ANNUAL REPORT, 2016-2017
1. Mission Statement
The mission statement and vision of this school are as follows:
Mission Statement
To educate our students to achieve their full potential in an inclusive and Christian environment
Vision
· To promote a holistic development of all members of the school community
· To promote excellence in Teaching and Learning
· To show respect, care and compassion for every member of the school community
· To share in the ongoing search for a more loving, just and peaceful world.
All school policies are shaped by the mission and vision.
On a more practical level, there is a deep appreciation by the staff of the need, indeed the obligation, to be true to the values of the school. The mission and vision are the inspiration for many of the talks at year assemblies and reflections throughout the year.
The CEIST Charter speaks of showing respect and care, and this year, like last year in the aftermath of the education cuts, the Mercy School community, in the spirit of these values, made a concerted effort to mitigate the worst effects of the cutbacks for the most socially vulnerable. The need to provide schools books and uniforms was identified as a priority. Our Book Rental Scheme is now available to students from all year groups. Second hand uniforms donated to the school are also available from the school. Both of these initiatives help parents save significant sums of money. The most disadvantaged of the in-coming students were identified and a set of books provided for them.
Following concerns expressed by staff that students were coming to school hungry and without lunches a Breakfast/Social Club was established. A healthy breakfast is now available every morning. The Breakfast Club is open to all and has become quite a social event catering for approx. 50 students each morning. The Department of Social Protection invited us to join the school meals programme for Breakfast Club only. We accepted this invitation and hope to have the appropriate grant to fund the Breakfast Club in the 2017/18 school year.
2. School Development Planning
A number of planning teams have been established to progress this important area. The teams help to focus attention on this pivotal area of school life. The following priorities were identified for 2016-2017:
· ICT Team: reviewing ICT requirements, updating website, working on e-learning/ICT plan, Twitter and photo gallery
· Numeracy Team: promotion of numeracy, improving problem solving skills, links with Junior Achievement and a focus on time
· LCA Team: implementation of plan to commence the Leaving Cert Applied Programme with 5th year students
Special Needs Education: Following our participation in the pilot project for the new model of allocating resources to SEN students we have reviewed our approaches to target setting and team teaching. The SEN Co-Ordinator, Deputy Principal and the Principal work together to co-ordinate the work of the SEN teachers and the Special Needs Assistants. A new Whole School Inclusion policy was drafted and adopted by the Board.
School Self Evaluation: All staff continued to implement plans to improve:
· Students’ personal organisation and
· Subject specific differentiation.
Wellbeing was the theme selected in 2016/17. An action plan to try to improve wellbeing was developed and will be implemented in 2017/18 and 2018/19.
The Admissions/Enrolment policy was revised and adopted by the Board.
3. Faith Development
Provision: Religious Education is taught as an exam subject in Junior Cycle. Non-exam religion is taken by students in TY, fifth and sixth years. There are three classes per week for all year groups.
Liturgical Year: The ‘sacred space’ room and the liturgical themed table in the main foyer are used to mark different times of the year. During Advent students are made aware of the Jesse Tree and classes make various symbols as part of their activities. A Christmas carol service is held.
Culture of Prayer: All staff meetings and BOM meetings begin with a prayer or reflection. Assemblies for year groups begin with a prayer/reflection. During Seachtain na Gaeilge prayers in Irish were said over the intercom.
Mass was celebrated at the beginning of the academic year. A group of 6th year students participated in a one day retreat in the St John Pastoral Centre. The sixth year graduation liturgy is one of the highlights of the school year. The transition year programme also concludes with a Mass.
Chaplaincy services: The absence of a full-time chaplain is a profound cause of regret. However, the local curate acts as chaplain and is generous with his time, though the school feels constrained in making too many demands on him.
Professional development: The school management is happy to facilitate attendance at in-service courses.
4. Pastoral Care
Pastoral care is a priority in the school. The Principal, Deputy Principal and Year Heads met regularly as a team to oversee discipline and pastoral care needs. A Student Care Team consisting of the Principal, DP, Guidance Counsellor, SEN Co-Ordinator and on occasions other teachers or SNAs met regularly to look after as many vulnerable students as possible. Such teams allow for a considered and focused response to the needs of students identified as being at risk. Tutors continued to work very hard to provide pastoral care support to our students.
