PASSING OF POPE FRANCIS: This Easter was marked by the passing of Pope Francis, who will be remembered for his great love of nature and his concern for the poor and the vulnerable, as was the Saint on whom he modelled his papacy.  Pope Francis said "True education enables us to love life and opens us to the fullness of life. The Catholic Primary School Management Association has issued 
 every Catholic school with a short prayer to remember Francis with. We will share it with all our stduents this week.  You may wish to recite it at home also. The Five Finger Prayer Pope Francis wanted children to understand how important it is to pray. He encouraged them to pray for others. Pope Francis taught children a special way to pray called the Five Finger Prayer. Each finger helps us to pray The Five Finger Prayer is a simple way to help us to remember to pray for different people in our lives. (Take some time to explain how the prayer works with the class) 1. Thumb: The thumb is closest to you, so when we pray with our thumb, we think about the people who are closest to us – like our family, our friends, and

Our Parents' Association held a 5 hour runathon on Friday April 4th. All the classes participated in the school yard or in Booterstown Park. It was a great success. We thank all the students who collected sponsorship money for Saint Mary's BNS. We thank our Parents' Association for organising the Runathon and for organising our new school water bottles.  The boys had a great day on Friday with many different running and fun sports events held  throughout the school day e.g. relay races, skipping races, wheelbarrow races, line dancing & cricket  games to name but a few. A fun day for all.