News Category: News

World Mental Health Day takes place on Saturday 10 October 2020. The theme for this year is ‘Mental Health for All’.

We know when we are mentally and physically well but sometimes we need a little extra support. To ensure that we remain mentally and physically well, we can follow the Take 5 Steps to Well-Being:

1. Connect

2. Be Active

3. Take Notice

4. Keep Learning

5. Give

Barnardos has launched a new emotional well-being service – See, Hear, Respond. 

This service will work with children and young people in Northern Ireland who might need additional support to cope with the Covid-19 pandemic, offering practical and therapeutic support.  It will also offer advice and guidance to any adults who are concerned about a child’s mental health and well-being.

Business Studies and Economics students in St. Mary’s Grammar School, Magherafelt were busy before the Covid-19 lockdown setting up and running a successful Mini-Company to raise money for local mental health charity, ALPS. Mini-Company Director, Caitlin McCormack, and her team successfully designed and distributed over 800 jerseys and crew neck jumpers to the St. Mary’s community. The students were delighted to present a cheque for £2,500 to ALPS founder, Ronan Gilchrist. In thanking the students, Ronan stated: “I am totally blown away by the support provided to ALPS by St. Mary’s and the Mini-Company within the school. To see young people wearing our logo on their school jumpers and jerseys really was one of the proudest days of our organisation. ALPS is indebted to the school and everyone involved for everything.” 

Mid Ulster District Council is seeking YOUTH VOICE members to represent the voices of young people across Mid Ulster. 

Young People aged 16 – 21 years old who live in the district are invited to apply to be part of Mid Ulster Youth Voice. This 2 year programme will be managed by the Council in Partnership with the Education Authority Youth Service. 

Youth Voice will provide young people with the opportunity to:

- engage with key decision makers;

- have their say on local issues; 

- meet new friends; 

- be a representative voice for young people in their area; and 

- be involved and pro-actively engaged with local decision-making processes.

Mid Ulster Youth Voice will meet on a regular basis to identify and take forward common issues relating to young people in the local area along with opportunities for residentials and to participate in study visits to UK or Ireland.

For more information and the online application form visit: www.midulstercouncil.org/youthvoice

The deadline for applications is Friday 23 October 2020. 

The National Children’s Bureau survey for children and young people on mental health services in Northern Ireland is now open.

Children and young people between the ages of 13-25 are being asked what they need and want from mental health services in Northern Ireland. 

The link to the survey is:

We are delighted with how well our new Year 8 pupils have settled in to life at St. Mary’s as we come to the end of their first two weeks of lessons. We wish the class of 2020 every success as they begin their journeys of excellence at St. Mary’s.

Following the release of 2020 examination results, Mr Dunlop (Acting Principal) has reported that 99.3% of A Level students in St. Mary’s Grammar School, Magherafelt were awarded 3 A* - C grades while 99.8% of all entries resulted in A* - C grades. 

At GCSE, 84.2% of pupils achieved A* - B in 7 or more subjects, including English and Maths.  

The St. Mary’s community has been greatly saddened by the death of our esteemed colleague Mrs Sonya Monaghan (RIP) who passed away on 10 April 2020. Requiem Mass for Mrs Monaghan was celebrated in Holy Trinity Church, Cookstown on Sunday 12 April 2020. 

Mrs Monaghan joined the staff of St. Mary’s in 2013 as Head of Mathematics and in 2015, she was appointed to the school’s Senior Leadership Team. The Mathematics Department flourished under Mrs Monaghan’s tenure. In her Senior Leadership role, she had primary responsibility for the academic progression of pupils at Key Stage 5. Mrs Monaghan was innovative and forward-looking in her approach to education and was pivotal in bringing about curricular reforms at both Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5.

ICSS are providing a summer service.  This is so that any young person can obtain counselling between 1 - 14 July and 17 - 31 August. All referrals can be made directly via the digital referral form on the Familyworks website or via telephone helpline numbers, which are 02891821721 and 02891820341.

