Newsletter #11 March 2025
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Scoil Mhuire Summer Camp 2025
The Scoil Mhuire Summer Camp will be offered to 1st, 2nd and 3rd year students from Monday 30 June for 2 weeks (Monday-Friday each week). An online registration form will be sent to all parents and guardians. Please register 1st, 2nd or 3rd year Scoil Mhuire students that would like to attend. For more information, please contact the Main Office.
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Pop Goes Primary 2025
Our Annual Pop Goes Primary talent show takes place on Thursday 27 March at 7pm in the Assembly Hall. We look forward to once again showcasing the amazing talent of the students in the primary schools in our area.
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NFTE 2025
NFTE is a national Student Enterprise Competition that encourages secondary school students to develop and run their own business. It gives students hands-on experience in entrepreneurship, from creating a business idea to marketing and selling their product or service. Our TY mini-company "Side Quests" won the digital award at the competition recently. Well done to Killian Hirrell 4E, Thomas Newman 4A, Stephen Carey 4D and Tiernan Robinson 4D. Our thanks to Ms. Smyth who accompanied the team on the day.
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We would also like to congratulate “Habit Helper” Dylan Grant 4A, James Grant 4A and Aaron Porter 4A and “Soap & Glow” Éadaoin Page 4B and Neave Jerin 4D who attended the NFTE Social Enterprise Category Regional Finals in the Social Enterprise Hub, DLDC, Letterkenny recently. Both teams thoroughly enjoyed the experience with Soap & Glow coming away with a “One to Watch” certificate. Our thanks to Ms. C. McGonagle for accompanying the students on the day.
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Student Council
Our Student Council recently placed the below poster in all classrooms and corridors around our school building. In the event of an emergency happening and an emergency service having to be called, the first thing they will ask for is the Eircode. The Student Council were aware of a student collapsing in PCC Falcarragh recently, and thought this would be a good initiative to implement in our school to ensure all staff and students have access to the Eircode easily. Well done to our wonderful Student Council for bringing this important initiative to our school and to Ms. O'Sullivan who coordinates the Student Council.
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Spórt ar Scoil
Equestrian
Well done to all students who competed in the equestrian school show jumping event in Necarne Irvinestown, which was run by the Omagh Academy Showjumpers. First to compete was our 65-70cm Team of Gracey Duffy 1A, Ali Harkin 1E, Clodagh McLaughlin 1B and Eva McCloskey 2C. Gracie and Eva both double cleared with Gracie placing 3rd and Eva placing 4th.
Aoibhinn Hegarty 2C got cleared in 50cm, 60cm and placed 4th in the ride and run event. Sophie McLaughlin 2B and Eva McCloskey also cleared their 60cm class. Mia Sweeney 4B competed individually in the 65-70cm class. Our 75-80cm team of Shauna McLaughlin 2B, Lily Kelly 2C, Darcy Mallon 1E and Cathryn McConnell 2C placed 3rd, with Darcy placing 6th individually. Darcy, Lily and Shauna all had clears in their jumps.
Beth Bradley 1A competed individually in the 75-80cm class with double cleared. Sarlotte Jermakova 5B competed in the 95-1m class. It was a great day out for all. Our sincere thanks to Ms. McCauley for accompanying the students.
Boys Soccer
Our 1st Year Boys Soccer team have booked their place into the final of the Ulster Cup. Scoil Mhuire will now face Moville Community College next Wednesday 20 March. Kick-off is at 11.00 and the match is being played at Maginn Park, Buncrana. Regardless of the score on the day, it is a phenomnenal achievement for our 1st Year team to reach an Ulster Final. We wish the boys and their coach Mr. McCauley the very best of luck in the final.
Basketball
The 2nd year basketball team travelled to Ballyshannon to play against Coláiste Cholmcille in the Donegal regional semi-finals recently. CC are a very experienced basketball school with All-Ireland pedigree and our 2nd year team gave a very strong account of themselves, despite losing their star player earlier in the week to an ankle injury. Seven of the travelling ten players scored with the MVP award going to Oisín O'Brien 2C who led the scoring with 14 points, with several steals also. Continued improvement from the whole squad who, if they can keep playing as a group, could go at least one step further next year. Our thanks to Mr. McCready for accompanying the boys. Final score Coláiste Cholmcille 47-32 Scoil Mhuire.
