Parents’ News www.stmaryslimavady.com

December 2016

School Events

Dec 21—Jan 3 incl Christmas Holiday

Jan 21 Open Day

Jan 16-26 incl KS4 Examinations

Feb 10 Parents’ Day for

Year 11—14

A huge thank you to all our pupils and their

families for their support in compiling food

hampers.

This year’s total was 47 hampers. The hampers

have been forwarded to the local society. They

make a huge difference to the families who

receive them over the Christmas period.

Open Day

21st January 2017

Open Day will be held on Saturday

21st January from 10am—1pm for parents of

P6 and P7 pupils or those wishing to enter Year

13 courses. The Principal’s address will take

place at 10am in the school Assembly Hall.

Year 11/12/13/14 Parents’ Day

Parents of Year 11,12,13 and 14 students will have an

opportunity to meet with teachers on Friday 10th February. We

would encourage all parents to attend this meeting as it will

give them clear information regarding the progress of their son

or daughter in the run-up to their examinations in May and

June 2017.

Real World Science Conference

15 Year 10 Science pupils attended the Real World Science

Conference on Friday 23rd November in St Mary’s College,

Derry to find out about career opportunities in Science and

Technology. Pupils took part in interactive workshops. All

pupils thoroughly enjoyed the day.

The Story of Christmas

Once again St Mary’s pupils delighted audiences by

highlighting their many talents through song and drama.

On the 19th December at 7.30pm our Christmas concert

was performed in front of a packed house. Our school

choir sang all the favourite carols.

After the interval it was Christmas Eve at St Mary's A&E and the nurses were preparing themselves for the usual Christmas chaos. Festive injuries, celebrations and romance all had to be treated. Some fun Christmas hits helped to get the A&E ward into the spirit for the big day!

Our All-Star

Callum Brown in Year 12 has made history as he is the first pupil to receive an U16 Ulster schools rising star award and an U18 Ulster schools all-star in the same year. An outstanding talent with a very bright future.

Technology and Design Rotary Tournament

The Technology and Design Rotary Tournament was held on Friday the 11

th November with eighteen teams

competing from various schools. The Year 10 pupils had to build a power weight vehicle. This was a fun event which all pupils thoroughly enjoyed. It was an excellent opportunity for pupils to develop a range of thinking skills and work as part of a team.

1st place Lumen Christi College

2nd place St. Mary’s, Limavady

3rd place St. Paul’s, Kilrea.

Year 14 Interview Evening

School Formal

St. Mary’s school formal took place on Wednesday,

21st September at the Lodge Hotel, Coleraine. Our

young people looked so well on the evening. They

were a credit to their parents and the school. A big

thank you must also go to the teachers who turned

out in such large numbers to support the special

event.

STEM Bus Visit

Our Year 10 pupils had a very interesting day on The STEM Bus. They were using CNC Routers to cut name plates onto Oak. They were then able to varnish these in The Technology Department. Well done to all the pupils involved. Excellent Work!

CAREERS WEEK

Careers week took place on 21—25 November. We had a very busy week and were grateful to the many outside organisations and individuals who assisted our events. We had a range of past pupils and business people who enhanced our students’ understanding of the world of work and how best to prepare themselves. We are very grateful to the following people: Mr Peter Jack, Mr Marshall Kilgore, Mrs Ann McGroarty, Mr Tom Monaghan, Mrs Maureen Magowan, Mrs Carmel Turley, Dr Howard Wood, Mrs Sarah Kelly, Mr Rogan Canning, Mr Eamonn Kelly, Miss Mullan, Miss Williamson, Mr Jeff O Kane, Mr Michael Walsh, Mr Conan Cunningham, Mr Peter Mitchell, Ms Karen Mailey, Mr Dean McLaughlin, Mr Damien Deehan, Mr Eoin Kelly, Miss Michelle McLaughlin and

Mr Gregory Scott.

Sports Corner

Congratulations to Mr Chrissy McKaigue on his success as Slaughtneil were crowned Ulster Senior football champions and Ulster Club hurling champions recently.

The senior boys will be playing in the last 16 of the Ulster Schools, O’Doherty cup on the 23

rd January. So far this

year the boys have defeated Scared Heart Omagh, Clady and drew with Carrickmore to finish top of the group. They will continue to train over the festive period in preparation for their game in January.

Under 14 Girls’ Gaelic training will start on Wednesday afternoons after Christmas for Year 8,9 and10.

Our Year 14 pupils all dressed up for interview!

Languages Department

Gael Linn Quiz

Congratulations to Sean Deehan, Michael Peoples,

Ethan Parr and Joshua Millar from Year 10 who achieved joint

1st place in the Junior Gael Linn Quiz in The Falls Road

Leisure Centre, Belfast in October. All Year 10 pupils took

part in a quiz in the morning with all questions being asked in

Irish. This was followed by a céilí where great craic was had

by all. Maith sibh a chairde!

European Day of Languages

Pupils from all years feasted on croissants to celebrate

European Day of Languages at the end of September.

Festive Fairy Tale

180 Year 9s from both St Mary’s and Limavady High School took part in a Literacy event called ‘Festive Fairy Tale Friday’ on the 9th December. George Dallas from Limavady High School entertained pupils with a range of stories in the morning and then pupils went off to write their own festive fairy tale in groups. It was a great success all round and plans are already in place to make this an annual event.

RE Department

Thanks and appreciation to pupils who volunteered to represent St. Marys by reading at Mass during December:

12A1 Ryan McLaughlin, Orla Owens.

11A2 Aodhan O’Hara.

Year 13 Chloe McGinley, John McCloskey, Caoimhe O’Brien and Niamh McIlroy.

23 pupils in Year 13 have enrolled for the John Paul II Award this year and are undertaking voluntary work in the parishes of Limavady/ Ballykelly, Faughanvale, Magilligan and Drumsurn. As part of the Key Stage 3 Geography course, the

Geography Department invited Zoolab into the school on Friday 23

rd September. The 1 hour

workshop took students through the many layers of rainforest, from the dark floor to the dizzy heights of the canopy and close to some of the fascinating creatures. Too close for some pupils!

Year 10 pupils visited the Giant’s Causeway and White Rocks beach on Thursday 6

th October.

The pupils got a chance to walk around the visitor centre and with audio guides look at the tectonic features found in the Giant’s Causeway. The pupils then went to the White Rocks beach near Portrush where they experienced the beauty of these limestone cliffs and caves. Fortunately there were no bats in any of the caves.

Geography Department