26/5/25

Dia duit a chara,

We hope you are continuing to have a blessed Easter Season. This time of great grace is a time for celebration and joy for us. As well as this, we are currently celebrating a Jubilee Year. This is a season of special graces being poured down upon us by Our Lord. Let us petition God for all the graces necessary for our state in life during these blessed times.

‘The Bells of the Angelus’ and ‘Queen of the May’ have been resounding throughout the lanes of Limerick this May, as the children of Stella Maris School offer up their voices through song to Our Blessed Mother. I am sure that Our Lady is very pleased with the wonderful singing of the students of our school. Of course, we know that there is a devotion which is very close to Our Blessed Mother’s heart, the rosary. We have been going to different churches around Limerick praying the rosary each week during this month of May. Please see a picture below of the children praying the rosary in front of Our Lady.

This will be the last newsletter of the year from Stella Maris School. We have less than three weeks left in our school year, but we have lots to look forward to during this last term. We will be finishing up our final year tests this week before we get ready for our school tour, our end of year concert, our sports day, visiting some important local sites in Limerick, clay and painting activities, and extra time in the local park and playground. It will be a very enjoyable three weeks for the boys and girls!

We are sad to announce that we will be saying goodbye to our principal, Richard Casey. Due to other personal commitments, he has informed us that he will no longer be in a position to continue as principal of Stella Maris School. The whole school community wish to thank him for his pioneering vision, hard work and enthusiasm over the last three years, which has provided such a high standard of classical and Catholic education for our students. Thank you very much, Mr Casey, and we wish you the very best in your next exciting endeavour!

We are delighted to announce that Canon Henry will be taking over as principal of Stella Maris School and we hope to announce our new class teacher shortly. After three years of a great foundation for the school being laid, we look forward to a new exciting chapter for Stella Maris School. Canon Henry, with his experience, talent and energy is an excellent appointment as principal of Stella Maris School, and he will guide the school most capably with the help of Our Lady, Star of the Sea. Your prayers and support are greatly appreciated as we move into this next exciting stage of growth for Stella Maris School!

We wish you all a blessed week and summer. Please keep us in your prayers, and know that we keep all our benefactors in our daily morning prayers, too.

God bless you,

Richard Casey

Headmaster of Stella Maris School

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12/5/25

Dia duit a chara,

We hope you are having a blessed Easter Season. This time of great grace is a very joyful time for all Catholics. We have been celebrating the Easter season in school and will continue to do so until the feast of Pentecost. Last year, in our catechesis with the Dominicans, they reminded us that although Lent lasts for 40 days, the Easter Season lasts for 50 days – this serves to teach us that the time of celebration in heaven will be longer, much longer, than our time of suffering whilst pilgrims here on earth. May we continue to celebrate this season with great peace and great joy. Christ is risen! Alleluia!

Habemus Papam! It is with great happiness that we celebrate the election of our new pope, Pope Leo XIV. We will be praying for Pope Leo every morning in our classroom prayers, as we did for Pope Francis. We pray for our Holy Father to lead us in holiness in word and deed over the coming years. Our Lady, pray for him!

We have been blessed with great weather over the last number of weeks. The children have been having a wonderful time playing in the local park and playground at breaktime. This time of recreation and socialisation is a very important part of a child’s education, as they form friendships in a nurturing environment and refresh themselves before returning to their studies.

We will continue to explore our curriculum this week, focussing on Art. The visual arts are a very important part of a classical education. For the first two years of Stella Maris School, we focused on teaching drawing, painting, looking and responding, as well as some other Art strands to our pupils. They greatly enjoyed these lessons and developed their skills very well. This year, the students, have been focussing on fabric and fibre, and they will shortly begin working with clay. They have been blessed by their teachers who are teaching them so well in these enjoyable strands of our Art curriculum.

We wish you all a blessed week. Please keep us in your prayers, and know that we keep all our benefactors in our daily morning prayers, too.

God bless you,

Richard Casey

Headmaster of Stella Maris School

Newsletter 31/3/25

Dia duit a chara,

We hope that you are having a blessed Lent and that you enjoyed Laetare Sunday! It is now past the midway point in Lent. At our school Mass last week, the priest told the children about the importance of renewing our resolution for Lent at the halfway point. We need to try and work hard to improve our spiritual lives to become more like Christ. The priest also told us of the importance of asking Holy Mary for her assistance in this endeavour. Our Lady, pray for us!

We recently held our Seachtain na Gaeilge Concert (Irish week Concert) in Stella Maris School. This wonderful celebration of our Irish culture is a very important part of Stella Maris School. In Stella Maris School, the children are taught to adore God, love their families and to appreciate and respect their country. Ireland’s wonderful heritage was explored through the recitation of Irish poems and ‘I See His Blood Upon the Rose’ by Joseph Mary Plunkett. Next, an abridged form of the ‘Breastplate of St Patrick’ was recited by the older children. The children then performed the Irish dancing piece taught to them by Mrs Burke. This was followed by the playing of tin whistles by the boys and girls; the students performed individually, which was a great way to boost their confidence. Wonderful songs were performed by the children before a decade of the rosary was recited ‘as Gaeilge’. A fun quiz then took place where the adults and children in attendance answered questions in Irish. The parents were most impressed by the excellent show, and they prepared a lovely spread of food for all in attendance afterwards. Thank you to everyone who made this day so enjoyable!

