SCHOOL CLOSED FOR SUMMER HOLIDAYS : Saint Mary's BNS is closed from Friday June 27th at 12:00. School and will reopen for all students on Thursday 28th August at 08:35. May we take this opportunity to wish you all a fun, relaxing & safe summer holiday.
SUMMER NEWSLETTER 2025: Please see the link to this year's Summer newsletter. It's on our school website at this link Summer Newsletter 2025. We thank all the students in 6th class who collated, edited and published the newsletter.
MULTICULTURAL DAY: What a wonderful Multicultural Day we had today! None of this would have been possible without your support. Thanks to all who prepared such a wonderful array of savoury food and sweet treats from around the world. In total, twenty countries were represented! Thanks to our 6th Class pupils who demonstrated great responsibility in setting up, supporting younger pupils, serving and cleaning up after the event. Finally, thanks to those who provided the fantastic entertainment: Shane who sang so beautifully and to his mum who, along with Abram’s mum, performed the Indian fusion dance so gracefully. On behalf of St. Mary’s pupils and staff, we thank you all most sincerely. Catherine Ballance & Jeanne-Marie Phillips.
GRADUATION DAY: We had our 6th Class Graduation on Wednesday, 25th June at 10.30am in the school hall. The boys put on a fantastic performance and the standard of acting , singing and dancing was just brilliant. We wish the boys all the best in the next stages of their school lives and personal lives. We look forwrad to them returning to Saint Mary's to regale us with all their stories and adventures. We thank their wondeful teachers; Ms. Doyle, Ms. Phillips, Ms Cartwright and their fantastic SNA Lynne Cole.
SPORTS DAY: Sports day was a huge success. A heartfelt thank you to all the parents/ guardians who supported and participated in our Sports Day on Tuesday 17th June. It was a great school community day. A huge thank to all the teachers and SNAs who worked so hard to organise the day and ensured it went so smoothly. It was great success.
AMBER FLAG AWARDED: Congratulations to our Student Council, Ms. Doyle and Mr. O Hanrahan who received their first Amber Flag. The Student Council received this feedback," The Amber Flag Committee has shown great commitment in promoting positive mental health by encouraging teamwork and contributions from peers. Our team has thoroughly enjoyed seeing the results of your efforts through the wonderful initiatives you organised. We hope that by taking part in the Amber Flag initiative, you will continue to raise awareness of stigmas which exist and the stressors on our collective mental and emotional wellbeing. Thank you once again for all your hard work. We hope that the Amber Flag has impacted positively on everyone involved. It has been a real honour working with you all this year." Pieta Amber Flag.
NEXT GENERATION EU FUNDING: This school received a grant in 2021 to implement initiatives aimed at addressing the digital divide and support our learners at risk of educational disadvantage as a consequence, as part of the Irish National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) a project under the Recovery and Resilience Facility funded by the European Union through NextGenerationEU. This funding was used to fund the purcahing of a full set of chromebooks to help the school deliver a wide range of activities such as coding, animation, robotics, design and computer programming. It was also used, in part, to fund such educational support apps as readingeggs.com and educationcity.com. Please see link to circular 0060/2021 for more information. Circular 0060/2021
END OF YEAR REPORTS/ END OF YEAR SUPPORT PLAN REVIEW: The end of year reports have been emailed out to all parents/ guardians. SET/EAL teachers will be in touch with parents/ guardians to meet and discuss your child’s end of year review of care plans/ support plans
STANDARDISED TESTS: TIPS AND SUPPORTS FOR PARENTS & GUARDIANS: Please see the latest information sheet from the Department of Education to help parents understand Standardised tests and why they are administered in schools and useful resources. Understanding Standardised Tests for Parents and Guardians. An email has been previously sent out to all parents/ guardians explaining how to interpret results for the BIAP, MIST and Drumcondra standardised tests. Information notes on the same are available at the Parent-Tips for Parents tab on our school website at at Tips for Parents
INCOMING JUNIOR INFANTS OPEN DAY: We hosted an open day for our new Junior Infants on Tuesday 10th June. The class teacher was able spend this special time with the children in their new classroom familiarising them with their new classmates, their classroom and the school yard. We also organised some fun table top activities. When the boys were in class we had refreshments for parents hosted by the Parents' Association and there was an introductory presentation for incoming parents by the class teacher and school principal. We really enjoyed meeting you all.
HOT LUNCHES: We have been approved for hot lunches. We are in the process of setting up a focus group and getting in companies and sampling their food. We have six students for the Hot Lunches Focus Group; three from the Student Council and three from 4th class. We have three nominees of the Board of Management. We have 3 teachers. We have parents/guardians. We are in the process of contacting companies. We are also establishing an agreed criterion to assess each company and their food e.g. Where is the food made? Are all ingredients listed? Are there any additives? What is done in the case of Allergies? What happens to food that is not eaten? What menus choices are available and when should orders be placed? Are there vegetarian options? We hope to have the hot lunches scheme up and running for our return in August. The Hot Lunches Focus Group will feedback to you over the coming weeks on their findings and agreed selection.
PRIMARY SCHOOLBOOKS GUIDE: Please see link to Department of Education Guide to the Primary Schoolbooks scheme for 2025-2026. Department of Education Primary Schoolbooks Guide for 2025-2026.
FRÁSAÍ NA MÍOSA/ GAEILGE/ CONTENT LANGUAGE INTEGRATED LEARNING: Más féidir libh cabhrú le bhúr bpáiste frásaí na míosa a chleachtadh sa bhaile. / If you can please help your child practise Irish these phrases of the month? 1. Lá breá atá ann-It's a lovely day. / 2. Uachtar gréine-suncream 3. Tá an ghrian ag scoilteadh na gcloch-The sun is splitting the stones. 4. Tá na laethanta saoire ag teacht.-The holidays are coming.
SCHOOL HOLIDAYS FOR 2025-2026: An email has been forwarded to the whole school community outlining next year's holidays. Please see this link also for School Holidays 2025-2026.
Kind regards, Noel Scully. Principal.