Mary Immaculate College had a very special visit from Santa Claus, on Wednesday 5 December.
Every year for the past eight years Santa has taken time out from his busy schedule to visit the children of MIC student parents, in his own MIC Grotto, for the annual Student Parent Children’s Christmas party.
This is a key event in the college year for student parents and their children, and has grown in size each year. On the day 35 children (ranging from 7 months to 13 years of age), their parents and extended family members enjoyed games, arts and crafts, face-painting and of course a personalised meeting with Santa in his Grotto.
Rachel Dunne, MISU President, noted: “MISU is delighted to once again be involved with the Student Parent Christmas Party. The Christmas party provides us with an opportunity to recognise our student parents and the tremendous work and dedication that they put in to their studies all year. It is a lovely way to welcome the children to their parents’ place of study, and I would like to wish all of the students and their children a happy Christmas and a well-deserved rest over the Christmas period.”
According to Nicola Hurley, Coordinator of the Student Parent Support Service at MIC, the Children’s Christmas party is "a positive way to end a busy semester for a cohort of students who face many challenges and changes in their journey through tertiary education. This event provides an opportunity for student parents to bring their children on campus and include them in their college experience. Family friendly events such as these help to build strong connections between college and home life, reinforcing the aims and objectives of the Student Parent Support Service in promoting a sense of belonging and inclusivity within the College and supporting a cohort of students who are traditionally under-represented at third level”.
This year, the party also celebrates 11 years of this dedicated support service, funded by the HSE Sexual Health and Crisis Pregnancy Programme. The service provides a dedicated on-going support to students who experience an unplanned pregnancy and to student parents who experience challenges and changes, in adjusting to parenting and managing home life, while simultaneously continuing their studies. The service also provides general support to students who return to education as parents/mature students. Through the Coordinator, students may avail of one-to-one support by appointment, group support, workshops and other wrap around supports.
MIC is the only Irish third-level college with a specifically dedicated service for expectant/student parents, to which over 400 students have engaged to date. In a college that has at the core of its mission a commitment to provide ‘an environment where all have freedom and opportunity to achieve their full potential’, the Student Parent Support Service achieves just that.
