Independent Catholic Education for Boys and Girls
Life in Christ
Every aspect of life at Mater Dei Academy is permeated with Christ who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Each school day begins and ends with the students singing the Divine Office, one of the oldest forms of communal prayer in the Church. Our school community attends Mass as a group each week. The Sacrament of Confession is made available each month. As a student at Mater Dei Academy, you are invited to enter into a life in Christ, to recognise the great love with which Christ loves you and to respond by finding your greatest joy in sharing that love with those closest to you.
In Search of Truth
At the heart of a classical curriculum is a search for truth, whether scientific, moral or spiritual. At Mater Dei Academy, our students
are taught to seek the truth through critical thinking and deep questioning. The dialogue between faith and reason, through the study of science, philosophy and theology, is deeply enriching.
It is this capacity to think critically and carefully about difficult problems which informs our students learning across the entire curriculum. An education at Mater Dei Academy is not simply training for the work-place, but rather training for life.
Small is Beautiful
Our small class sizes are ideal for students of all abilities. Our students benefit from the attention and care available to a small class size of less than fifteen students, enabling our experienced teachers to tailor the pace of learning to individual student needs. That means that our brightest students remain challenged while our students with learning needs get the time and attention they need.
Learning Excellence
At Mater Dei Academy, we provide a six-year programme which begins with a four-year junior cycle in classical education followed by a two-year Leaving Certificate senior cycle. We measure excellence to international standards and examinations play one part in assessing excellence. Our academic subjects are assessed in the four year junior cycle through the International GCSE, Teastas Eorpach na Gaeilge and DELF and examinations. Assessment to international standards in the junior cycle provides an outstanding foundation for the subsequent senior cycle and Leaving Certificate examinations.
Connected Curriculum
The junior cycle at Mater Dei Academy is an interwoven curriculum which follows a traditional classical chronological learning model from the ancient worlds of the Greeks, Romans and Celts, through the coming of Christ and Ireland's Golden Age, continuing with the Renaissance and culminating in the Modern World in fourth year. Each subject is beautifully interconnected so that students experience a logical and methodical progression in thought and experience in Literature, History, Philosophy, Theology and the Fine Arts. In the Mathematics and Sciences programmes, students learn the logic and perfection in God's creation through their studies in earth science, biology, chemistry and physics.
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Beauty In Practice
The classical education at Mater Dei Academy is a practical programme of learning which finds concrete expression in the study and practice of the Fine Arts of Music and Art. Each student learns to sing, participates in choral, and plays instrumental music. In Art, our students learn the theory and practice of drawing and art in conjunction with an appreciation of the history and theory of artistic expression. This emphasis on the Fine Arts as well as a training in the art of public speaking is a distinct feature of studies at Mater Dei Academy.
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