Confey was separated from the Parish of Leixlip in 1979. Fr. Paul Freeney was the first curate in charge of Confey. He resolved to put the wishes of the first Parish Priest of Leixlip, Fr. Patrick Savage to rights. In 1832, Fr. Savage was appointed to Maynooth and Leixlip and his first task was to build a church in Leixlip. Fr. Savage had a Foundation Stone engraved with St. Charles Borromeo’s name on it, but the Archbishop of the day, Dr. Murray, had other ideas and insisted on the church being dedicated to Our Lady. Despite its chequered history, the Foundation Stone survived, and Fr. Paul Freeney chose this name for both the church and school in Confey. He then set about building a school.
ScoilSan Carlo Junior School opened its doors in September 1981 for the first time. There were six teachers on staff: Mrs. Margo McCann (Principal), Mrs. Eva Buckley (D.P.), Mrs. BridieDivilly, Ms. Marjorie King, Mr. Paddy Keegan and Mr. Seamus Aherne.
The number of pupils on roll was 201. The average class size was 35 and there were was no learning support position in the school. The first Principal of San Carlo J.N.S. was Mrs. Margo McCann and her D.P. was Mrs. Eva Buckley. Mrs. McCann retired in 2008 after 27 years service to the school. She left behind a rich legacy in the field of education in our school.
The children who joined Senior Infants and First Class in September 1981 previously attended Scoil Eoin Phoil, Green Lane, Leixlip. These children travelled from Confey to Green Lane daily by bus until our school opened. The children came from the following areas: Confey, Glendale, Riverdale, St. Mary’s Park, Avondale, River Forest and the surrounding areas.
The pupil numbers steadily increased until 1991 when we had 725 children on roll. This caused a serious accommodation problem due to the late delivery of prefabricated classrooms which lead to “dualdays” for the pupils. This meant that one half of Junior Infant pupils attended in the morning and the other half of the pupils attended from noon onwards.Our teaching staff numbered 24 at this stage.
In the early days, the school hall played a big part in the life of Confey parish as it was used for Sunday masses and other parish gatherings while the church was being built. The first group of childrenreceived their First Holy Communion in May 1982. The ceremony took placein a prefabricated church and Fr. Sean Malone officiated in place of Fr. Paul Freeney who was ill.
Following the retirement of Mrs. Margo McCann, Mrs. Eva Buckley was appointed to the position of Principal from 2008 until her retirement in December 2011. Mrs. Bridie Divilly became the third Principal of the school in January 2012. She retired in August 2014 and her successor was Mrs. Catherine Diggins who was in the role until February 2022. Ms. Clara Malaniff was then appointed as Principal. She is currently on a career break and Ms. Carol Smyth has been in the Acting Principal role since January 2023.
Currently, there are 265 pupils enrolled in San Carlo J.N.S. We have eleven mainstream class teachers, one autism class teacher, five special education teachers, nine SNAs, two job-sharing secretaries, one bus escort, one caretaker, and four part-time cleaners.
San Carlo Junior School has reached the stage where we have past pupils returning as parents and teachers. We also have past pupils who return here to do Transition Year work experience and Teaching Practice. It is great to see pupils, teachers, parents and all stakeholders in the community working alongside each other.
The school is fortunate to have a very active Parents’ Association. Their fundraising and general involvement in school life has enriched the range of activities and resources available to the children. The support of parents over the years has been greatly appreciated and every cent raised has gone back into resources and activities that benefit all children. The future for Scoil San Carlo J.N.S. and its many pupils looks bright!
Mission Statement
San Carlo J.N.S Confey, Leixlip is a co-ed Catholic School under the patronage of the Archbishop of Dublin.
Pupils range from Junior Infants to Second Class and include Special Needs pupils and pupils from overseas. The ethos of the school is Catholic. However, it also has due regard for other religions. Pupils are encouraged to be respectful and caring of themselves, each other and authority and of the school buildings and equipment.
In keeping with our school motto Step to Success with Confidence we strive to develop all our children intellectually, spiritually, physically, asthetically, emotionally and socially so that they may live a full and usefull life as pupils and ultimately as adults in society.
To do this we provide an inclusive curriculum suited to the needs of all our pupils so that each may develop to his / her full potential. We also aim to provide a caring, disiciplined and structured environment where all our young pupils feel confident about themselves and their achievements. All our pupils, regardless of background, gender and disability are valued members of our school and encouraged to feel good about themselves and their role within their class and within the school community.
We value the multicultural nature and diversity of our school population and see it as being potentially a very valuable means to exploring multiculturealism and identity in our school.
Our school promotes gender equality amongst the teachers and staff and all our pupils, boysand girls, are given equal opportunities in curricular areas and sporting areas.
Sa scoil seo déanfaimid iarract Gaeilge a labhairt chomh minic agus is feider. Cuirfimid failte roimh cách roimh paistí le eagsulacht cumais agus paistí ó chultura eile.
