The theme for today was 'living life to the full for and with others’. 

Today, TY's hosted a bake sale at break time and lunch time in the school's foyer. All proceeds will go to St. Vincent de Paul in Kilcullen. Thank you to all TY students involved in the baking and selling of a variety of yummy treats and thank you to the generous students and staff who purchased/donated to charity. It is great to see action and making a difference to those in our local community!

‘For the Lord loves justice; he will not forsake his faithful ones.’‘May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice. ... May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the children of the needy.’ 

Hi everyone and welcome to our Nov/Dec issue of the newsletter. It's packed full of activities and news from the students. We hope you enjoy it!

The theme for today was ‘Family’. 

1st and 2nd year students took part in a poster competition centred on the theme of ‘Family’. 

The winners were selected by members of our Ember team. 

1st Year 

1. Dara Belle Brennan (1B) 
2. Katie Moloney (1C)
3. Molly Maher (1D)

2nd Year 

1. Heidi Kelly (2C) 
2. Kitmarie Hunter (2C) 
3. Adam Byrne (2A)

The prizes were given out last class today. 

Well done to all who took part and congratulations to our winners. 

Dear God, help us to play a positive role in our families. We know we won’t get it right all the time, just as we know the other members of our families may fall short, as we all have human weaknesses. Nevertheless, help us to do our best in practical, useful ways. Help us to explore ways of bringing prayer into our family life. If this doesn’t work out, help us at least to pray for the other members of our families. Amen.

In October 2024 students and teachers took part in our first ever Erasmus Days Challenge. We are very proud of our debating team who were at the centre of the event which was held in the school under the supervision of the Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann, Seán Ó Fearghail TD. The students demonstrated strong skills, proposing and opposing a motion on the benefits of being an EU citizen. This occasion provided an opportunity to showcase EU values and citizenship. We are delighted that our  event was awarded the title of overall 'Irish Winners for Erasmus Days Challenge". We would like to thank Leargas for organising the Pizza Party and providing stationery packs to all involved. Some of the students on the debating team are currently preparing to participate in a Model United Nations Conference in Belgium next month.Well done to all involved.

We look forward to the outcome of the McGuire's participation in the TV show Ireland's Fittest Family which was filmed last Summer. The show will be aired this Saturday Jan 25th on RTE 1 at 6.35pm. CPC's TY Student Scott and 6th Yr Student Megan alongside their parents Darryl and Aileen McGuire were coached by Donncha O'Callaghan for the event. Even though the family know the outcome we wish them the best of luck and have our fingers crossed they made it through the next round. 

As you are aware this week is Catholic Schools Week and the theme for today, Tuesday, is ‘Life to the Full in our Faith Community’. 

Some of our school community joined the wider community at mass at 9.30 a.m this morning. It was great to see Cross and Passion College represented in our faith community. It also allowed those who volunteered to attend morning mass in the local parish to reflect, pray and engage in mass.

God, please help us to be thankful for the communities in which we live – family, friends, parish, sports and all the other communities we are a part of. They enhance our well-being and help us to develop, to find hope and to live a fuller life. We know they are not perfect. After all, they are made up of imperfect human beings like ourselves. Help us to be understanding of people’s failings, help us to lift up rather than put down. Amen. 

We look forward to the next few days as we continue our celebration of Catholic Schools Week (2025) and continue with our activities relevant to the day's theme.

This week is Catholic School Week. 

Throughout the week, students will be engaging in a variety of activities and reflections centred around the theme of ‘Alive in Christ’. 

Today, Monday, the theme was ‘Friendship’. 

‘Friendship is one of life’s gifts and a grace from God. Through our friends, the Lord refines us and leads us to maturity. Faithful friends, who stand at our side in times of difficulty, are also a reflection of the Lord’s love, his gentle and consoling presence in our lives. The experience of friendship teaches us to be open, understanding and caring towards others, to come out of our own comfortable isolation and to share our lives with others. For this reason, there is nothing so precious as a faithful friend’. 

1st years engaged in a ‘Speed Friending’ activity today. This gave them an opportunity to speak to and learn about peers outside of their class group. 

We will be marking every day with a different activity depending on the theme for the day. 

Many thanks to everyone who has registered interest in attending Saturday Study. All emails / messages were received and all of those students are invited to attend Saturday study tomorrow, 18th January at 10am.

Please note the following carefully:

• entrance to the school will be via the small staff door on the Daybreak/convent side of the school only. No other door will be open.
• the door will only be opened at 10 so please do not arrive too early.
• the door will be locked shortly after 10am so please do not arrive late.
• study is in silence - any disruption will not be tolerated. This facility has been respected for many years by the students who have attended. If you think you will not be able to study in silence for the 3 hours then perhaps this setting is not for you.
• there is normally a short break half way through.
• study ends at 1pm and if you attend you are expected to stay the full time.

I hope that those who attend will find it beneficial. 

Please keep an eye on the app for future notifications about Saturday study.

J Leonard

The entrance assessment for incoming 1st years 2025-26 will take place for all students offered a place on Saturday, February 8th 2025. 

The parents/guardians of incoming 1st years were sent an email this morning outlining the details of the running of the assessment. 

If you are the parent/guardian of an incoming 1st year and you have not received the email, please check your junk mail. If the email is not there, there is more than likely an error with the email address on our system. If you have not received the email, please email entranceassessment@cpckilcullen.com outlining the name of your son/daughter, we will forward you the email and rectify the error on our system.

Thanks in advance for your cooperation with the above. 

Aimee Kelly

Leader of Student Testing