Incoming 1st Years Page enrolment for 2023.24

Enrolment into 1st year for September 2023.24  

1.  The  ADMISSIONS  POLICY  available below:
Admissions Policy Mercy Mounthawk 2023.24 Ratified by BoM 24.08.2022 for publishing

2.  The ANNUAL  ADMISSIONS  NOTICE  for 2023.24   (published 20.09.2022)

Annual Admissions Notice 2023.24 Mercy Mounthawk

3.  The REGISTRATION FORM  for 2023.24 will be available on this page from Monday 17th October 2022 

Registration form for First Year 2023.24 (1)    (word version)

Registration form for First Year 2023.24 (1)    (PDF version)

OPEN DAY 2022

The OPEN  DAY   will be held on November 12th 2022 . 

You can view a virtual tour of the building on the home page of this web site.  It provides you with a chance to walk virtually around the school and to look at videos on different subjects and options.

Enrolment procedure for September 2023    

The following procedures will be adopted in relation to enrolment for the 2023/24 academic year

Availability of forms:

(i) The Registration Form for 1^st year enrolment for 2023.24 will be available from 17^th October  either (a) from the school office in hard copy or (b) for download from the school website at:

http://www.mercymounthawk.ie/incoming-1st-years-page/

(ii) Forms will also be circulated in hard copy through the Primary schools.

(iii) Any applicant having difficulty in accessing forms on-line can ring the school office on 066 7102550 to have a form sent to them by post.

Filling and return of forms:

The Registration Form must be fully completed and be signed by a parent/guardian of the applicant. Unsigned forms cannot be processed.

Forms should be returned (i)  by e-mail  admissions23@mercymounthawk.ie

                                                        Submitted forms will receive a receipt when returned by e-mail.

                                                            (ii)  by post to Admissions, Mercy Secondray School Mounthawk,  Mounthawk, Tralee. Co. Kerry.

You must retain certificate of  postage in order to be able to establish postage should the need arise.

Forms cannot be submitted by hand to the school office

Registration Forms will be accepted from Monday 17^th October 202 but MUST BE SUBMITTED by 2:00pm on 21^st November 2022 in order to be considered valid applications.  

3. Following registration, the procedures in section 6 to 14 of the School’s Admissions Policy will apply.

4. In accordance with section 9, a letter notifying applicants regarding their application will be issued, at the latest, by 9^th December 2022.

5. In accordance with section 10, offers of a place must be accepted in writing at the latest by 9^th December 2022. Failure by an applicant to accept an offer by the 9^th December 2022 may result in the offer being withdrawn in accordance with section 11.

In accepting the application, students must complete the Student Enrolment Form (which will be sent to you with the letter of offer). This form includes a Health Information Section, detailed information including the Student PPS No and information as required by the Department of Education & Skills.  It also contains a form confirming parent/guardian and student commitment to abide by the School’s Code of Behaviour and to accept the Ethos of the school.  A parent/guardian must advise the school of their acceptance of the offer of Admission in writing on or before 9^th December, 2022 at 4.00 pm, by completing/signing the Acceptance Forms and returning these documents to the Administration office, by POST only, by 4.00 pm on Friday 9^th December, 2022.  We require original, signed versions of these forms for valid enrolment.   

6. In accordance with section 13, in the event of oversubscription, a waiting list will be put in place.

7. Please note that, in accordance with section 12, the school may contact and share information with other schools in order to complete the enrolment process as is detailed in the Admissions Policy.

8. On completion of the enrolment process a request will be made for all relevant information to be made available from the student’s previous school, including such matters as attendance record, behaviour issues, special education needs etc. This will assist the school in making appropriate education provision for each student.

 

The offer of places to students

Where the number of applicants exceeds the number of places available, (see the Annual Admissions notice), places will be offered in accordance with these criteria in the following order of priority :

1st .     Siblings of current students of Mounthawk and siblings of students who completed their post-primary education in Mounthawk, Balloonagh and Moyderwell Secondary Schools.

2nd.     Children and grandchildren of Board Members and of staff members who are directly employed by the Board of Management on  the date of enrolment and on the 1st of September of the student’s year of entry.  (See section 7f below)

3rd.     Students who are registered in 6^th class in Balloonagh  and Moyderwell Primary schools at the time of application.

80% of the places remaining after the allocation of places under the 1st and 2nd criteria will be allocated to students in this category. The number of places will be allocated to each school in proportion to the number of applicants from each school. For each school, places will be allocated on the basis of number of years enrolled in the school, as follows:

Places will be offered first to students who have spent 8 years on the DES roll for the school (i.e. from junior infants), next to those who have spent 7 years, 6 years down to those who have spent 1 year.  In following this process, if and when at any point the number of applicants, with the same number of years in the school, exceeds the number of places remaining, these remaining places will be distributed by lottery among these students.  Any remaining applicants who do not qualify for this lottery will be included under the 4th criterion.

