Loreto Crest Loreto Secondary School   
Spawell Road, Wexford.   
Telephone: 053 9142783     Fax: 053 9147773
   


 


Parents' Council

8 April 2008

Parents' Council Activities

In September 2007 the Parents' Council held their annual general meeting, where revisions to the parents’ council constitution were agreed and adopted. Others matters discussed were the school building programme and the election of new members to the council. Two parent representatives were also elected to the Board of Management. 

At the October meeting the council was officially formed and the officers elected. 

Since then we have been actively involved in a range of activities for the students. These include: 

Healthy Eating Week – This ran from November 26th – 30th.  In conjunction with the vending machine committee in the school, the Parents' Council organised healthy eating week.  Our involvement included sourcing a range of suitable foods from local suppliers, preparing and selling fruit, soup, yogurts, muesli, apple juice etc. on a daily basis in the school at break time and lunch time.  This has followed on from the three hugely popular healthy eating weeks last year. 

Oklahoma:  As well as sponsoring the cost of 1 nights’ performance the Parents Council helped out with supervision during rehearsals and performances of the show.  On the nights of the show we also assisted with make-up, costumes etc. 

Students' Council:  The Parents' Council organised a lunch at which representatives of the Students' Council and Parents' Council met to exchange and explore ideas for future activities. 

Bag Packing:  Members of the Parents' Council assisted  Mr.O’Sullivan and his team who packed bags over 3 days in Dunnes Stores to raise money for the senior camogie team who were participating in the All-Ireland semi final in Galway in February. 

Throughout the school year we participate on a number of committees such as the Green Flag and the school policies committee. 

Hot food: Our most recent initiative is to try and organise the provision of hot food to the students on a daily basis at both lunchtime and the break between end of school and supervised study. This was realised this week beginning 3rd March. In association with Taste restaurant the girls have been enjoying fresh fruit at morning break, paninis and soup at lunch time and chicken curry and rice before supervised study. This has proved to be very popular and we hope that this will be available every day.

 

Finally, a huge thank you to everyone who contributed to our recent appeal for funds. The parents’ council simply could not function without this support. If you have not got round to contributing yet, do not worry as we will happily accept contributions at any time! The money raised will be used to help finance various projects for the girls and the school and we will feedback on these in the near future.

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November 2007

The officers for the present school year are as follows:

Chairperson

Liz D'Arcy, Johnstown, Castlebridge. E-mail:liz.darcy@hse.ie liz.darcy@hse.ie

Liz may be contacted on the Parents' Council mobile: 087-9354634

Secretary

Kathryn Birmingham

Treasurers

Isobel Mahon / May Wade

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May 2007

The talk by Peadar Maxwell was very well received and of great benefit to all parents who attended on the night.

Two more healthy eating weeks were organized by the healthy eating committee and parents helped with the preparation and sale of the produce.  Both proved very successful, with good feedback from the students. The Parents’ Council would like to thank all involved and will be looking for volunteers to assist during the next school year.

A workshop was held to discuss the role of the Parents’ Council, possible changes to the constitution, and to provide an opportunity for other issues to be raised.  From this a policy on the Parents' Association and Council was reviewed and approved. Changes to the constitution will be proposed at the EGM immediately preceeding the AGM in October.  A list of suggestions arose out of the workshop, some of which are now being addressed, for example: reflective beading on the school coats; better lighting outside school; more structured and regular meetings between the Principal and the Parents’ Council; the creation of subcommittees to discuss specific issues. 

Parents have been involved with the Schools Development Planning Initiative which formulates and reviews school policies.

The Parents’ Council decided to sponsor the hoodies for the hockey team which competed at national finals (and appeared on Setanta Sport) as a one off, due to the expense of the teams participation.

Parents also helped with the LCVP fashion show, which was a great success and very enjoyable. 

It is disappointing that there is a slight delay on getting planning permission for the school, due to the Department of the Environment requirement for a report on the older part of the building due to be demolished, but hopefully the existing or an amended plan will be approved as soon as possible. 