Please see some pictures below of the children at the concert. The students are also beginning the strand of Games in PE at the moment. The upper classes will be learning Gaelic football skills over the coming weeks. Some pictures of this GAA practise can also be seen below.

We will begin the exploration of our Drama Curriculum this week. Drama is a very important part of the Arts. The way we act, the type of role play we engage in, the poetry we learn, and the way we recite it and perform it has an impact on our soul. Poetry is a very important part of our Drama Curriculum. Recitation, memorisation and performance of poetry is a vital component of our provision of classical education. It helps the children to beautify their souls with religious and non-religious poems that help them to encounter the Good, the True and the Beautiful.

We wish you all a blessed week. Please keep us in your prayers, and know that we keep all our benefactors in our daily morning prayers, too.

God bless you,

Richard Casey

Headmaster of Stella Maris School

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Newsletter 3/3/25

Dia duit a chara,

We hope that you are having a blessed Spring! Lent is almost upon us. The boys and girls of Stella Maris School will soon be thinking about how they will prepare for Easter by meditating upon what they may do regarding the practises of prayer, fasting and almsgiving during this season of great graces. Last year, a priest told the children that each Lent they should pick one bad habit that they have and aim to eradicate it during Lent. By doing this each year then we will grow in love of God by rejecting vice and growing in virtue.

St Brigid has brought the Spring to Stella Maris School this month! It has been wonderful for the children of Stella Maris to have lots of time in the park over the last few weeks for their breaktime. The pupils were able to honour St Brigid in February by making a beautiful art piece with a collage of her cloak. This was great fun for the boys and girls as they worked together as a class. The children also learned about the life of this great early Irish saint in History. The integration of the subjects of Art and History made for a more enriching experience for the children; integration is something that we incorporate as much as possible in our school life in Stella Maris School. Please see some pictures of the children at work below!

The boys and girls have also been continuing to learn about how to debate this year. You can see a photo below of the 1st Class and Senior Infants debating about whether books or movies are better! It was a very good debate. Well done to the boys and girls involved!

Continuing with the exploration of our Music Curriculum, this week we will focus on the instrument that the children learn in Stella Maris School. The tin whistle is learned by the children in Stella Maris School from 1st Class upwards. The learning of an instrument is very beneficial to the children in helping them to develop their artistic abilities. As well as this, the learning of the tin whistle is a wonderful way for children to immerse themselves in Irish culture. This area of Music is something that the children really enjoy and they delight in performing for our school community!

We wish you all a blessed week. Please keep us in your prayers, and know that we keep all our benefactors in our daily morning prayers, too.

God bless you,

Richard Casey

Headmaster of Stella Maris School

Newsletter 20/1/25

Dia duit a chara,

We hope that you are having a blessed Christmas season! In the Old Rite of the Church, Christmas celebrations continue until Candlemas Day at the beginning of February. Our manger scene will remain up in school until this day, and we ask Our Lord to continue to bless us throughout this joyful season!

The boys and girls were very thankful to be back in school after the extended Christmas break! It is good to have a rest but it is a wonderful occasion when children are able to return to school and to have fun with their friends, learn new things and to engage with their teacher’s lessons.

The children have much to look forward to this term. Catechesis will take place with the Dominicans, The Institute of Christ the King, and Fr Bernardino of the Franciscans. The children will also learn sewing and prepare for a St Patrick’s Day Concert with songs, drama, Irish dancing, and poetry. This is along with all of our usual lessons and activities. It will be a great term for learning and for fun!

Continuing with the exploration of our Music Curriculum, we will focus on an area that is important for children to have their aesthetic tastes developed and their souls beautified. That is the listening to and responding to great music. These lessons are usually conducted in the last term of the school year, but an additional lesson was undertaken last week, where the children visited the local parish church, St Joseph’s. Here the children sat with Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament and focussed on the beautiful crib scene that is in St Joseph’s. Christmas music and chant was played for the children while they looked at the figures of the crib, inspiring them to prayer.

We wish you all a blessed week. Please keep us in your prayers, and know that we keep all our benefactors in our daily morning prayers, too.

God bless you,

Richard Casey

Headmaster of Stella Maris School

Newsletter 17/12/24

Dia duit a chara,

We hope you are having a blessed Advent season. It will not be long until the celebration of Christ’s birth. The boys and girls have been preparing for the coming of Christ with their usual excellent catechesis, as well as much singing of beautiful hymns and carols. “To sing is to pray twice”, said St Augustine. Let us fill our hearts with Advent hymns in preparation for Christmas, before we rejoice in Christmas carols for many weeks afterwards. Did you know that, traditionally, Christmas is celebrated until Candlemas at the start of February? We will have lots of time to celebrate the birth of Our Lord and to enjoy the beautiful carols of our Catholic faith!

