for students at critical times during their first year
• Taster of all option subjects until Christmas of First Year
• Parents / Guardians’ Information Evening
• Individual student supports and parental meetings as required
• Welcome Ceremony to celebrate your daughter’s transition to our school
• Information talks for parents on a variety of topics e.g., how to support your daughter during the transition period
• Study skills workshop to develop good study habits at an early stage
• A wide variety of lunchtime and after school activities
• Wellbeing Room, Wellbeing Garden and Wellbeing Padlet
• After school study
The school is open to admissions from students of all religious traditions and none.
Yes, our school encourages all parents to make contact with the school. Any concern is a concern that must be shared. You can make contact with the Year Head or member of management through the school office. The phone number of the school office is 066 714 1178. You can email queries to info@presentationcastleisland.ie.
Alternatively, you may submit a note through the school app.
Yes, the school provides supervised after-school study for 4 evenings a week.
App