As you are aware, the Department of Education has recently issued guidance on pupils returning to school in the new academic term. In order to support this transition back to school, AAIS have added an additional chapter (Chapter 5: “Going Forward”) into our AAIS “Staying Safe: - Dealing with COVID-19. A booklet for post-primary pupils”. It is hoped this will prepare our young people with ASD with changes which may occur in the new term. The booklet, and further resources, are available in the home learning resources section of the AAIS website: - https://www.eani.org.uk/services/pupil-support-services/autism-advisory-intervention-service-aais

The Royal Geographical Society (RGS) is the United Kingdom’s leading centre for geographers and geographical learning and promotes Geography by recognising and rewarding excellence in geographical examinations through the RGS Excellence Award.  Barry has the distinction of being the top A-Level student in the CCEA A-Level Geography examination in June 2019 and his achievement was recognised by CCEA in December 2019 at a reception in The Titanic Centre, Belfast. Barry has now also been recognised as one of the top performing students in A Level Geography in the UK through receiving the RGS Excellence Award.  He was presented with his certificate from the RGS by Mr. Dunlop (Acting Principal) and Mrs Bradley (Head of Geography).

Barry also received a cash award from the RGS.

Our Year 14 Economists enjoyed resounding success in the Young Economist of the Year Competition.  The competition required students to submit a research project of their choice on a current Economic topic.

St. Mary’s GS are working in partnership with ALPs and Talk To Tom and inviting all in our St. Mary’s community to take part in the Walk a Million Step Challenge.

Starting on the final day of Mental Health Awareness Week, this Sunday May 24th 2020, until World Suicide Prevention Day September 10th 2020, together we can assist to change lives across the country whilst promoting Mental Health Awareness and Suicide Prevention.

By Walking, Running, Jogging, Dancing over 109 days, you are asked to achieve the million steps.

The challenge can be done on your own, in a family or a team setting- it is entirely up to you!

Registration is £12 and can only be done online through this link on Eventbrite:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/walk-a-million-tickets-104236899372

We look forward to walking a million together

​

For the fourth successive year, St. Mary’s students have achieved top awards in the 2020 LifeWorks Education National Life Advocate Essay Competition.  Final year student, Orlaith McAuley, received high praise for a thought-provoking essay that picked up first place in the essay-writing competition. This annual competition for senior cycle students aims to encourage research and critical thinking on human rights and right to life issues. 

This year students were asked to discuss the following words of Martin Luther King Jr, ‘injustice everywhere is a threat to justice everywhere’.  Chloe Toner, Year 14, and James Murray, Year 13, also received Highly Commended for their essays.

Geraldine Aherne, LifeWorks Co-Ordinator noted, ‘We saw a big increase in entries to the competition this year, which was all the more impressive given the difficult conditions teachers and students are presently working under. The field was very competitive, and the judging panel praised the high standard of student’s work’.

Familywoks Counselling are really keen to connect with young people and to let them know that they are available to offer them the help and support they need and require at this time.

To promote the service they are running some competitions.  All  pupils have to do is to like their page, share the original post and tag us to three friends on Instagram and they’ll be entered into a free draw.  

Please follow the link to the competition, the address is https://instagram.com/familyworkscounselling

Check out their videos and more on their social media. You can find them at the following places:

Facebook – facebook.com/familyworksni

Instagram – instagram.com/familyworkscounselling

Twitter – twitter.com/familyworksni

Vimeo – vimeo.com/familyworksni

St. Mary’s Art & Design Department were delighted with all the entries to their Positive Image Photography Competition.  The winning entries, in all categories, were chosen by Dr Ruth McGonagle, an A&E Doctor at Antrim Area Hospital. She said the photographs fitted the brief perfectly and she was very impressed by the high standard and quality of our pupil’s photographs.

The winners in each category are as follows;

Year 8 Winner – Aoibhinn Lloyd Evans

Year 9 Winner – Lorcan Tohill

Year 10 Winner –Frances Creighan

Year 11 Winner – Eryn McManus

Please click here to view photographs.

We are very proud of Mr O’Connor, Miss Coburn and Mr Teague from our Technology and Design Department as they produced almost 350 PPE facemasks!

