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Board of
Management meeting - Thursday, 11 September 2008
All members
were present.
The lack of
progress on the building project was considered in depth by
the Board. All future options are now being investigated.
The
2008/2009 budget was formally approved.
New members
of staff were formally ratified.
Policies
for review in 2008/2009 will be considered at the next
meeting on 1 October 2008.
Board of Management meeting - Wednesday,
1 October 2008
The Board gave
further consideration to its options concerning the building
project.
The Admission
Policy was reviewed and ratified.
A financial
report was presented to the Board.
The
appointments of Head Girl, Deputy Head Girl, prefects,
vice-prefects and Students' Council were formally ratified
by the Board.
The next
meeting was fixed for 6 November 2008.
Board of Management meeting -
Thursday,
6 November 2008
Proposals
for the school building project were further considered by
the Board.
The Board
approved the admission of students into 1st year in
September 2009 in accordance with its Admission Policy.
The
policies for review in 2008/2009 were decided upon by the
Board.
A financial
report from 1 September to 5 November was presented to the
Board as well as the auditor's preliminary report for
2007/2008.
The Board
will meet again on 26 November 2008.
Board of Management meeting -
Wednesday,
26 November 2008
Proposals
for the school building project were further considered by
the Board. It was agreed to proceed immediately with the
installation of a new external fire escape and internal fire
detectors and emergency lighting. An application is being
made to the DES for a grant to cover this emergency work.
A financial
report from 1 September to 26 November was presented to the
Board. The auditor's report for
2007/2008 was formally approved.
The Board
approved a report to parents on the running of the school in
2007/2008.
A
discussion was held on the implications of the cut-backs in
education announced in the budget.
The Board
will meet again on 17 December 2008.
Board of Management meeting -
Wednesday,
17 December 2008
The Board
considered revised options for its building programme
including a new school on a green field site in Wexford.
This option was discussed when Loreto representatives met
the Minister for Education and Science, Mr. Batt O' Keeffe,
T.D., in Dublin on 16 December 2008.
A financial
report from 1 September to 17 December 2009 was presented to
the Board.
Matters
relating to the school's Admission Policy were reviewed by
the Board.
The Board
was advised that tenders were being sought for the emergency
fire safety works required by the school.
The Board
will meet again on 21 January 2009.
Board of Management meeting -
Wednesday,
21 January 2009
Mr. O’ Shea briefed the Board on ongoing
discussions with the DES and the Loreto trustees about the
options for a new school building. It was agreed at the
meeting that close contact would be maintained with DES
officials over the coming weeks. The Board welcomed the
progress being made on the improvement of fire safety
measures in the school.
A draft Admission Policy was circulated
to Board members for discussion at the next meeting.
Mr. O’ Shea presented the Board with an
Income and Expenditure Statement from 1 September 2008 to 21
January 2009.
The Board formally adopted the policy
document on the vetting of school personnel as prepared by
Mr. O’ Shea and based on JMB guidelines.
A draft document on an amended code of
behaviour was circulated to Board members for consideration
at the next meeting.
The Board discussed the contents of its
Agreed Report.
Board of Management meeting -
Wednesday,
11 March 2009
The Board was informed that work on the
fire systems and escape was progressing well and should be
completed by May. The total cost of this work will be
€174,000, of which €126,000 will be financed by the DES.
It was agreed to provide additional car
park places at the end of Teach Mhuire in an attempt to
alleviate the serious parking difficulties being experienced
by staff, parents and visitors to the school.
The Board discussed the contents of a
draft Admission Policy but deferred a decision until the
next meeting.
Mr. O’ Shea presented the Board with an
Income and Expenditure Statement from 1 September 2008 to 11
March 2009.It was agreed that the Finance Sub-Committee
would meet before the next Board meeting.
The Board was briefed by Mr. O’ Shea on
the impact of the education cut-backs for 2009/2010,
particularly the reduction of 1.86 teachers in the school’s
staffing entitlement. It was agreed by the Board that
curricular requirements would require priority when the
timetable for 2009/2010 was being prepared. It was also
understood that a number of classes would be larger in size
and that some subjects may have to be dropped from the
curriculum if the demand for them was low.
Mr. O’ Shea made mention of the following
in his report to the Board:
-
Recent subject choice meetings for
parents
-
The success enjoyed by the senior
football and hockey squads
The Board discussed the contents of its
Agreed Report.
