1. School is closed tomorrow, Tuesday, as per school calendar for teacher training.
2. School will close at 3.15pm on Thursday to facilitate the 1st Year Parent-Teacher Meeting (all after school study continues at slightly earlier adjusted times).
3. If your daughter is on crutches she will need assistance to get around the building during the school day so please give us notice before she arrives in school so that we can have a plan in place.
4. The TY into 5th Year Subject Choice talk for parents & students is at 5pm on Thursday (via Google Meet) and a link will be shared on Thursday morning.
5. The 3rd Year into TY information session will be at 5pm on Monday 13th March (via Google Meet).

Many thanks.

Parents/Guardians can access their schedule for Thursday's meeting by going back to the platform through which they booked: https://ptmorg.com/parentlogin.php?School=60860Q

Please note that the scheduler tries to get the best overall outcome for parents. If you have been allocated a time slot that is at odds with the rest of your schedule and you cannot make that particular appointment, please let the office know via admin@olschool.ie. 

Requests for Learning Support appointments will be confirmed separately on Wednesday.

Many thanks.

This week the TY’s returned after a lovely restful midterm with two weeks of work experience prior and it is safe to say that they dived straight back into the action packed year that is TY!

Work experience 

To begin this week's update we will hear from 3 students about how they got on with their work placements!

Hi everyone, my name is Alannah and I’m in TY5 and thought I’d write a few words regarding the amazing work experience I completed a few weeks ago. For my work experience, I went to a pharmacy and it was a fantastic opportunity. I learned lots of valuable skills and it definitely gave me a great insight into future career paths for me. I loved the independence that we receive not only in TY but in each of our work experience placements. I had a fantastic week in the pharmacy and it has definitely altered my thoughts on this interesting career!

Emma - Over the last two weeks I completed two great work experience placements. My first week of work experience was at NCBI charity shop in Terenure. It was a great experience as I got to improve my communication skills by talking to customers and I learnt about the ins and outs of the charity's work. I thoroughly enjoyed the week and it opened my eyes to something new. My second week was at Templeogue pool. I swim there so it was nice to see it from a different side and see what it would take to be an assistant coach. I got to learn about the chemistry side of a swimming pool and also the general way the business is run. This week made me realise I would definitely consider working with kids or just in general in a sports related career. 

Hello, my name is Leah Prendergast and I completed a week-long TY course in Pfizer GrangeCastle. The week was filled with lots of fun and interesting activities such as touring the many labs. One of the most interesting parts of the week was when we were doing a tour of the ‘clean rooms’. These are the rooms where they make the different types of vaccines, these rooms need to be so clean that there are 0% bacteria in the air. You had to wear very protective clothes so that you didn't bring in any bacteria that could contaminate the room. You had to go through a vigorous hand cleaning process and wear up to two pairs of latex gloves! I learned that in Pfizer, a lab isn’t the only type of work you can do, you could be a water engineer or even a project manager. This week of work experience really opened my eyes to a new type of work and I feel I would really enjoy working in a lab some day.

Leaving Certificate Subject Choice

Leaving Certificate Subject Talks kicked off this Monday. These talks were a vital process of making the decision surrounding what subjects each student will take for her Leaving Certificate. Here is what one student said about these incredibly helpful talks! 

This week we heard about the various leaving cert subject options in talks given by our teachers. These talks gave me valuable insight into the topics covered within the subjects, the exam structure, and how the subject is assessed as well as further opportunities with each subject and the skills which are useful to have for each area. It has certainly given me a greater understanding of what the next two years of each subject will involve. They were very helpful in helping me to decide what I will choose for my leaving cert. I also got the opportunity to ask any questions I had and I know that we can all agree that we feel much more ready to choose our subjects now! 

As you can see these talks were beneficial and hopefully made choosing your subjects a little less daunting. Just a reminder that all TY students have until the 15th of March to get their subject choice in on VSware

The Great TY Bake Off

The greatly anticipated TY bake off first round took place this Wednesday! The eager bakers prepped their ingredients and stations, ready to compete, all hoping to take first place. The race involved creating the picture perfect, delicious lemon drizzle squares. The timer finished as we completed our finishing touches, and pretty presentation and we brought our creations in for judging. It's safe to say all the sweet treats were close to perfect and blew the judges away. Our top three were picked and all scores were high, carrying into next week's showcase round! But finally, the real question remains for our bakers … “What will your showcase baking creation be?!” 

Cyber Week 

From beating each other in games of Wii tennis to educating their peers on the negative impacts of cyberbullying it is safe to say that our digital champions/TY Reps got stuck into cyber week in OLS. It was great to see their involvement as well as all the other TY’s who participated in all that Cyber Week had to offer! 

Microsoft Dreamspace

On Friday the TY students returned to Dreamspace at Microsoft. Isabel Kelly will tell us about her experience of the day.

Today we went to Microsoft Dreamspace. This was day 2 of our Microsoft dream space experience. In the morning we had a tour of the building and we did some coding with micro-bits. We made thermometers and step counters using micro-bits and had a step competition. After a short break, we learnt how to use a mixed reality app where we made movies in groups. Some of the movies included dinosaurs, aliens, and spaceships, while also starring our TY students. This was such an incredible opportunity and we all had an amazing time!