Girls GAA
Our U14 Girls GAA team won 3 of their 4 games in their blitz last week. This means that the girls will now be eligible to play in the Cup Championship over the next few weeks. Well done to the girls and to their coach Ms. S. McLaughlin.
Camogie
Our U14 Camogie team won their camogie blitz in Letterkenny beating St. Columba's and Coláiste Ailigh. Our thanks to Mr. McGee for accompanying the girls on the day and to Ms. McDermott for coordinating the team.
Everyone in Scoil Mhuire wishes to congratulate Peter McLaughlin 5B who was selected to start for the Donegal Minor Football team on Saturday 8 March. This is a great achievement for Peter who even managed to score a point on the day. Maith thú Peter!
Golf
Congratulations Tiernan Bradley 2F, who after competing in Italy last week, led our school golf team in Ballybofey on Wednesday 18 March. He won the category 1 prize with 34 points. Scoil Mhuire came 2nd in the league stage and now qualify for the final in Portsalon on the 8th of April. We are looking for sponsorship for golf gillets for our team for next year. If any company would like to sponsor our team, we would be extremely grateful.
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School Bank 2025
On Tuesday The Bank of Ireland Money Smarts Secondary School Programme was hosted by Scoil Mhuire. The programme has been developed to educate students about all things money, so that they have the skills and knowledge to make smart, well informed decisions about how they manage their money, now and in the future. All 3rd year students were invited to set up a student bank account with Bank of Ireland. Students from the TY class Living in the Community and 5th year LCVP students were involved in the operation and setup of the school bank on the day. Our thanks to Ms. M. McLaughlin for assisting the students in running this event.
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Junk Kouture
Three of our TY students, Síofra Nic Diarmada, Jaydyn Bates and Aoife Barron recently competed in the Regional Final of the Junk Kouture Competition. The final took place in the Helix Theatre at Dublin City University. It was an incredible success for our students to reach this stage of the competition as they were shortlisted from an original list of 1200 designs. Our thanks to Ms. Boyce and Ms. Deeney for all of the time and effort they gave helping these talented students reach the Regional Final.
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Congratulations Keri
We wish to extend our congratulations to our past pupil Keri Loughrey who recently help ATU Donegal Ladies to lift the CUFL O' Regan Cup. Keri got the opening goal in a 5-2 victory over Queens University Belfast. Keri won the Primary School 5s with Scoil Íosagáin, the All-Ireland Secondary Schools title with Scoil Mhuire and has now completed the treble with the Colleges Title.
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School Transport
Applications and payments are now being accepted for the School Transport Scheme 2025/2026. The closing date for the online applications is the 25th of April.
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Seachtain na Gaeilge 2025
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Maths Quiz
Some of our 3rd year maths students recently attended a Maths Quiz in Carndonagh Community School. The 'A' team picked up 2nd place, beaten on break of tie, with the 'B' team finishing in 4th place out of 12 teams. A superb performance by all students, Hubert Chelmecki 3B, Dylan Lynch 3B, Holly McMenamin 3A, Oran Woods 3A, Cian Doran 3A, Ava O'Donnell 3B, Aoibhínn Wallace 3C and Domhnall Doherty 3B .Our thanks to Mr. McCready for accompanying the students.
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LCA Farm Trip
We wish to extend our thanks to Shannon and the Porter family for hosting our 6th Year Ag Science and LCA 2 students last week at the Milk Bar in Newtoncunningham. Our students are currently studying the dairy enterprise and it was great to see a working farm in action. Everything from housing, feeding, breeding, milking and calving was discussed and our students were even lucky enough to witness a calf being born while we were there! Farm visits bring the classroom to life for our students and it was great to witness first hand a working farm at one of their busiest times of the year. Our thanks to Ms. McKinney for organising this trip and for accompanying the students.