​Please click here for Guidance for students, parents and teachers

Please click here for Message to students and families

​Please click here to view Stations of the Cross

​Please click here to view Familyworks Information Sheet for Parents and Carers

Please click here to view Post Primary Counselling Contingency Plan

​Please click here to view guide on how to join Microsoft Team Class

Please click here to view Online Learning - Student Guides

​Click here to view letter

Please click here to see attached letter from the Minister of Education.

​Please click here for some useful telephone numbers

Please see link for Public Health England below, for information purpose only

Please click here 

AWARE Northern Ireland launched its inaugural Investors in Mental Health Awards on Friday 6 March 2020 in the Bridge Suite of the iconic Titanic Belfast. St. Mary’s GS were delighted to receive an Investors in Mental Health Award in recognition of our strong pastoral care system and promotion of positive Mental Health in our school community. Pictured are Mr Dunlop and Mrs. McNeill, Head of Year 13, alongside Year 13 pupils who participated in the recent Mood Matter programme coordinated by AWARE.

To help pupils prepare for their AS Modules, all Year 13 pupils attended the ‘Ready Steady Study programme’ on 9 March, delivered by Paul Gray, Company Director of Learn Spark.  This course provided students with the attitudes, confidence and skill to study effectively and to A Level standard. It set out tried-and-tested techniques, strategies and approaches to support revision, and detailed the key steps required to effectively plan and manage learning and revision time. The day placed a strong emphasis on the students learning to think, act and study independently, all of which are essential life skills to implement in their learning and study.

We are extremely proud of our Year 10 pupil Charlie Curley who finished 46^th place at the recent Irish Life Health All-Ireland Cross Country Championships. With over 100 competitors from schools throughout the country, Charlie ran 3.5k in just over 14 minutes which was a tremendous pace and demonstrated great work rate and tenacity. Charlie is pictured with his proud P.E teacher, Miss Donnelly.

Twenty year 8 pupils were chosen to attend “Young People Planting Trees” event on Monday 9 March in Loughry Campus Cookstown.

Schools are asked to note the following advice in relation to school trips and the Coronavirus (COVID – 19) outbreak.

Please click on the link below:

COVID-19 Update

Eight Year 12 St. Mary’s pupils participated in the Stay Awake/Sleep Out in St. Eugene’s Cathedral, Derry on Friday 28th February 2020 from 9:00pm until Saturday 29th February 7:00am. 

Year 11 Art and Design pupils attended a comic book and character design workshop with comic artist, Tanya Roberts, organised by Scottish Book Trust, as part of their Scottish Friendly Children’s Book Tour.  

Year 9 pupils in St. Mary’s Grammar School attended an introduction to the Take 5 Steps to Well-Being model. 

Thank you to Orla McIntyre who spoke to our Sixth Form girls today about volunteering at one of their Summer Camps. A fantastic opportunity!

Applications are available via this link: https://michaelafoundation.com/get-involved/volunteer-with-us/summer-camp-volunteering-roles/

NI Water’s Pat McCauley recently visited Year 8 and Year 9 assemblies in St. Mary’s to highlight the impact single use plastic water bottles are having on our water environments.

ST. MARY’S PUPILS ATTEND NICCY WEBINAR

Congratulations to Year 12 pupils - Shea Heaney, Holly Dougan and Nayana Chauhan - who were awarded 1^st Place at the Northern Ireland final of the prestigious BPW Public Speaking Competition.

The Student Leadership Team in St. Mary’s were delighted to welcome Raymond Love and his colleague from Sperrin Cultural Awareness Association (SCAA) in school last week. 

STEPPING INTO ST.MARY’S

Hundreds of Primary 6 and Primary 7 pupils from across three counties visited St. Mary’s Grammar School, Magherafelt this week.

​Congratulations to the winners of our Open Evening Primary School competition.

Catholic Schools Week 2020

St. Mary’s is joining schools across the globe in celebrating Catholic Schools Week 2020 from 26 January to 3 February 2020.  

During the month of December, staff and pupils from St. Mary’s Grammar School supported Trócaire’s Christmas Appeal by purchasing and promoting Gifts of Love.

The Ulster U16B Final took place on Friday 10 January in MUSA where St. Mary’s and St. Dominic’s battled it out to be crowned Ulster Champions. 

