Newsletter #6 November 2024

Open Day 2024

We wish to extend our sincere thanks to all the staff and students of Scoil Mhuire for all of their hard work in running our Open Day and Open Night last week. During the day students from all of our feeder primary schools (Scoil Íosagáin, Bridgend NS, Cockhill NS, Tooban NS, Illies NS, Muff NS, Drumfries NS, Clonmany NS, Gaelscoil Bhun Cranncha, St. Mura's NS, Desertegney NS) were given an opportunity to experience life as a student in Scoil Mhuire.

That night we opened our doors to parents and students giving them a tour of our school. There was standing room only in the hall where our principal, deputy principals, staff and students spoke about our wonderful school and all that it has to offer. We are now accepting applications for 2025-2026 and details can be found below.

Admissions 2025/2026

Further details about enrolment for 2025/2026 can be found here

Scoil Mhuire Trad Band

A massive thank you to the Scoil Mhuire Trad Band on their recent performance during our Open Night. This group of incredibly talented individuals have been practicing every week at lunchtime. They are now busy preparing for the 'Back in the Day' party as well as our annual visits to the local nursing homes before Christmas. A well-deserved pizza party was organised for the group and it went down a treat. Our thanks to Ms. McKinney for coordinating the Trad Band.

Chess Club

Aviva Stadium Trip

Our students had a great evening at the Aviva Stadium recently where they watched the Irish rugby team play against Argentina. Our sincere thanks to Mr. Galbraith and our SNAs for accompanying the students.

Scoil Íosagáin Centenary

Congratulations to Scoil Íosagáin who recently celebrated their centenary. Pictured below is our Head Boy Killian Doherty 6C and our Head Girl Kayla McColgan 6B presenting flowers to the Principal of Scoil Íosagáin, Ms. Sinéad McLaughlin.

Our School Ethos

Parish Mission

We were delighted to welcome the Dominican Fathers; Fr. Damian Polly, OP, Fr. Maurice McColgan, OP, and Fr. Blazej Bialek accompanied by Fr. Bradley to our school this week as part of the Buncrana Parish Mission. They spoke to the students on the importance of nourishing the spiritual aspect of our lives and finding a greater meaning in our lives.

Preparing for Advent

Some TY students participating in the Pope John Paul Awards began to decorate our school chapel for Advent. During Advent Christians prepare their hearts and minds for the arrival of Jesus at Christmas. 'Christmas is not as much about opening our presents as opening our hearts'.

St. Vincent de Paul Christmas Hamper Appeal

Over the next two weeks, all students are invited to bring in non-perishable items to help local families in need.

Christmas Cake Decorating

Last week, the Home Economics department held a Christmas cake decorating class, which was facilitated by 'Baked by Cindy'. 22 Home Economics students, from all year groups, took part in this class where they learned skills of filling and stacking a cake, crumb coating and piping buttercream on a cake and making edible decorations out of fondant icing. The class was really enjoyed by all students and the level of skills learned were fantastic. Our thanks to the Home Economics department for organising this event.

Spórt ar Scoil

U15 Girls Soccer

Hard luck to our U15 Girls Soccer Team who lost 3-0 to a strong Loreto Letterkenny. A high standard of football was played by both teams with Tess Graham 2B, Erin McGlynn 2F and Shannon Price 2E linking up well in midfield. Aoibhinn Hegarty 2D and Ellie Grant 2B were excellent in defence while Orla Strain 3C and Maya Murphy 2B were unlucky not to score at the other end.

Thank you to Loreto Letterkenny for bringing extra players to offer three 30 minute periods to ensure all of the girls got game time. Our attention now turns to Deele College in the coming weeks where we must secure a win to advance out of the group. Thanks to Ms. McKinney for accompanying the students.

International Duty

Well done Luke and Jamie O'Donnell who both represented Ireland last week at U18 and U15 level in Croatia and Portugal. Scoil Mhuire couldn't be prouder of these two superstars.

