Please see the attached letter regarding upcoming 3rd Year Relationships & Sexuality Education.

Many thanks.

Please see the attached letter regarding upcoming 2nd Year Relationships & Sexuality Education.

Many thanks.

Please see the attached letter regarding upcoming 1st Year Relationships & Sexuality Education.

Many thanks.

A big 'maith sibh' to the TY Irish classes who showcased fashion through the decades with commentary 'as Gaeilge' on Friday!

All classes included accessories and design elements made from paper. A great show for  Seachtain na Gaeilge!

Students can wear their tracksuits all week for an active, enjoyable timetable of wellbeing activities (see below).

We are particularly looking forward to our Open Mic Night on Tuesday and our Sponsored Colour Run on Wednesday (funds going towards the Sports Dome - looking forward to a huge community effort to get this facility kitted out for use in September!!).

House T-Shirts to be worn Monday and Tuesday.

Colour Run info attached. Sponsorship money can be handed in at the House desk at Reception tomorrow and Tuesday at lunchtime.

Shout out to TYs Lily O'Brien for wonderful IWD poster (above)...and Rachel Davis for photo (below) - Rachel won the Walk in my Shoes Frame of Mind Photography competition - well done Rachel!

Dia daoibh gach duine agus fáilte roimh this weeks TY update and what an action packed week the TY’s have had! 

International Women’s Day Apprenticeship Talk 

On Wednesday 60 lucky TYs got the opportunity to attend a talk led by Minister for further and higher education, research, innovation, and science, Simon Harris as well as our past pupil Dr. Mary-Liz Trant head of the National Apprenticeship Office.

Matilda Murray: This Wednesday Simon Harris, Minister for further and higher education, research, innovation, and science, Dr Mary-Liz Trant from The National apprenticeship office, also a past pupil, and the new president of UCD attended our school. Minister Haris and Dr. Trant both spoke. I went in knowing nothing about the Apprenticeship program, but I think we were all very impressed with the amount of apprenticeship course options available (66). The speeches were followed by questions, answered by the Minister and Dr. Mary-Liz, about both third level education options including apprenticeships, and International Women’s Day. After this, some pictures were taken and both guests talked to the students. They were both presented with flowers and a token of the school’s appreciation. All of the students attending found it very educational. Many thanks to the guests and the students and teachers involved.

A special well done to all the students who participated in this event, especially those who asked questions. A huge well done in particular to Saibh Gormley who did a wonderful job hosting a question and answer session as well as introducing our special guests. All of the students who participated were great representatives for the school and it was clear that Minister Harris was very impressed with our TYs! 

Seachtain na Gaeilge and Zipit 

Wednesday was certainly an action packed day for the TYs as they also attended their first ever Rince-Thon. Led by the 4th year Coiste Reps and the 5th years all the TYs danced and sang their hearts out!

Isabel Kelly: On Wednesday we spent our Irish class at the Rince-thon. Firstly, all the TYs got into línes, where Ms. Durkin spun the wheel and we talked about different topics ‘as Gaeilge’ in pairs. Then we got moving, doing a mix of Just Dance dances, like “Timber” and some Irish dances, like the Walls of Limerick, which I think was a clear favourite. All the TYs learnt cúpla focail nua, and we had loads of fun. Lá iontach a bhí ann!

Once again this Wednesday may have been the busiest day yet with 30 TYs zipping off to Tibradden Forest where they zoomed through the trees, completing the orange, white, blue, and red courses and of course, having a brilliant time all while suspended metres above the ground! It is safe to say that this trip was enjoyed by all and has skyrocketed its way up to being one of the favourite trips so far!

On Friday the TY Irish classes did not disappoint as they rocked the catwalk with their fabulous outfits and truly got into the spirit of things! From the Spice Girls to Sharpay Evans to Madonna each decade was truly represented very well by both fashion and of course the MCs speaking as Gaeilge.

Swap shop and Barista Course 

On Thursday some of our TY students attended the Advanced Barista course and are now fully qualified baristas! They got the opportunity to practise their newly learned skills at the Swap Shop hosted for parents from 5-7 pm where they made delicious coffees for all! Matilda Murray will tell us about her favourite moments of the course!

Dublin Barista School instructors came to OLS to teach 30 TY students the craft of coffee making. Firstly we learned how to make espresso shots and then how to foam the milk. We put these two skills together to make a selection of drinks: Americano, latte, flat white, mocha, and hot chocolate. Our skills were put to the test when we ran a coffee shop in conjunction with the swap shop. I really enjoyed the course overall and would definitely recommend it to future TY students.

Well done to all the members of the well-being committee who ensured the Swap Shop on Thursday was a success. Both students and parents had the opportunity to pick up something from the broad variety of clothes in the GPA. All remaining clothes were donated to St. Vincent de Paul. We would like to thank Ms. Reilly and the members of the well-being committee for all their hard work in organising and coordinating this event. 

Active School Flag 

Wellbeing week is being run by the Wellbeing Committee and the Active School Flag Class. For the first three days of Wellbeing Week, we will have a variety of activities. On Monday lunchtime we have Monday Groovers run by ASF. On Monday and Tuesday at lunch, we will have the ASF walking challenges for house points on the active school walkway. On Wednesday last class, the Active flag class will be hosting a Colour run. It will be for everyone in the school. On Wednesday wear your tracksuit and then underneath your tracksuit wear leggings and a white t-shirt that you won't mind getting dirty. Feel free to layer underneath and also bring goggles to protect your eyes. Everyone will be brought to the sports hall and then you will be brought to the colour run by your teacher. 

Frame of Mind-Rachel Davis 

A huge congratulations to Rachel Davis TY4 on her amazing achievement as she was runner up in the Frame of Mind photograph competition. 137 photographs were entered and the 20 finalists' photographs were displayed in an exhibition in the Arts Space of St Patrick’s University Hospital in Dublin 8 from 15-27 February, before the runner ups and winner was announced. We are all very proud of Rachel!

Reminders

A gentle reminder to make sure your daughter is keeping up to date with all the activities and information being posted on her google classroom. As we are into the last few months of TY, we want to make sure our students take all the opportunities that are available to them as we would hate for them to miss out on anything. 

A reminder that the deadline for subject choice is the 15th of March and anyone who does not have it in by then is not guaranteed their preferred subjects. If you are unsure of how to select your preferences on VSware, there is a video on the TY careers google classroom that explains how to do so. 

TY 1 students must return documentation for their development day on the 23rd of March.

In terms of work experience, the google form regarding what placement everyone is now up. It is vital that everyone fills this in. Garda Vetting is extremely slow to get processed at the moment so anyone looking for this must bring in the forms ASAP to try and get them processed by May.

Finally, we hope that everyone had an enjoyable Seachtain na Gaeilge, seachtaine iontach a bhí ann, gan dabht!  Have a lovely restful weekend from all of us here in TY and see you all next week for the three days before our time off for Lá Féile Padráig! 

Saibh Gormley and Maria Hennelly

Contributed to by Matilda Murray, Isabel Kelly, and The Active School Flag class 

Details attached!

A reminder that our parent swap shop is open from 5pm to 7pm today in the GPA if you can drop by or even run in whilst collecting your students from study/extra-curricular! Details attached.