Dear Parents,
STEM Week
There was great excitement in school last week as all the boys participated in STEM Week. STEAM Academy taught the boys about robotics. They even brought along their robot dog, which got a great reaction from all the boys.
Ms. Hennessy and her sixth class did an excellent job hosting a science exhibition in the hall. There was an exciting and fun filled atmosphere as classes got a chance to visit their displays and try out the experiments.
We were very fortunate to have some parents, who work as engineers, take time out of their busy work day and teach the children from first to fifth class all about engineering and also carry out activities with them. The boys thoroughly enjoyed the tasks. We are very grateful to Denis Kelly, Fergal Higgins, Kenny Wade, Colin Nicolson, Rory Mullen, Gordon Wallace, Richard Lancaster and Padraig Moore for volunteering their time.
Not only did the boys get plenty of opportunities to observe and take part in STEM activities in school throughout the week, they were also given the chance to carry out their own science experiments at home and upload a video of it on Google Classroom. They were then able to watch their videos in class with their teacher and friends.
The future of St. Mary’s is very bright with all our budding scientists and engineers. Make sure to have a look at our school Facebook page to see some of the activities from the week.
Thanks to Ms. Whitney for her work organising these events for STEM Week.
Cultural Awareness
Well done to Maxine Ikhadallene, Elliot Higgins-Portet and Leo Piccolo who entertained us with information about France before the midterm break on the school intercom. Leo gave us interesting facts about France. Elliot counted to 10 in French and Maxime recited a poem in French. We look forward to hearing more about Brazil tomorrow.
Accord Information Night for parents of 5th & 6th class on Relationships and Sexuality – Tues 4th March at 7pm
Accord will give their Relationship and Sexuality presentation to fifth class boys on the 19th March and to sixth class boys on the 10th March. There will be an Information Night for parents on Tuesday 4th March at 7pm via Microsoft Teams.
Confirmation 27th February
Well done to our sixth class boys who made their Confirmation today in St. Mary’s Church at 12pm. Thanks to Mr. Clandillon, Ms. Hennessy, Mr. Shanahan and Corinne Bagnall for preparing the boys for their big day. We are very grateful to Aideen Cooney for all the practice she has done with our school choir which really enhanced the Ceremony. I have to give a special mention to our solo singer, Conor Nally, who has an amazing voice and gave a lovely performance. We appreciate all the parents who took the time to serve teas and coffees in the Parish Centre. Thanks to our PA for organising gifts for the teachers.
Parents’ Association AGM
Thanks to all the parents who logged into the PA AGM last night via zoom. Our guest speaker was Owen Ralph and he gave us an insight into ‘Online Gaming and YouTube; the positives, the negatives and the in between’. Owen highlighted some of the tools to help parents encourage our children's creativity while providing safeguards to allow them to do so.
Thanks to the PA Chairperson, Louise Ralph, for organising this event.
Revised Child Safeguarding Statement and Risk Assessment
Our Board of Management recently revised and approved our Child Safeguarding Statement and Risk Assessment. This has been uploaded on to our school website.
Club Gaeilge
Ms. Quinn and Ms. Ryan are excited to bring Club Gaeilge back for a block of 6 weeks. The first block is being offered to boys from 1st to 3rd Class and will be held every Wednesday in Ms. Quinn’s room (room 5) after school from 2.40pm until 3:45pm. The aim of the club is to provide boys with an opportunity to practice their Gaeilge Neamhfhoirmiúil (informal Irish) through activities such as baking, art and games. The cost of the club will be €40 per child, payable in cash to either Ms. Quinn or Ms. Ryan. The first date will be Wednesday 12th March.
Le dea-ghuí,
Dara Burke, Principal.