The next meeting was fixed for Tuesday,
28 April 2009 at 4.30 p.m.
Board of Management meeting -
Tuesday,
28 April 2009
Capital Development
The Board was informed that work on the
fire systems and escape was ongoing and that the
new
completion date was May 2009.
The Board agreed to provide for
additional ground re-surfacing work on both sides of the St.
Joseph’s corridor and to replace all external windows in the
St. Joseph’s classrooms for safety reasons.
Mr. O’ Shea reported that there was no
answer yet from the Building Unit in relation to the “build
and leaseback” model.
School policies:
Admissions – September 2009
The Board formally adopted a new
Admission Policy for submission to the Loreto Trust Board
for approval.
Uniform
The Board adopted a new uniform code
effective from the start of the 2009/2010 school year.
School hours
The Board approved new school hours for
2009/2010 to comply with DES regulations and best practice
with regards to uniform class duration i.e. 41 class periods
per week, each of 41 minutes duration. It was agreed that
Mr. O’ Shea would write to all families about this matter
within the next month.
Financial Report
Mr. O’ Shea presented the Board with an
Income and Expenditure Statement from 1 September 2008 to 27
April 2009.
The Finance Sub-Committee reported on its
recent meeting relating to best practice around the
collection and counting of cash. It will meet again before
the next Board meeting.
Principal’s Report
Mr. O’ Shea made mention of the following
in his report to the Board:
-
The specific effects of the education
cuts on the 2009/2010 school timetable
-
Forthcoming school events –
prizegiving, graduation masses
-
The recent school tour to France
Any other business
The Board discussed the contents of its
Agreed Report.
The next meeting was fixed for Tuesday,
26 May 2009 at 4.30 p.m.
Board of Management meeting -
Tuesday,
26 May 2009
Capital Development
The Board was informed that work on the
smoke detectors and emergency lighting was complete and that
the new emergency exit and associated doors would be
completed immediately following the examinations in June.
The Board agreed to provide funding for
the new car park, ground re-surfacing work on both sides of
the St. Joseph’s corridor and the replacement of all
external windows in the St. Joseph’s classrooms.
Mr. O’ Shea reported that there was no
answer yet from the Building Unit in relation to the “build
and leaseback” model.
Financial Report
Mr. O’ Shea presented the Board with an
Income and Expenditure Statement from 1 September 2008 to 20
May 2009. He also reported on the current work of the
Finance Sub-Committee.
The Board agreed to contribute towards
the cost of maintaining the Free Books Scheme following its
abolition by the DES.
Admission into years other than 1st
The Board reviewed the applications for
admission into years other than 1st in the
context of school and class size policy and decided as
follows:
2nd year
1 available place
3rd year
Full – no available places
4th year
Full – no available places
5th year
Places available depending on class size policy in option
subjects
6th year
Places available depending on class size policy in option
subjects
The Board instructed Mr. O’ Shea to
allocate any available places in strict accordance with the
school’s Admission Policy and all existing class size
arrangements.
School policies:
Admissions – September 2009
The Board was informed that the Admission
Policy had been submitted to the Loreto Trust Board for
approval.
Code of Behaviour
The Board adopted a new Code of Behaviour
effective from the start of the 2009/2010 school year,
subject to approval from the Loreto Trust Board.
Mission Statement
The Board approved the wording of a new
Mission Statement.
I.C.T. Co-ordinator
The job description and remuneration for
a new privately-paid position of I.C.T. Co-ordinator within
the school was approved by the Board.
Principal’s Report
Mr. O’ Shea made mention of the following
in his report to the Board:
-
Recent end-of-year school events
-
Forthcoming state examinations for
234 students in the school
-
School Calendar 2009/2010 – formally
approved by the Board
Any other business
The Board discussed the contents of its
Agreed Report.
The next meeting was fixed for Tuesday,
15 September 2009 at 4.30 p.m.
Report
to parents from the Board of Management (BOM) on the
operation and performance of Loreto Secondary School,
Wexford
for the year ended 31 August 2008.
Introduction
This report
has been prepared to comply with section 20 of the Education
Act, 1998. It covers the year to 31 August 2008. It was
approved at a Board of Management meeting on 26 November
2008.
The next
report will issue in December 2009.
Spiritual
A variety of
services and liturgies took place during the year, as
follows:
-
Start-of-Year Mass, Graduation Masses for 4th
and 6th year students, Class Masses, Masses
for Advent, Christmas Carol Service, November
Remembrance Mass
-
Commissioning of Eucharistic Ministers in 6th
year by Bishop Denis Brennan
-
A retreat
for 3rd year students
The school’s
Religious Education department was greatly assisted by our
chaplain, Fr. Jim Fegan (Adm.) and by Sr. Carmel O’ Brien
throughout the year.
