School News
A great time was had by more than 200 students and staff on the recent school tours to Spain and Paris. All returned safely, albeit tired, and with great memories of places visited and shared experiences with friends and colleagues. As Principal, I am very keen to thank and commend our students on the excellence of their behaviour whilst on tour. In particular, I thank our tour organiser, Ms. Ursula Zimmermann, for her outstanding work in relation to both tours and the accompanying teachers who helped ensure the safety and wellbeing of students in their care. Well done and thanks to all!
Leaving Certificate oral and practical examinations took place during the first week of the Easter holidays. Happily, 100% of students turned up for their examinations. Great work was done by Music and language teachers in preparing students for these examinations and by our Examinations Aide, Mr. Eoin Cummins, who organised the schedules for the week in a highly efficient manner.
A busy 6-week term lies ahead that combines a wide range of extra-curricular activities with the lead up to summer and State examinations.
Best of luck to our under-14 LGFA team who take on Scoil Críost Rí Portlaoise tomorrow in the Leinster A semi-final. The game takes place in O’Hanrahan’s GFC in Carlow town with throw-in at 11:30am – all support welcome!
Today our Transition Year students visited @ExpGlasnevin for their annual history trip. The tour guides were informative and told many interesting stories. Thanks to all in Glasnevin and the organising teachers.
Congratulations to our 6th year students, Aoife Rees and Sinéad Cullen, who recently showcased their filmmaking talents on 2FM.
Dinner Evening with Ukrainian Families
Last night we were honoured to welcome the families of our Ukrainian pupils to Loreto where we were served traditional Ukrainian dishes that were delicious. It was wonderful to chat to our guests and share stories in a relaxed atmosphere. We can’t wait to welcome them back again soon!
Teresa Ball 200 – Report by Ms. L. Jordan
In the week before Easter, we celebrated the legacy of Teresa Ball and marked 200 years since the first Loreto school opened in Ireland.
On Monday, Sr. Brigid Tunney and Anthony Hannon (Missionary Development Coordinator) spoke to 5th and 6th years about the legacy of Teresa Ball and the work of Mary Ward International.
On Tuesday, the 5th years ran a bake sale with all funds going to Loreto, Rumbek.
Many student’s entered Ms. L. Jordan’s poetry competition and a beautiful display of poems and art could be seen in the GP Area. Attached is the winning poem by Ava Murphy in 1.4.
During 1794,
Was born a woman we all adore,
She made herself known by all,
And goes by the name of Teresa Ball
For women and girls, for equality rights,
We thank Teresa Ball who shined that light,
Justice, Sincerity, Truth, Freedom and Joy, the Loreto traditions,
All apply from Teresa’s ambition
We wouldn’t be here without her today,
We applaud Teresa Ball and shout Hooray!
Diverse Voices – compiled by Ms. M. Jordan in co-operation with students
An important job of the Inclusion Committee is to give everyone a voice. Sometimes we might unintentionally overlook the voices of those from a minority group and miss a valuable chance to learn more about our wonderfully diverse school community. In this new regular feature, we hope to share the interesting stories of students from diverse backgrounds.
Name: Orlaith Roche
Age: 13
Year: First Year, 1.5
Home: Piercestown
Favourite Food: Pizza
Favourite TV Show: Pretty Little Liars
Favourite Subject & Hobby:
Art, especially painting and sketching
My last painting was of a mountain view that I did in Art with Ms Byrne (my favourite teacher)
What I Like about School:
Making new friends, going on school trips. I don’t like that some subjects are hard.
My Experience of ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder) or Autism:
I’ve always known I have autism, it’s part of my personality.
It’s important to celebrate autism because it’s a part of someone. You might know someone who has it and you might not understand them fully. Having a day to celebrate gives people a chance to learn more about autism. My family went to Tramore to celebrate World Autism Day last month.
My friends know I have autism and they know it’s part of my personality.
I find it hard to focus sometimes if I have to concentrate for a long time.
Sometimes when I was nervous, I would pick at my skin a little so now I use fidget toys and play dough to relax me and stop me from going near my skin.
I can find it awkward meeting new people and making new friends, but I still want to make new friends.
Good things about Autism:
I see things in my own way. It makes me who I am, I’m one of a kind! I’m always kind to my friends and trust is really important to me.
My Message about Autism Acceptance Day:
I love that we get to celebrate Autism here in school on Thursday, 5 May. I am looking forward to the face painting and the trip to the park with my Lunchtime Club.
We’re all different. People with autism might find some things hard like, I don’t like tags on clothes or itchy jumpers. I’m sensitive to the feelings of different materials. Certain types of tags make me feel really uncomfortable. A friend of mine with ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder) has trouble controlling their feelings – it’s different for everyone.
I hope that this day will help all the students in the school learn that people with autism find some things harder, things that people without autism might not even notice. But also, people with autism have lots of strengths and talents and a lot to offer a friendship once they make friends.
Green Schools Update – report by Ms. Culleton
The Green School’s Committee held a campaign called March to School throughout the month of March. This was to encourage students to come to school in sustainable ways, such as walking, cycling, bus, carpooling or park and stride. We surveyed students every Wednesday, which did show a small improvement in the number of students who came to school in a more sustainable way, particularly park and stride. WOW Days (Walk on Wednesdays) were the focus of March to School, and students made a special effort to walk to school on Wednesdays.
To record the survey results in a visual way, a display was made in the GP area for the month of March. For every student who came to school in a more sustainable way, the flower was coloured in. This meant that by the end of March, the flower had almost totally bloomed – symbolising the effect on the environment.
To thank students for participating in the WOW Days, students were given a wildflower seed card on Wednesday, April 6th. These flower cards can be simply planted in soil, watered, placed in the sun and they will bloom this summer.
Ms. Culleton would like to thank the Green School Committee for their work for March to School.
