Mission Statement:
Sancta Maria College is a voluntary Catholic secondary school under the trusteeship of CEIST whose core values are inclusive of the Mercy philosophy of education.
We welcome, care for and support all within the school community through the promotion of

• Respect
• Being just & responsible
• Quality teaching and learning
• An inclusive community
• Life-long learning

Purpose:
Graduations and awards ceremonies take place within the school on an annual basis. The purpose of the graduations is to acknowledge the end of a cohort’s participation in the school, as a defined grouping. A holistic approach is taken to reflect on the cohorts time in the school and their achievements. Certificates of completion are handed out at these ceremonies.
The awards ceremony is a school wide event that acknowledges and rewards the efforts of individuals both academically and in co curricular and extra curricular activities.
The decision making process behind the selection of individuals for each award is outlined below to ensure both fairness and accuracy.

Definitions:
TY graduation and LC graduation occurs at the end of the academic school year
The school awards ceremony occurs prior to the end of the school year.

Procedures:
TY graduation

• After the trip abroad
• Religious ceremony
• Food and drinks reception provided by school
• Parents and teachers invited

LC graduation:

• Early May
• Religious ceremony
• Food and drinks reception paid for by students
• Parents and teachers invited

Awards ceremony:

• Held in school day
• All students attend
• Photography by school
• Parents may attend but not officially invited

System for nominations:

• Teachers in the subject/extracurricular areas are asked to nominate students who excel in that area.
• A top male and female student are chosen from TY based on the combined score from their marks they receive in their reports and teacher nominations, taken by signed secret ballot.
• A top Leaving Certificate male and female student are chosen by each teacher through a signed secret ballot, based on the criteria displayed in the staff room.
• Should a tie occur at TY or LC level then the names of the tied students are displayed in the staff room and teachers vote again, for a clear winner.

Ratification:
This code was ratified by the Board of Management on April 18th  2016. It was proposed by Mr T. O’Flynn and seconded by Ms. N. Gavin.  This code will be reviewed and revised in the light of changing circumstances, if such changes occur.