Marino Community Special School

28/05/2020

The National Council for Special Education has an extensive section on their website specifically to support learning and activities for children in special schools and special classes. They also have separate sections on occupational therapy and speech and language therapy resources.

28/05/2020

School Newsflash!!!!
Marino Community Special School in Bray has been awarded first prize in the Best Standalone Category in St. Patrick's Mental Health Services "Mission Impossible" competition. Our project consisted of students collaborating to write a piece of rap music, expressing their thoughts, opinions and emotions. The song they wrote was recorded, with students handwriting the lyrical sheet. As well as the creative process of making music being very mindful for students, it also offered a shared social activity, opened up conversations, and helped to ensure that students had their voices heard. The award winners were announced earlier this week.

Here at Walk in My Shoes, we are delighted to announce the winners of our fourth annual Mission Possible awards, celebrating schools around Ireland that prom...

12/03/2020

STATEMENT FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND SKLLS

Dear Parents/Guardians,

An announcement was made this morning by the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar TD of the closure of schools, pre-schools and further and higher education settings, for a period until 29 March 2020, to support efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19. This will take effect from 6pm this evening, Thursday 12 March.This is in line with the advice of the National Public Health Emergency Team.

All pupils and students, from pre-school to third level are urged to practice social distancing, and to minimise physical contact with each other, to help avoid the spread of Covid-19. This should include minimising social contact, avoiding meeting up and keeping physical space between them. Parents and guardians are urged to support their children to maintain this approach.

Marino School will therefore close this afternoon and will remain closed until 29th March 2020. Marino School is due to reopen on Monday the 30th March. I will keep parents updated with regard to further information, should there be any changes in the meantime.

I hope that everybody stays well and takes care.

Kind Regards,

Oonagh Kenny

10/01/2020

ASD Training for Parents and Professionals in Bray and surrounding areas.
We are pleased to welcome Middletown Autism to Marino School this January 2020. Middletown will provide courses for both parents and professionals, which aims to support individuals working with and living with children with autism. The modules for parents will take place on Wednesday mornings, from 11am to 1pm, beginning on Wednesday the 15th January next week.
Marino School will host the modules and provide refreshments each Wednesday morning. If you know of parents who would like to avail of this relevant training in a local venue, they are welcome to attend.
These courses should be beneficial for parents and professionals alike. There is no charge for these courses. Please register directly on https://www.middletownautism.com/training/parents or contact office@marinoschool.ie or phone 012829807 to register interest.

02/09/2019

****ATTENTION SOCCER FANS***
Marino School has received complimentary Premium tickets from the FAI, for the upcoming match between the Republic of Ireland and Switzerland on Thursday the 5th September. There are four tickets with access to Green Room Reception Hospitality on the President's Terrace on level 2, before the match at 18.15 Hrs.

We are eager to raffle these tickets to raise funds for resources and equipment for students attending our school. Tickets for the raffle will be sold at a cost of €10 each. There will be two draws this Wednesday and each winner will receive two complimentary premium match tickets with Green Room Reception Hospitality.
Email office@marinoschool.ie to be entered into raffle asap

19/06/2019

WE NEED YOUR HELP
As part of Partnership Schools Ireland, Marino Community Special School has set up an Action Team for Partnership. The Action Team members are a mix of the Principal, students, parents, staff and community representatives.
Following a school survey, one of the Action Team’s goals is to create a welcoming environment for the school community.
We would like your support to ‘Fund a Foot’ so that we can create a welcome walk from the school car park to the entrance of the school and beyond for students and visitors to the school.
The Welcome Walk is the first step in a bigger plan to create a more welcoming environment and use more of the school space outside of the classroom environment to promote learning. The footprints are a simple and effective way to aid student’s numeracy skills.
You can help this plan by sponsoring a pair of feet for €25 or €15 for one foot.
You can lodge directly to Marino Community Special School Account BIC AIBKIE2D
IBAN IE41AIBK93348122 (Reference FEET)
or send cheque or cash to Marino Community Special School, Church Road, Bray, Co. Wicklow

Please share details with family and friends
THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT

19/06/2019

The Sports Development Officer in Wicklow County Council, Andrew McBride organised an inclusive sporting session in our school, as part of our Active School’s programme. Students and staff in Marino School were delighted to welcome Ben Armstrong from Leinster Rugby to our school on Thursday 13th June. Ben took time to work with students, demonstrating skills and engaging students in a game of tag rugby. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the session and thank you to Andrew and Ben for being so engaging with everyone and in particular, for motivating all students to participate.

17/06/2019

Marino School is delighted to receive a garden award from the Edible Bray Committee and Wicklow County Council, for the development of our new sensory garden and for learning practical gardening skills. The award was presented by councillor Stephen Matthews and Richard Webb. The committee acknowledged accessibility as the main design criteria, with raised beds, sensory features, including water feature and herb bed. There is a recommendation to develop a wild flower garden space in the front of the school, where the apple trees are planted, for biodiversity. We look forward to further developing gardening experiences for students in the next school year.
Well done to all students and staff concerned.

04/05/2019

Wonderful news! Marino School has won a National Lottery Good Cause Award in the Health and Wellbeing category. We will go into regional finals next November with the possibility of winning €25,000.
Dermot Griffin CEO of National Lottery wrote of Marino, "Being named a Wicklow County winner is a true testament to the quality of your entry and a reflection of all the good work you do.
Congratulations once again and keep up the great work … you are the epitome of what the National Lottery Good Causes is all about!"

Marino Community Special School, Greystones Lawn Bowling Club, the Centre for Creative Practices and Bray Youth Service are the four Wicklow clubs, community projects and organisations announced today as county winners in the National Lottery

09/04/2019

New sensory garden in Marino School

Diarmuid Gavin, local garden designer and TV personality, visited Marino Community Special School, on the occasion of the official opening of a new sensory garden on the 3rd April 2019. Marino also welcomed representatives from Sunbeam House Trust, without whom the development of the sensory garden would not have been possible. Enable Ireland Services, patron of Marino School, provided the school with the site to develop the sensory garden space. Greentouch Landscapes designed the garden with the student Council and gave generously of their time and resources to complete the project.

Sunbeam House Trust gave a generous donation to Marino School to fund the project. The development of a garden was a fitting tribute to Lucinda Sullivan, founder of Sunbeam House Trust, who had a particular interest in gardening and hosted many annual garden shows in the old Sunbeam House on Vevay Road.
The provision of a sensory garden space in Marino is hugely beneficial for all students, as this garden will allow students to enjoy a calm, relaxing outdoor space and also, from a practical perspective, will enable students to grow, cook and hopefully, eat some of the garden produce!

09/04/2019

Marino School was delighted to welcome Minister Simon Harris TD to our school on Friday 5th April 2019 to join a group of students in Music Therapy. Marino School is fortunate to benefit from the musical expertise of Katerina Cussen and her amazing music therapy workshops with students in Marino Community Special School for this school term.

Katerina is a music therapist, who is completing her MA in Music Therapy and she has chosen Marino School in which to complete her final placement and to develop skills in independent work as a music therapist. Katerina planned and led music therapy sessions with students, supported by staff in Marino School, over the course of the last ten weeks. She made remarkable progress with students and has even established a “Marino Band”!

We fully support Katerina in identifying and promoting the role of music therapy in working with students with additional needs and also the statutory registration of creative arts therapies in Ireland.