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What is Mater Dei Academy?
Mater Dei Academy is an independent school in Cork Ireland. They create an environment where parents are put in control of their children's education. Rooted in Catholic faith and values, Mater Dei Academy recognizes the need for independent, lay-controlled schools that provide a high standard of education coupled with a classical curriculum. Students of Mater Dei Academy have the potential of obtaining the Irish Leaving Certification. Above all this, Mater Dei is also a certified Cambridge International School, one of only two in Ireland.
Purpose
Ireland has undergone unprecedented constitutional and social change over the past decade, and this has sharply challenged the existing model of state-funded Catholic education.
The shortage of authentic Catholic education and school-based faith formation has coincided with rapidly declining academic standards. The existing model of Catholic education in Ireland, which relies on the government for financial support, limits the ability of existing Catholic schools to respond to this crisis.
Under the patronage of Our Lady of Knock, Queen of Ireland, Mater Dei Academy is the new paradigm for independent, Catholic second-level education in Ireland.
Mater Dei Academy is authentically and unapologetically Catholic, with an educational model that sees every learning opportunity as a vehicle leading its students to the ultimate Beauty and Truth, which is God. Mater Dei Academy excels in teaching and learning, and is inspired by the classical tradition, led by an active lay community of teachers and parents.
Students at Mater Dei Academy are taught by experienced, highly-qualified and motivated staff, providing teaching excellence in small classes to the highest international standards. Mater Dei Academy is the beating heart for a new missionary pulse seeking to revitalize Irish and European society with the values and traditions of our Catholic forefathers. values and traditions of our Catholic forefathers.
Student Body
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 students singing the Divine Office, one of the oldest forms of communal prayer in the Church. Their students live the sacraments of the Eucharist weekly, with Reconciliation monthly in their school community. Students at Mater Dei Academy are invited to enter into a life in Christ, to recognize the great love with which Christ loves all, and to respond by finding their greatest joy in sharing that love with those closest to you.
Mater Dei Academy's small class sizes are ideal for students of all abilities. Their students benefit from the attention and care available to a small class size of less than fifteen students, enabling their experienced teachers to tailor the pace of learning to individual student needs. This means their brightest students remain challenged, while students with learning needs get the time and attention required.
Mater Dei Academy is delighted to welcome a limited number of international students to Cork, and carefully selects friendly local Catholic families that are happy to welcome your child into their homes.
Small group teaching sessions dedicated to English instruction are provided in preparation for the Cambridge First English examination.
Curriculum
Mater Dei Academy provides a comprehensive six-year program in the classical tradition, culminating in the Irish Leaving Certificate examination.
The four year junior cycle provides a comprehensive and systematic introduction to liberal education in the classical tradition, built on the three pillars of Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric.
At Mater Dei Academy, classical learning is emphasized so that students will learn to read, speak and think well. Learning in this way enables students to think critically and deeply about important questions, but it also instills that Truth and Beauty are good in and of themselves, and desirable for their own sake.
Mater Dei's experienced teachers introduce their students to the wisdom of two thousand years of Catholic thought, history, culture, and art, helping students to understand for themselves and for our world in the light of Truth.
Education in this deep and comprehensive sense extends beyond the classroom and requires more than merely the acquisition of skills. Education at Mater Dei Academy is not merely training for work, but learning for life. For this reason, Mater Dei Academy looks to involve families ever more deeply in the life of the Academy and in the education of their children.
As a Cambridge International School, Mater Dei's students benefit from the advantages of international standards of excellence in our junior cycle. Cambridge International examinations are carefully staggered and designed to optimize our students' opportunities for learning. Upon completion of the six-year program, all students at Mater Dei Academy can sit the Irish Leaving Certificate examination as external candidates.