Good Luck with the exams, girls, and hope everyone has a happy, healthy, holiday.

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September 2006-January 2007

The Parents’ Council has discussed possible changes to the admissions policy in response to a request from the Board of Management (BOM).It supported the healthy eating committee in its efforts to provide healthy choices in the vending machines and ran a very successful healthy eating week where girls could buy fruit and soup at cost price in an effort to encourage them to eat more healthily on an ongoing basis.

It is hoped that, if more parents are willing to help, further healthy eating promotions could be arranged in response to the enthusiasm of the girls.

A talk on dealing with adolescents will be given by Peadar Maxwell, senior psychologist, HSE,
on March 21st. This talk is limited to 50 people and should be of interest and value to all parents.  Application forms will be sent out in early February. 

Parents who are willing to help on sub-committees on topics such as the Green Flag, catering facilities in the refurbished school, or other topics they are interested in - or who are willing to join the Parents’ Council on a full-time, part-time, or occasional basis -  should contact the Parents’ Council via the school.  Any help would be appreciated, particularly as so many Parents’ Council members are parents of 5th and 6th years and new faces are needed. 

Two parents are also required for the parents’ positions on the Board of Management from October 15th 2007.  The term is 3 years. Meetings are generally held once a month. An agreed report is then presented to the Parents' Council. Elections will be held in September 2007.

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May 2006 
The talk by John Lonergan to the students appears to have been very successful and hopefully the students gained another perspective on life.  It’s a pity the Fun-Loving Criminals were more attractive to the parents as Mr. Lonergan’s talk for them was extremely interesting and entertaining! Despite the poor attendance in the evening, the support from the Presentation, CBS, St. Peters, and VEC parents’ councils and the schools themselves enabled us to break even on the day.
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We would like to thank Fr. Fegan for allowing us to use Rowe St. Church for the students’ event. Feedback on whether other such events should be organized would be appreciated. 
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The project to provide healthy eating options for the vending machines is to be discussed at the Board of Management before the end of term and we are hoping that crisps and fizzy drinks will be replaced by healthier alternatives by next September. 
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The refurbishment plans appear to be progressing and work is to start on upgrading the labs at the end of May.  The planning of the rest of the project seems to be moving along quite well at the moment. If it gets stuck again we and Mr. O’Shea will let you know. 
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We wish all the students taking exams good luck and wish the students leaving the school all the best for their future lives. 
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So it’s out with the sun cream, or maybe the rain jacket, and see you in September! 
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Happy holidays!

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April 2006
We have organized with the support of the other parents’ councils a talk by John Lonergan, governor of Mountjoy Prison in the Talbot Hotel on 26th April at 8 pm.  Entrance is 6 Euro on the door and entry is on a first-come-first-served basis. 
Mr. Lonergan will be talking to transition and 5th years from all 5 post-primary schools in the afternoon of the same day.
 
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Two members of the council are participating in a group comprising 2 parents, 2 students, and 2 teachers, who are promoting a healthy eating policy in the school.  It is hoped that only healthy options will be available in the vending machines by September. 
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We are investigating joining an umbrella group for secondary schools that would provide us with better information and, should we need it for the refurbishment, school bus, and catchment area issues, more leverage. 
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We are also considering organizing a careers night in the Autumn term, probably for the 4th, 5th, and 6th years. 
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We would like parents, particularly of new pupils, to be aware that the school uniform only specifies Brown shoes, not any particular brand or make. Some pupils seem to have had posture and foot problems due to wearing deck shoes, and this seems to be aggravated by the fashion of not tying the laces. 
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Thank you for contributing to the Parents’ Council funds, which have been used to subsidize the school show and to enable us to organize the John Lonergan talk. 
If you haven’t contributed your 10 euro there is still time!!! 
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Happy Easter!
 

 

 
 

 

 

Counting since 8th March 2006