Saint Mary’s National School has closed for the Summer Holidays.
We hope that our pupils, their families and friends have a wonderful Summer Break and that we all meet again on August 29th next.
See you then!
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Sixth Class say goodbye…
Award winners, Lea Callanan and Dylan Hennessy, pictured with their parents.
Congratulations to you both and best of luck in the future!
At Assembly on Thursday, 6th Class took their leave of us for the very last time. We are sad to see them go but we know that it is time for them to move on to the next, most exciting phase of their lives.
We wish you well, girls and boys. We are immensely proud of you and we will follow your progress with interest!
Beir bua is beannacht!
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100% Attendance!
Above, are the pupils who achieved a 100% Attendance Record during the last school year. Each child received a cert to mark their achievement! Bravo!
The Girls’ Rounders Team, who won the Division 1 Final recently, received their medals at Assembly. They are pictured above with their mentors, Ms Biggs and Mr Slattery.
Congratulations everybody!
Boys’ Rounders Team, pictured here with their mentors, Mr Ó Brádaigh and Mr Halpin, receive their runners-up medals at Assembly recently. Well done boys and mentors, for all the hard work you put in throughout the year!
Sixth Class Graduation Mass
On Wednesday evening, June 26th, Father John Nally, our new Parish Priest celebrated a Mass of Thanksgiving for the 6th Classes as they prepared to leave us for secondary school. Singing wonderfully, the pupils really took part well in the ceremony and demonstrated their commitment to and reverence for the Word of God. The singing was the best we have ever heard from 6th class at a Graduation Mass and made the ceremony even more special.
The teachers received a presentation from the pupils in recognition of their work throughout the year.
During the Mass, replacing the usual Homily, each pupil received a certificate and a souvenir pen to mark the occasion.
Principal, Mr Paul O’Connor, spoke to the assembled gathering, thanking the pupils for their work and commitment to St Mary’s in a host of different ways though their time in school.
Finally, everyone was treated to a reception where we all swapped stories about the children as they rose through the school from Junior infants to 6th Class.
Girls and boys, we wish you all well for the future and will always be here should you wish or need to talk to us.
Congratulations, and good luck with all your plans!
Wow! Look at this chalk drawing of the Big Top by Ms Biggs’ 4th Class. Amazing!
7th Green Flag raised!
Leader of the Green Schools initiative in St Mary’s, Mr Liam Ó Brádaigh, along with the Green Team, raised our 7th Green Flag in front of the whole school recently. Following a speech by Principal, Mr O’Connor, during which he thanked Mr Ó Brádaigh, Ms O’Connor and the Green Team for all their hard work in preparing our application for the latest Green Flag on the theme of Global Citizenship, Mr Ó Brádaigh assisted the pupils involved in raising the flag to much cheering from the assembled staff and pupils.
Mr O ‘Connor even led three cheers for Mr Ó Brádaigh for his tireless efforts on behalf of the school over many years.
Well done to everyone involved in this worthy work and thanks to all the staff and pupils who supported the green team in their daily work throughout the school.
Thank you!
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We Love Lego, We-Do!
We were lucky to receive a loan of several sets of ‘Lego We-do’, programmable Lego sets from our PDST Facilitator, Michelle Brady recently and have been trying it out for a while now.
It’s brilliant and super-fun for children from 3rd class up. Check out our gallery below to see for yourself the fun we had!
BEE BOTS are coming!!!
Invasion of the Bee Bots! Check out the video of some of our pupils playing with the Bee Bots recently. Bee Bots are programmable robots, used in junior classes to teach children the first steps in programming, sequential thinking and cause and effect.
They are great fun too, of course!!!
Take us to your leader…
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Here are the Roll of Honour Students for the end of the school year.
Well done everyone!
Children called out at Assembly for good academic work, excellent behaviour or some lovely creative work, appear on the school Roll of Honour page here, on the school website. We are delighted to highlight all the positive contributions which our pupils make to school life. Bravo!
Thanks to Stephen Newman for the two videos of Sports Day 2019, taken from his drone! The first one is below, the second one is at the end of the pictures of the medal winners. Thanks Stephen!
Sports Day 2019 Video 1 ***********************
Sports Day 2019 from Drone Athletics
Ms Kavanagh and Ms McGill went to Claremont in Navan for the Cumann na mBunscol Track and Field event where they came back with 5 medals.
Above, we have the athletics team before they returned to school with 5 medals.
Congratulations to everybody who travelled to Navan and thanks to Ms Kavanagh and Ms McGill for bringing the team!
Sprint Medal Winners from Senior Infants, 1st and 2nd Class, with their medals, which were presented on Wednesday, by St Mary’s Principal, Mr O’Connor in the School Hall.
Sprint Medal Winners from Junior Infants who received their medals from Mr O’Connor on Wednesday.
3rd and 4th Class Sprint Medal Winners, with Principal Mr O’Connor, following the presentation of their medals on Wednesday.
5th and 6th Class Sprint Medal Winners, who received their awards from Principal, Mr O’Connor on Wednesday.
Middle Distance Winners
Relay Winners with their medals
4th Class Relay Winners with their medals
5th Class With Their Medals
6th Class with their medals
Principal’s Cup Medal winners with their Awards
Congratulations to you all, girls and boys!
Sports Day 2019 Video 2 ****************
What a brilliant aerial shot of Sports Day 2019, taken from a drone by Stephen Newman!
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Champions!!!
The girls are Division 1 Rounders Champions!!!
Many congratulations to the girls and their mentors, Ms Biggs and Mr Slattery!