The St. Mary’s community has been saddened by the death of a highly esteemed former member of teaching staff.  Mrs Deirdre McCann (RIP) passed away on 1 January 2020.

Key Stage 4 pupils, under the direction of Mr Francis and Mrs Higgins, donated a range of presents for the annual St. Vincent de Paul Christmas Family Gift Appeal.

This year’s school Christmas card was designed by Adam Rocks, Year 13.  Thank you to Adam for giving of his time and talent in creating the artwork for the card. 

Full coverage of last weekend’s Rannafast Cup final between St.Mary’s and St.Pat’s Maghera. The game was held in Bellaghy and was nail biting from start to finish.

Please click here for Video

Download link

Congratulations to our 2019 Derry U14 girls who were presented with their All-Ireland medals. 

The NEBSSA Cross Country Championships were held at Six Mile Water Park, Ballyclare on Wednesday 27 November 2019.

On 21 November 2019, six pupils represented St. Mary’s in the Regional Heat of the 38^th Annual Soroptimist International Public Speaking competition, held at Ballymoney Health Centre.

Year 8 pupils had a fun morning on 21 November 2019 when they participated in the ‘Bin It!’ workshop in St. Mary’s.

Pupils across all key stages in St. Mary’s recently enjoyed cookery demonstrations delivered by Patricia Mitchell from the Livestock and Meat Commission (LMC).

Action MS Chief Executive, Ann Walker, recently visited St. Mary’s Grammar School, Magherafelt as part of a special awards presentation to thank Year 10 pupils for their tremendous efforts on behalf of people with Multiple Sclerosis.

Taekwondo World Championships 2019

GCSE Child Development students in St. Mary’s recently welcomed Rachel Scroogie from Sure Start Northern Ireland to their class.

Students from St. Mary’s Grammar School, Magherafelt are among the highest achieving students in this year’s GCSE and A-Level examinations in a number of subjects.

On Saturday 9 Novemeber 2019, 15 pupils from St.Mary’s travelled to the Cardinal ÓFiaich Memorial Library to participate in a Climate Change Conference.

The new term started exceptionally well for some St. Mary’s pupils. In June 2019, pupils in Years 8-11 were given the opportunity to enter a competition entry to the Schools Bible Project. Thousands of pupils from schools across the UK enter each year and four St. Mary’s pupils have been awarded prizes in this year’s competition.

Five pupils from St. Mary’s participated in the annual Derry Diocesan Lourdes Pilgrimage which took place during Summer 2019.

26 pupils from St. Mary’s attended the Mid Ulster Council Cross Country event on Tuesday 5 November 2019 at MUSA, Cookstown. 

Year 9 and Year 11 pupils in St. Mary’s have been raising funds to support the work of the Holy Family Sisters of Bordeaux.

Year 10 pupils, Georgia Lavelle and Zoe McAllister have been awarded Highly Commended in the prestigious Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Competition. 

The achievements of pupils in St. Mary’s Grammar School, Magherafelt during 2018/19 have been rewarded during a number of internal awards ceremonies for pupils from Year 9 to Year 12.

Congratulations to all our current and past pupils who were members of the victorious Magherafelt team who won the county final on Sunday.  Good luck with your Ulster campaign.

St. Mary’s Grammar School once again took part in the annual Road of Hope Shoe Box Appeal.  Road of Hope is a voluntary charity organisation that relies on the goodwill of local people to help support those under privileged in countries such as Bosnia, Croatia, Romania and Africa.

Congratulations to Year 13 student, Caitriona Toner, who was awarded an Ulster Schools Camogie All Star for 2019/20 following her participation in trials at the Ulster University, Jordanstown last week. 

On Monday 14 October 2019, St. Mary’s was delighted to welcome representatives from Gideons International to speak to Year Eight during their weekly assembly.  

On 9 October 2019, A Level Drama students attended a performance of Blackout at Sperrin Integrated College, Magherafelt.

The Pramerica Spirit of Community Awards has launched its campaign to shine a light on the commitment and dedication of young people’s volunteering efforts across Ireland by encouraging students to apply for their 2020 awards.