5. Positive Behaviour
The promotion of positive behaviour has been identified as a priority within the school. Among senior students there is a particular focus on their role as leaders of the school community, with an obligation to set an example for junior students. This theme has been reiterated at assemblies by year heads, principal and deputy principal. It has also been a central topic on visits to class groups.
This sense of responsibility and positive behaviour among seniors is promoted by:
· The selection from among sixth years of prefects for junior classes and
· The selection from among fifth year students of a Meitheal group who act as mentors to our 1st year students.
Among junior students what might be termed the ingredients of positive behaviour are reiterated at assemblies and in class groups.
A prize giving ceremony is an important element in this process. At our 6th year graduation ceremony held in May we presented the George Jenkins Memorial Trophy to the 6th year girl who best exemplified the Mercy spirit. The annual prize giving ceremony for 2015-2016 school year, organized by the Deputy Principal, took place in mid-September 2016 upon our return to school. Senator Lorraine Clifford was the guest speaker. The Year Heads organized 2 mini prize-giving ceremonies for each of their year group of students during the school year.
There was a particular focus on the effects of bullying on students. The SPHE teachers delivered an anti-bullying programme to all 1st year and the LOCKERS programme to all 3rd year students. A study skills programme was provided for all 3rd year students and a module on coping strategies was delivered to all 2nd year students.
6. Parental Involvement
The Parents’ Council was not that active this year.
Parents assisted with some fundraising activities (eg bag packs, sponsored walk) which were undertaken to raise funds for microwaves, stationery requirements, ICT etc. Parents were also involved in discussions on the new junior cycle framework and consultations on wellbeing and re-structuring the school day.
7. Board of Management
The Board of Management met on the following dates:
· 6 September 2016
· 20 September 2016
· 26 September 2016
· 17 October 2016
· 25 October 2016
· 30 November 2016
· 31 January 2017
· 27 February 2017
· 28 March 2017
· 16 May 2017
· 20 June 2017
The Finance sub-committee of the BOM met on the following dates:
· 15 November 2016
· 25 January 2017
· 23 May 2017
The main issues which concerned the Board were:
· Appointment of an Assistant Principal
· Adoption of Child Protection Policy and related procedures; the review and adoption of the Admissions Policy and the School Inclusion Policy (which replaces the Special Needs Policy)
· Review of critical incident management plan
· The implications of the education cuts on staffing levels, middle management positions and school finances
· ASTI industrial dispute with the Department re junior cycle reforms, Croke Park hours, equal pay for equal work etc
· Consideration of applications for job sharing and career break
· Enrolment issues
· Discipline issues
8. Student Council
The Student Council was active this year. Its main activities included:
Involvement in Open Night
Involvement in fund raising
Consultation on Wellbeing and changes to the school day
9. Extra-Curricular Activities:
Staff members give generously of their time to promote many different extra-curricular activities, from sporting activities to debating and reading clubs, in the school throughout the year. Here is a flavour of some of the activities:
Camogie: The camogie teams played many games representing the school with distinction.
Basketball: This school has a very strong basketball tradition and various teams were very successful at different levels. The first year basketball team won the All Irelands in Limerick.
Green Schools Committee: Following on from their green flag for energy management in 2015/2016 this committee was actively involved in raising energy awareness and recycling around the school.
Social Justice Group: This group raised awareness about bullying and ran a very successful ‘Stand Up’ campaign. They posted their activities on social media websites. BeLong was greatly impressed with their anti-bullying - treat people with respect campaign and recognized their efforts and gifted them a google cast.
Science Club: Students participated in the Young Scientist and SCIFEST competitions. One group won the overall SCIFEST competition.
Competitions: Students participated in many competitions, most notably the Build a Bank Challenge, sponsored by AIB, and Young Entrepreneur competitions organized by the local Enterprise Board, doodle4google and Art competitions organized by Waterford Credit Union.
School Tours: Students participated in various trips, both national (Fota Island, Dáil Éireann, National Art Gallery etc) and international (France and Italy) during the year.
Mary Meade
PRINCIPAL
September 2017
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