17 May 2024
Visit to St Mary’s Secondary School, New Ross
Members of the Inclusion Committee and Schools of Sanctuary Group were delighted to be invited to St. Mary’s Secondary School, New Ross on Tuesday for the school’s first Multicultural Day along with Ms. Jordan and Ms. Regan. Students from St. Mary’s joined us for our event in March and were inspired to begin their own School of Sanctuary journey as a result.
The Loreto group sampled food and learned about the cultures of many countries such as Iraq, Ukraine, Syria and Romania to name a few. There was also a wonderful fashion show. Afterwards, the group was treated to a tour of the school, including the School of Sanctuary noticeboard.
Students are pictured at the event with Wexford Local Development’s ‘Cara Tree’ which was created at the Champion School of Sanctuary Award Ceremony we attended in December in the National Opera House. Each student painted their flag and a positive message on wooden leaf for the tree. It has now journeyed across Wexford spreading the positive message of welcome wherever it goes!
We wish St. Mary’s the very best in their journey to become a Champion School of Sanctuary.
Visit of Austrian Teachers
On Wednesday, the 8th of May, Mr. McGinnity was delighted to welcome a group of teachers from Austria to our school as part of the European Commission Erasmus eTwinning project. Eva-Maria Winter-De Rouin (Principal), Karin Samek and Wilma Krynicky teach in a middle school in Vienna and were interested in hearing about how our school system works.
The overall theme for their trip was ‘diversity in schools’ so the Inclusion Committee were best placed to meet the group and discuss all the work that has been carried out in our school over the last number of years. Committee members Alisha Sheppard, Mairead Doyle, Yosra El Hussein (all TY), Kristy Asante Maenzanise and Kirsty Nyadenga Maenzanise (1st Year) spoke about our Champion School of Sanctuary status, Multicultural Week, Stand Up Week and the everyday task of promoting acceptance of difference in our school community. Our School of Sanctuary portfolio was also shared:
The students enjoyed an interesting conversation about the similarities and differences between Irish schools and those in Austria as well as a discussion of the pros and cons of co-ed versus single sex education. The meeting concluded with a trip to our School of Sanctuary noticeboard.
Our Austrian visitors also sat in on an MFL class with Ms. Zimmermann and an art class with Ms. Byrne to get a true flavour of teaching and learning in Irish classrooms.
We would like to thank Eva-Marie, Karin and Wilma for their interest in our school, kind words and sharing of insightful ideas on education from the Austrian perspective.
Soccer Update:
- Congratulations to our senior soccer team as they secured the FAI Leinster Division 3 final against St. Farnan’s, Prosperous. Polly Redmond scored three goals with Heidi O’Shea also contributing. We congratulate all soccer teams on a fantastic first year of soccer in the school. We thank the numerous different teachers for coaching the groups.
1st and 2nd Year Tours:
Both groups enjoyed trip to The Stables in Gorey this week. We thank the Class Teachers and Year Heads for both groups for organising and accompanying the classes.
Forthcoming Events/Dates to Note:
- Monday, 20 May – Prizegiving Ceremony at 13.30,
- Wednesday, 23 May – 5th Year exams begin
- Thursday, 24 May – 6th Year Graduation in Clonard Church at 19.00