It was an evening of sophistication and sartorial splendour as students from St. Mary’s Grammar School, Magherafelt attended the annual Year 14 Formal.

ST.MARY’S GRAMMAR SCHOOL - ANNUAL AWARDS CEREMONY

St. Mary’s Grammar School, Magherafelt has held its annual Awards Ceremony to recognise and reward the academic and extra-curricular achievements of pupils. The event took place in the school on the evening of Tuesday 10 September 2019 in the presence of Guest Speaker, Professor Roderick Paisley, who holds the Chair of Scots Law at the University of Aberdeen. 

On Thursday 12 September 2019, Year 11 and Year 13 Drama students took part in a physical theatre workshop facilitated by the Creative Learning Department of the Lyric Theatre, Belfast.

Students at St. Mary’s Grammar School, Magherafelt have excelled in 2019 GCSE examinations. Following the publication of results, Ms Gillespie, Principal, described the grades achieved by students as “truly remarkable” and reported that 98% of students achieved A*-C grades in at least 7 subjects, including English and Mathematics. An impressive 60% of all grades were A*-A.

St. Mary’s Grammar School, Magherafelt is celebrating another year of exceptional performance in A-Level examinations.

Two Year 13 pupils from St. Mary’s have been crowned the winning team in a prestigious national legal competition.

Una Campbell and Luke McCallion competed against 8 other finalists from three schools across the UK in the “The Legal  Apprentice” competition, hosted by law firm Kingsley Napley LLP in partnership with The Times. 

All Year 8 pupils participated enthusiastically in The Critical Literacy Project through The Irish News earlier in the year.  This involved reading weekly student editions of The Irish News and completing various activities based on that week’s newspaper. The aim of the project was to develop pupils’ literacy skills and 8C were the worthy winners of a day spent at The Irish News Offices, in Belfast and at Inter-press, on the 18th June, learning all about how the different sections of the paper are planned and put together.

For the third successive year, a St. Mary’s student achieved a top award in the LifeWorks Education National Life Advocate Essay Competition.  Year 14 student, Anne McCoy, was Highly Commended for the excellent essay she submitted in response to the words of Pope Francis: “The right to life is the first among human rights.”  

After losing their opening game to Omagh CBS by one point, the Year 8 boys dusted themselves down to go on a run that would lead them all the way to the Martin O’Farrell Cup. 

Two Year 13 students from St. Mary’s Grammar School, Magherafelt have successfully reached the final of the ‘Legal Apprentice’ competition.  

Una Campbell and Luke McCallion will compete against three other schools from the UK to be crowned the winning team in the final at News UK (Headquarters of The Times) on 19 June 2019.

As a development of the Pastoral House System in St. Mary’s, Term Two saw the introduction of Vertical Tutor Groups.  Led by Mrs Higgins, the aim of the vertical group structure  is to enhance and encourage greater pupil interaction between pupils from different Year Groups within the same Pastoral House Group and promote a richer pupil experience and sense of House identity. 

History students enjoyed a number of visits to places of historical interest.  Year 14 students visited Glasnevin Cemetery and Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin as part of their study of Ireland Under the Union 1800-1900 and the Partition of Ireland 1900-25.  Meanwhile, Year 11 pupils travelled to Derry to visit the Siege Museum and the Museum of Free Derry, before enjoying a walking tour of the Bogside as part of their study of Northern Ireland 1965-98.

The Music Department’s Spring Concert showcased the exceptional musical talents of St. Mary’s pupils.  Soloists, choirs and instrumentalists entertained the large crowd with music from across a range of genres, including traditional, classical and contemporary compositions.  Organised by Miss Donnelly, Head of Music, the evening was compered by Year 14 students, Orla O’Kane and Claire Kearney, who entertained the audience with their charm and wit. 

On Friday 12 April 2019, Year 12 students - Declan Larkin, Mark Donnelly, Niall McAuley, Allana Campbell, Evelina McElhone, Beth Dixon and Helen Doherty - along with 500 other post-primary school students from across Northern Ireland travelled to Titanic Belfast for BelTech’s Education Day.  

