Our Vision
We have a vision of a School Community where equality, harmony and friendship exist. We accept and welcome that we are a community of diverse individuals. We work to ensure that each individual in our community may fulfil their purpose in life.
Ethos
- To guide each student to be the best that they can be.
- To support students in achieving their potential educationally.
- To support students to be happy in school.
- To enable students to develop into well rounded young adults, ready for college, adult and working life.
Mission
Ardee Community School is a partnership of Trustees, Board of Management, Parents, Students, Staff and our local Community. We value the on-going input of all our partners in the life of our School.
- We aim to provide the best educational environment where effective teaching and learning can take place. We aim to manage this with fairness and firmness.
- We recognise the individuality of our Students. We provide a broad curriculum designed to meet their individual needs and to help them to maximise their potential.
- We help our Students to have a healthy, wholesome and confident self-image and to develop positive relationships through our curriculum and our extra-curricular programme.
- We endeavour to co-operate with parents and religious leaders of all denominations to encourage the development of religious, moral and spiritual values in each Student.
Statement of Characteristic Spirit
Ardee Community School is a co-educational, multi-denominational post-primary school under the joint patronage of the Archdioceses of Armagh and Louth/Meath ETB.
- Community schools provide a comprehensive system of post-primary education open to all the children of the local community. An innovative approach to delivery of a wide-ranging curriculum contributes to the spiritual, moral, mental, physical and social well-being of students within their community. Community schools may also provide for life-long learning within their local community through the provision of adult education programmes.
- Our school was established under the Deed of Trust and opened on 1st September 1974 following the amalgamation of St Anne’s Convent of Mercy Secondary School, Ardee Vocational School and the De La Salle Secondary School. The values of Louth/Meath ETB as a multi-denominational state body, and the inherited traditions, Christian values and founding intentions of the Archdioceses of Armagh, are enshrined, respected and cherished in the characteristic spirit and life of our school.
- The core values of Ardee Community School are care, respect, community, inclusion, equality, justice and fairness. These values combine to provide and support an atmosphere which is conducive to excellence in teaching and learning. We endeavour to assist each student to reach their full potential in a calm, caring and creative environment.
- Our values are reflected in how we live as a school community. The unique and intrinsic value of each member of the school community is recognised and respected. All are treated equally, regardless of race, gender, religion/belief, age, family status, marital status, civil status, membership of the Traveller community, sexual orientation, ability, disability or socio-economic status. All students are given equal opportunity for enrolment, in line with the Education (Admissions to School) Act (2018) construed in accordance with section 3 of the Equal Status Act 2000. Once enrolled, our school provides all our students with equal opportunities to engage with the curriculum, school life and the local community.
- Ardee Community School provides a safe physical and social environment that reinforces a sense of belonging to the school community and wider society. We strive to enable every student to realise their full potential regardless of any aspect of their identity, culture or background. Our school promotes a fully inclusive education which recognises the plurality of identities, beliefs and values held by students, parents/guardians and staff. We prepare open-minded and responsible citizens with a strong sense of shared values with a view to contributing to a just and fairer society.
- Our school is multi-denominational where we welcome, respect and support students of all religions and beliefs. The provision of religious education, religious worship and the work of the Chaplain all combine to reflect the founding intention of the school, the school’s mission statement and the needs of the students within the school. The characteristic spirit of the school finds practical expression through the provision of pastoral, liturgical and social outreach activities, as appropriate, for each student.
- In Ardee Community School, we celebrate the partnership, collaboration and empathy which nurtures and develops our young people in a community where the essence of our ethos is care and respect for self, others and our environment.
Our School Crest
The Crest of Ardee Community School was designed during the early years of our school’s foundation in the late 1970’s and was adapted from the Ardee Town Crest. The design of our crest was the result of extensive collaboration with a designer, the school’s stakeholders, students and the town council.
The lower part of the crest consists of a red background with an image of Ardee Castle which is located on the main street of our town. The blue water symbol represents the River Dee that flows through the town near our school. The upper part of the crest consists of a pair of crossed swords pointing upwards which historically indicates battle. This may serve as a reminder of the many significant battles that occurred in Ardee and its environs throughout history including the mythological four-day battle between Cúchulainn and Ferdia. A green laurel intertwines the crossed swords symbolising victory, success and peace.
The name of our school underscores the crest along with the school’s motto from The Táin ‘Ná bris Sith:
‘Ná bris Cáirdeas’ meaning ‘Don’t break Peace: Don’t break Friendship’.
