22 November 2019
Students’ Council – Report by Alanna Fusciardi Wallace (6.2)
On Wednesday, 23 October six representatives of the students’ council – Sophie Innes, Camille McGrath, Amy Barron, Ella Duggan, Jagoda Staszewska and Alanna Fusciardi Wallace – attended a training day in Dublin. The event was hosted for Loreto Students’ Councils from around the country, both primary and secondary. The day focused on various different topics. Some of these topics included:
- The role of the students’ council – This included reviewing the various officers on the committee and what those roles entailed.
- Anti-Bullying – A speaker from the National Anti-Bullying and Resource Centre, Darren Heaney, spoke to the councils about bullying in Ireland. He was very informative and educated us on the types of bullying, the effect it has on people and who is effected by bullying.
- How to host a meeting and plan an event – A mock meeting was held between a mixture of members from each council. In this a minor and major event for the year was planned. This helped teach the students how to structure meetings and event planning.
- One Good Idea – This is where a representative from each school shared an idea they have for the students council in the coming year.
The Students’ Council would like to thank everyone involved in organising the event, with a particular thanks to Mr. Broderick, Students’ Council Liaison, for accompanying the girls to the event. It was a very informative day and everything learned will aid the Students’ Council in the year to come.
Creative Schools’ Week (4 – 8 November 2019) – Report by Mr. McGinnity
Creative Schools is a flagship initiative of the Creative Ireland Programme to enable the creative potential of every child. Creative Schools is led by the Arts Council in partnership with the Department of Education and Skills and the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. Creative Schools, formerly Arts Rich Schools/Arís, draws on the commitments set out in the Arts in Education Charter. Since September 2018, the school has received funding each year to facilitate activities, which promote creativity and the arts in the school. In addition to financial support, Aileen Lambert was appointed as our Creative Associate. In this role, she helps to support the school promote the arts and supports the school in providing a range of activities aimed at developing the creative capacity of our students. This funding has also supported training for teachers, a book workshop with the artist Andi Mc Garry, some creative writing workshops with the author Cat Hogan, our mural project and a papermaking workshop. Reports on some of these events are outlined below.
Mural Report: Report by Lizzie Maher, Aoife Murphy and Sadhbh Quinn (5th Year students)
In March 2019, our TY year art class decided to make a mural for the Min Ryan Park beside our school. Loreto, Wexford. We split into groups and came up with various designs. Our group consisted of Lizzie Maher, Sadhbh Quinn and Aoife Murphy. We chose to focus our design in the unity of people, nature and the inclusion of all different types of people and wildlife. The aim of the park is to be inclusive and wheelchair friendly, a place anyone can go for a breath of fresh air and be a part of nature. The year group chose our design and everyone would get the opportunity to help with the painting. The artist, Lisa Murphy, was enlisted to help with the design and the organisation of the mural. After Easter, we began the painting process. Firstly, we drew the design onto the boards surrounding the entrance to the park. Then, each TY class spent a day painting the mural. It took over a week to complete. We were very proud of what we had accomplished and we had a great time facing the challenge. It was also a great bonding experience and we hope to undertake more projects like this in the future.
Paper Making Workshops: Report by Rebecca Kearney and Rachel Kenna (2nd Year students)
In September, my Art class took part in a paper-making workshop. Everything was organised for us and it was great to get the opportunity to do something a bit different. Our Instructor, Tunde Toth, was very helpful throughout the whole activity. The process was quite simple but effective. First, bits of old paper are crushed up and mixed with water. This creates a gooey mixture, which is then left to settle. This all takes 24 hours so the mixture was already prepared beforehand. We then had to use our hands to mix it around before the next step. We then got a screen and dipped it into the tub full of the mixture before lifting it out. After this, we got paper towels and gently placed the top of the screen onto it. We used a sponge to soak up the extra water and we transferred the paper to the paper towel. We did this quite a few times and we were able to customise them by adding different materials like colourful threads, feathers and fabrics. The workshop lasted for 3 hours. In this time, we were able to make 5 pieces of paper. We were able to decorate 2 of them. Tunde explained everything in great detail and she was friendly and helpful. The workshop was messy but great fun and it allowed everyone the chance to create their own unique piece of art.
Athletics – Report by Senan O’ Reilly (parent)
Well done to Eimear Halpin on making the All-Ireland finals of the Irish Schools Combined Events. The talented all-rounder, competing against the best in Ireland, acquitted herself very well. She is pictured here with first year student Ruby Reynolds who also competed at the event.
International athlete Róisín O’Reilly had a late start to her cross country season but she has wasted little time in starting the new athletics year as she finished the last one. In the Leinster U18 Championships in Gowran she was 2nd behind her good friend Holly Brennan of Cillies AC. That race, which combined U18 and Junior, also saw Róisín take bronze at Junior level. Two weeks later Róisín was 3rd in the Leinster U19 race behind Aoife O’Cuill of St Coca’s AC and Holly Brennan.
School Musical – “South Pacific” – booking now open
The students and staff in Loreto Secondary School and St. Peter’s College, Wexford are delighted to bring their production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic musical, “South Pacific”, to the magnificent stage of the National Opera House on 10/11/12 December 2019 at 19.30 each night. This will be the eleventh joint-production between the two schools since 2002.
The 65 students in the cast have been rehearsing since early September under the direction of the vastly-experienced production team of Alan Corcoran, Fintan Cleary, Fintan Kavanagh, Elaine Morris and Sorcha O’Connor. They look forward to the full support of both school communities and Wexford’s theatre-going population as they portray the 1943 war time story set on islands of the Asian coast.
Tickets cost €10 (students and OAPs), €20 (adults) and can now be booked in the following ways:
Online
https://www.nationaloperahouse.ie – 24 hours, 7 days per week
In Person
The box office is located in the foyer of the National Opera House, High Street, Wexford.
Opening hours are Monday to Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. On performance days, the Box Office opens for two hours prior to performances.
By Phone
The Box Office phone number is: 053- 912 2144 or 1850 4 OPERA
Box Office phone lines are open from 9:30 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. Monday to Saturday. On performance days, the Box Office opens for two hours prior to performances.
Other news
- Best wishes to all students who will be taking class tests from 25 to 27 November. School reports will be issued in the coming weeks.
- We hope that all 6th year students will enjoy the experience of the annual Wellbeing Day on Friday next, 29 November. We acknowledge the great work of the Student Care Co-ordination Team in organising this event.