As part of the Shared Education Programme, the History Department was privileged to host the Truth and Reconciliation Platform which was established to give victims of the Northern Ireland ‘Troubles’, regardless of their political, religious or cultural background, an opportunity to tell their stories.  On this occasion, we heard Alan Mc Bride, Eugene Reavey and Stephen Travers speak.

Throughout the year, members of the St. Mary’s Student Council have been actively involved in inviting and representing the views and ideas of the wider student body to the Principal and Senior Leadership Team.  Various matters of pupil interest were discussed through regular Year Group Council meetings, Student Council meetings and meetings with Ms Gillespie and Mr Quinn.  The issues raised by pupils were discussed at Senior Leadership meetings and feedback was provided to the Student Council.  

Following the success of the first year of the cross-phase literacy project, the English Department was pleased to work with partner primary schools for a second year.  

Almost 80 pupils from St. Mary’s Grammar School, Magherafelt have been presented with a faith award by Archbishop Eamon Martin in St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh.  The Pope John Paul II Award and the Muiredach Cross Award were presented to the young people at a special ceremony on Thursday 28 March 2019 in recognition of their volunteering work in parishes, communities and schools.  

In December 2018, a team of 15 Year 13 and 14 pupils participated in the Regional Heat of the National Bar Mock Trial Competition. The competition is facilitated by the Citizenship Foundation, a charity that aims to enable and encourage young people across the UK to actively participate in, and make a positive difference to, the societies in which they live.   The team engaged in a simulated criminal trial - an immersive, active learning experience which afforded the team the opportunity to take on the roles of barristers, witnesses and court staff to prosecute and defend specially adapted, real life legal cases, against other schools. 

A Year 13 student from St. Mary’s Grammar School, Magherafelt has won the top prize in this year’s Michaela Foundation Wings Award Programme.  

Laura Diamond was announced as the winner of the award at an Awards Ceremony in St. Mary’s University College, Belfast on Wednesday 27 March 2019.  Nominating Laura for the award, Miss Burns (Head of Religion) described her as “a kind, compassionate and inspirational young lady, who has been a true example of living faith in the twenty-first century.”

On 27 March 2019, Year 13 pupil, Ella McKenna, was  placed First overall in the A Level group of the prestigious Gael Linn public speaking competition, Abair.  

Ella, along with Treasa Ni Chathain, made it through to the All-Ireland finals, held in the Crumlin Road Jail, after qualifying in Letterkenny in January.  The girls spoke exceptionally well and Mr McPhilomey and Miss McGouran are extremely proud of their achievements.

In March, Year 10 students - Matthew Lynn and Aine Heaney - had the opportunity to take part in the Battlefields Project trip alongside pupils from a number of other schools across Northern Ireland to commemorate the centenary of World War 1.  Accompanied by Mrs McCormick, Head of History, the pupils visited a number of key World War 1 sites, including the Menin Gate, Peace with Ireland Park, the Ulster Tower and Thiepval Memorial.

Students from St. Mary’s Grammar School, Magherafelt have had the opportunity to speak to Lord Kerr as part of the Supreme Court’s Ask a Justice initiative.  

The programme provides young people with a keen interest in law with the chance to engage in a live question and answer session with a Justice from within the comfort of their own school. 

On Tuesday 19 March 2019, St. Mary’s was delighted to welcome Fr. Damien Quigley to speak to Year Eleven General RE pupils.

​The Governors, Principal, staff and pupils of St. Mary’s Grammar School extend their sincere sympathy and prayers to the families, friends and communities of those who lost loved ones following the tragedy in Cookstown on St. Patrick’s day.  

Our Lady of Sorrows pray for them. 

Miss McCloskey (Head of Chemistry) pictured with participants in the recent UK Chemistry Olympiad competition. 

Pupils Barry McErlean, Ella McKenna, Ciara Cassidy, Conor Bradley & John McMorrow (missing from picture) displayed a wide and diverse range of chemical knowledge and expertise to answer some very challenging questions - well beyond the scope of the Chemistry studied in the classroom. Congratulation in particular to Barry McErlean who achieved a prestigious Gold Award.