4th.      The remaining 20% of places will be allocated to all other applicants (including applicants from Balloonagh and Moyderwell who did not qualify for inclusion in the lottery under the 3rd criterion ) on the basis of a lottery among all the valid applicants – (as defined in section 6.1 above).

 

The operation of the the ‘Lottery’ for places

( section 6.4 of the policy as follows):

The random selection process (lottery) will be overseen by a panel appointed by the Board of Management consisting of a representative of the Board (the Principal), a representative of the Parents’ Council and an independent scrutineer appointed by the Board.

The name of each student entitled to participate in this selection process will be included in a separate draw for each of the two schools under the 3rd criterion and for applicants from other schools under the 4th criterion).  A member of the panel will draw names from each container, one by one, until the maximum number of places allocated for each school under criterion 3 and all the schools in under criterion 4 is reached.

The order in which the names are drawn from each container will be recorded on a numbered list.  Places will be offered in the order in which names are drawn from the container until the allotment of places in each category has been filled.  The remaining names on each list (i.e. those students who have not received places in that category) will remain on a waiting list within the category and will be offered places in order should such places become available within the category.  These waiting lists will remain in place until the ending of the last day that the school is open for tuition in that academic year.

In the event that there are two or more students tied for a place or places in any of the selection criteria categories above (the number of applicants exceeds the number of remaining places), the following arrangements will apply:

In following this process under 6.3 (third criterion), if and when at any point the number of applicants, with the same number of years in the school, exceeds the number of places remaining, these remaining places will be distributed by lottery among these students.  Any remaining applicants who do not qualify for this lottery will be included under the 4th criterion.

Appealing a refusal of Enrolment.

Procedures are outlined in Section 29(1,c) of the Education Act 1998, amended, and in section 18 of our Admissions Policy, which is available on this web page.   As you will read, this process begins with a request to review this decision by the Board of Management.  You can use a Board of Management Request Form (BOMR1) which is available to down load here:   BOMR1 form 2023

A request for a review must be submitted within 21 calendar days of the date of the decision to refuse admission. Please consult the website of the Department of Education and Skills for the Procedures for hearing and determining appeals under section 29(1)(c)(i) of the Education Act, 1998 and FAQs. Should you require any further information, please contact the school.

The procedures and process for an appeal are outlined in two documents from the Department of Education available here:

Procedures for hearing and determining appeals 2020

Section 29 Appeals procedures 2020 amendment

The First Day at School

1st year students return to school a day before the other students so that it is possible to have an induction day when they are on their own in the school. On this day they have an opportunity to start to get to know the building and their classroom and new classmates. it is an important day in the transition process.

They will also have the opportunity to meet with their Year Head and class tutor who have specific responsibility for supporting the 1st year students. For more on the Pastoral Care structures in the school click here.

Mercy Mounthawk Secondary School has a long standing tradition of organizing a mentoring programme between 1st year students and 5th year students. The aim of this mentoring programme is to endeavour to show incoming 1st years the ropes for secondary school and help them in their transition from primary school to secondary school.

Each 1st year class is divided into two groups of 10-12 students and assigned Transition Year students. On the 1st year’s inaugural visit to the school in August, they are given a guided tour of the school by the Transition Year mentors, and a few basic rules and guidelines are also outlined.

After a training session with Ms. O’Carroll, the Transition Years begin to mentor their assigned groups. The Transition Years meet with their 1st year groups once a week at lunchtime for the first term. The groups discuss various topics of relevance such as bullying, peer pressure and friendship. There is also an element of fun involved including quizzes and games, with the emphasis on interaction and teamwork.

Jumper: Aquamarine jumper with black stripe in v-neck and incorporating school crest

Shirt: White shirt(No Blouses)

Tie: Black with aqua and white stripes

Scarf: Similar to tie (9.00 – 3.45pm – Only school scarves may be worn) (optional)

Skirt: Aquamarine pleated skirt of wool mixture

Tights: Black

Shoes: Black leather shoes only (not trainers or boots, no logos or embellishments).

Jacket: School fleece, jacket or blazer with school crest may be worn only.

Trousers: Grey school trousers with aqua stripe (Supplier’s cut only)

Socks: Black

Jumper: Aquamarine jumper with black stripe in v-neck and incorporating school crest

Shirt: White shirt

Tie: Black with aqua and white stripes

Scarf: Similar to tie (9.00 – 3.45pm – Only school scarves may be worn) (optional)

Shoes: Black leather shoes only (not trainers or boots, no logos or embellishments).

Jacket: School fleece, jacket or blazer with school crest may be worn only.

Trousers: Charcoal grey (Supplier’s cut only)

Socks: Black