Dear Parent/Guardian
We have completed over four weeks already and our students getting into a healthy rhythm of school life. We compliment each of them for their commitment to their studies, how they present themselves each day, the respect they show each other on a daily basis and how they interact with courtesy to all our staff. It's been a busy start to the year and it has been great to see activities return to the calendar following a difficult two years dominated by all things Covid-19. At last, we can see a light at the end of the tunnel.
Geography Field Trip
On Monday, 6th year students participated in the Geography field trip in Howth. This is an important component of their Leaving Certificate examination. A great day was had by all and the sun shone too :).
Transition Year (TY)
On Friday, 17th the TY students attended a Zoom meeting in relation to Gaisce (The President's Award.) The girls listened with interest and were very enthusiastic to take on the personal challenges involved in this programme. St. Mary's has a long tradition of participating in the President's Award.
On Monday, 20th, the students travelled to Tanagh Adventure Centre where they enjoyed an action-packed day on land and water. The students were a delight and they participated in every activity with enthusiasm and lots of energy.
An award ceremony was held on Friday 24th to celebrate the students' achievements to date and of course the winners of the sporting challenges set in Tanagh
Green Schools
The new Green Schools committee was formed this week and we wish a warm welcome to our new members from 1st year: Bronach Murphy, Emily Hobbs, Holly Byrne, Robyn Byrne, Ruby Mc Cormack, Zoe Mulligan.
We look forward to hearing their ideas and working with them into the future.
We would ask parents and guardians to support us by avoiding the use of single-use plastics when preparing lunches and to use reusable water bottles and lunchboxes wherever possible. Thanks you for your co-operation and helping us to keep St. Mary’ ‘Green and Clean’.
Transition Year students are embarking on a horticultural odyssey this year aiming to grow vegetables, herbs and fruit. Any help that you could offer by donating ‘pre-loved’ gardening tools would be gratefully accepted. No pressure but if you’re having a garden shed clear-out do think of us.
Prefects
Our prefect team were presented with their pins this week in a ceremony at the memory garden. Senior prefects shared with our newest prefects how they can best make a difference to the lives of other students in the school.
Prefects play a vital role in supporting first year students as they transition to the school. We also have a number of dedicated sports prefects who promote sport and help with games and matches. Thanks to Ms Harrington and Ms Thakarar for supporting the prefects in their roles.
Student Council Training
The student council members participated in online training session from 9-11am on Thursday 23rd September.
A Student Council is a representative structure for students, through which they can become involved in the affairs of the school, working in partnership with school management, staff and parents for the benefit of the school and the students.
Occasional Holiday
As per the school calendar, Monday 27th is an occasional holiday and we hope all our students have a lovely relaxing day.
Aspire 2
20 students from 5th year will be part of a mentoring programme and six additional students will be on the youth advisory team.
Student Entry 2022
September is a very busy month in St. Mary’s as we prepare to enrol a new group of 1st year students for 2022/2023. We are disappointed that our traditional Open Evening cannot take place this year so instead, our Social Media pages are literally buzzing with information about our school. We are also excited to launch our new and improved Virtual Tour. The Virtual Tour can be accessed at the link below and allows students to move around our school as well as hearing from teachers and students about life in St. Mary’s. Enquiries for next September can be made directly to studentregistration@hfk.ie Make sure to spread the word!. You can take our virtual tour HERE.
SMILE Week
SMILE Week promoting mental health and wellbeing will take place next week (Tuesday, 28th- Friday, October 1st).
FUSE
FUSE is an anti-bullying and online safety programme developed by the Anti-Bullying Research and Resource Centre in DCU. The programme launched in September 2019 across Ireland.
FUSE is grounded in Irish and international best practice research, consisting of a series of workshops and projects aimed at 2nd Year Students in Junior Cycle, their parents and school staff in post-primary schools across Ireland.
The Fuse anti-bullying programme for all second years will be facilitated in St. Mary's over the coming months.
Jigsaw
Jigsaw’s One Good School™ is an initiative which supports the mental health and wellbeing of our young people by developing a shared responsibility across the whole school community. The initiative provides a broad range of evidence-informed activities for all those within the whole school community, including the school leadership team, teachers, parents and students. The initiative will be delivered through interactive workshops, online tools and resources, peer education programmes and more.
School Policies
Please find our main school policies HERE
VSWare
In St. Mary's, we use a platform called VSware as a method to communicate with parents.
When using this platform parents/guardians can monitor their daughter's s timetable, attendance, term assessments and behaviour. Each parent/guardian has been provided with login details to gain access to their daughter's private profile. Please keep these details safe.
Covid Response Plan
All information regarding our Covid-19 infection control measures can be accessed HERE.
Parents Association Annual General Meeting
The Annual General Meeting of the Parents Association will take place by zoom on October 7th at 7pm. All parents are welcome.
We will have a guest speaker (from brainbox.ie) in attendance who will facilitate an interesting seminar for all parents. The Topic is: Parenting Teens - A Road-Map for Well-Being (parents of all year levels).
Traffic Management
Over the coming months we will be reviewing our traffic management system due to the new development at St. Brigid's Road. We will update parents in due course regarding any changes concerning vehicular access to the school.
Midterm Assessments
Midterm Assessments will take place from the 18th - 22nd, October.