Vision

At Stella Maris School, our aim is to provide authentic Catholic education in all its goodness, truth and beauty. The word ‘educate’ derives from the Latin root ‘educare’, which means ‘to lead out’. At Stella Maris School, we know that Christ is the way, the truth and the life. Thus, our mission is to lead our students to Jesus. We put Jesus Christ at the centre of each pupil’s education, so as to provide an unparalleled academic, human and spiritual formation. The ultimate goal of this school is to help children to attain their ultimate purpose in life, which is to encounter Our Lord and to come into communion and intimacy with Him. In other words, the students of Stella Maris School will be guided along the path to sainthood, growing in wisdom and virtue as they progress through the different levels of their education.

In order to aid pupils in the development of their character, Stella Maris School offers a classical education. A classical education is an education which cultivates wisdom and virtue in the child. It teaches the children to desire what is good, to love what is true and to appreciate what is beautiful. Aristotle has said, “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all”. Classical education provides for an excellent academic education, which properly appreciates the various stages of a child’s development, through the grammar, logic and rhetoric stages, but more than this, it is ultimately aimed at the queen of the sciences which is theology. In Stella Maris School, students’ hearts are being prepared for eternal happiness with God. The things of this life can thus be properly ordered by students in accordance with their final end, the beatific vision.

A thoroughly Catholic education involves excellent academic, human and spiritual instruction. The subjects offered in Stella Maris School have been chosen to help the children develop in these three ways. Latin, Music and Catechism are core subjects in the development of the child’s academic and spiritual life. The teaching of History, Gaeilge, Music and Art are vital ways of helping the student to understand and appreciate our beloved Irish culture. Thorough teaching of Maths and English will be combined with quality teaching in the Sciences and Physical Education to provide a well-rounded, holistic education. Regarding each our students’ human development, it must be understood that we become like those we associate with. For a student to be educated in the Catholic environment of Stella Maris School is akin to planting a seed in good soil. The seed develops healthily and naturally into a strong plant as a result of its good environment. Each student in Stella Maris School will be surrounded by a staff and students who wish to live out their faith with joy and thanksgiving; thus, each pupil will be encouraged, nourished and strengthened in their relationship with God and will be enabled to flourish on an emotional, social and human level.

In conclusion, Stella Maris School aims to provide a classical Catholic education, of the highest quality, to each of its students to help them to love God and to be the leaven in our society. All things in Stella Maris School are done for the glory of God, the honour of Our Blessed Mother Mary and the salvation of souls.