Celebrating Mark Coyle

We were delighted to have past pupil and current Shelbourne FC captain Mark Coyle at our school recently. Mark addressed our students and spoke of the importance of fulfilling your dreams through hard work, dedication and self-belief. We are very thankful to Mark for bringing the Premier Division trophy to Scoil Mhuire and for taking time out of his busy schedule to visit us. He is a true gentleman and an inspiration to our students. We wish him continued success into the future.

Irish Science Teachers' Association Quiz

We wish the very best of luck to our senior students Kayla McColgan 6B, Kayla McEleney 6A and David Wilson 6C who are competing in the final of the ISTA Senior Science Quiz which takes place in Trinity College Dublin on Saturday 30 November. It is an incredible achievement to have progressed to the national final of this prestigious competition and we couldn't be prouder of you. Our thanks to Ms. Boyle who prepared the students for the quiz and who will accompany them to Dublin on Saturday. Go n-éirí libh!

Movember 2024

Congratulations to Mr. McCready, Mr. D. McLaughlin, our caretaker Peter Cloherty and Killian Doherty 6C who have grown glorious 'taches to support men's mental health. We're now in the final week of Movember and the Mo Team wish to thank everyone who has donated so far - they've raised over €350 from the school community. Please follow this link if you'd like to support them.

Think Languages Festival 2024

Congratulations to our TY French class who helped organise and run the Think Languages Festival in Scoil Mhuire last week. We had a cinema trip to watch the French film Les Trois Fantastiques. There were workshops on French fashion & cuisine, Chinese Art, Irish Sign Language and much more. Bernard Cuester was our guest speaker on Belgian culture. Our French exchange students gave us a presentation and we also had a video call with Vannes in France. Our thanks to Ms. MacGinty for organising these events.

Career Guidance

Our TY students hosted our second annual Career Conversations during Scoil Mhuire's College Awareness Week 2024. This was an invaluable experience for all of the students. We wish to thank each and every professional that took time out of their day to share their experience and advise with our students on a range of fantastic career paths.

Newgrange Art Trip

Our 6th year art students visited Newgrange in county Meath on Thursday as part of their Leaving Certificate art course. They were given a tour of the Megalithic Tomb at Newgrange. Our thanks to Ms. Boyce and Ms. R. Deeney for organising this trip.

Donegal Youth Council AGM

Our students recently attended the AGM of the Donegal Youth Council. Aisha O'Hara Boyle 5B was elected onto the Donegal Youth Council this year and will serve for a term of two years. Issues discussed at the AGM included school stress, vaping and bullying in schools. These issues will now form the agenda of the Donegal Youth Council for the next two years as they look to provide advice, support and advocacy for young people in Donegal. They truly are our future leaders.

World of Work Preparation

Some of our students were doing interviews recently as part of their module Preparation for the World of Work. Our thanks to Supervalu Buncrana for helping us with this project.

Erasmus+

Our Deputy Principal Mr. Clancy visited Sweden recently to represent Scoil Mhuire in a new initiative that will examine best practice in Europe in supporting the prevention of harmful behaviours and building positive and inclusive cultures in schools. The next phase of the project will see representatives from Spain, Italy, Sweden and Türkiye travel to Buncrana in February 2025.

Trade Fair 2024

We wish all of our students the best of luck as they prepare for our annual Trade Fair which takes place next Friday, 6 December between 09.00 and 12.30 in our school hall. This annual event provides an opportunity for our students to showcase their creativity and entrepreneurial talents. It is a true highlight in our academic calendar. We wish all of our TY students participating in the NFTY and Student Enterprise competitions every success on the day.

Christmas Jumper Day in aid of the Alzheimer Society of Ireland

Policy

We are currently reviewing our uniform, mobile phone and anti-bullying policies. We are engaging currently with students to access their voice on these important matters which impact them on a daily basis. We will also engage with parents/guardians to ensure you are fully part of the consultation process.

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