The Board of Governors and Staff of St. Mary's on the Hill Primary School would like to wish everyone in our school, local and wider community a very merry Christmas. We would also like to wish everyone a happy and prosperous New Year for 2024.
We are delighhted to invite prospective families to our Open Day on Friday 15th December 2023. You will have the opportunity to meet our approachable and enthusiastic staff as well as get a sense of the unique ethos and atmosphere of our school. We look forward to seeing you there.
Road Safety Week is one of the biggest road safety campaigns. Every year, thousands of schools, organisations and communities get involved to share important road safety messages, remember people affected by road death and injury. We are delighted to support Brake with Road Safety Week and this year we are excited to annouce our partnership with Sustrans for the next three years were we will promote Active Travel to School. A special assembly will be held this week to launch the partnership, look out for more information.
This year Anti Bullying Week has the theme 'Make A Noise About Bullying' and will take place from Monday 13th to Friday 17th November. The week will be kicked off with Odd Socks Day on Monday 13th November, where adults and children wear odd socks to celebrate what makes us all unique. Too often, we are silent when we see bullying take place, silent about the hurt bullying causes, and silent when we hear bullying dismissed as ‘just banter’. It doesn't have to be this way. Of course, we won’t like everyone and we don’t always agree, but we can choose respect and unity.
Our children are having the opportunity this week to take part in workshops facilitated by the NSPCC. This is an important safeguarding programme to help children understand that abuse is never their fault, and that they have the right to be safe.
Next week, 16th October - 20th October, is Maths Week. This is an opportunity to celebrate all things Maths. The children will be involved in a range of Mathematical activities across the week and we will also be hosting a Parent workshop for P3/P4 parents on Tuesday 17th October. We hope that this will be a week that shows how important maths is and how fun it can be.
On Wednesday 11th October the PTA are hosting a coffee morning. At this event the Eco-council will also be recycling Halloween costumes. The proceeds that this raises will be put towards equipment and plants for our new polytunnels.
We love to celebrate each class’s work throughout the school. This month, all the work on our Celebration Wall in the school foyer reflects September as the ‘Season of Creation.’ Children from P1-P7 have been busy writing about, drawing, and painting their favourite parts of God’s creation. We hope you’ll agree that the display is a great reflection of our truly wonderful world!
In school we are very excited about beginning our Accelerated Reading again and launching Accelerated Maths. These are fantastic tools which encourage development in the key areas of Literacy and Numeracy. We will be motivating the pupils from P4 - P7 throughout the year with rewards and incentives to develop their skills in both these areas. Please encourage your child to take part fully.
It is wonderful to welcome back to school all the pupils of St. Mary's on the Hill P.S. We are very excited to welcome our new P1 children into our family and we hope they grow and develop during their time with us. We also welcome those other children who have joined us over the summer. We look forward to exciting and enjoyable times ahead.
The Board of Governors and Staff of St. Mary's on the Hill Primary School would like to wish everyone in our school community a happy, enjoyable and safe summer break. We look forward to seeing everyone back in the new term.
Our P1 pupils are looking forward to theri teddy bear picnic which is taking place on Friday 23rd June. This will be a lovely way for our pupils to end the year and hopefully enjoy a delicious picnic with their friends and teachers.
Our P7 children are rehearsing and preparing so well for their end of year show 'Cinderella and Rockerfella'. There is a matinee performance on Wednesday 14th June at 1:30pm and an evening performance on Thursday 15th June at 7:00pm for parents, these are ticketed performances. All the children in school will have an opportunity to see the show during the school day. We hope that you enjoy the show.
Our P4 children are very excited and looking forward to their First Holy Communion, which is taking place on Thursday 8th June at 4:00pm in St. Bernard's Church. The children can leave school at 12:00pm to get ready for their special day. Our whole school community will be thinking of and praying for our wonderful P4 children.
