We are looking forward to seeing our 6th Years & parents/guardians this afternoon for the parent-teacher meeting. Schedules were given out on Friday. Parents can also see schedules on the PTOrganiser platform through which they booked. Any adjustments have been communicated to students.

Many thanks.

The Parents' Council have secured a stall at the much coveted St. Michaelmas Christmas Market in Trinity College this Friday, 1st December. This is a wonderful opportunity for the Parents' Council to raise some funds that, as always, are reinvested into making the school environment ever better for the students. However, the Council need your help! The PC are looking to sell quality baked and festive goods at the stall but will need the school community to rally behind this cause.

On behalf of the Council we are asking everyone to roll up their sleeves, don their aprons and get baking. Huge footfall is expected at the stall so we will need a great volume of goods to sell. So, let's come together and bake OLS an even better place for all our students! If you could donate quality baked goods for this event please drop off to the school by 4 p.m. sharp this coming Thursday, November 30th.

The Parents' Council would also welcome any volunteers to help on the stall this Friday in Trinity College. If willing to lend a hand, please email parentscouncil@olschool.ie

Please see the flyer attached for details. 

TY Update and What’s on Next Week!

Welcome back to another busy week of TY! Make sure to keep an eye on the TY Google Classroom for any updates and reminders you may have missed during the week, and be extra-prepared for the exciting week ahead!

Toastmasters

Toastmasters is back! This is a course which helps gain confidence in public speaking. The course is approximately 13 weeks long, which makes it a perfect Gaisce Personal Skill! It is every Thursday evening at Terenure College from 7.30 pm to 9.30 pm. Our Lady’s and Terenure College have selected 16 students in each school to participate in this fantastic opportunity for the term and they started their first lesson last night!

TY Development Days

Today marked the first of the TY Development Days for this year - everyone all around Dublin had a fantastic day filled with lots of laughter and fun!

TY 1 completed their Certified First Aid Course. This is a very valuable course as it improves students’ self-esteem, teamwork and communication skills, and prepares them for unpredictable situations and responding to others’ injuries with methods such as CPR. They were treated to an engaging, hands-on set of workshops from experienced first aid instructor, Tom, in Lourdes Hall.

TY 2 worked on their independence skills as they made their way into town to meet their spiritual guide, Anita Phelan, for ‘A Pilgrim Path’ retreat held in Dublin City Centre. Participants did a ‘pilgrimage’ visiting the main churches on both sides of the Liffey, learning about the historical, political, social and spiritual significance of the parish church communities. The retreat also included time for reflection, and TY2 got to enjoy lunch while sitting at the Garden of Remembrance, leaving them with lots to reflect upon and explore! 

TY 3 met Ms. Finnegan outside The Little Museum of Dublin where they learned about the history of Dublin City. They then listened to a 1916 walking tour with their earphones before having a tour of Dublin Castle, including the State Apartments. They finished the day by having a tour of the exquisite Irish Emigration Museum (EPIC).  

TY 4 took part in a Self Defence Course in St Joseph’s Hall, where they learned how to defend themselves without having to do any complicated manoeuvres. A great opportunity for the girls!

Finally, last and DEFINITELY not least (no bias here), TY 5 headed to Dublin Zoo where they met their Guide for the day, Ms. Durkin. They started the morning with a very educational conservation module before all students took a tour of the Zoo and had the chance to interact with all of the wonderful wildlife and animals on offer there.  

Camogie Jerseys

We were all delighted to receive a brand new set of camogie jerseys this week, which were presented to our Sports Captain, Jenny Power, Junior Camogie Captain, Rebecca Bowden as well as Mr. Cantwell. The jerseys were very generously sponsored by Faughs GAA, and gifted to us by the Chairperson of Faughs Camogie, Ger Nagle and Dave O’Shea. Míle buíochas, a chairde.

Irish Defence Forces

On Tuesday, Sergeant Lawlor was very kind to take time out to talk to all of the TY students during Pastoral Care. He informed us about the lack of women in the Irish Defence Forces and their important role in the Army. He spoke passionately about his career and educated us on the various career paths one could take within the Defence sector. Sergeant Lawlor also encouraged us to apply for the TY work experience programme that takes place within the coming months. If you wish to apply for this programme, please see the form on the TY Google Classroom and fill it out as soon as possible. 

Butler’s Chocolate Factory

On Wednesday the TY enterprise class went on a trip to Butler's Chocolate Factory. They got the chance to see an insight into the history of Butler's Chocolate and how the products were all made and packaged. Students also got the chance to get creative by decorating chocolate elephants with white chocolate! In the end, everyone who went had a fantastic time and enjoyed the experience at Butler’s Chocolate Factory - they plan to bring some of their newly developed business skills into their enterprise work, best of luck to them all!

