Junior Cycle Results
There was great excitement on Wednesday for the distribution of Junior Cycle examination results. After three years of hard work, the students of Scoil Mhuire excelled in their courses and subjects.
In the coming months, the students will receive their Junior Cycle Profile of Achievement. The JCPA will report not only the examination results but also student achievement across a broad range of areas of learning in Junior Cycle. It offers students, teachers, parents/guardians a clear and broad picture of each student's learning journey over the three years of Junior Cycle.
Scoil Mhuire wishes to congratulate the class of 2024 on their outstanding Junior Cycle results. As a school community we are very proud of your achievements and look forward to being with you on the next steps of your journey. Comhghairdeas libh go léir!
Parents’ Association
We wish to thank everyone who attended our recent Parents’ Association AGM. The following people have been appointed to roles in our association:
Chairperson: Lorena McGrory
Secretary: Jacqueline McLaughlin
Treasurer: Loretta Jordan
PRO: Marie-Clare Doyle
Board of Management: Loretta Jordan
Board of Management: Brendan Coleman
All parents are welcome to attend Parents’ Association meetings. These meetings will be advertised in this newsletter.
Upcoming Events
| Tuesday 15 October |
6th Year parents/guardians information evening in Scoil Mhuire. Learn how to support students with their applications for 3rd level courses, apprenticeships, scholarships and grants. |
| Tuesday 15 October |
Google Classroom for Parents (rescheduled from Tuesday 17 September). Contact Martina McBride to register.
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| Mon 14 – Wed 16 October |
6th Year Mini-Mock Exams
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| Wed 16 – Fri 18 October |
3rd Year Mini-Mock Exams
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| Friday 25 October |
School closes for Mid-Term Break
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| Monday 4 November |
School reopens after Mid-Term Break
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| Thursday 7 November |
6th Year Parent-Teacher Meeting. 16.15-18.45. 6th Years must attend
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| Thursday 14 November |
3rd Year Parent-Teacher Meeting. 16.15 – 18.45. 3rd Years must attend
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| Thursday 20 November |
Open Day and Open Night for incoming 1st years
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| Tuesday 26 – Thursday 28 |
1st and 5th year Christmas Exams
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| Wednesday 4 December |
School closed for staff training
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| Friday 6 December |
School Trade Fair
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| Thursday 12 December |
1st Year Parent-Teacher Meeting. 16.15-18.45. 1st Years do not attend
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Spórt ar Scoil
Golf
The first day of the Donegal Schools North League took place in Ballyliffin Golf Club last week. Scoil Mhuire came 2nd out of the 6 participating schools. Well done to Ethan Soal who came 2nd in his category with a score of 40 points. Thank you to Mr. N. Doherty for accompanying the students.
Camogie
The combined Scoil Mhuire and Crana College u16 Camogie team ventured out on a very cold and wet day recently. The adverse conditions didn’t deter our Camogs as they had a successful competition winning all of their matches in their blitz. The team now progresses to an Ulster Quarter Final. Thank you to Ms. McDermott for accompanying the students. Maith sibh a chailíní!
Gaelic Football
Well done to both of our first year Girls Gaelic Teams who attended the Donegal Blitz day in the Convoy Centre of Excellence. Also a big thank you to our TY’s Emily Coady, Eimear Doherty and Meadbh McLaughlin who volunteered to referee games on the day. Thank you to Ms. S. McLaughlin for accompanying the students.
Soccer
Well done to our U15 boys soccer team who recorded a great win againt Moville Community College on Thursday with a 6-1 win. Goals were scored by Jamie O’Donnell (3), Oisín O’Brien (2) and Cian McLaughlin (1). Our thanks to Mr. Sweeney for accompanying the team.
5th Year Art Trip
Ms. R. Deeney’s 5th year art class will visit the Sligo Model Art Gallery next Tuesday, 15 October. This trip will help students to prepare for the visual studies section of the art curriculum.