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Model United Nations
Congratulations to Aoife McColgan 4E, Mary Rose O’Connor 6C, Caoimhe Lafferty 6C and Rónan McLaughlin 6B who recently participated in the Letterkenny Model United Nations event on the 13th of March. A Model United Nations is a recreation of the United Nations General Assembly where resolutions about world issues are debated and voted upon within the UN. The students write clauses and ultimately resolutions that will tackle problems connected to pressing world issues in the areas of human rights, environment, scientific advancement, politics, ethics, aid and disarmament among others. Our thanks to Ms. Gorney for accompanying the students to this event.
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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.
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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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SEN Horticulture Students
Ms. Dowds's SEN horticulture students were shown a timelapse video of peas growing to begin the lesson. They then filled their bags half full with compost and inserted lollipop sticks for support. They each inserted three peas into their bags and will now be able to see them grow over the coming weeks - their root systems, stems and leaves as they hang on the wall in their classroom. The group really enjoyed this activity and didn't mind getting their hands dirty. Many thanks to SNAs Shaun Porter and Jennifer Bradley for assisting with this task and to SNA Paula Benson for sharing the idea.
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Green Schools
Ms. Dowds recently had some of our 5th Year students helping out around the school to remove weeds and add plants around the school grounds. Our thanks to everyone who was involved in helping to make our school look so beautiful!
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SOAR Workshop
Our TY students took part in the SOAR workshop recently. SOAR believe that exploration of the questions "Who am I?" is a pathway to living an authentic life. Young people's experiences are at the heart of everything we do. The programme was guided by the voices of our TY students. Well done to everyone involved.
Key Reminders for all Parents/Guardians
Late in the Morning
As part of our ongoing efforts to improve school attendance, students who arrive late persistently will be required to complete a 1 hour late-comers detention on a Friday. Parents/guardians of the student will be notified of this. The academic school year is short and as the graphic above shows us, every minute counts! If however the student's lateness to school can be explained, please notify the Main Office of this.
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Personal Belongings
Scoil Mhuire is a big and busy school and it is not unusual for personal belongings to get mislaid. We ask that all items of uniform and school bags are clearly labelled and identifiable. We do not encourage students to bring non-school coats to school and they do so at their own risk. Scoil Mhuire does not take responsibility for missing bags as all students have been given the opportunity to avail of a locker in which they can keep their personal belongings safe and secure.
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Parking and Road Safety
We ask everyone in our school community to be mindful of where they park, particularly around private dwellings, and to reduce their speed when in the vicinity of local schools. Only 20% of pedestrians will survive a collision with a vehicle travelling at 50kph, while 90% will survive one at 30kph.
Also, there is a parking space outside our main building which can only be used by people who have a blue badge parking card. We will not hesitate to ask drivers to move their car if they do not have one. Please think before you park. We are grateful for your ongoing cooperation in ensuring the safety of all students.
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Policy
We are currently reviewing our uniform, mobile phone and anti-bullying policies and as part of this process we are approaching the conclusion of our engagement with with students, parents and staff. We wish to thank all parents who gave up their time to participate in our focus groups.
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Social Media
Keep up-to-date with the latest news from Scoil Mhuire on our social media accounts.
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Upcoming Events and Deadlines
| Friday 11 April |
School closed for Easter Holidays |
| Saturday 12, Sunday 13 |
Leaving Certificate Oral Exams |
| Monday 28 April |
School reopens after Easter Holidays |
| Monday 5 May |
Bank Holiday |
| Thursday 8 May |
Scoil Mhuire's Got Talent |
| Thursday 15 May |
1st Year Summer Exams Begin |
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Tuesday 20 May
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2nd Year Summer Exams Begin |
| Friday 23 May |
5th Year Summer Exams Begin
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| Friday 30 May |
School Closes for Summer Holidays
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| Wednesday 4 June |
State Examinations Commence
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If you have something that you would like featured in our school newsletter, please email micheal.clancy@scoilmhuirebuncrana.ie and we'll do our best to have it included in our next issue.