Mission Statement and Ethos

MOTTO

“Mol an oige agus tiocfaidh sí”.

PHILOSOPHY

Our Philosophy is that of a Mercy School. “The Mercy School is a Christian Catholic Community of parents, students, teachers, management and other staff” working together. Mercy Schools inspired by Catherine McAuley give priority to integrating Gospel values and human values with the contemporary demands of society.

We strive to:

• attain high educational standards.
• to ensure that each pupil reaches his/her full educational potential.
• make provision for children with special needs.
• educate the young so as to make them self reliant and capable of valuing their own worth.
• Show a compassionate concern for the poor and deprived.
• Share a concern for justice in society.
• Encourage awareness of preserving our environment.
• Develop tolerant and caring members of society.

ETHOS

The Ethos of Scoil Mhichíl Naofa is Catholic in its essence. We welcome children from other denominations and those who are non denominational. “Our ethos is inclusive of all levels of educational need and cultural diversity”.

SACRAMENTAL PREPARATION

Preparation for the reception of the Sacraments of

(a) Reconciliation

(b) First Eucharist

(c) Confirmation

is carried out in the appropriate classes. We work closely with the Parish.

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

We are a Catholic school and we follow the Alive O and Grow in Love programmes throughout the whole school. A particular “slot” is designated each day for teaching religion in accordance with the Rules for National Schools. However the essence is spiral and cross curricular.

CUSTOM & PRACTICE

The Church Calendar is celebrated e.g. Ash Wednesday, Lent, Easter, Advent, Christmas and November where we remember those who have died. The month of May we devote to Our Lady. Once a year we have exposition & Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. Our school year begins with the celebration of a Mass.

PASTORAL CARE & OVERALL CHILD WELL-BEING

It is the policy in Scoil Mhichíl Naofa to strive to foster the holistic development of each individual student and teacher within an atmosphere of care, concern and respect. Each child is an important human person, created by God, entrusted to the school by parents and society and worthy of unconditional respect for his/her dignity.

Our Mission Statement

We Strive to make Scoil Mhichíl Naofa

• a place of education and development
• where each child is cherished and encouraged to reach his/her full potential.

In an atmosphere of respect for:

• self
• others
• our heritage
• our environment
• and God

We promote

• self worth
• personal responsibility
• love of learning
• academic competence
• and the belief that we can make our world a better place.

We work towards this in a spirit of:

• co-operation, enjoyment and dialogue between
  • pupils
  • parents
  • management
  • teachers
  • other staff
  • the community

GENDER EQUITY

Scoil Mhichíl Naofa seeks to promote gender-equity by:

1. Allowing all pupils equal access to all curricular areas.
2. Teachers being aware of gender-equity in classroom management and class-groupings.
3. Ensuring that educational books, games, materials and equipment are free from sexstereotyping.