On Wednesday 27th
of January, Paul Field, an expert in fossils and pre-history
came into the fourth years for a workshop.
His workshop
started with a brush up on our knowledge of history when he
explained the different eras of human history. He mainly
showed us the weapons and tools that were made and used during
the stone age.
He then gathered
us around a display table and showed us examples of different
historical weapons like arrows, scrapers and spears. He
showed us some examples made from different stone from different
areas of the world. Then the real fun began. He
split us into groups and showed us how to make our own weapons
using flint stone and deer antlers. This was a very
enjoyable exercise and it showed us the effort that was involved
in making these tools and weapons.
Then, when we were
finished our lesson in stone age protection, he casually lifted
a black bag to the middle of the floor. He opened it to
reveal a dead pig! This was a surprise for everyone
involved and most of us cowered to the walls. Paul showed
us how effective the tools we had made were by slicing through
the flesh of the pig.
This was a very
interesting and surprising workshop that all had the opportunity
to participate in and all thoroughly enjoyed.
Riona O' Connell
6th Year Show, 18
December 2009,
in aid of St
Vincent de Paul
The 6th years had
a busy time coming up to Christmas staging a variety show in aid
of St Vincent de Paul. The show was performed for all
staff and students and raised some much needed funds for this
very worthy cause. Thanks to all who participated and to
all staff members for their support and co-operation.
The HSE has
informed the school that the swine flu vaccination will be
offered to all students and staff in the school on Tuesday, 19
January 2010. The necessary consent forms will be posted to all
homes on Thursday, 7 January 2010.
The decision as to
whether or not to receive the vaccination is a matter for the
individual student, her parents and medical professionals. The
school has no role to play in making this decision.
Fiddler on
the Roof, Wexford Opera House, December 8 to 10
Congratulations
to the students and staff of St. Peter's College and Loreto
Secondary School on their wonderful performance of Fiddler on
the Roof in the Wexford Opera House last week.
The school is
pleased to announce that, in co-operation with the students and
staff of St. Peter's College, it will be staging the popular
musical, Fiddler on the Roof, in the Wexford Opera House from
8
to 10 December inclusive.
The
2nd year parent-teacher meeting originally
fixed for Thursday, 3 December has been re-scheduled for
Thursday, 28 January. This change is necessitated by the
uncertainty surrounding possible industrial action on 3
December.
Operation
Christmas Child
Operation Christmas Child has been very popular and well
supported again by First Years and other students in
Loreto. Brightly wrapped shoeboxes filled with gifts
are now on their way to a needy child somewhere in
Armenia, Belarus, Burundi, Croatia, Lesotho, Moldova,
Mozambique, Nepal, Romania, Swaziland, Ukraine or
Zimbabwe! We would like to thank Kate Roche's dad for
transporting our shoeboxes to the Wexford depot.
Cáit
Sheil Class 1.4
Friday, 13 November 2009
Dear parents/guardians and students,
I write at this time to keep you informed
about a number of important school matters, as follows:
Swine flu
Parents/guardians are asked to inform Sr.
Carmel if their daughter gets swine flu. I make this important
request so that we can monitor the situation in the school on an
ongoing basis in the interests of all students and staff,
particularly those with existing health concerns.
Students who are suffering from flu-like
symptoms are strongly requested to stay at home until they have
recovered.
Students are reminded again of the need to
wash hands frequently and to dispose of tissues after use.
The school looks forward to co-operating
fully with the H.S.E. when it offers the swine flu vaccination
to all students later in the month.
E-portal
The school is presently installing a new
software system intended to give all families instant access to
a range of information relating to their daughters i.e.
attendance, timetable, reports, special notices. The software is
called e-portal and is expected to be operational by Christmas.
All families will be issued with their unique username and
password that will allow them to access this information on a
“24/7” basis from anywhere in the world. As a result, school
communications will be greatly-enhanced and there will be a
considerable financial saving to the school in terms of postage
and stationery.
To avail of this facility, parents/guardians
and students will need internet/broadband access. If this is a
problem, you are asked to complete the form attached to this
letter and return it to me on or by Friday, 27 November 2009. We
will continue to send all correspondence in paper format as
normal to these families.
Voluntary Contribution Scheme
The school is very grateful to the many
families who have already supported this year’s Voluntary
Contribution Scheme.
Like many of you in these very difficult
times, the school is struggling to balance its books especially
in light of education cut-backs and the ongoing high costs of
maintaining such an old building. It is also very difficult for
me to remind you of this matter with Christmas only 6 weeks
away.
Nevertheless, if you have not
done so already and are now in a position to contribute to this
scheme, we would welcome your donation at this time. The request
for 2009/2010 is as follows:
€160 for one student €250 for
two students
€270 for three students
Payments can be made to the School Secretary,
Noeleen Goggin, in full or in three equal instalments, one per
term. All monies received will be duly receipted.
