St. Mary's Supports Aware NI

To mark World Mental Health Day 2025, St. Mary’s pupils and staff promoted awareness of emotional wellbeing and supported a local mental health charity. 

Led by Ms McKinley (Study Centre Supervisor), a team of pupils made green ribbons, the international symbol of mental health awareness.  The ribbons, along with a bookmark featuring a Prayer of Hope, the Take 5 Steps to Wellbeing, and details of the Youth Wellness Web, were distributed to pupils and staff.  An assembly presentation prepared by the Emotional Wellbeing Teams in Schools was also shared with pupils. 

As a Take 5 Platinum School, our Take 5 Pupil Champions played a key role in distributing the ribbons and bookmarks and encouraging donations from pupils and staff.  Thanks to their efforts and the generosity of our school community, a total of £650.00 has been donated to AWARE NI, a charity supporting people affected by depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder across Northern Ireland. 

On Wednesday 26 November 2025, Take 5 Pupil Champion representatives welcomed Bridie Kelly (Community and Events Fundraising Organiser for AWARE NI) to St. Mary’s and proudly presented her with a cheque for the charity. 

Marking World Mental Health Day is an annual focus in St. Mary’s.  This year, we chose to fundraise for AWARE NI in recognition of the support the school receives from the charity in the form of its Mood Matters programme for pupils and also the training in Mental Health First Aid which it has facilitated for a number of teaching and teaching support members of staff in recent years. 

Take 5 Pupil Champions from St. Mary’s Grammar School, Magherafelt present a cheque to Bridie Kelly from AWARE NI.  Included in the picture are Ms V. McKinley (Study Centre Supervisor) and Mr G. Quinn (Senior Leader).