Newsletter #1 September 2024

Welcome

I am delighted to welcome you to our first newsletter of the year.

We have had a good start to the term with all our students returning to their classes with great enthusiasm after the summer break.

Scoil Mhuire welcomes in a special way our new first years and we wish them every success as they begin their journey with us. We look forward to another great year where all of our students can thrive and flourish.

I personally would like to extend my best wishes to Mrs. Grant who retired in August. She shared with me her passion for Scoil Mhuire and I know that I have big shoes to fill. Together with the staff, I hope to bring my experience from former leadership roles to Scoil Mhuire to build on the great work that has gone before and lead a new chapter of development. Part of that vision is to build on our partnership with parents/guardians. Our regular newsletter will help you stay connected and keep you up to date with all the activities taking place in the school.

1^st Years 2024-2025

We warmly welcome our 1^st year students to Scoil Mhuire. Pictured below are classes 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, and 1E. Guímis gach rath agus beannacht orthu uilig.

Leaving Certificate Results 2024

A huge congratulations to our Leaving Certificate and Leaving Certificate Applied students who received their results recently. Scoil Mhuire is immensely proud of its students and we wish them all the very best of luck as they embark on the next part of their journey through life.

Mini-Mock Exams

The mini-mock exams for 3^rd and 6^th year students will run this year in October as follows:

• 3^rd Year exams – 16-18 October
• 6^th Year Exams – 14-16 October
• LCA Exams – 14-16 October

Revision sheets will be issued to all students in advance of the exams. The mini-mocks are a great opportunity for students to focus on study, improve their exam technique and prepare for their real mock exams in January.

Guidance

Upcoming open days

University of Ulster. Magee campus, Derry. Open day Saturday 14 September. Register at https://tinyurl.com/mr3dpjfh

University of Ulster. Coleraine campus. Open day Saturday 21 September. Register at https://tinyurl.com/ykz3yezt

UCAS Applications

Applications to Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine/Science submission deadline is October 15 2024. All 1st draft personal statements for UCAS should be submitted by now.

6^th Year Parents/Guardians Information Evening

On Tuesday 15 October at 7pm there will be an information evening for parents/guardians of 6^th year students to help support them with applications for 3^rd level courses, apprenticeships, scholarships, grants etc.

LCA Breakfast

There was a breakfast for our Leaving Certificate Applied 5^th year class last Friday. It was a great opportunity for students to get to know each other and to begin their first Leisure task of the year. Students were joined by SNA Claire O’Connor, Mr. Campbell, and Ms. McGonagle. Also present was our new principal Ms. E. McLaughlin, who commented on what a wonderful group of students they were and wishing them the very best for the year ahead.

Transition Year 2024-2025

Key Reminders

We wish to bring some key reminders to your attention for this academic year 2024/2025.

Uniforms

Our sincere thanks to all parents, guardians and students for their cooperation with our school uniform. Your support is greatly appreciated. Our school uniform must be worn daily as follows:

Personal Belongings

Scoil Mhuire is a big and busy school and it is not unusual for personal belongings to get mislaid. We ask that all items of uniform and school bags are clearly labelled and identifiable. We do not encourage students to bring non-school coats to school and they do so at their own risk.

Mobile Phones

Mobile phones, if brought to school, should be switched off and only used at breaktime or with a teacher’s permission. Where a student is in possession of a phone without prior permission and outside of breaktime, the phone will be handed to the teacher and kept in the main office until the end of the school day. The school takes no responsibility for damage or loss of phones and encourages students not to take phones to school.

School attendance and appointment procedure

Please see below our procedures in relation to students leaving school for reasons of illness and appointments during the school day. These procedures are underpinned by

1. Our duty of care for the health, safety, and wellbeing of all Scoil Mhuire students,

and

2. Our desire to enable all Scoil Mhuire students to reach their full potential in school by avoiding unnecessary absences. We are asking for your cooperation in the implementation of these procedures.

Students who become sick during the school day

If a student becomes ill, they should let their teacher know who will send them to the office. If they get sick at break or lunchtime, they should go to the office. Parents/guardians will be informed by telephone. The student must be collected and signed out of the school by a parent/guardian or designated adult.