The school was
represented at meetings throughout the year planning for the
400th anniversary of the founding of the Loreto
Institute in 2009.
Charity and
Social Awareness
The school’s
Justice and Peace Group undertook a major initiative when it
devised a series of school-based posters to highlight
bullying in school and in the workplace.
Students and
staff raised considerable sums of money for the following
charities:
Concern, St.
Vincent de Paul, Bothar, Crumlin Childrens’ Hospital, The
Hospice Movement and Loreto Missions (with particular
emphasis on the work of Sr. Winnifred in Peru).
Academic
Excellent
results were achieved by 121 students taking the Leaving
Certificate. The school rejoices in the academic success of
all students.
Very
impressive results were achieved by the school’s 121 Junior
Certificate students in 2008.
The BOM
congratulates all students and their teachers on the
continued excellence of results in the school.
No subject
inspections took place in 2007/2008.
Staffing
The school’s
total teacher allocation from the DES for 2007/2008 was
45.21.
Of the DES
total of 45.21, 1.20 was set aside for students with special
educational needs under the overall co-ordination of the
school’s Learning Support teachers, Ms. Wilson and Ms.C.
Larkin.
The BOM wishes
every future success and happiness to Sr. Ita Moynihan who
left the teaching staff on 31 August 2008 to take up a new
position within the Loreto Provincialate.
We are
particularly keen to welcome the following new teachers who
were appointed to our staff in summer 2008:
Ms. Lisa
Shannon Irish
Ms. Elaine
Kinsella P.E.
Ms. Patricia
Curran Science
Ms. Annette
Byrne Business, Maths, L.C.V.P.
I.T.
The Anseo
system continued to monitor the daily attendance and
punctuality of all students. The school announced plans to
introduce a text alert system for parents when students did
not register their attendance for school.
All Transition
Year students studied for the ECDL information technology
qualification.
Lunchtime
access to I.T. for students continued to be facilitated.
Capital
Development
A combined
report from the conservation architects and our design team
was submitted to the Building Unit in March 2008.
A meeting in
the school between the design team, Building Unit officials,
Loreto Trust Board representatives and school authorities
scheduled for Thursday, 5 June was cancelled at short notice
by the Department of Education and Science (DES) and has
not, to date, been
re-scheduled. This meeting was intended
to “kick-start” the project following the refusal of
planning permission by Wexford County Council in May 2007
and the submission of the combined report as outlined
above.
The Board of
Management continued to press for progress and, indeed, to
explore all and other possibilities. In the meantime, our
700 students and staff continued to work in 1792 buildings
with leaking roofs, no sports hall, no dressing rooms, no
library, insufficient and inadequate classrooms, no
universal access for the wheelchair-bound, no canteen and
with major health and safety concerns.
Extra-curricular and co-curricular activities
The BOM
expresses its gratitude to the teaching staff for organizing
the following activities for students in 2007/2008:
Irish and English debating
quizzes
hockey
basketball
tennis
soccer
yoga
rounders
athletics
football
camogie
self-defence
tag
rugby
educational
tour to France
field trips
theatre trips
school choir
school musical
(in co-operation with St. Peter’s College)
supervised
internet access
horse riding
Maths Olympiad
recycled
material fashion show
Young
Entrepreneurs competition
Transition
Year
104 students
took Transition Year in 2007/2008, the highest number ever
in the school’s history.
Student
appraisal of the school’s Transition Year programme
continues to be very positive.
A major review
of the Transition Year programme took place and has led,
amongst other things, to the introduction of more modular
courses for the future.
Child
Protection
Child
Protection Guidelines and vetting procedures have been in
full operation throughout 2007/2008 following staff training
in December 2005. The Designated Liaison Person (DLP) was
Mr. Billy O’ Shea and the Assistant DLP was Sr. Carmel
Swords.
Care of
Students
All Class
Teachers continued to take a keen interest in the pastoral
care of their students. In addition, the school’s two
Guidance Counsellors, Ms. Fallon and Ms. Young, were
available to assist in any possible way.
A dedicated
Student Care Team was very active in 2007/2008. Comprising
the Principal, Deputy Principal, Chaplain, Counsellors,
Learning Support Teachers and Class Teachers where required,
this team met at least fortnightly and ensured that adequate
provision was made for all students experiencing particular
difficulties in school and in their personal lives.
