The Gaisce sign-up and weekly recording of activities has begun, and it is great to see so many girls already involved. If your child has not yet decided on their activities, please encourage them to sign up for one of the many opportunities in the coming weeks – including homework club, maths club and much more. Sign-up is available at Gaisce.ie.

As part of this - we are greatly looking forward to the Gaisce Glendalough Overnight & Hike Trip! A Bronze participant will spend 2 days and 1 night on their ‘Adventure Journey’, and TYs in OLS will be hiking 25km over the 2 days. Trip departure will be on Friday, April 19 with a hike in the afternoon, night spent sleeping at Glendalough Hostel, and a further hike the next morning before returning to OLS. The trip includes a bus to and from Glendalough, and the overnight stay in the Hostel. If interested, please complete the Glendalough Overnight Google Form on the TY Classroom. 

The TY Carlingford Adventure Centre Trip is also approaching fast – a reminder of the dates from October 4-6. The trip encapsulates the spirit of Transition Year and is a terrific opportunity for the girls to build friendships, explore their own personal strengths and skills and challenge themselves through a myriad of outdoor activities.The first work experience block (week of 20th November) has a Google Form to record the girls’ placement details – please complete this if not yet already addressed, and in time for the 27th October deadline. 

Congratulations to all who signed up for the Sign Language course on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. We are delighted that The Irish Deaf Society have extended this course to allow all interested students to take part this term. It is a fantastic opportunity and we look forward to these students showcasing their work at the TY Celebration at the end of the year. 

The Barista Course sign-up deadline is today at 5pm - a great opportunity for anyone hoping to work in a cafe in the future! We hope to run this course in the coming months and extend to the Advanced Barista Course later in the year. 

The Student Council elections will take place during Pastoral Care on Tuesday 19th September. Last year the Council achieved many things for the student body including negotiating a change to the eyelash policy, organising the Halloween Fancy dress, helping to choose the new school trousers and organising the very fun Karaoke Lunch.

If your daughter is interested in representing her class this year, simply join the Google Classroom (code: mciaxtr), fill out the attached Google Doc and submit it before this Monday 18th September at 8:30am..

There are still many TY sign-up opportunities available, including sign language, the well-being committee, and multiple work experience opportunities. Please check with your daughter to see her involvements for the year, and see TY Google Classroom for further details and application forms. We would kindly ask all Parents/Guardians to make sure the TY permission Slip has been completed in the Consent section of the APP. As we say around here: ‘NO SLIPS, NO TRIPS!’

All rotations are in full swing this week, we have included some photos of our Budding Bakers in Home Economics, as well as our Property moguls in TY Accounting.

Inter House sports continued on Tuesday of this week with soccer throughout Lunch. There were again great crowds in the sunshine supporting the players in their house t-shirts, with teachers also contributing to the good fun and cheer.

Sports training continues in hockey, basketball and camogie for all students – and teams are always open to new members! What better way to make friends while staying healthy and active...

Friendship Week took place this week, with the whole student body celebrating the power of unity, connection, empathy, and kindness together. A number of activities were ongoing since Monday, such as the friendship cards exchange, paired walks at lunchtime, special lessons during Pastoral Care, daily song releases for upbeat moods – and more!

Best wishes to the Choir and all the helpers in the Opening Year Mass next Thursday, September 21. The Liturgy will celebrate Our Lady’s School, the Sisters, Le Chéile Trust, and all of our wider community at 11.00am in St Pius X Church. B5 have contributed to the organising and theme of ‘Get your sparkle on, show the world where you belong.’ Do join us if you are free!

That’s all for this week, thank you for reading.

Please see the attached information.

Many thanks.

Enjoy Friday's Friendship song, You've Got a Friend.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYI_vUIO5OE

Enjoy Thursday's Friendship Week song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYI_vUIO5OE

It's a busy week in OLS!

The dome is inflated!!!! We are busily working towards completion date!

2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th Year students are completing Study Skills workshops.

Friendship Week activities are on everyday - don't forget the buddy walk tomorrow at lunch! Meet at the oratory door.

Round 2 of Interhouse soccer took place yesterday - click in to the gallery to see more pics!

5th Year Lighthouse mentors, Amber Flag commitee members and the Coiste Gaeilge were presented with their badges of office today at a 5th Year assembly.

We are still taking names for our Parents' Book Club. If you are interested in joining please contact the librarian at library@olschool.ie

Our school has just set up a €25 discount code for Studyclix! Studyclix.ie is an excellent study website that helps students revise using exam questions, videos, notes, quizzes and more. To avail of the offer, create or log in to your own personal account on Studyclix and enter the code OLSD23 to get €25 off any upgrade. 

