Teaching & Learning

In St. Mary's Academy CBS we pride ourselves on the academic excellence of our students. Below is a flavor of the Teaching and Learning initiatives we have to inspire and equip our students to reach their full academic potential.

Irish Summer Course Bursary

The Board of Management in St. Mary's Academy CBS have committed to supporting students financially to attend Irish Summer Courses. During these courses our students immerse themselves in the Irish language and make lifelong friends and memories on these courses. These courses prove to be very enjoyable for our students who return to our school with a "Grá" for their native language.

Post Primary Languages initiatives

St. Mary’s Academy CBS recognizes the value of modern languages in a rounded education and its active French and German departments take every opportunity to bring languages to life. Irish employers need to recruit students who can speak French and German and languages are a necessary requirement for many third level courses.

To support students learning, St. Mary’s Academy has been successful in two funding applications through the Post-Primary Languages Initiative. Over €1,000 has been provided and spent on reading materials and devices that can be used by French and German students. Additionally, other materials have been purchases in many of the languages spoken by our diverse student population. Language skills improve communication, promote integration and develop confidence and, thanks to PPLI, our school can facilitate students’ learning with dynamic and up-to-date resources.

John Coolahan Research Support Framework

Our school has always been at the cutting edge of research into teaching, learning and assessment. Hour-long classes and blended learning have been central to our approach for many years. In tandem with our extensive building project, we have prioritized research on student motivation to help every student focus on his strengths and achieve his potential.

In recognition of this work, our school has been selected for funding of fifteen hundred euros under the John Coolahan Research Support Framework. The Teaching Council uses this scheme to support new research by practicing teachers, to make a real difference to students’ experience of learning.

Our research is being shared with schools throughout the region, through our participation in ‘Teaching and Learning in the 21^st Century’. This is a professional network of active teachers and school leaders, facilitated by Maynooth University, who are finding new ways to support students’ learning.

St. Mary’s Academy CBS is committed to providing a quality education for all students by drawing widely on existing knowledge, engaging with teaching networks and being active researchers on our own practice.

Comórtas Díospóireachta an Phiarsaigh - Gael Linn

There is a strong tradition of Irish debating in St. Mary's Academy CBS. The school enters into Comórtas Díospóireachta an Phiarsaigh every year and were victorious in 2017.

TL21

The TL21 Programme is a programme for teachers and school leaders that promotes innovative practice and professional learning communities in post-primary schools.
The programme is a research-led one and its two main aims are:

• to strengthen teachers’ capacities as co-operative and self-critical authors of their own work;
• to enable students to take an active and responsible part in their own learning.

Droichead

St. Mary's Academy CBS is delighted to announce that we are a Droichead school. The Droichead process is an integrated professional induction framework for newly qualified teachers (NQTs). The main objective of the Droichead process is to support the professional learning of the NQTs during the induction phase, thus laying the foundations for subsequent professional growth and learning for the next phase of their career.

We have a fully trained Professional Support Team, who mentor NQTs through the Droichead process. We look forward to working with NQTs to enrich our school culture. For more information, please visit the NIPT website, www.teacherinduction.ie

Teachmeets