27 November 2020
6th year Wellbeing Day
One of the highlights of the school year is the annual Wellbeing Day for 6th year students that takes place today.
Ms. Kelly, Guidance Counsellor, writes:
We in Loreto, Wexford started this event several years ago to help our 6th year students to not only have a fun school-based activity with their year group, but to show students a menu of ways in which to relax and unwind. We can say with great certainty that our 6th year students from the past have thoroughly enjoyed this day and have gained a lot from it.
We want to show you that there are different activities you could do in your spare time to help you with the pressures of 6th year and your upcoming Leaving Certificate exams. The activities that we plan for you are very varied. They range from upbeat and energetic Samba Drumming and Dance Fitness to quieter workshops like Mindfulness, Yoga and Art Therapy. There is also a very beneficial workshop on Nutrition. Therefore, we envisage that there will be enough variety for all types of personalities and interests. We hope that all students will take away a few ideas of how they could incorporate some of these activities into their daily life, throughout the rest of 6th year and beyond. Remember it’s the little things you do every day that make all the difference to your overall wellbeing.
We are aware that November is a dark and dreary month, and we know how hard you have been working since the end of August. Therefore, we always feel that the last Friday in November works best as students are usually wrecked after such hard work. So please…. Take the time this Friday to relax, unwind, reflect and most importantly…. Have fun!!!!
The school thanks all members of the Student Care Co-ordination Team for their great work in organising this event as well as the teachers and guests who plan and deliver the various workshops.
6th year Geography Field Trip – report by Eileen Roe (6th year student)
On Wednesday, 18 November, Ms. John’s 6th year Geography class undertook their River Studies Investigation by visiting the Kippure River Centre in Wicklow. This trip was allowed to occur as it was classified as essential educational work as the investigation is a compulsory element of our Leaving Certificate Geography course.
We arrived to the centre around eleven o’clock and were very prepared for the cold weather wearing loads of warm layers and equipped with flasks of tea!
We were spilt into two groups and visited a site on the Upper Course of the River Liffey. We then used various equipment such as ranging poles and transect tape to find out different measurements of the river such as its velocity which we needed as part of the ‘Results’ section of our projects.
All in all it was a great day out from school and a big thank you to Ms. Johns and Ms.Finnerty for coming along with us!
Inclusion Committee
The first meeting of Loreto’s Inclusion Committee took place after school on Thursday 19th November. There was a great energy in the group as members shared their reasons for joining and their hopes for the committee going forward. There was a desire to “help everyone feel comfortable being themselves in school”, to have “a safe place to express my views”, to “promote education” and to “combat injustice against those who don’t fit into the norm” to mention just a few.
The group will be responsible for leading the organisation of Multicultural Week (beginning Monday 22nd February) and selecting the topics for Inclusion Week in May. The committee will also be a forum to discuss general issues surrounding inclusion that arise in everyday school life. Aneena Juddymon Pynadath was proposed as secretary by Emma O’ Leary and seconded by Yvette McDonnell. The group will meet again on Thursday 10th December at 3.05pm in St. Kevin’s.
Committee Members:
| 1. Alisha Sheppard | 1.6 |
| 2. Abbie O’ Brien | 2.4 |
| 3. Angeleena Juddymon Pynadath | 3.3 |
| 4. Yvette McDonnell | 3.3 |
| 5. Aoibhín Ní Gleasáin | 4.5 |
| 6. Emma O’ Leary | 4.5 |
| 7. Meadhbh Johnston Boyce | 5.3 |
| 8. Neasa Nic Corcrain | 5.3 |
| 9. Aneena Juddymon Pynadath (Secretary) | 5.3 |
| 10. Marianne Siggins | SNA |
| 11. Adam Barnes | Teacher |
| 12. Anna Culleton | Teacher |
| 13. Michelle McClean | Teacher |
| 14. Michelle Jordan (Chairperson) | Teacher |
Loreto is going Plastic Free
One student who brings disposable lunch products every day generates about 30 kilograms of plastic pollution per year, most of which ends up in our oceans. With that in mind the Green Schools Committee are organising a “30-day Jumpstart Challenge” to encourage students in Loreto to go plastic free. The challenge will help students to rethink their use of single use plastics by bringing reusable sandwich wraps instead of cling film for example.
Posters will be up around the school with other ideas for students on how to make the change to plastic free lunchboxes and the members of the committee will become the plastic free ambassadors within the school. Students will also be given the opportunity to purchase a reusable Loreto water bottle which they can refill throughout the day in the effort to decrease the use of single use bottles in the school. The challenge will be a fun way for students to decrease plastic pollution within the school community.
Reflection for November
