Scoil Mhuire Buncrana

Newsletter #8 January 2025

17-January-25
Newsletter #8 January 2025

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Newsletter #8 January 2025

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Happy New Year and welcome back to another exciting chapter in our school community! We hope you will continue to read our newsletter in 2025 and keep up to date with the many activities and successes that we celebrate in Scoil Mhuire on a daily basis .

The start of a new year is a perfect time to reflect on our achievements, set new goals, and embrace the challenges ahead with courage and resilience. Together, we will continue to build a school environment that inspires creativity, nurtures curiosity, and fosters a deep sense of belonging for everyone.

To our students, I encourage you to dream big, work hard, and support one another as you strive for success. We wish our exam students every success in their upcoming mock exams in February.

To our parents and guardians, THANK YOU for your partnership and trust in our shared mission to educate and empower our young learners.

To our dedicated staff, your commitment and passion remain the foundation of our school’s success.

Let us make this year one of excellence, growth, and joy. Together, we can achieve great things!

Wishing you all a year filled with happiness, health, and success.

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Ms McLoughlin

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Information Evening for Parents/Guardians of Incoming 1st Years

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There will be an information evening for the parents and guardians of incoming 1st years next Wednesday, 22 January in the Sports Hall at 19.30. This information evening will focus on the subjects that parents and students need to choose for September 2025. These subject choices will be made online and it is essential for parents and guardians to attend so that they understand this process.

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Mock Exams 2025

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Please ask your son/daughter to read their timetable carefully and to organise books/notes to take with them for study periods before and after their exams. Remember, it's a marathon and not a sprint. Students will be sitting full papers as opposed to the shorter assessments during house exams. For example, Irish Paper 1 is 1hr 30mins long and Irish Paper 2 is 3 hours long! So make sure to stay hydrated, eat well, get enough sleep and exercise to keep your head straight. As always, if you have any concerns or feel that you need support, please let us know and we'll do everything that we can.

The Mock Exams for 3rd, 6th year and LCA 2 students will run this year as follows:

3rd Year Exams Wednesday 5 February - Thursday 13 February
6th Year Exams Thursday 30 January - Friday 14 February
LCA 2 Exams Tuesday 11 February - Wednesday 12 February

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A link to the 6th Year and LCA 2 exam timetable can be found here.

A link to the 3rd Year exam timetable can be found here.

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Signing Out During Exams

Students wishing to sign-out between their exam sessions must have a permission slip signed by a parent/guardian. These permission slips will be issued to students closer to the exams. In the event that a student wishes to sign-out but has not returned their permission slip, then the normal attendance and appointments procedures will apply and a student will need to be collected in person by a parent or guardian. These procedures are in place out of a duty of care for the safety and wellbeing of our students.

After-School Supervised Study

After-school supervised study runs every day in the Study Room from 16:00-18:00. The cost is €2 per session and this is paid to the supervising teacher. Supervised study offers students a fantastic opportunity to complete homework and study without distractions. Students who regularly attend supervised study report that they are less stressed at school, and say that they are able to stay on top of their work and have more free time at home. There is no need to register, simply turn up at the Study Room.

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Deadlines for Projects, Practicals and Coursework

In the table below you will find links to information on the deadlines for Junior and Leaving Certificate students in relation to projects, coursework and practicals. Should you require any additional information, please contact the subject teacher.

Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme (LCVP) LCVP Deadlines
Junior Cycle Completion Dates Junior Cycle Deadlines
Leaving Certificate Completion Dates Leaving Certificate Deadlines
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Leaving Certificate Oral Exams

The oral examinations for all language subjects will take place during the Easter holidays from Saturday 12th April to Thursday 17th April. It is essential that students are available on these dates and no exceptions will be made. If you are unable to attend for medical reasons, an application must be made to the State Examinations Commission who will seek documentation. Every student will be allocated a day and time and this is not flexible.

If any student intends to complete a Leaving Certificate exam in the subjects listed below, they must inform Ms. O' Brien.

Other language subjects: German, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Lithuanian and Portuguese.
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Our School Ethos

Catholic Schools Week 2025 - Alive in Christ!

Our Papal Cross students attended mass in Derry Cathedral on Thursday to mark the beginning of Catholic Schools Week 2025. The theme for this year is Alive in Christ! Reflecting on this theme, Scoil Mhuire will explore what it means to be fully alive as a human being – living life to the full in Christ. Our thanks to Ms. Killen and Mr. Clancy for accompanying the students.

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“Christ is alive! He is our hope, and in a wonderful way he brings youth to our world, and everything he touches becomes young, new, full of life. The very first words, then, that I would like to say to every young Christian are these: Christ is alive and he wants you to be alive!” – Pope Francis, Christus Vivit, Section 1.

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Online Talk for Families Affected by Defective Concrete Blocks/Mica
In collaboration with Donegal Parent and Family Support Service, IDP are hosting an online talk to provide guidance for parents and guardians on how to talk with your children about defective concrete blocks in your home. With support from TUSLA for families affected by Defective Concrete Blocks/Mica, this 1-hour session based on feedback from families, will provide help with talking to your children, how to answer their questions, ease their worries and reassure them. Including self-care for parents & guardians.
Tuesday 21st January, 6.45pm-8pm.
Or call 074 9362218
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School Choir and Trad Band

Scoil Mhuire's Trad Band and School Choir were busy before the Christmas holidays spreading some Christmas cheer to local nursing homes. A special thanks to our Religious Education department who also supplied blessed prayers and a Christmas treat for each of the residents. Maith sibh uilig!

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Guidance and Careers

Upcoming Deadlines for 6th Year Students


UCAS/CAO
UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service for the UK) January 29th
CAO (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service for the Republic of Ireland) February 1st
North-West Regional College (Derry) Applications open in mid January

HEAR/DARE

(Higher Education Access Route/Disability Access Route to Education)

Tick box on CAO to apply for HEAR/DARE

February 1st
Online forms must be completed March 1st
All documents to be with CAO Access for HEAR/DARE. March 15th
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ALPS (All lives are precious)
We were incredibly fortunate to once again host Frank Diamond from the charity ALPS to speak to our TY students. ALPS is an organisation that provides high quality training, development, prevention and intervention programmes and services that support individuals and communities to improve their understanding, awareness and experience of mental health.
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Maynooth University Talk

Our 6th year students attended a fantastic talk that was given by Kay Mitchell from Maynooth University. Kay is the School Liaison Officer for Maynooth University. She gave an informative talk about the transition from post-primary to third level and all the courses Maynooth University has to offer.

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