The Annual Report of the Board of Governors’ 2014-2015



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2.8 PASTORAL DIMENSION

In St. Mary’s, we believe that the quality of care and support provided for our students contributes significantly to the positive ethos of our school. Students recognise and appreciate the care and support available to them. The provision fosters good relations between staff and students, and promotes the values of respect, responsibility and co-operation among students. Such an environment is conducive to effective learning and teaching, hence enhancing outcomes for all students. We also believe that pastoral care underpins much of what we do in school. Some aspects of pastoral support include:




  • Induction Day for all students in each year group;

  • Information Evenings for parents and guardians in key year groups;

  • External speakers at key times in the year eg Gideons International (Year 8); Talk from the PSNI on Internet Safety; Jackie Burke (Year 12); Workshop on self-harm, suicide (Year 11), Assume Summer Camps (Year 10), General RE speakers for senior students;

  • Study Skills Day – Amazing Brains – for a number of year groups

  • Year 14 School Formal;

  • Year 14 Anti-Bullying Training and Prefect Training;

  • Student Counsellor addresses all students at Year Assemblies;

  • e-Safety Workshops;

  • Parent Pastoral Interviews- Year 8 and 11;

  • Parents’ Evenings;

  • Charity involvement – year group, whole school and community level

  • Peer and Subject Mentoring;

  • Muiredach/John Paul II awards;

  • End of Year Trips to Craigavon Watersports Centre,

  • Year group masses- Year 8, 12 and 14;



2.9 PASTORAL HOUSE SYSTEM

The Pastoral House System initiative was further embedded into the life of St. Mary’s inside and outside the classroom. Hawthorn House of Joy, led by Mr Brady, were the House Champions 2014-15 – second year in a row! The winning House Champion 2014-15 members celebrated by having a House breakfast in June. All pupils received a House badge during 2014-15. House Masters/Mistresses supported and assisted the very successful Year 8 House Christmas Tree event in December and Sports Day Inter-House Fun games.  The Inter-House Fun games were very well supported and enjoyed by all. During the Awards Ceremonies 2015, forty one students were awarded Key Stage House Champion Awards and six students were awarded a new award this year - the Key Stage House Star Champion Award.




  • All Heads of Year and Heads of Department completed Pastoral House System Activities Plan for his/her Year Group/Subject Department outlining specific activities/events whereby pupils could avail of House Points/Merits;




  • Heads of Year provided a Pastoral/PD activity during term one and another during term 2 whereby pupils could avail of House Points/Merits;




  • House Merits were also distributed to pupils who had 100% attendance in a month  - they received 5 House Merits;




  • Any pupil in his/her Year Group who had a clear Conduct Profile  in a month received 5 House Merits;




  • The number of House Points/Merits entered onto the system during 2014-15 increased from the previous year 2013-14. 




  • There was a greater usage of the Achievement Points on SIMs by staff.  2013-14 = 82,478 Achievement Points; 2014-15 = 143,854 Achievement Points. Pupils received 61,376 more achievement points in 2014-15 compared to the previous year. 

2.10 ECO-SCHOOLS/ENVIRONMENT

In 2014-15, St. Mary’s Grammar School was awarded the Eco-Schools Green Flag Award for a third time. The Eco Committee also entered the Global Wind Awards Eco Committee of the Year Competition and were awarded runners up. Shannon McGillian and Gabriela Kacprzyk attended the awards presentation in The Everglades Hotel, Derry.


The St. Mary’s Eco-Committee is to be commended for its hard work and sustained efforts to foster environmental awareness throughout the entire school and for improving our school environment, which included:-

  • On 6 November, the Eco-Committee organized a ‘Power Down Day’ in school. Everyone was asked to turn off unnecessary lights and computers and to refrain from charging their iPads and mobile phones;




  • In November, Mr Mark Edgar, Mid Ulster Biodiversity Officer spoke to the Eco-Committee about increasing biodiversity in St Mary’s and in December Mr John Murtagh, Magherafelt District Council spoke to them about waste recycling;




  • In December 2014, Key Stage 3 participated in An Eco-Code Competition. In January, the Eco-Committee re-launched the classroom recycling initiative and brown bin recycling was introduced for use by the canteen;




  • In February, we participated in the RSPB Big Schools’ Bird Watch;




  • In March, Year 14 students planted 60 trees from the Woodland Trust, there was a wildflower garden created around the pond and solar panels installed on the roof of the Sports Hall to save energy;



  • In April, nectar rich wildflowers were planted in the house garden to attract bumblebees and butterflies to the school grounds and a swift box was erected on the side of the Cashin Building.



2.11 MAGHERAFELT LEARNING PARTNERSHIP

The Magherafelt Learning Partnership was established in 2007. It provides a full microcosm of the post-primary sector of Northern Ireland: it includes controlled, grant maintained, integrated, maintained and voluntary grammar, both denominational and non-denominational; only Irish Medium and single sex education are absent from the. Each school is co-educational, varying in size, type and history. The schools and Northern Regional College also have a long-standing history of working together, both in terms of curricular provision and the continuing professional development of staff. The MLP vision for the future of our schools and the purpose behind then can be summarised as follows:



  • Education is central to our future;

  • Partnership will look to build community cohesion by ensuring equality of opportunity through the removal of barriers to participation in education and seeking to minimise variation in outcome through the provision of relevant and appropriate curriculae.

Throughout 2014-2015, St. Mary’s continued to collaborate with other schools within the Magherafelt Learning Partnership on a range of curricular, extra-curricular and curriculum enrichment initiatives.



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