Day of protest – Tuesday, 24 November 2009
As I write this letter, there is every
indication that members of the Association of Secondary Teachers
Ireland (A.S.T.I.) will join their colleagues in other public
sector unions in withdrawing their labour on Tuesday, 24
November 2009. In this eventuality, the school will be closed to
students as the Board of Management will not be able to
guarantee their safety in the absence of teachers. When the
situation has been clarified, I shall send a text message to all
parents/guardians.
School show 2009 – Fiddler on the Roof
Once again we are joining forces with our
good friends in St. Peter’s College to produce a school show,
Fiddler on the Roof. I draw your attention to the enclosed
letter about this major event.
Tickets for the show are now available from
the Wexford Opera House. Additionally, if you complete the
enclosed booking form and return it to Mr. Gunning or Mr.
Murphy, you will be able to obtain your tickets through the
school.
Hot lunches
Through the good work of the Parents’
Association and in co-operation with Taste Restaurant, hot
lunches continue to be available to students in the lunchroom on
a daily basis.
School website
You are asked to check our school website
–
www.loretowexford.com – on an ongoing
basis to keep your self up-to-date with school news and
policies.
School
Development Planning Group
The School Development Planning Group is
representative of staff, students, parents and management and
meets on a regular basis to review school policies. The
particular policy that is under review at this time is the
inclusion of students with special educational needs.
Any member of the school community who might
wish to make a submission on this policy, written or oral, is
warmly invited to contact me over the next few weeks.
I shall write to you again in February 2010
with further information on school business.
Yours faithfully,
Billy O’ Shea,
Principal.
Concern Debates
2009
Well done to the
TY Debate Team who drew against Coláiste Bríde Enniscorthy on
Wednesday 11th November on what was obviously a very close and
exciting debate.
Loreto proposed the motion 'Rising unemployment at home is too
high a price to pay for Aid to the Developing World.' Ríona O'
Connell captained the team as they discussed the rising number
of people on the live register, remittances, Irish debt and
homelessness on our streets. Michael Doorley from Concern
applauded both teams for their convincing arguments and declared
a draw. Both teams receive 1.5 points and have two debates
remaining in this league phase.
The Loreto team
members were Ríona O' Connell, Siobhán O' Regan, Orlaith Farrell
who stepped in at the last minute as Ciara was ill. Orlaith did
a fantastic job! Well done also to Clíona Ryan who chaired the
debate and to all the girls who helped out with tea and
refreshments.
The next debate
will be held in Enniscorthy Vocational College in Monday 23rd
November. All support welcome!
Ms. Jordan
On Wednesday
November 4th the Loreto Transition Year team debated against St.
Mary's College Arklow in an exciting and close contest. While
the team, Ciara Moran, Siobhán O' Regan, Ríona O' Connell and
Heather Mullins did not emerge victorious, they represented the
school excellently and spoke very eloquently and the motion 'The
E.U. is failing Africa!' Well done girls! Well done also to
the other members of the team involved in setting up the room
and preparing refreshments afterwards. These girls were very
organised and the debates could not take place without them. A
warm thank you is extended to our caretaker Martin for all his
help and to Orlaith Farrell for chairing the debate.
The team will debate against Coláiste Bríde Enniscorthy on
Wednesday November 11th at 7pm in the Geography room proposing
the motion 'Rising unemployment at home is too high a price to
pay for Aid to the Developing World.' Again, all support on the
night is welcomed. Best of luck girls!
Ms. Jordan
Ploughing Match
2009
It was an early
start for fourth years on the 22nd of September but it was worth
it! We set off at 7:30 am and enjoyed a two and a half
hour journey to Athy, filled with singing and fun.
We were
accompanied this year by Mr. Cummins, Mr. O' Sullivan,
Ms. Brennan and Ms. Curran. Once we got our
stickers we entered the ploughing match in style on a
tractor and trailer ride.
Everyone spread out in groups in search of some of the best
stalls and freebies. Some of the best fun was found in the
amusements, the cow milking competitions and the ploughing match
itself. Freebies could be found at the Farmers' Journal
stall and the Food Village.
Throughout the ploughing match we met some interesting people
from all corners of Ireland and found ourselves growing closer
and bonding with our classmates and friends.
We definitely recommend a visit to the ploughing match in the
future. It was fun-filled and action packed. We
would like to thank our teachers for accompanying us and
organising the event.
See Photo Gallery for more photos
of our day.
Transition Year
Substance Abuse Seminar
Counsellor Tony O'
Carroll came to our school to give a talk on alcohol and drugs.
First he showed us a video about a girl going out drinking.
