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Scoil Bhríde Mercy Secondary School Prospectus 2022
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Scoil Bhríde Mercy Tuam
PRINCIPAL’S ADDRESS I am delighted to welcome you to Scoil Bhríde. This Prospectus along with the supporting videos are designed to show you how we approach day to day life in Scoil Bhríde. We are a school that thrives in getting to know our students and their parents and supporting them through some of the most important and enjoyable years of their lives. Here in The Mercy, we believe in offering a progressive academic and extra-curricular experience. The best ambassadors for our school are our students. Our priority is our students’ progress through secondary education before moving on to third level or realising those ambitions that are fostered at Scoil Bhríde. The staff of Scoil Bhríde are looking forward to working with you and your daughter in the years to come.
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OUR MISSION STATEMENT “Scoil Bhríde Secondary School is a voluntary Catholic School which values and maintains a Christian ethos of Mercy, Justice and Equality for all. Its aim is the pursuit of excellence in a centre of holistic learning. We actively nurture a caring environment in which respect for all is the hallmark.”
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Scoil Bhríde Mercy Tuam
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Why Choose Scoil Bhríde? Scoil Bhríde is a voluntary Secondary School for girls operating under the trusteeship of CEIST (Catholic Education and Irish Schools Trust). •
Safe, open and spacious surroundings
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High progression to 3rd level
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Excellent teachers
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Highest standards of behaviour
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High speed fibre optic broadband and Wi-Fi throughout the school
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Excellent student support system
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Excellent sports’ facilities including spacious all weather training area
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Excellent subject choices including the only school in this region offering Computer Science to Leaving Certificate
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Wide choice of Programmes: Junior Cycle, Transition Year, Established Leaving Cert, Leaving Cert Vocational Programme (LCVP), Leaving Cert Applied (LCA)
The Pursuit of Academic Excellence Holistic Curriculum underpinned on our Mission Statement At Scoil Bhríde, we recognise each student’s potential to develop her own unique gifts. Our teachers are dedicated to inspiring in the girls a love for learning. We expect a high standard of class participation and study. All of our students are challenged to fulfil their potential across the wide range of programmes and subjects in junior and senior cycle. Blending traditional methods with online platforms of google classroom enables our students to excel across the curriculum. We are very proud of the academic achievements of our students. Our students continue to achieve excellent results in their state examinations, which has resulted in Scoil Bhríde having the highest level of progression to 3rd level in the catchment area. 5
Scoil Bhride Mercy Tuam
CURRICULUM Junior Cycle Compulsory subjects
Optional subjects
Irish
French
English
German
Mathematics
Science
History
Business
Religious Education
Geography
Civic, Social and Political Education (CSPE)
Home Economics
Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE)
Art, Craft & Design
Physical Education
Music
Computer Studies and IT
Choir Orchestra
Transition Year Transition Year is optional to all of our students. The year is based on active and experiential learning allowing students to establish a strong sense of ambition. Students explore new subjects and investigate potential careers options. Our dynamic programme includes a wide variety of activities and subjects attracting high levels of participation for students who have completed Junior Cycle.
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Leaving Certificate Curriculum Compulsory subjects
Optional subjects
Irish
French/German
English
Geography
Mathematics
History
Religious Education
Biology
Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE)
Chemistry
Physical Education
Physics
Career Guidance
Agricultural Science Accounting Business Home Economics Art Music Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme (LCVP) Computer Science Computer studies and IT Choir Orchestra
Leaving Certificate Applied Scoil Bhríde provides an exciting two year LCA programme with small class sizes. This programme is focused on preparing students for the world of work and exploring a wide range of exciting career opportunities. The programme recognises the talents of all students and provides opportunities for developing personal responsibility, self-esteem and self-knowledge. Students completing the LCA gain a level of awareness of the skill set and competencies needed for today’s work place. 7
Scoil Bhríde Mercy Tuam
BEYOND THE CURRICULUM The Arts We are extremely proud to have the oldest and largest school orchestra in Ireland. This year 175 students play in our orchestra, many having taken up their instrument since coming to the school. We have 6 school choirs who have received standards of distinction from the Royal Irish Academy of Music. Our students perform annually in the school opera, in collaboration with the students from St Jarlath’s College. This is the longest running school opera in the country and is a standard setter each year in school awards for musical productions. The school has opportunities for students to play and practice many styles of music, including folk, pop and traditional. The Annual Spring Recital is a much loved event and an opportunity to showcase the amazing talents of our students. We also offer opportunities to develop skills in art, through classes, exhibitions and competitions. Each year the TY students take part in the highly esteemed Junk Kouture competition, modelling their handmade upcycled creations. Public speaking and debating are popular and our students enter competitions in both English and Irish. This year the school introduced a pop-up Gaeltacht on-site to encourage a love of the Irish language and to create a natural environment for chat, music agus craic!
Sport We offer a full and varied curriculum in PE and encourage participation in many optional forms of exercise as part of our wellbeing programme. Scoil Bhríde is the only school in the area with a spacious all-weather training pitch with two large gyms and close proximity to the town’s swimming pool complex We encourage students to become involved in some of the many extracurricular sports on offer. These include football, volleyball, rugby, camogie, soccer and athletics. Many additional modular opportunities are offered in dance, gymnastics, horse-riding, yoga, basketball, swimming and more.
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Pastoral Care Structures for support •
Student Support Team
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Tutor and Year Head programme
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School Chaplain
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School Guidance Counsellor
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Links and established relationships with external agencies
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5th year Mentors
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1st year transition and induction programmes
Mental Health Mental health, self-esteem, positivity and encouragement underpin all we do in all aspects of school life. •
Classroom programmes.
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Counselling.
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In-school support structures.
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Visiting experts and organisations, workshops, talks.
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‘Jump-Start January’ A fun week when the girls are encouraged to participate in a variety of experiences to boost their health and wellbeing ranging from dance, exercise, performance, gymnastics, song, mindfulness, comedy, art and craft, many more…..
Emotional and Spiritual Development Our Mercy school ethos is firmly rooted in compassion and kindness.
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Dedicated meditation room.
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Sacred, quiet space.
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Weekly whole-school assembly.
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School services and liturgies at the start of year, November Remembrance, Christmas celebrations, Lenten practices and Easter celebrations, Graduation Night, Mercy Day, St Brigid’s Day.
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Fundraising for local charities.
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John Paul II programme.
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Friends in Faith Group.
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Cairde Le Cheile.
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Student Leadership Fostering student leadership is very important in Scoil Bhríde. It offers huge benefits to our students, building their self-confidence and independence, giving them a voice and a chance to take ownership of their school. We actively encourage students to demonstrate leadership in their day to day interactions in the school. We offer students the following opportunities to develop their leadership capacity:
Monitors Student Council Gaisce Team Captains School Magazine School Improvement Initiatives Leading fund raising activities 11
Scoil Bhríde Mercy Tuam
Scoil Bhríde Mercy Secondary School www.mercytuam.com (093) 24199 info@mercytuam.com @themercytuam
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