Frame of mind 

A huge congratulations to Rachel Davis TY5 who has been shortlisted in the Frame of Mind photograph competition. 137 photographs were entered and Rachel’s has been shortlisted in the final 20. The 20 finalists' photographs will be displayed in an exhibition in the Arts Space of St Patrick’s University Hospital in Dublin 8 from 15-27 February, where the winner will be chosen. A massive well done to Rachel for getting so far in the competition!

Sign ups 

TY is full of amazing opportunities and once again there has been a range of things to sign up for this week. On their Google Classroom the opportunity to sign up to become Safeguarded for working with children. This course provides participants with an understanding of a child-centred environment in sport whilst also setting out the statutory guidance for responding to and reporting concerns of abuse. This is a wonderful opportunity and very valuable to everyone as it is definitely something very worthwhile to have on your CV. 

Another excellent opportunity that the TY’s were given this week was the chance to sign up for the Advanced Barista Course. By completing this course the students will be fully qualified Barista’s, a skill that is extremely valuable and will allow those who complete it to perhaps get a part time job. After completing this course they will get to practise their skills by making teas and coffees for school events!

Just to note there are still spots available on the trip to Zipit. This will be a lovely day out and we would love to see as many TY students as possible zipping through the trees! Sign up on google classroom and make sure to pay on easy payments to secure your spot!

Trips

The TY’s have also been given the unique opportunity to sign up for a two week trip to Kenya in June 2024. There was a meeting for anyone interested in attending this trip on Thursday at lunch where all relevant information was given as well as a letter stating all costs and requirements. We understand that this trip is very expensive and may not be feasible for all as well as having an extensive application process. Any applications must be in by the 2nd of March and contact Ms.Donlon or Ms.Phelan with any queries or questions. 

Just a reminder to anyone attending the upcoming trip to Barcelona that it is vital that you check your google classroom and fill out the form regarding passport details. Accuracy in this form is key to ensure no problems on the day. More information regarding this trip will be provided in the coming week so make sure to keep an eye on your Barcelona google classroom so as not to miss anything!

Finally, we wish everyone a lovely relaxing weekend and see you all next week for only 4 days as there is no school on Tuesday due to a Junior Cycle Training day! 

Saibh Gormley and Maria Hennelly 

Contributed to by Aine Ryan, Louisa Rath, Isabel Kelly, Alannah Moore, Emma Kelly, Leah Prendergast, and Isabel Kelly 

TY Video 

The TY reps have been hard at work completing their video to tell you all what they got up to in term 2! The video is attached below. We hope everyone enjoys it!

https://youtu.be/yBOTCk5cyFU

TY Bake off

TY students took part in a great TY Bake off on Wednesday. This week they had the challenge of baking a lemon drizzle cake. The lucky winners were awarded with Easter eggs by Ms. Ronan. 

TY Cyber Talk

The TYs were given an insight to the benefits of Sport, Technology and Wellbeing. All the way from New Zealand, Orna Murray zoomed in to give the students an insight into her expertise in the area. Orna spoke about how technology can affect your wellbeing, apps in the area and Femtech. Her insight was valuable. Along with a former staff member and her sister Niamh, Move2B has been going from strength to strength and we look forward to working with them again in the future."

Maths Club

In the spirit of Cyber Week the Maths club did an introduction to coding. 

The 2023 Leaving Certificate Candidate Self Service Portal Registration Phase Closed on Tuesday 21 February and will now reopen on Tuesday 28 February 9am – 5pm for one day only. 

This decision was taken in the best interests of the candidates to provide them with every opportunity to confirm their entry for the examinations.

 As of 5pm 21 February , 52346  (89%) of Leaving Certificate candidates have completed the registration process. If you have completed the process, no further action is needed.

 All final year Leaving Certificate candidates must register and activate their account and confirm their subject and level choices through the portal. 

The SEC Candidate Portal helpdesk  can be contacted at 1800-111135 or 1800-111136  will open between 9 am and 5 pm  Tuesday 28 February or candidates can email candidateportal@examinations.ie

A reminder to parents/guardians of 1st Year students that today is the deadline for booking appointments with teachers for the upcoming parent-teacher meeting.

We are very proud to congratulate past pupil Professor Orla Feely who has been newly appointed as President of University College Dublin. We wish her the best of luck in her new position.

www.ucd.ie/newsandopinion/news/2023/february/21/ucdgoverningauthorityannouncesappointmentofprofessororlafeelyaspresidentofuniversitycollegedublin/

Ash Wednesday

Today Our Lady's celebrated the first day of Lent, known as Ash Wednesday, by distributing Ashes to all the students and staff who took part in the ceremonies. Ash Wednesday was organised by the Le Chéile Council and school Chaplain. Three intimate ceremonies took place with prayers and music followed by the distribution of blessed Ashes. Such a lovely occasion that was enjoyed by all who took part. Well done to the Le Chéile Council and Mr. Devine. 

Pancake Tuesday

Is YOUR pancake a circle? Ms Floods TY Maths class investigated this by seeing if the ratio of diameter to circumference equals Pi (a mathematical constant = 3.14)…then your pancake is a circle!!

Swimming 

Best of luck to Laura Potts who is Swimming in McCullagh International in Bangor today!

Minor Camogie

Well done to our Minor Camogie Team who won their second game of group stage comprehensively. The girls played a terrific game against St Wolstans. A great effort by all 30 members of the game day panel. 

Please see the attached letter regarding booking appointments for the 1st Year Parent-Teacher Meeting.

Many thanks.