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.

Today we celebrated IWD in style in OLS. We hosted Professor Orla Feely, past pupil and newly announced President of UCD, who spoke to the 6th Years about the role OLS played in the pathways she took through life. She told the students to follow their own successes, to open doors for each other and to learn and grow from interactions with inspirational women! Professor Feely was inducted onto our Wall of Inspiration and she, in turn, inducted two current pupils who are inspirational women in their own right - Alisha Weir (actor) and Joy Ralph (international soccer player).

Bhadra Panicker, 6th Year, wrote a beautiful poem to commemorate the occasion (attached below). Musicians Tamzin Hogan, Lauren Duffy and Molly Gorby added immensely to the occasion with their talented performance. Our fourth induction to the Wall of Inspiration today, the Sisters of the Religious of Christian Education - inspirational women who have led the school through changing times and continue to play a central role in school life today.

Minister Simon Harris visited the school today with another past pupil, Dr Mary-Liz Trant, Director of the National Apprenticeship Office, to launch an exciting initiative promoting apprenticeships for women. The Minister addressed TY students who put him through his paces with a fabulous Q&A led by Saibh Gormley!

It was a true day of celebration in OLS today. We asked the community for nominations for the occasion recently and were thrilled with the response. We are sharing three of these with you today in acknowledgement of the inspirational successes of these past pupils (attached below).

Wishing the entire OLS community a happy International Women's Day. We are immeasurably proud of our inspirational women, those who have left the school and those still with us!

On Friday 10th March, BodyWhys will be doing a workshop with 3rd Year students. More information on the organisation can be found at https://www.bodywhys.ie/

The ‘Be Body Positive’ schools programme is delivered to class groups, runs for 70-80 minutes and includes information about eating disorders, self-esteem, and media influence on body image.

TY always has something on and this week was no exception! 

The Great TY Bake Off

On Wednesday a handful of TY students took part in the much awaited second round of the Great TY Bake Off. We made a wide range of tasty treats and a great time was had by all! The competition was very close but congratulations to the overall winner,  Kate Vance who made a gorgeous chocolate cake. Thanks so much to the Home Ec teachers, Ms.Phelan, the judges, and all those involved who organised this memorable event!

The winners are as follows:

Overall 1st: Kate Vance

2nd: Rachel Davis and Ingrid Marron

3rd: Eabha Garry

Showstopper challenge:
Aoife McEvoy, Kate Vance, Matilda Murray, and Isabel Kelly

Subject Choice

Leaving Cert subject choice is fast approaching and this week the TY’s attended an online meeting with their parents. During this meeting, the two guidance counsellors, Ms.Porter, and Ms.Bannon talked to us all about the options for Leaving Cert and how we can ensure that we make informed decisions regarding our subjects. Anyone who was unable to attend the meeting can either watch the recording of the meeting or for any more personal questions feel free to email lporter@olschool.ie or fbannon@olschool.ie regarding information surrounding subject choice or career options. 

Today we spoke to the 5th and 6th years about subject choice. There was a table with students for every Leaving Cert subject in St. Joseph's Hall, and we all spent a while going around to each table and learning about the curriculum, advantages, challenges, and the Leaving cert student’s personal opinions and recommendations about subject choice. We all found this really beneficial, as the subject choice date is very soon. I particularly enjoyed hearing about the agricultural science class, as it really gave me an insight into what studying the subject would be like. Overall, this was really beneficial for the TY students, and thank you to all of the 5th and 6th years involved.

Isabel Kelly 

School Bank

A group of TYs have been working very hard to establish the school’s very first bank for students. Any students over the age of 14 can now sign up for a student account on Thursday the 2nd of March at lunchtime in the GPA. Anyone who signs up will have a Bank of Ireland second level current account set up in their name and will receive a debit card. All students need to bring with them on Thursday, is a form of ID (e.g passport) and the TYs will be able to help them set up their account. We have been very impressed with the leadership shown by the TYs in running this initiative. 

Junk Kouture

A fabulous display has been created this week by the Junk Kouture class. Students now have a chance to admire the beautiful designs and hard work that went into this year's entries. Each member of the Junk Kouture class should be very proud of themselves as we are of them, and best of luck to all as the judging for the competition begins.

Fame Set Design

Well done to all the students who signed up to volunteer with the set design for our highly anticipated TY musical Fame. The girls will begin painting the backdrop very shortly under the guidance of Ms. Maguire. 

What’s on next week?

Next week is a busy one for the TYs. All TY1 students must complete documentation for their development day that is on google classroom and return the form to Ms. Phelan before Wednesday the 11th of March.

Seachtain na Gaeilge is next week and with Ms.Kinsella and the 5th years the TY Coiste reps have helped to make it as fun as possible! On Wednesday during Irish class, all the TYs will take to the floor to participate in the rince-a-thon! They will also participate in a Tráth na gCeist! To follow this, there is a Seo Faisin taking place on Friday last class. The TY Irish classes have turned into design studios as over the past week the fourth years have been travelling back in time to put together outfits from the 1960’s-2000’s! We can’t wait to see what everyone has come up with!

The Advanced Barista Course will take place next Thursday. The TYs will have the opportunity to put the barista skills they learn into practice straight away as they will be hosting a coffee evening after the course in Room 10 for parents attending the Swap Shop. We are very excited to see our TY baristas in action and have no doubt that the parents will be blown away by the lovely coffee! All parents are welcome!

Trips 

All students who are going to Barcelona in April must keep an eye on their google classroom as updates and important information will be posted over the next few days. In addition to this, there is a meeting for students and parents being held via zoom on March 22nd. It is vital that everyone attends. 

Applications regarding Kenya were due this week, on the 2nd of March. Best of luck to everyone in the application process and we look forward to seeing all the good work that our students will do in Kenya in 2024.

A reminder that the trip to ZipIt will take place next Wednesday after school. Only students who have paid will be heading to Tibradden. We look forward to seeing the photos of the very adventurous TYs zipping through the trees!

Once again we hope everyone has a lovely weekend and comes back ready and enthusiastic as a week of Gaeilge, fashion shows, ziplining, and coffee making entails!

Saibh Gormley and Maria Hennelly 

Contributed to by: Ciara O’Loughran, Aine Ryan, and Isabel Kelly