St Mary’s Convent Primary School is an inclusive Roman Catholic school located in the Parish of Trim and Boardsmill, under the patronage of the Bishop of Meath.
Our school models and promotes a philosophy of life inspired by belief in God, in the life of Jesus Christ and in the tradition of the Mercy Order. The Mercy Order in Trim established St Mary’s as a Catholic school in 1868. Since then the Catholic ethos has been at the heart of school life on a daily basis. The school has a very close relationship with the Mercy Sisters and on entering the foyer of the school the symbol of the Mercy Order, the Mercy Cross, is visible for all to see.
As a Catholic school, we are committed to the values of the Catholic faith and to living out the Gospel message. We strive to develop each child’s spiritual, academic, social and physical potential. While St Mary’s is a school with a Catholic ethos, we are welcoming towards and respectful of pupils from other faiths and none.
The promotion of religious education for our pupils, in accordance with the doctrines, practices and traditions of the Catholic Church, is an important element of our ethos. We have adopted the Grow in Love religious programme throughout the school and this programme is timetabled for one half-hour each day.
Alongside the formal religious education programme, prayer permeates daily life in our school, with classes reciting morning prayers, prayers at meal times and evening prayers. Pupils from 2nd Class upwards also recite The Angelus at noon.
Major Catholic feasts are celebrated by our school community and these include Remembering Our Deceased during November, the Season of Advent, Christmas, St Brigid’s Day, St Patrick’s Day, Lent and Easter.
Sacramental preparation is a long-standing tradition at St Mary’s and is valued by Catholic parents and the general Catholic community in the parish of Trim. For countless decades Mercy Order Sisters taught in the school and they played pivotal roles in preparing our pupils for First Holy Communion and Confirmation. This work is now undertaken by lay teachers in conjunction with the parish community. Our committed staff and in particular the teachers of 2nd Class (First Holy Communion) and 6th Class (Confirmation) invest a great deal of time and effort in preparing and supporting pupils, along with their families, in the sacramental journey of faith.
Parents of pupils preparing for First Holy Communion help to organise the very successful ‘Do This In Memory of Me‘ programme. This is a parish-based programme of preparation for First Holy Communion centred in the parish celebration of the Sunday Eucharist and in the home. The programme is designed to facilitate parents, families and the parish’s active involvement in the preparation for the sacrament. It complements and supports the work of sacramental preparation in the school.
Confirmation is a parish celebration and we share the celebration of this sacrament with the other Catholic schools in our parish. The Bishop of Meath visits the parish to confirm the pupils and this ceremony usually takes place in spring each year.