+ COVID-19

We appreciate how concerned you will be about your children returning to school during this pandemic and we want to assure you that that we are working extremely hard to implement the most robust and effective COVID-19 Response Plan, in line with both Public Health and Department of Education and Skills guidelines. The health and wellbeing of our Students and Staff are of paramount importance to us and we will do everything we can to ensure we are all as safe as possible in our school environment.

No teacher, parent or child should attend an educational setting if unwell, or if any member of their household is unwell or displaying symptoms consistent with Covid-19. Please note, in order to help limit the amount of people entering the school premises, it will not be possible for parents to drop off forgotten lunches or equipment.

Enrolled students in the school, will receive a COVID-19 return to school plan and will receive training on the first day of term.

+ Do I need to call if my child will be late for school?

We introduced a school app which will facilitates contact. Please enter a late note in the app if your child is going to be late. You can also call the school office, or email at office@hcetss.ie if your child is going to be late. If your child is running a few minutes late, please ensure that they come to the office to sign in upon arrival. Failure to do so will result in your child being marked absent. We ask that parents, guardians and carers ensure their child arrives at school before 8.20am.

+ What do I do if my child needs to leave early?

If your child needs to leave school early, please enter the permission to leave on the school app or email the school office at office@hcetss.ie. Our School Administrator will notify all relevant Teachers.

+ What happens if my child is frequently absent from school?

We are obliged to inform Túsla, the Educational Welfare Services of the Child and Family Agency, in the case of any student who is absent from school on twenty or more days during the school year. This is a legal requirement that we must fulfil regardless of the reason for absences. You will be informed in writing in advance if Túsla has to be contacted. You will receive a letter from the school to highlight absences of 15 days.

+ Who do I contact if my child will be absent from school?

Please enter the absent notice on the school app. You could also communicate with the school office at office@hcetss.ie.

+ What are the school hours?

School start time	Classes start promptly at 8.20am
Break-time	10.28 am – 10.43 am
Lunch-time	12.39pm – 1.14pm
School finish time	Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday - Classes finish at 3.10pm
	Friday - Classes finish at 12.35pm

Students are requested to be in school no later than 8.15am, so that they have time to organise themselves before classes start. It is extremely important that your child brings their lunch with them to school each day, because we are unable to facilitate parents entering the school during school hours to drop off forgotten items; this is due to COVID-19 restrictions.

+ What do I do if my child needs to leave early?

If your child needs to leave school early, please enter the permission to leave on the school app or email the school office at office@hcetss.ie. Our School Administrator will notify all relevant Teachers.

+ What happens if my child is frequently absent from school?

We are obliged to inform Túsla, the Educational Welfare Services of the Child and Family Agency, in the case of any student who is absent from school on twenty or more days during the school year. This is a legal requirement that we must fulfil regardless of the reason for absences. You will be informed in writing in advance if Túsla has to be contacted. You will receive a letter from the school to highlight absences of 15 days.

+ Where is HCETSS located?

We are located in brand new state of the art, temporary accommodation on the site of the former Greyhound Racing Stadium, Harold’s Cross. This is also the proposed permanent location of our new start of art school which will be built to accommodate 1000 students. The school is in a great location and is served by a wide range of excellent transport links and is therefore extremely accessible. Planning application for our permanent accommodation is due to be submitted quarter 2 2021. Once submitted, plans will be available to view on our school website.

+ Our Ethos

Equality Based All children within the catchment area have rights of access to the school. If the number of applicants exceeds the number of students, then random selection operates. Children from all social, ethnic, cultural groups and of all religions and of non-religious backgrounds, are welcome, equally respected and celebrated in the school.

**Child Centred** The school offers a child-centred education in which the teacher facilitates and guides the child’s learning through both formal and informal methods while encouraging the child to be an active participant in own their learning. Each child is encouraged to learn at their own pace and individual learning needs are met in so far as class size allows. Interaction between the teacher, child and parent is actively encouraged.

**Democratically Run** The school is run by the Board of Management and parents are encouraged to participate on the Board, Parent Teacher Association, and in other voluntary activities in the school. Members of the school community are invited to participate in consultation and feedback processes. Uniquely for schools in Ireland, students are associate members of the Board of Management

+ The Educate Together Curriculum

The Spiritual, Ethical curriculum supports and implements the guiding principles and ethos of the school by covering a wide range of areas including:

• Values
• Making Moral and Ethical Decisions
• Beliefs and Worldviews
• Different Teachings and Perspectives
• Diversity in Ireland
• Migration
• Power and Participation
• Gender Equality
• Development Education

+ The Junior Cycle Curriculum

Core Subjects: Irish, English, Maths, Spanish, Science, History and Geography

**Option Subjects:**
* Option 1 : Choose one from Home Economics, Music or Applied Technology. * Option 2 : Choose one from Business, Graphics or Visual Art.

One Short Course: Coding, Philosophy or Artistic Performance (choose one).

**Well-being and other learning experiences:** Physical Education, CSPE, SPHE, Ethical Education, Student Enrichment.

+ Do you have an ASD class (a class for children with an Autistic Spectrum Diagnosis)?

We currently have two ASD classes.

+ Admissions 2023 (for entry into 1st Year, 2024)

Opening date for applicationS IS 9am, 2nd October 2023. Closing date for applications is 5pm, 23rd October 2023.

