Principal’s Welcome

Welcome message from the Principal

As Principal of Our Lady’s I am delighted to welcome you to our website which will give you a flavour of the richness of life in our school. Our Lady’s School is a Catholic Voluntary Secondary School for girls with over 770 students. Our Lady’s prides itself on the promotion of academic excellence, the formation of a strong value system and the holistic development of each student. The school was founded in 1953 by the Religious of Christian Education and the presence of the convent beside the school ensures that our connections with the order remain as strong as ever. The Religious of Christian Education celebrated the bicentenary of the order in 2017 reflecting back to Abbé Louis LaFosse’s desire to provide an Christian education to girls. We are also a member of Le Chéile Schools Trust and we are delighted that they will have their headquarters in the front part of our grounds.

Our academic programme aims to provide a broad and balanced curriculum so that all our students have the opportunity to reach their potential using their own individual talents and abilities. Students are encouraged to be the best that they can be, to strive for excellence and to contribute to the school community in a positive manner. Student progress is monitored by the Year Team including a Year Head and Form Tutors. Additional supports are provided by the Care Team, which includes two Career Guidance Counsellors.

Our Lady’s is very proud of its House System which embeds a pastoral care structure that is central to the life of the school. There are five houses, each with a House Head, led by a 6th Year House Captain and a team of 6th Year Councillors. The houses are made up of one class from each year group. Each student is part of both her year group and her house. Activities within the house and between houses, provide opportunities for students of all ages to get to know each other and to develop a strong sense of belonging within the school. These activities are student led, organised by 6th Year student councillors offering lots of leadership experiences to our students.

One of the highlights of the school year is the House Mass. The students decide on their theme and are responsible for the preparation of the liturgy and music. Each house also produces a banner to reflect the theme of the liturgy. The Sisters of Religious Education, who are faith friends of the students attend, along with past pupils and parents.

Students are encouraged to take part in the extracurricular life of the school. Our Lady’s has a strong tradition in hockey and also achieves success in Gaelic football, camogie, tennis, swimming, badminton and athletics. Our students have opportunities to become involved in many activities including drama, music, Toastmasters, Model United Nations, Junk Kouture, Tech 4 U, The Young Scientist Exhibition, Scifest, TY Musical, Gaisce, charity events and school tours, both in Ireland and abroad.

We aim to help our students develop the skills and capacities needed to support their wellbeing. We have an annual Wellbeing Week which promotes resilience and self-care. This year over 750 students completed the Bushy Park mile run during Wellbeing Week. Our students and staff enjoyed yoga laughter, boxercise, Pound, African drumming, a cookery demonstration, a walk to school programme during the week culminating with a healthy breakfast provided by our very supportive Parents’ Council and a whole school Céilí.

We have an exceptionally hard working staff who daily live out the ethos of our school by going over and beyond to assist our students to reach their potential. Our Lady’s is noted by visitors to our school as being a very warm and inviting place and this reflects the care and compassion shown by our staff to the students. Our students return this consideration creating a mutual atmosphere of respect.

We believe that students will thrive when they are happy and healthy, spiritually, mentally and physically. We offer them opportunities to develop in a spiritual, academic, cultural, pastoral and sporting domain. We place a high value on our co-operation with parents. It is through a positive partnership with parents that we can work together to ensure our students realise their full potential in all aspects of their lives.

The 2018-19 year finished with the Department of Education and Skills carrying out a Whole School Evaluation, Management, Leadership and Learning inspection in May.  The Board of Management is delighted that so many areas of school life in Our Lady’s were found to be highly commendable. The inspection allowed the school community show the quality education that is offered to our students. The findings identified that teaching and learning in the classrooms is at the highly effective level, a standard which is very hard to reach and represents an exceptional review of classroom practice. The school community is delighted with the recognition of the high standards in our school and the continued promotion of academic excellence. We welcome the DES inspection report as we always seek to improve, to challenge ourselves and our students to set the highest standards and achieve our ambitious goals.

I hope you enjoy visiting our website and that it gives you a real sense of the exceptional strengths of our school.  Should you require further information please do not hesitate to contact the school.

Yours sincerely,

Marguerite Gorby

Principal