Students who have an appointment

We encourage that appointments are scheduled outside of school time. Where this is not possible, students must be collected from school by a parent/guardian or designated adult who can validate the required absence.

Casual withdrawal during the school day

We discourage the casual withdrawal of students during the school day due to the impact of lost class time on student learning. In instances where the school has not been notified in advance, students must be collected from school by a parent/guardian or designated adult who can validate the required absence.

We thank you for your co-operation in implementing these procedures.

Home School Community Liaison Co-ordinator

Our Home School Community Liaison Coordinator (HSCL), Ms. McBride supports parents/guardians and students in Scoil Mhuire. Our HSCL works to foster a strong partnership between families and schools, ultimately aiming to enhance students’ educational outcome and overall wellbeing.

As part of her role as HSCL, Ms. McBride provides a variety of programmes and talks for parents/guardians throughout the year. A two hour course on how to use Google Classroom will begin next week. Details of the course will be texted to all parents/guardians. Details of courses in the areas of helping your child with 1^st year English and 1^st year maths will follow.

Upcoming Events

Please contact our main office if you need further information

Cli-mates

Cli-mates will resume again on Monday, 16 September. There will be a meeting at lunchtime in Ms. Dowd’s room SM306 and new members are always welcome. Come join a fantastic group who do all they can to improve the environment of their school and the local community.

Baking Club

The Baking Club is now up and running at Scoil Mhuire. Any students interested in baking are welcome to join the club where they can hone in their skills in making cupcakes, buns, muffins and all kinds of delicious sweet treats. Please contact Ms. L. Doherty if you would like to join.

Halloween Cupcake Challenge

Calling all bakers and food enthusiasts to take your whisk, mixer and piping bag and test your skills, in the quest to become Scoil Mhuire’s best cupcake maker! The competition is open to all Scoil Mhuire students and there will be prizes for the best cupcakes. The best cupcakes will be chosen on Wednesday, 23 October. Contact Ms. Carey, Ms. L. Doherty or Ms. O’Sullivan if you would like to enter.

Gaeltacht

Thinking of sending your child to the Gaeltacht during the summer of 2025? Please contact Mr. Clancy or any of the Irish teachers who can provide you with more information. Most Irish colleges are now accepting applications for next summer and are usually fully booked by November. Students of DEIS schools can also apply for a Government funded scholarship.

Senior Leadership Roles

Scoil Mhuire is currently in the process of appointing a Head Girl and Head Boy for the academic year 2024-2025. We will also be appointing a Senior Leadership Team of students who will work in tandem with the Head Girl and Head Boy. Mr. N. Doherty, our 6^th year Year Head, will be informing students of the application process next week.

Open Night 2025 – Save the Date

Scoil Mhuire’s Open Night for parents and students interested in joining our school will take place on Thursday, 21 November 2024. We look forward to meeting prospective parents and students and showing them everything that Scoil Mhuire has to offer.

Mercy Day Mass 2024

Our Mercy Day mass on September 25^th reminds us that Scoil Mhuire is primarily a Mercy School. It is a time when we can recommit to delivering the vision of our founder, Catherine McAuley. As part of our Mercy ethos, we aim to provide a Christian environment in which students can maximise their academic and creative potential. We endeavour to promote in each pupil a sense of belonging to and appreciation of their community at local, national and international level. We also aim to nurture and develop in each pupil a positive self-image while equipping them with the skills and advice they will need later in life.

Student Exchange - San Sabastian, Spain

Scoil Mhuire Buncrana is planning its annual exchange to Spain. Students will go to San Sebastian for one week and are partnered with a host student and stay in the home with the host family. In turn, host students from Spain come to Ireland for one week and stay in the home of the host family. The objective is to learn about the country’s language, customs and everyday life, while making friends and memories along the way.

We have proposed the following dates:

March 13th-20th San Sebastian students come to Buncrana

April 2nd - 9th Scoil Mhuire Students travel to San Sebastian

The exchange is open to TY and 5^th Year students. If your child is interested in participating in the exchange, please email sophia.gorney@scoilmhuirebuncrana.ie for more information. The deadline is Wednesday 18 September.

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