3 December 2021
5th year Retreats – report by Ms. L. Jordan
Over the past fortnight, many 5th year students enjoyed a day of reflection in the Parable Garden where they thought about their journey in life and their connection to the beautiful world around us. The girls made earth candles, reflected during a peaceful meditation and played some team bonding games. The day was enjoyed by all, as is clear from the photos below.
Days like these form a central part of the whole school experience and the dedicated work of teachers who organise them is greatly appreciated.
Calamity Jane
The school extends its best wishes to the cast and production team of “Calamity Jane” for a very successful run in the National Opera House next week, 7 to 9 December inclusive.
It is being staged in strict accordance with public health guidelines as implemented by the National Opera House.
Tickets may be booked online at www.nationaloperahouse.ie
German trip deferred
Due to the changing situation regarding Covid, it has been decided to defer the 5th and 6th year trip to Cologne to dates to be confirmed in Springtime. This comes as a disappointment to the 38 students and 4 teachers involved but, hopefully, the trip will be enjoyed all the better in a few months’ time if the overall Covid situation improves.
My appearance on the Late Late Toy Show – by Úna Walsh (2nd year student)
Last Thursday I travelled to Dublin to prepare for the Toy Show the following day. After months of auditioning and practice, I could hardly believe the moment was here.
When I walked onto the set for the first time, Ryan Tubridy came down a slide to greet me. This was the beginning of the fun and craic.
On Friday, we went through the script, more rehearsals and then ……….. live!
The show itself was amazing, all the team were brilliant and I even had my own green room with food.
A huge highlight was when Miriam Mullins, who is a tictoc influencer, sat with me for 3 hours and gave me loads of tips.
I had a fantastic day and left with a cool goodie bag and a handwritten note from Ryan himself – “For Úna, my new best friend! You’re fab”
Stand Up Awareness Week
Ms. Pheasey and her team of volunteers from the Inclusion Committee led our school celebrations for Stand-Up Awareness Week from 15 to 19 November. TYs created colourful posters to decorate our classrooms and corridors with the key message ‘Use words that heal not hurt’ #comein.
Teachers showed their support by displaying pride flags in their classrooms and offices with the entire school community coming together on Friday, 19 November to become a whole-school rainbow with each year group wearing a different colour to show support for our LGBTQI+ students. Ms. Pheasey also displayed a pledge outside her classroom which all students were invited to sign to commit to using positive and inclusive language.
One of the highlights of the week was past pupil Holly Johnston’s talk on gender identity which was attended by members of the Inclusion Committee and the Students’ Council.
Secretary to the Inclusion Committee Elena Ebner writes about the experience:
On Friday, 19 November, Holly Johnston came to Loreto to talk to 6th year students, members of the Inclusion Committee and the Students’ Council about gender identity. Holly is currently studying psychology in UCD and this year she is focusing on gender identity. She is comparing the views of younger generation with the views of older generations on the use of pronouns. She has made a survey based on pronouns as part of her undergraduate research which will be carried out on young people over the age of 18 and older people for her to get a wide variety of responses and opinions.
During Holly’s visit, she taught us about the terms we should and shouldn’t use when asking about people’s pronouns and how to make everyone feel included. She also taught us about neopronouns such as ze/zir/ zirs and xie/xen/xer, which can be used instead of he/she/they. Holly supported and promoted the great idea of everyone including their pronouns in their emails and when introducing themselves to make it easier for people who identify as transgender or non-binary.
An update will be sent from Holly sometime next year once her research is concluded on this very new area of study and we’re looking forward to hearing from her in the future. For now, we wish her the very best of luck with her studies.
You can find out more about Holly’s work on her Instagram page @hollyymakes.