Maths Week 2024
We are excited to announce that next week is Maths Week at Scoil Mhuire. We have organised a week-long quiz for all students and staff with daily quizzes running throughout the week. Students with the highest points by the end of the week will win some exciting prizes.
On Friday we will have a special day of fun and activities for all non-exam year students. We look forward to a fun and engaging week promoting the importance of maths in our lives.
TY News
Transition Year Sleepout
Congratulations to Scoil Mhuire’s TY students and their teachers who took part in the Scoil Mhuire TY Sleepover last night. The sleepover was organised to raised much needed funds for Focus Ireland as part of the charity’s ‘Shine a Light’ campaign to raise awareness and funds for homeless people all over Ireland.
Drum Workshop
Our TY students recently took part in a high energy drum workshop that was facilitated by Seamus Devenny. Our TY students were joined by Italian exchange students from Assisi who travelled to Ireland with the Northwest Academy in Derry. Our 1st year music class even got in on the action.
Changemakers
Our TY students began their Changemakers journey today, learning to communicate their ideas and present these to a group of their peers. This Young Changemakers programme has been designed and delivered by Bespoke Communications with the generous support of the 5Ten Trust. The programme is a shared education experience to bring students from all four of the Inishowen Post-Primary schools together. The programme will give our students the tools to communicate with intent and impact so that they can influence change in the world around them and bring people together with their ideas.
LCA News
Teambuilding Day
Our LCA students has a fantastic day at Oakfire Adventures last Friday. They did a bit of monkeying around in the trees and zipped through the forest. Our thanks to Ms. K. McGonagle for accompanying the students.
Healthy Food Made Easy
Our LCA 2 students are taking part in a health and nutrition course called 'Healthy Food Made Easy, which is being run in conjunction with our School Completion Programme and the HSE. So far they have made hummus, guacamole, pizza and apple crumble. Thank you to everyone involved in providing this important independent living skill.
Student Spotlight
Congraulations to Aoibhinn Hegarty from 2D who recently signed with Derry City U15 Girls. We wish Aoibhinn every success with her new move to the Candystipes.
We also wish to congratulate Orla Strain 3C and Tess Graham 2B who are also moving to Derry City.
The girls are pictured with Sophia McLaughlin and their coaches Kieran Grant and Shane Graham.
Our School Ethos
Moment of Reflection
During this Autumn season, may we take a moment to reflect.
The days of light get shorter and the leaves begin to fall. All of creation needs some time to pause, let go and renew its energy and inspiration. As we begin to see the bare branches on the trees, it reminds us to let go of our worries, problems and fears.
Placing our trust in God, may we let go of all that we need to and find healing and hope.
1st Year RE class
Students in 1st Year are completing their information leaflets on the life of Catherine McAuley and the Sisters of Mercy who are the founders of our school. We remember the past history of our school with gratitude, we are proud to be current students in the school and we look forward to all the talents we will share in our school in the future.
DEIS
What is DEIS?
DEIS stands for Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools. There are currently 884 primary and post-primary schools in the DEIS programme which serves over 180,000 students. Through DEIS, the Department of Education allocates additional targeted resources to schools where more support is needed.
DEIS in Scoil Mhuire
Ms. Folan is our DEIS coordinator in Scoil Mhuire. Our approach to DEIS centres on fully integrating the DEIS programme into our everyday teaching and learning to ensure that both staff and students actively engage with our DEIS plan. Our DEIS status enables our school to provide additional resources in areas such as literacy and numeracy support and to provide other interventions which help our students to reach their full potential.
We have developed a digital DEIS plan to keep pace with changes in Irish education. Data is collected and analysed across eight key areas which we use to set goals and inform our future actions. By using these insights, Scoil Mhuire aims to enhance the student experience and improve educational outcomes for all. We encourage all of the stakeholders in our school community to actively engage with our DEIS plan. We will continue to keep you informed on our progress in DEIS throughout the year.
