The stunning new school is spread over a large site donated by the Sisters of Mercy. Pictures: John O’Grady
The curtain is set to be drawn down this week on what has been a historic year for the students, teachers and all involved at St Mary’s Secondary School in Ballina.
As the students set off for their summer holidays this Friday, it is a chance for all to reflect on what has been a whirlwind journey as the new school opened its doors to students last September, with first years the first through the doors.
The day itself is one that principal Robert O’Reilly fondly remembers.
“There are so many memories (from the first year). When the first-year students came in, they were looking around, as were the teachers and parents, just taking it all in.”
Principal Robert O’Reilly has overseen the move into the new school. The canteen at St Mary’s Secondary School can also be used as part of the main hall.
Another big day for the school was the open day on October 15 last for the community to come in and have a look around. That day sticks out for Maria McMyler, who is one of the school secretaries.
“The first open day in October was great. People from all over came and they were so happy to see the school. It was a nice day.”
Another of the secretaries, Gabriel Moyles, who has worked at the school for 23 years, sees the new building as a way the school has come together as one, compared to the number of buildings that were previously utilised at the old site.
“The kids have karaoke every Thursday. You can hear everything compared to the old school where there were so many buildings and everyone was in different areas,” said Gabriel.
The new school campus represents an innovative model for Irish secondary schools and has been designed to meet the demands of new modes of learning.
It consists of a courtyard building composed of classrooms organised over two levels in an L-shaped block and the shared spaces of a GP hall, multi-use hall and sports facilities on ground level wrapping around the courtyard on three sides.
Students pictured in one of the science labs at St Mary’s Secondary School in Ballina.
The external courtyard is open to the east, providing spectacular views of the Ox Mountains while the design strategy behind the landscaping of the school grounds allows for taking learning beyond the classroom and into the landscape.
These specifications are geared at facilitating improved teaching through the provision of an energetic and welcoming environment that is conducive to intellectual, creative, physical and social activity.
It was a real logistical challenge to move from the old building to the new one. It was originally going to happen in May last year but was delayed due to supply chain issues and getting workers at the time.
They were able to scale down considerably beforehand due to Covid when classrooms had to be as spaced out as possible due to social distancing, but staff still had considerable work getting all classrooms set up and Robert O’Reilly was very thankful to all his staff for the hard work in the lead up to the opening.
“The year before has a lot of planning in terms of logistics and the setting up of the new school. A lot of work was done by staff, from what goes in what rooms to where students’ lockers would be.
“We worked through that in the previous school year in terms of the layout. There was a huge amount of work in terms of what was fixed down, from radiators to carpets.
“The school furniture was a big challenge in terms of what would be in certain rooms to the colours.
“We wanted to make classes as interactive as possible in terms of group learning and active teaching. We went with a flavour of different furniture in the rooms and that took a lot of time.
“Over the summer, we spent it cleaning out these rooms, putting in furniture and setting up one room at a time. The practical teachers had an awful lot of gear to unpack. We’re very grateful to them for all the work they put in.”
The colourfully-designed welcome notice at St Mary’s Secondary School in Ballina.
Since the school opened last September, St Mary’s has hosted big events, as well as gaining national and international prominence as the media centre for the world’s press for US President Joe Biden’s visit.
Closer to home, Principal O’Reilly was also delighted with how the Christmas concert went and the popular school musical ‘Sing! Sing! Sing!’, which happened back in February, and is looking forward to the Connacht Fleadh, which will be held in July. All those events are making use of extending the large PE hall out into the canteen.
“We had media here from across the world. That was a big occasion. We had packed houses for the school musical. It’s a fantastic setup as our canteen opens up into our PE hall and it’s a great area.”