TY Reminders

Uniform

A gentle reminder to all students to ensure that we are all in our full school uniform each day, except during Musical and Sports Leadership class on Mondays for Sports and Recreation - and for any TY Development Days. This means also that there will be no mixing of the school uniform, such as wearing leggings with your school tracksuit. Spot checks will be made over the coming days, with marks to be given out to those disobeying the rules.

Carlingford Permission & Medical Form

The Permission and Medical Form for Carlingford has gone out on VSware and must be filled in before the end of today. Make sure to remind your parents!

6th Year Parent Teacher Meetings Helpers

To all who applied to be a helper at the sixth year parent teacher meetings next Tuesday, please check your emails for an acceptance notification. For those who received it, please confirm your availability by responding to Ms. Phelan.

Coming up…

School Closed

A reminder that there will be no school this Monday 2nd October for all students. Enjoy a well-deserved break!

Senior Camogie Match

Our Senior Camogie team have their very first match against St Wolstans this Tuesday. All details are on the Google Classroom, please be sure to let Mr Cantwell know if you cannot attend, or if your name isn’t on the panel.

Carlingford!!!

Only five more sleeps until the most anticipated event of 2023! No, not Christmas, but the one and only Carlingford!!! Please make sure all forms are filled out on the school app by the end of today or you will not be allowed to travel. The bus will leave at 7 am sharp on Wednesday, 4th October. You must be on time or risk the bus leaving without you - that’s it for this week, folks!

Thanks for reading. 

Written by Kate Smyth, Freya Lilly Eggen and Ciara Brereton, TY 5

Contributed to by Caoimhe Curran, TY 5

On Wednesday, our U19 basketball team continued their good start to the season with a win over Presentation Thurles in the first round of the All Ireland Cup. The girls performed superbly and won the game 65-53. We await to see our opponents in the next round. Well done to all involved on the day.

Our league hockey season was due to kick off on Wednesday with league matches both at home and away but due to storm Agnes these fixtures have now been rearranged to take place over the next few weeks. The senior 2nd's began their league campaign against a strong Mt Anville side on Thursday afternoon. Despite some strong defensive displays and hard work across the pitch by all, the game ended in defeat. The girls can take the positives away from the game and work on other areas before their next game in a couple of weeks time.

This weekend the following fixtures are taking place:

Home at Our Lady's School

Senior 3 -v- St Andrews @ 9am

First Year -v- St Andrews @ 10am

First Year -v- St Andrews @ 11am

Away at Newpark Comprehensive school

Junior 1 -v- Newpark @ 9am

Have a great sporting weekend!

Our U19s Basketball team had a great win on Wednesday against Thurles. In a very close game Our Lady's came out on top with a final score line of 65 - 53. Well done girls!

A reminder to the school community that school is closed on Monday 2nd October so see you all on Tuesday!

Our 2nd and 3rd Years participated in the award winning Sticks and Stones anti bullying workshop this week. It was a worthwhile and engaging experience for all involved. 

It was great to see the turnout of 1st Year parents/guardians yesterday despite the inclement weather conditions! Many thanks for sharing your time with us. 

We were delighted today to have a brand new set of jerseys presented to Jenny, Sports Captain, and Rebecca, Junior Camogie Captain, generously sponsored by Faughs GAA who were represented by Ger Nagle and Dave O'Shea. #communitylinks #womeninsport 

Please note that the Admissions Notice for 2024-25 is on the school website: here

Applications for siblings of current students must be submitted in the three week Admissions Window if not already on the waiting list. 

The Admissions Window commmences on Monday 2nd October, 2023. If this information is relevant to you, please read more about the admissions process on the school website: here

Many thanks.

Congratulations to Caoimhe Mooney for winning the library poetry competition for Friendship Week. Her poem "What We Are"  is inspirational, please click on the pdf attached to read it.

5th Year Lighthouse mentors had a great leadership training session with facilitator Pat Murphy yesterday and we look forward to seeing them bring their great energy and positivity to the 2nd Years throughout the year!

We were delighted to be invited guests at past pupil Professor Orla Feely's inaugural lecture as President of UCD on Monday. In the words of our 6th Years, Professor Feely's words were 'inspirational' - what a role model from and to our school community!

6th Year LCVP class visited Butlers Chocolate factory today as part of their Leaving Certificate Portfolio. Students enjoyed an insight into how Butlers make their chocolates and enjoyed a full view of the factory floor. A tasty morning was had by all.