The final score was 9-6 and St Mary’s had an innings to spare!
The trophy above is a brand new one and we will be the very first team and school name to be engraved on it! There’s lots more room for the St Mary’s name to be added as we win more championships!!!
Hurray!!!
Sports Day 2019
was a HUGE success.
Thanks to everyone involved!!!
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Summer Holidays and Technology Use
Advice on introducing technology to your child Slán agus Beannacht Father Derek!
The whole St Mary’s School Community gathered on Tuesday, June 4th, to thank Father Derek for all his wonderful work with us in school for many years.
Father Derek, who has been our School Chaplain and Parish Priest, leaves on June 15th to take up a new appointment, working with Bishop Tom Deenihan in Mullingar.
At the Special Assembly, children read prayers asking God to bless Father Derek for his work in the past and to give him the strength to continue his good work into the future.
The school sang two hymns for Father Derek, the first one, “We’re Here Again” was a cheerful welcome for all our guests, including the Chairman of the Board of Management, Mr Pat O’Connor who had some lovely words of appreciation for Father Derek.
The final hymn was, “A Mhuire Mháthair”, sung because we are a school dedicated to Our Lady, as is our Parish Church.
Several gifts were presented to Father Derek; some good quality golf balls and a voucher for a round of golf at a club of his choice, as he is a keen golfer.
We in St Mary’s will really miss Father Derek, not only for his great work supporting us in our faith but also on a personal level.
Congratulations Derek, on your appointment to Archbishop’s House in Mullingar and sincere thanks from all of us for your generosity of spirit and of time, in dealing with us here in school. You are a good man and you will be missed!
Guímís, Rath Dé Ort.
Beir Bua is Beannacht!
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Victorious!
Saint Mary’s Win
The Cup Final!
Our Girls’ Football Team played St Marnock’s NS Thursday at 2pm in Parnell Park, Donnycarney and
WON!
Pupils from 3rd Class to 6th Class attended and gave great support.
The team arrived back at the school, receiving a tumultuous welcome, at about 4:15 pm.
We are so proud of our girls and we congratulate them and their mentors, Ms Flaherty, Ms Kavanagh, Ms Kelly and Ms McGill on their victory!
Well done, Saint Mary’s!
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The Junior Football Team played St. Declan’s in a friendly last Thursday the 23rd. For a lot of the boys it was their first game for St Mary’s.
Well done guys for getting out there. We are certain that there will be great games ahead…Super start!
Well done!
Hey everybody!
We’ve received our 7th Green Flag on the theme of Global Citizenship. Well done to everyone involved and especially to the Green Team and their leader, Mr Liam Ó Brádaigh!!!
Parents’ Association Announcement
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Ms O’Connor’s 5th Class represented Saint Mary’s for the very first time in the Junior Entrepreneur Programme National Showcase 2019, at the RDS recently.
All participating schools had their own stand, showcasing their idea and explaining the steps involved in getting their business idea from inception to realisation. Our pupils, in their groups, met with the public and fielded questions from visitors to our stand in a very professional and friendly way.
We are immensely proud of them all. Well done!
Here in St Mary’s we love to keep fit and stay healthy! Above are some photographs from our school walk or run a mile a day! This intelligent idea came from Mrs Kavanagh. At the start, students didn’t exactly support this idea. But as the days went on, more and more of them were running like the wind. A certain 5th class teacher actually ran on the field to encourage everyone. Every day at a certain time, we head outside and off we go. Junior and senior infants go over to the Astroturf, First and Second class head over to the tarmac, and the rest of us hit the field. We are planning on continuing this for 28 days. In our opinion we think this is a brilliant idea. Everybody is staying active and we are always rearing to go next time!
Marc W and Garreth M 5th Class, Ms Moroney
Congratulations to everyone concerned with the Confirmation which took place on Saturday, May 18th @ 3pm in our Parish Church.
Our two Sixth Classes and their teachers, Mr Cawley and Mr Slattery prepared for many months for this wonderful occasion.
We in the St Mary’s School Community thank everyone for their work in preparation for Saturday’s ceremony.
Congratulations to the pupils, their friends and families on this big occasion. We know that everyone was inspired by this special day on their Faith Journey.
Many thanks, to the 5th Class choir and their conductor, Ms Biggs for their work. Their beautiful singing really contributed to the prayerful atmosphere in the church.
Sincere thanks to Bishop of Meath, Thomas Deenihan, pictured below, who confirmed the pupils on the day.
You are always welcome in Ashbourne!
As always, everyone was invited back to the school for refreshments and a chance to catch up in a relaxed and convivial atmosphere. Thank you for being there!
Great News!
The flag in the picture is one of our older ones and in need of a little TLC. Time for a new one!
We have been awarded our SEVENTH Green Flag!
At Assembly recently, Green Schools Coordinator, Mr Ó Brádaigh announced, following an amazing application to An Taisce, the awarding body, that we have achieved our targets and will be awarded an impressive 7th green flag soon.
We would like to congratulate the Green Team members, all of the children and teachers but especially, Mr Ó Bradaigh for all the hard work done over many months to achieve this prestigious award.
Go Team St Mary’s!!!
Video of 3rd Class when they went to Córfhéile! Super!
Video of Ms Biggs’ Senior Choir, again at Córfhéile. Excellent!
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Fun in the yard…
Junior Infants having a ball building a house in the fun play area!
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See our report about Artefacts Week 2019 here…
See our latest report about JEP here…
Fourth Class Trip
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See the 6th Class Bridges project here…
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