At the end of the video it showed her covered in vomit, lying on
the floor beside the toilet. We think this made a huge
impact on us fourth years as it showed us that binge drinking is
not cool. He also made a few presentations on drugs.
He showed us a video about the life of a heroin addict and how
her life is being destroyed by her addiction. She weighed
under four stone, was very pale and had black rings under her
eyes. Her addiction also made it very hard on her mother.
This video also made a huge impact on us fourth years. He
then talked about legal drugs and the effects they have on
people. Adrian, a former drug addict, spoke to us about
about her experiences and how her addiction changed her life.
This was very effective as it was a true story and it allowed us
to see what she went through. We then watched a video
created by fourth years in Cork about self-harm. On behalf
of all fourth years we would like to thank Tony O' Carroll and
Adrian for giving us the talk. Hopefully with his talks in
schools it will help to reduce the number of addicts in Ireland.
First Year Retreat
All first years
went on a retreat to Ballyvaloo Retreat Centre this week.
The religion teachers, Fr. Jim Fegan and our Meitheal Leaders
came with us. We were delighted when Sr. Carmel and Ms.
Young joined us for the afternoon. During the day we
meditated, learned about the values of Mary Ward, played fun
games with our Meitheal Leaders and played a trust game.
The day ended with mass celebrated by Fr. Jim. All first
years thoroughly enjoyed it. It was truly a day to
remember.
Elaine Cooney and
Shauna Corrigan 1.1
Wednesday, 23
September 2009
The entire school
community gathered together in Rowe St. Church to officially
open our new school year with a celebration of mass. Mass
was celebrated by our chaplain Fr. Jim Fegan. Music was
provided by Mr. Kavanagh's 4th year choir. The psalm was
sung by four 6th year students Lorraine Byrne, Gráinne Waters,
Emma Furlong and Rebecca Jenkins. Four 1st year students
reflected on the work and support of their Meitheal Leaders and
how helpful they have been in their first few weeks in Loreto.
Our newly appointed Head Girl, Sarah Wade and Deputy Head Girl,
Katie Flynn formally addressed the school community for the
first time and passed on some words of wisdom to their fellow
pupils. The newly appointed Head Girl, Deputy Head Girl,
Prefects, Vice-Prefects, Student's Council members and Meitheal
Leaders received their badges of office. Many thanks to
all involved in the preparation of the liturgy.
Tuesday, 22 September 2009
A reminder to all
members of the school community that the school will be closed
on Monday, 28 September 2009 in accordance with our published
calendar.
A reminder also of
the Parents' AGM - Monday, 5 October 2009 at 8 .00 p.m. in the
Concert Hall.
Tuesday, 15 September 2009
Dear parents/guardians
and students,
I write at the start of the
2009/2010
academic year to bring you up to date with a number of important
matters relating to our school, as follows:
Staff changes
Over the summer months we said
goodbye to three members of our teaching staff who have each
given great service to Loreto, Wexford in their careers of
varying lengths – Ms. Gahan (retiring), Ms. MacGonagle
(retiring) and Mr. Boyd (new position in Loreto, Clonmel). We
wish all three every success and happiness for the future.
New to our staff this year is Ms.
L. Jordan who will teach Religion and History. We hope that she
will enjoy her time in our school.
Summer developments
A lot of work has either been
completed over the summer or is nearing completion at this time,
as follows:
New car park for staff, students and visitors to the school
Re-surfacing of the area around the St. Joseph’s block as
well as the re-painting of this area, internally and
externally
Fitting of new external windows in the St. Joseph’s
classrooms
Fitting of new floors in 6 classrooms plus the staff area
Re-painting of the Concert Hall, lunch room, corridors,
office and 5 classrooms
Installation of 3 interactive whiteboards, large screen in
the Concert Hall and information screens in the foyer and
outside the Concert Hall
Purchase of additional projectors and laptops for different
subject departments
The commissioning of the new fire escape and internal
emergency lighting and smoke detectors
The combined cost of all of this
work to the school’s Board of Management will be €138,000 over a
two year period. In addition to this, the Department of
Education and Science grant-aided the emergency fire safety
works to the tune of €140,000.
Swine Flu
The school has implemented the
various measures recommended to it in an attempt to reduce the
possible impact of swine flu i.e. liquid soap dispensers and
paper towels in all toilet areas, instruction in “respiratory
etiquette”, increased daily cleaning of the premises,
alcohol-based hand rub stations in main corridors. Please note
that the school will remain open as scheduled unless otherwise
directed by the health authorities, in which case a letter will
be sent home to you.
Parents’ Association
The Annual General Meeting of the
Parents’ Association will be held in the Concert Hall on
Monday, 5 October 2009 beginning at 8.00 p.m. This meeting
is open to all parents and guardians of current Loreto pupils.
