Year 10 Young Leaders Shine at the
Annual Mount St Mary’s Senior Citizens’ Christmas Party

Our school’s annual Senior Citizens’ Party was a resounding success this year, thanks in no small part to the outstanding efforts of our Year 10 students. From start to finish, they truly embodied the spirit of community and care, ensuring that our guests had a memorable and enjoyable time.

Throughout the event, the Year 10 Young Leaders demonstrated exceptional hospitality, enthusiasm, and maturity. They worked tirelessly behind the scenes to prepare the venue, organise entertainment, and assist with serving food and drinks. Their attention to detail and warm, welcoming attitudes made a significant impact, ensuring that every guest felt valued and appreciated.

Many of our senior citizens remarked on how impressed they were by the kindness and thoughtfulness of the students. Whether it was engaging in lively conversation, helping guests find seats, or offering a helping hand where needed, the Year 10 students went above and beyond to create a joyful atmosphere.

Not only did the students display excellent teamwork, but they also showed incredible responsibility and initiative. They coordinated with staff, planned the event activities, and worked collaboratively to ensure that everything ran smoothly. Their dedication and effort were evident in every aspect of the event, and they truly proved to be a credit to our school.

We are incredibly proud of the Year 10 cohort for their hard work, commitment, and enthusiasm. They have set a high standard for future events, and their contribution to this annual celebration is something we will always remember. Well done Year 10 — your compassion and dedication to our community truly made this year’s Senior Citizens’ Party a day to remember!

For more photos of the event please click here to go to our photo gallery

Year 10 Enrichment Festival at Wellington Place

A recent highlight for our Year 10 students was their participation in the Enrichment Festival at Wellington Place Business Park. This inspiring event provided our students with a unique glimpse into the modern working world, as they explored various office spaces and interacted with professionals across a wide range of roles.

Throughout the day, students were exposed to the features of contemporary workplaces, learning about different career paths and the skills necessary to thrive in them. The event also highlighted the importance of teamwork, leadership, and personal wellbeing through engaging activities tailored to enhance their understanding of finances, decision-making, and workplace dynamics.

Our students approached every challenge with enthusiasm and creativity, actively engaging in team-building exercises and problem-solving tasks. Their positive attitudes and willingness to engage were noted by event organisers, who praised them as a credit to our school community.

This enriching experience not only broadened their horizons but also left them inspired about future possibilities. It was truly an amazing day, and we are proud to have such an eager and motivated cohort representing our school.

Thank you to Wellington Place Business Park for hosting such a valuable and memorable event!

Mental Health Awareness Day

In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Day on Thursday 10 October, we started our staff briefing with a ‘Cuppa and a catch up’ to encourage our staff to take a minute for themselves. Thank you to the wonderful Y9 Wellbeing Ambassadors for greeting our staff with a warm welcome and a smile, which made all the difference to the start of our day.

We are promoting a positive approach to mental health and well-being by sharing ‘5 ways to well-being’, which encourages students to connect with each other, be active, take notice, keep learning and give back. All our students already have the opportunity to do this through our extra-curricular opportunities. Our recent initiative to inspire students to ‘find your club’ promotes the ‘5 a day’ approach to keeping students healthy and happy.

Library Clubs

Since the beginning of the school year Chess Club has been popular among our students, so popular in fact, that Ms Fennelly and Ms Bennasser have now started to take things slightly more seriously … by making a display wall with the players’ names on it. The goal being to get your name to the top of the list.

Do you like playing chess? Do you enjoy competition as well as challenging yourself? Join us on Wednesdays at lunchtime and test yourself. You can also simply learn how to play: everyone is welcome and the Simpsons chess set is a fun way to get acquainted with the game. Who knows? You might become an expert by the end of the year!

Chess, however, may not be everyone’s cup of tea. That’s fine. Perhaps your brain has a different, fantastic way to shine: you might be a dreamer, have a creative mind.

At Mount St Mary’s, we know how essential reading is. We know it and we promote it. We are readers and some of us are also budding writers and creative poets—perhaps the authors of tomorrow. This is what Ms Fennelly and Ms Bennasser believe in and encourage and is why Writers’ Club was born and takes place in the library, each Thursday after school, from 3.10pm to 4pm. If your head is full of stories and characters, or if you simply enjoy writing and inventing plots, why don’t you join us, savour some biscuits, practise your writing skills and share your work and ideas with us?

We can’t wait to see you!

Yorkshire Sculpture Park trip
Years 8, 9, & 10

We recently had the pleasure of celebrating the shortlisted winners of our school organiser front cover competition from Years 8, 9, and 10. As a reward for their hard work and creativity, these talented students were invited to a special trip to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, where we enjoyed a day of art and inspiration.

It was a fantastic day, not only to acknowledge their artistic achievements, but also to inspire them further. We are incredibly proud of their efforts and thrilled to see Ikjot and Maya’s fantastic designs featured on this year’s school organiser, bringing their creativity to life in our school community.

Transition Summer
School 2024

During the last week of July, 42 of our new Year 7 students continued their transition into Mount St Mary’s.

They participated in a number of activities and experiences to boost their confidence and build friendships that will last longer than the five years they spend with us.

Take a look at our latest edition of the MSM Messenger!

Organiser Front Cover Design Competition

Maya Krupa (Year 9)
Winning design for KS3 Organiser

Well done to all students that submitted a design to the organiser front cover design competition. This year we had a total of 164 official entries. On 15 July we celebrated all the students that were shortlisted in the above competition. There were so many fantastic designs to choose from.

A big well done to Ikjot and Maya in Year 9 for being selected by student voice as the winners. Your work will look incredible on the front of the 2024/25 student organiser!

Ikjot Kaur Khokhar (Year 9)
Winning design for KS4 Organiser