23 April 2021
Loreto Wexford’s Chernobyl 35km Walk of Hope – 26 to 30 April 2021: report by Ms. E. Goff on behalf of the Transition Year Fundraising Committee
The incredible Adi Roche spoke to TY Students over lockdown and asked that Loreto get involved in the 35Km Walk of Hope to mark the 35th Anniversary of the Chernobyl Disaster.
The Chernobyl Disaster was a nuclear disaster which occurred on April 26, 1986, at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Ukraine.
TY Classes will be walking 35Km (a km for each year since the disaster) to raise awareness and funds for Chernobyl Children Ireland over the course of the week.
We are also getting the whole school community involved by walking for 40 minutes during a particular class period next week.
We would be extremely grateful if you could please take a few minutes to visit our Just Giving page below or in the Loreto Instagram page bio – all donations are greatly appreciated, with all funds directly going to Chernobyl Children International.
Monday to Thursday, 26 to 29 April 2021
Report by Ms. M. Jordan
Multicultural Week has become a very important date on our school calendar. Multiculturalism plays a key role in school life all year round but the week itself allows us to shine a spotlight on the wonderful and diverse cultures that are represented in our school community.
In previous years, we have celebrated through music, song, food, art and education in our classrooms and at whole-school level. Last year was particularly special as parents were invited into school to join in the festivities. However due to the global pandemic and to keep everyone safe this year, we have changed parts of the celebration. Nevertheless, we have many plans to mark this important event:
- Each student will complete a survey on Multiculturalism devised by the Inclusion Committee which will provide us with valuable data going forward to promote inclusion in our school.
- Our classrooms and GP Area will be decorated to reflect the diverse cultures in our school. Our Multicultural Tree will be on display in the GP Area and students will be invited to write something about their culture on a paper leaf and hang it on the tree
- The beautiful poems composed by students on their experiences of inclusion and diversity will be displayed
- 6th Year student Noon Abubakar will visit all TYs, 5th & 6th year classes to show her YouTube video ‘Does My Life Matter’. Noon has spoken passionately in the community about the Black Lives Matter movement
- Emer O’ Neill, PE teacher from RTE’s school hub, will address all TYs and Multicultural Week volunteers on Thursday, 29 April via Teams. Her workshop includes a range of her personal experiences with racism, understanding unconscious bias, gaslighting and reflecting on our own privilege. Emer will cover what to do if you see an act of racism take place or you are targeted, how to be an ally and how to educate ourselves. Emer has spoken passionately in the national media about these issues.
- Because students cannot visit the ‘Multicultural Stalls’ this year, we are working on putting together a video of what our volunteers feel is special about their culture. We hope that all classes will have the opportunity to watch this video in the coming weeks and that we will all learn something new about the wonderfully diverse cultures in our school. 6th year Muirinn Carty and 5th year Aoife Rees have kindly volunteered to take charge of the production of our video. Muirinn and Aoife are award-winning filmmakers and we are thrilled to have them on board.
None of these plans would be possible without the tireless work of our Multicultural Week volunteers. Their energy and passion for their cultures inspires us every year. Below is a list of this year’s volunteers:
| Student | Culture |
| 1. Nicole Power | France |
| 2. Meenakshy Bino, Sreelakshmy Bino, Sidhi Sinnott, Malavika Manoj, Hari Parimkayala | India |
| 3. Dobroslawa & Jagoda Staszewka | Poland |
| 4. Hanin Al Kasem | Syria |
| 5. Jodie Murphy | Sweden |
| 6. Marta Goni Gil, Bianca Mihut | Spain |
| 7. Zinzile Mtetwa | Zimbabwe |
| 8. Molly Nieuwenhoff | Australia |
| 9. Isabelle Bates | Canada |
| 10. Shannon Doyle | Japan |
| 11. Newal Naeem | Pakistan |
| 12. Rayna Forte | Italy |
| 13. Anoushka Nolan | Ireland |
| 14. Eva Henwick | South Africa |
EUROPEAN YOUTH PARLIAMENT (EYP) KASSEL GERMANY
Report by Anoushka Nolan
From the 15th to the 18th of April two Transition Year students, Emma O Leary and myself, Anoushka Nolan, participated in the European youth parliament of Germany, Kassel regional selection conference, as international delegates. Due to Covid this weekend was held digitally and we got a chance to meet and work with people we might not have been able to if this event was held in person.
We were split into different committees based on our preferences and participated in one day of teambuilding activities, one day of committee work and two days of general assembly.
My committee was LIBE and was about regulating the freedom of speech online while being aware that hate speech and disinformation is spread widely around the internet. We as a team had to identify problems and possible solutions to fit into our resolution which would be presented, defended and attacked in the general assembly (GA).It took one long day and plenty of healthy debates to come to a conclusion.
Emma’s committee was DROI and was around the freedom to connect remotely with others online. This topic incorporated the ongoing debate of how internet access should be viewed as a fundamental human right.
The general assembly was a place of heavy debates where many resolutions got passed. I am happy to say that mine and Emma’s resolutions both passed successfully, gaining enough votes in the general assembly.
Morning and evening activities were also held. In the morning you had the option to attend yoga and then in the evening there was socialising. You got to do zoom/discord calls and play games with fellow delegates or just chat with others. It was a great opportunity to meet new people, and everyone was welcomed.
Overall, I enjoyed the weekend even though it was tiring. EYP is a wonderful place where everyone’s opinions matter and you get a chance to meet and work with some amazing people. I would highly recommend that people give it a go, just be prepared for some enthusiastic just dance.
This is a link to a video made after our session by the media team members
John Paul 2 Newsletter
This week’s publication may be viewed by clicking here.
This continues to be an uplifting gift to us all in these trying times. Please take a few minutes to savour its contents.
Yesterday, Mr. O’ Shea and Ms. Culleton met the students involved in this production to thank them for their wonderful work in recent months.