We would like to encourage as many of you as possible to attend
as it is an excellent opportunity to meet other
parents/guardians and also offers a platform to air and exchange
views.
We very much look forward to
seeing you at the A.G.M.
Voluntary Contribution Scheme
Given the very considerable
expenditure incurred by the Board in improving school
facilities, as outlined above, it is vitally important that as
many families as possible would support this year’s Voluntary
Contribution Scheme.
The request for 2009/2010 is as
follows:
€160 for one student
€250 for two students €270 for three students
Payments can be made to the
School Secretary, Noeleen Goggin, in full or in three equal
instalments, one per term. All monies received will be duly
receipted. Contributions are now being received.
The school acknowledges the
generosity of so many families in supporting this voluntary
contribution in the past. It is our hope that the same level of
generosity will apply once again this year even though the
financial pressures on most families are considerable.
Attendance
I ask your help as parents/guardians to ensure
that your daughter attends school with a very high degree of
regularity. Such attendance is linked closely with improved
academic performance. Any
absence must be explained in writing by you in the student’s
diary. The Deputy Principal, Sr. Carmel, will send a text
message each morning to the parents/guardians of students who
fail to register their attendance in school.
Absence should only occur in the
event of genuine illness, particular family events e.g.
communions, weddings etc. or medical appointments. Indeed, every
effort should be made to have such appointments outside of
school hours.
Students have been asked by me to
remember that once a class is missed the material covered by the
teacher will not be taught again for the benefit of any
absentee.
School website
Your attention is drawn once again to the
school’s official website – www.loretowexford.com. This facility
has been further
upgraded over the summer and is
used increasingly by the school to communicate with all families
as well as the general public. Please log onto it on a regular
basis. I refer you in particular to the Current News and Career
Guidance sections.
School mass
The start-of-year school mass
will be held in Rowe Street Church on the afternoon of
Wednesday, 23 September. Students will be accompanied to and
from Rowe Street by their class teachers.
Please contact me if you need
clarification on any of the above items.
I shall write to you again in
November 2009 with further information on school business.
Billy O’ Shea,
Principal.
8 September
2009
Loreto
Class of 2009 Graduation Ball, Riverbank House Hotel
Concern
Tanzania Challenge 2009
Katie Flynn 6th
year writes:
On Friday 26th
June 2009 I met with 17 others in Dublin Airport to board a
flight bound for Tanzania. This was my chance to take part
in my first Trekking Challenge for the charity Concern. I had
spent the last 6 months working hard to raise the €5000 I needed
to fund my trip. I knew the trek that awaited me would not
be an easy one, yet the sheer mental, physical and emotional 10
days that I experienced have been the best of my life!
That day after a
14 hour journey we finally arrived into the beautiful country
that is Tanzania. Although we did not get to bed until
after midnight that night we were in for an early wakeup call at
6am the next morning where we were transferred by four-wheel
drive to Ngorongoro National Park. That day we were in for
the first of many surprises when we had a drive around the
National Park and saw Zebra, Wilder beast, Elephants, Hippos and
Cheetah to name just a few. After lunch we headed to a
school in the Maasai village of Nainokanoka (the Massai people
are indigenous to Africa and are among the most well known
ethnic group in Africa). We had a wonderful experience
that morning visiting a local school and having the chance to
meet some local school children and their teachers. It was
from there that the real trekking started with a warm up of
10km! That night we arrived at our campsite to spend our
first night in tented accommodation. Fun was had as our
guides lit campfires and we sat around getting to know each
other.
Over the next nine
days, we struggled, yet managed to trek approximately 60
kilometres! At times we all had our own personal demons to
face yet by working as a team and giving each other the support
and encouragement that was needed, we all succeeded! I was
astonished how just in that first day of getting to know each
other we all immediately clicked and became the friends and
family that we all needed at times. I owe them all so much
and I know now that I have made friends that will last a
lifetime. I can never thank them enough for their constant
support and friendship and the many laughs along the way.
All in all I have
to say that although my journey to Tanzania was one of the
hardest of my life it was definitely worth the months of hard
work fundraising. I want to say a huge thank you to my
beautiful friends who were there behind me 100% helping me to
organize Hot D8th and Rock 4 Concern.
I want to add to
all of you reading this that I didn't think I could do it, but I
did. I hope in time that you will learn not to worry that
you can't or won't succeed because with a little bit of effort,
a whole lot of heart and the right people behind you, anything
is possible.
To all of you who maybe offered your support by sponsoring
me, or maybe you turned up at one of the events, or even wished
me good luck in the corridors...No matter what part you played
be it big or small, I could not have done this without you.
So from the bottom of my heart, thank you.