Please go to [https://www.hcetss.ie/admissions][1] for further details.

+ Registration Fee

The school resource fee charge covers 24-hour injury insurance for your child, a Microsoft Office 365 license and account, a locker and tamper-proof lock, art materials, Office 365 licences, web-text, telephone, photocopying and administration charges.

Please be advised that if there is an issue with payment of these fees, we would encourage you to contact our office, in complete confidence, to discuss payment options.

+ Voluntary Contributions

In an ideal world, our schools would be funded at a level which would allow them to flourish and plan for the future, but unfortunately, the money that we receive from the state covers the bare minimum required to keep the school open, maintain, insure, light and heat it.

Voluntary contributions go some way in enabling us to provide our students with the best educational tools. We are requesting a contribution of €275.00, but any contribution, no matter how small, will help contribute to our efforts to provide the best teaching and learning experiences possible.

Contributions are gratefully received via the following methods of payment, whichever works best for you and your family circumstances:

• Electronic Funds Transfer (IBAN Details below)
• Cheque
• Monthly Standing Order/Direct Debit:

By donating €250.00 we can claim €127.00 tax back from Revenue, so your very generous donation of 250.00 is actually worth €377.00 to the school. In order for us to claim this tax you will be asked to complete a CHY3 – Enduring Certificate. Although this information is not a format that is as easily navigated as our website will be, we do hope that it gives you access to the most important information you might need, but if you need any further information, please don’t hesitate to get in touch at office@hcetss.ie and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

+ What is the school policy on mobile phones?

Mobile phones should be switched off immediately once your child enters the school campus via the green gates. During the school day, it should be stored in your child’s school bag. Mobile phones cannot be used during break, at lunchtime or during the school day. Failure to do so will lead to it being confiscated by a member of staff. For a first offence, the phone will be confiscated and a parent/guardian will be required to arrange an appointment to collect the phone from the school office. We really appreciate your support in this. Students are not permitted to enter the Wi-Fi code for the school into any personal device apart from their iPad. Please see our mobile phone policy for further details.

+ What equipment/books will we need to buy?

Each student will need to purchase an iPad and these will be used as the main learning resource. Your child will need a set of e-books. Stationery packs for your child are available to purchase from Terenure Office Supplies or any alternative supplier.

+ What costs are associated with the iPad?

There is a payment plan for the iPad, case, servicing, textbooks and optional insurance, or the total cost can be paid up front through Wriggle. Full details will be provided on enrolment.

+ What IT access is useful at home?

Your child’s iPad will have all the functionality required but will need access to Wi-Fi to access Office365.

+ Lockers

All students are allocated a locker with a tamper proof lock.

+ VSWare

This is our school administration system. You can view your child’s timetable, attendance, behaviour and school reports in Vsware. You can access Vsware via a link that is provided on our website under the Digital Lerarning section. Login details are sent to new parents before publication of the first school reports.

+ School Wise

This is a teaching and learning platform which enables our staff to unify subject department planning, assessment, learner support, gradebook and curriculum planner all into the one interactive space.

+ Office 365

Online version of MS Office, which will give each student access to a variety of Microsoft applications in school and at home.

+ Wriggle

iPad supplier

+ Does HCETSS have a dress code?

There is no formal uniform, but we would request that clothes worn are smart casual and clean and well-maintained, with no rips. We would also ask students not to wear clothing that displays offensive slogans. We require that underwear is not on show and that hoods on hoodies are kept down in class and on the corridor. False nails are not allowed and any student with long hair may need to tie it up for some classes for health and safety reasons. Comfort and practicality should be the main considerations for clothing decisions.

+ What areas of the school are out of bounds?

As part of the induction process for students, we will talk to students about areas on the site which are out of bounds due to health & safety issues, or which we cannot supervise.

+ What kind of behaviour do we expect?

We expect that students will be kind, open-minded, polite and that they will always give of their best. We expect that they will take pride in their school community and that they will look out for each other. Students should note that we will not tolerate bullying or disrespectful behaviour. We expect that all members of the school community will engage with each other with courtesy and consideration.

+ What are your policies?

Mandatory school policies for the school will be in place by the start of the school year. Other policies will be open for consultation and review once the Board of Management is setup. All of our policies can be viewed here .

+ Who do I contact if I am worried about my child?

In general, please use the following lines of communication:

• If you are concerned about a particular subject, then contact the subject teacher.
• If you are concerned that your child is anxious or worried about something, then please contact their Class Tutor or Year Coordinator.

+ What can I do to help my child settle into school?

By helping them to come to school on time and with everything they need. Encourage involvement in extracurricular activities once these commence. Follow HSE guidelines on Covid-19 symptoms. By encouraging good habits around sleep, screen time, eating, exercise, social distancing, good hand hygiene, use of face masks and homework. By reading app notifications (when it is launched) and checking the school calendar. By contacting us if you are concerned or if you notice anything that worries you.

+ How can parents become involved in school life?

We welcome offers of help from parents/guardians/carers. If you have a skill which you can share, then please contact the school office (office@hcetss.ie). There are two parent nominees on Board of Management. The Parent/Staff Association was set up in 2021-2022. Please email office@hcetss.ie if you are interested in being involved.