Student
Empowerment
Clodagh
Rochford and Claire Farrell were the Head Girl and Deputy
Head Girl respectively in 2007/2008. They were assisted by
prefects and vice-prefects in each class group.
The Students’
Council continued to be active and forged even closer links
with the school’s Parents’ Council e.g. development of
school policies, Christmas lunch for both councils hosted by
the school.
Code of
Behaviour
Students
continued to co-operate in a very positive way with the
school’s behaviour code as evidenced by favourable comments
throughout the year from teachers and visitors to the
school. The Board thanks the students for this excellent
behaviour.
Parental
Involvement and Contact
The school
organized information meetings for parents in 2007/2008 on
the following matters:
-
New 1st
year students, September 2008
-
Subject
choices for 2nd, 4th and 5th
years
-
CAO/CAS
-
Parent-teacher meetings for every year group
All meetings
were very well attended by parents. Due to the fact that the
school does not have
the space to hold large general
meetings of parents and students, it became necessary on
health, safety and comfort grounds in 2007/2008 to use a
local hotel as a venue for some of these larger meetings and
events.
The school
website was updated weekly and contained a great deal of
information for parents on current news as well as all
school policies. For families without internet access, hard
copies of all updates and policies continued to be available
from reception.
The Principal,
Deputy Principal and all teachers were available on an
appointment basis to meet parents to discuss any concerns
about students.
The Parents’
Council was particularly active in 2007/2008 in the
promotion of three Healthy Eating Weeks for students. A
major initiative undertaken primarily by the Parents’
Council was the provision of hot food for students at
lunchtime and prior to evening study in co-operation with
Taste Restaurant.
Representatives of the Council met with Mr. O’ Shea,
Principal, on a regular basis to liaise on school matters
and the Council is also represented on the School
Development Planning Group that meets weekly.
Parents were
asked by the school throughout the year to help ensure a
high level of attendance at school by their daughters.
School
Development Planning
All
policies that make up the school plan are available on the
school’s website:
www.loretowexford.com.
The following
have been the main developments in school planning
throughout 2007/2008:
-
The
ongoing review of subject development plans in all
departments
-
The
ongoing work of the School Development Planning Group,
representative of staff, students and parents, to
prepare draft policies for consideration by all
educational partners in the school
-
The formal
review of the following policies:
1.
Curricular provision
2.
Student attendance
3.
Admission
4.
In-school management
5.
Anti-bullying
6.
Health and Safety Statement/Fire Drill
7.
Student attendance
8.
Class Teacher system and Student Care Co-ordination
Team
9.
Homework
Professional
Development of Staff
Teachers
attended DES and other in-service in a wide range of subject
areas.
The teaching
staff also received professional input on the following
topics:
The Loreto
ethos and Kolkata challenge
Voice
protection
Student
councils
Mind
development
Board of
Management
The BOM held
nine formal meetings in 2007/2008. At the end of each
meeting an agreed report was approved for circulation by
teacher and parent representatives.
Financial
Accountability
The
Independent Auditors’ Report to the trustees for the year
ended 31 August 2008 concludes as follows:
“ In our
opinion the financial statements give a true and fair view
of the state of the school’s affairs as at the 31 August
2008 and of its results for the year then ended and have
been properly prepared in accordance with the Education Act,
1998.
We have
obtained all the information and explanations we consider
necessary for the purposes of our audit. In our opinion, the
school has kept proper books of account. The financial
statements are in agreement with the books of account.
In our
opinion, the Board of Management’s Report is consistent with
the financial statements.”
O’ Brien
Harnett & Associates,
Chartered
Accountants and Registered Auditors,
97 Haddington
Road,
Dublin 4.
The Board is very grateful to
families who supported the Voluntary Contribution Scheme
that yielded €61,485 in 2007/2008, down €2,286 on the
previous year.
Community
Links
The BOM is
particularly appreciative of the assistance provided by the
local Wexford community in providing work experience
placements for Transition Year and LCVP students in
2007/2008 and for its generous sponsorship of Transition
Year mini-companies.
Throughout the
year school facilities have been made available to the
following groups:
Presentation Secondary School, Wexford Harbour Boat and
Tennis Club, Wexford Parks Tennis, Wexford Ladies Hockey
Club and the Royal Irish Academy of Music.
Billy O’ Shea,
Secretary to
Board of Management.
December 2008 |