Home School Community Liaison
Helping your child with Junior Cycle English
- English for parents of 1st years starts Tuesday 5th November 7pm-9pm
- English for Parents of 2nd years starts Wednesday 6th November 7pm-9pm.
Contact Martina on 086 054 2923 to book your place.
Google Classroom for Parents
Google Classroom for Parents (rescheduled from Tuesday 17 September). Contact Martina to book your place..
Baking Class
Our baking class for parents/guardians which began on October 2nd was a huge success. Many thanks to Ms. L. Doherty for facilitating the class.
Cli-mates
Cli-mates on their first site visit to Dunree and Port Bán beach - they worked on their manifesto and engaged in a climate action workshop facilitated by partners on the project from Norway and Sweden. Thanks to Ms. Dowds and Ms. A. Doherty for accompanying the students.
Recycling for the Senior Citizens’ Party
Students in the Oasis classroom are gathering plastic bottles and cans to raise money for the Senior Citizens’ Party on December 12th which is being organised by Ms. A. McGonagle. The total now stands at €179.55. The money raised is going towards helping Ms. McGonagle buy items for the party. The students have been bringing bottles and cans each to Supervalu in Buncrana.
The project was the brainchild of one of Scoil Mhuire’s SNAs, Meta McGonagle, and we are very grateful for the many contributions from the Clonmany area and the Ballyliffen Hotel. We are also very thankful to the many staff members who have helped us with this endeavour thus far such as SNA Annemarie Porter, our ancillary staff Paddy Lee, Peter Cloherty, and Martina Lee. We also wish to thank Ms. Dowds and the Cli-Mates team.
There will be a notice board outside the Oasis classroom over the coming weeks with our weekly total. Help us to watch it grow!
Guidance
6th Year
The deadline for UCAS applications to Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine/Science is Tuesday, October 15 2024.
The 6th Year parents progression information evening will take place next Tuesday,15 October at 7pm in the Study Room. It is vitally important that parents/guardians attend this evening to help support students with all 3rd level applications, apprenticeships, scholarships, grants etc.
5th and 6th Year students attended a very informative talk in school by Victoria in ATU Donegal this week.
Spain Week - Semana de España
As part of Spanish Week, Scoil Mhuire's Spanish department celebrated World Mental Health Day on October 10 2024 with a Flamenco and Salsa Dance Workshop. Our thanks to Elizabeth O'Donnell for facilitating the workshop and to the Spanish department for a wonderful week celebrating all things Spanish. Feliz Semana de España!
Amber Flag
Scoil Mhuire is proud to announce that we have been awarded the Amber Flag for promoting positive mental health and wellbeing. Our staff and students collaborated on a number of activities to achieve this goal. Throughout the last academic year displays were created, a fundraiser took place, guest speakers presented to students and a Wellbeing Week was run in Scoil Mhuire. Well done to all students involved and to Ms. S. O'Brien for coordinating this initiative.
Open Evening
We look forward to meeting prospective parents, guardians and students on Wednesday, 20th November 2024 and showing them everything great that Scoil Mhuire has to offer. More information will be made available closer to the date.
Enrolment
Enrolment for the 2025/2026 school year will commence on Monday 2 December 2024. Our annual admission notice for 2025/2026 can be found here
Mini-mock exams
We wish our 6th year, LCA 2 and 3rd year students the very best of luck as they begin their mini-mock exams next week.
Key Reminders
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.
School Attendance
We encourage all of our students to attend school on time every day. When a student is going to be absent or late, please follow our school attendance and appointment procedures (available in newsletter #1)
Social Media
Keep up-to-date with the latest news from Scoil Mhuire on our social media accounts.
https://x.com/ScoilMhuireB
https://www.facebook.com/buncranascoilmhuire/
https://www.instagram.com/scoilmhuirebuncrana/
If you have something that you would like featured in our school newsletter, please email micheal.clancy@scoilmhuirebuncrana.ie and we'll do our best to have it included in our next issue.