Enjoy Wednesday's Friendship Week's song suggestion. The Theme song from Cheers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-mi0r0LpXo

Enjoy, Tuesday's song suggestion for Friendship week, the theme song from Friends.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2TyVQGoCYo

Monday's song for Friendship Week is, " I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0C58ttB2-Qg 

Welcome Students, Parents and Guardians to the weekly ‘TY Update and What’s on Next Week’! This is contributed to on a weekly basis by TY students and their teachers. 

TY’s have had a great first two weeks settling into their new classes and making new friends. Last Monday started with the announcement of the new TY Reps. There was huge anticipation followed by smiling faces all around as everyone knew that the girls chosen would do a brilliant job. The girls were also presented with their badges by their Form Teachers and our Deputy Principal, Ms. Ronan. Speaking to one of the TY reps, she told us she was “delighted to get the role”. It is reassuring to know that we have someone who is very enthusiastic about the job and so excited for the year ahead. Another rep told us, “I didn’t think I would get it” but assured that she would do the best job she could. 

We are delighted to introduce our TY reps who were elected by their peers. 

TY1: Sadhbh Ní Shúilleabháin & Hannah Galvin

TY2: Estella Graham & Zoe Ryan

TY3: Aoife Kennedy & Kate Lucy

TY4: Lucy Somers & Laoise Kelly

TY5: Aoife McGarry & Roisin McGrane

As a year group in TY, it’s important to have something to unite students for all the adventures and activities to come. Last week, each class was asked to pick a motto they thought related to and showcased their potential – while also encompassing the OLS House and Le Chéile values. The process involved each new TY class coming up with a Motto to go into the running for the TY Motto of the year.

“This Tuesday was the day of presentations, and during Pastoral Care our whole year went to the lecture theatre to present our chosen class mottos to each other. The TY reps were in charge of the presentations for each class, and I must say – the creative juices were flowing! One class even went as far as creating a dance routine in order to try to convince the rest of the year to vote for their motto. After the presentations were over, we all headed back to our base rooms to decide on which motto would best represent our year. We had to take into account which motto reflected our attitude towards TY, if it included the Le Chéile values and if it contained one of the 5 C’s. I was very impressed with all of the mottos and how creative each class was when making their presentations. Although it was very hard for me to decide on which one I was going to choose,  in the end I think I picked the right one. Unfortunately though, that choice has to be kept a secret!” 

We look forward to announcing the TY Motto next week. Well done to all classes and Reps on such a superb job.

TY students have a busy week signing up to Gaisce, we hope that come next week students will start completing their record sheets. If your child has not yet decided on their activities please don't worry, there will be plenty of opportunities for them to sign up to over the coming weeks, including homework club, maths club and many more. There is exciting news on the Horizon for those who have signed up for Gaisce. Keep your eyes peeled on Google Classroom! 

We are all very excited about our impending TY Carlingford Adventure Centre Trip. Please note the confirmed date for this trip is the 4th till the 6th October. This trip encapsulates the spirit of Transition Year and it is a terrific opportunity for the girls to build friendships, explore their own personal strengths and skills and challenge themselves through a diverse range of outdoor activities.The cost of the trip is €260, which includes meals, accommodation, all activities and transport costs from the school. If payment is still outstanding this can be done through Easy Payments Plus on our school website at www.olschool.ie. If you are experiencing issues with online payment, please contact me or the school bursar as soon as possible to arrange alternative payment methods. 

The first block of work experience has been confirmed for the 20th November, the google form document is now open for all students to record their placement details. Please ensure this is done as soon as possible. The closing date for this is the 27th October. 

There have been a large number of sign ups available to students already. These include: sign language, wellbeing committee, as well as multiple work experience opportunities. Please check in with your daughter to see what she has signed up for. All application forms are on the TY Google Classroom and she can register for Gaisce on www.gaisce.ie. 

Inter House sports commenced today with soccer throughout Lunch. We were extremely excited to see so many students out on the pitch with their house teachers and supporters cheering in house t-shirts. It was a fantastic opportunity for TY students to stay connected with their House. 

Sports training has also begun in sports such as hockey, basketball and camogie. Sport plays a pivotal role in our school community and allows us to increase our physical health and improve leadership and teamwork skills.

We look forward to more exciting sign ups next week and hope each TY student gets involved in Friendship week. Friendship Week in our school is a heart-warming celebration of the bonds that unite students. It's a time when students come together to celebrate the power of friendship, empathy, and kindness. 

Our Reps will also be busy next week sprucing up the all new TY Noticeboard ensuring both classes and Houses are represented. 

We would kindly ask all Parents/Guardians to make sure the TY permission Sip has been completed in the Consent section of the APP. NO SLIPS, NO TRIPS!

Contributed to by TY students.