The St. Mary's on the Hill Summer Fair will take place this Saturday 3rd June on the school grounds. Everyone is welcome. We have some excellent prizes in this year's raffle, which can also be purchased through our School Money system. Lets hope for good weather.
We will be hoping for good weather this week as our Sports Day for P1 - P3 takes place on Thursday at St. Mary's on the Hill P.S. and P4 - P7 Sports Day takes place on Friday on the grass pitches at Carnmoney P.S. This is always an occassion that the children enjoy and we hope that you will be able to join us. Both Sports Days begin at 9:30am.
We pray for our P7 pupils who are receiving the gifts of the Holy Spirit through their Confirmation. The ceremony takes place in St. Bernard's Church on Wednesday 10th May 2023 at 4:00 pm. We hope that all our P7 families enjoy the special day.
Parents/carers will receive the outcome of their Primary 1 applications for September 2023 on Thursday 27th April 2023 Applicants who applied online via EA Connect will receive an email on Thursday 27 April 2023. If you do not receive an email, please check your junk folder. If you applied using a paper application, you will receive information on your child’s pre-school or primary school place by a letter sent to your home address.
The PTA have organised a Bouncathon that will take place in the school's assembly hall next Tuesday 25th April in order to raise funds for our school. Thank you to everyone that has already sponsored the children, your generosity is very much appreciated. Also thank you to the St. Mary's on the Hill PTA for organising the event.
After the children's return from the Easter holidays, there is great excitement in our P1 classes. The boys and girls are really looking forward to their trip to ARK farm. We will keep you posted on our Facebook page on how they got on. To access our facebook page click on the link. https://www.facebook.com/StMarysOnTheHillPS/
This week we walk with Jesus through his passion. The children will have the opportunity to visit St. Mary's on the Hill church with their teachers this week. This will be a time of reflection and joy as we celebrate Our Lord's resurrection. Please remember that school closes for the Easter break on Holy Thursday. We wish all our families, parish and wider community a holy and happy Easter. God bless.
During the season of Lent, we as a school community recognise that we must help those less fortunate as ourselves. This year we will be having Trocaire week again. For this week the children have worked with their teachers to come up with lots of different ways to raise money. Pyjama Days, bring and buy sales and raffles to name a few of the ideas. We look forward to helping people, as well as having fun.
Our Primary 3 children will be making their First Confession in St. Bernard's church on Monday (P3A) and Tuesday (P3B) this week at 4:00pm. We will keep all the boys and girls in our prayers during this special time.
This week we will be celebrating St. Patrick's Day. The pupils have been practising for their St. Patrick's Day concert on Wednesday. We are looking forward to singing, dancing, poetry and much more. The children will also be able to have a special St. Patrick's Day dinner on Wednesday too. A fabulous way to celebrate our Patron Saint. Please note school will be closed to pupils on Thursday 16th and Friday 17th March.
Next week we are looking forward to Science Week. This will start for our school on Wednesday 8th March. The week promisies to give the children the opportunity to investigate, experiment and become excited with the world of science. A highlight for the week will be science workshops being held in our assembly hall for all the children. Keep a look out for photographs on our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/StMarysOnTheHillPS
This Thursday 2nd March St. Mary's on the Hill P.S. will be celebrating World Book Day. This is a day that we can celebrate all that is good and great about reading. We will be enjoying a variety of activities during this week that celebrates how much we all enjoy reading a good book.
Ash Wednesday will take place on Wednesday 22nd February. On this day the children will have the opportunity to reflect on their Lenten Promises and P4 - P7 will receive their ashes. We hope that everyone has the opportunity to experience the sense of renewal that the season of Lent provides.
Mid term break will commence on Friday 10th February at 12:00pm. The children will return to school on Monday 20th February. We hope all our pupils enjoy a very well earned rest!
The portal has now opened for parents of children entering P1 in September 2023 to apply for a place. Please visit the link which will bring you to the admissions page. If you are having difficulty in accessing the portal or need any support, please contact the school. https://connect.eani.org.uk/parent