As promised, please see below some pictures of our wonderfully successful Christmas concert. This was undoubtedly our best concert yet. Thank you very much to all the teachers, parents and community members involved. We also wish to thank St Joseph’s Church who gave us the use of their hall for the occasion. We are very grateful to you all!

The concert began with the angelus, which was prayed by Fr Horgan, who was visiting from Cork. The boys and girls then began their performance with fantastic drama, carols and poems being performed. The boys and girls put in hours and hours of practise with their music and drama teachers since September; their Christmas play and carols lasted 45 minutes, with each minute being greatly appreciated by the great crowd that was in attendance! The beginning of the Gospel according to St John was also recited by the children; this was a very impressive recital, lasting 1 min 45 seconds! ‘Don Oíche Úd I mBeithil’, an ancient Irish carol, was performed by the children, with Ms Casey, who teaches Irish and music to the children, accompanying on her harp. Christmas jingles were performed before the wonderful spread of delicious hot food, treats and drinks were served to our guests, who had hearty appetites worked up after listening to the children’s performances! Festive wreaths, candles and decorations were on offer at the back of the hall as part of the fundraiser, and these were very well received. The event then proceeded with a raffle of generous prizes. Thank you to all the companies who donated prizes for the draw, we greatly appreciate your support. A special thank you must be given to the Lowe family, who worked heroically for weeks to make this fundraiser such a big success and the concert such a wonderful occasion. It was very heartening to hear such positive feedback from the people who came to support the children, and we look forward to another great concert next year!

We wish you all a blessed Christmas. May the peace of Christ reign in your hearts, and may the Holy Family bless you and keep you.  

God bless you,

Richard Casey

Headmaster of Stella Maris School

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Newsletter 9/12/24

Dia duit a chara,

We hope you have had a blessed feast of the Immaculate Conception! May our Blessed Mother watch and keep you and your loved ones during this time of Advent. O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

We wish to remind you that our Christmas concert is coming up this Saturday. It promises to be a wonderful celebration of the birth of Christ with carols, poems, scripture, songs and a drama to be performed. The boys and girls have worked very hard with their teachers on this project for many weeks, and they are very excited to share the good news of Christ’s birth with as many people as possible. Please come and support the students of Stella Maris School this Saturday at 12pm! Please see more details below!

We shall continue our exploration of our Music curriculum this week. Listening to quality music is an important way to develop our children’s tastes for what is beautiful and good. We were very blessed today to be invited by Patricia Kieran of Mary Immaculate College to a Christmas Carol recital in the Redemptorists’ Church. The exemplary singing and organ playing glorified God, honoured Mary and warmed our hearts on a chilly December morning. Please see a picture of this great recital enjoyed by the boys and girls, below. Thank you very much, Mrs Kieran, for this unforgettable experience!  

We will have an extra newsletter next week with plenty of pictures of the boys and girls celebrating the birth of Christ in their Christmas concert!

We wish you all a blessed week. Please keep us in your prayers, and know that we keep all our benefactors in our daily morning prayers, too.

God bless you,

Richard Casey

Headmaster of Stella Maris School

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Newsletter 25/11/24

Dia duit a chara,

We hope you have had a blessed weekend! We continue to pray for the holy souls this month, as we also begin to anticipate the start of Advent. This morning our senior students were learning about the origins of the word advent. Did you know it comes from Latin? ‘Veni’ means ‘to come’, and so Advent prepares us for the coming of Christ at Christmas time, but also for Christ’s second coming. We are called to have our lamps lit and to be waiting for the bridegroom when He returns!

Our new Irish teacher, Ms Casey, has been working with the children over the last number of weeks. She has been teaching them the beautiful Irish hymn ‘A Mhuire Mháthair’. It is wonderful to hear the children singing this hymn to honour Our Lady in our native tongue. I am sure that it is very pleasing to the Blessed Virgin to hear her children blessing her in Gaeilge class in Stella Maris School! Ms Casey has graced us with the playing of the harp during some of her lessons also, as you can see below. Thank you, Ms Casey!

Did you know that Stella Maris School will hold two fundraisers shortly? This coming Sunday, after Mass in Sacred Heart Church, at approximately 12pm, a number of businesses will sell some of their products in the hallway of the Sacred Heart Church. Stella Maris School will be selling some Advent and Christmas wreaths and decorations. Please come along and see the beautiful products that we have on offer!

Our Christmas concert is drawing nearer! The boys and girls have been practising very hard this year under the tutelage of their drama and music teachers. Thank you to all of our teachers for your tireless efforts, the concert will be best yet! Don’t miss the opportunity to enjoy the boys and girls’ performances and at the same time to support Stella Maris School! Please see details below!

We shall continue our exploration of our Music curriculum this week. As well as learning Gregorian Chant, the boys and girls in the senior classes in the Dominican’s catechesis group are also learning to chant in English at the end of some of their lessons. This chant complements the learning taking place in their Gregorian Chant lessons. Praying in English and in Latin can help the boys and girls experience different forms of prayer and can help them to engage their minds and hearts in new ways!

We wish you all a blessed week. Please keep us in your prayers, and know that we keep all our benefactors in our daily morning prayers, too.

God bless you,

Richard Casey

Headmaster of Stella Maris School

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