After school study students will be delighted to hear that from next Monday, hot food and healthy snacks will be served in the canteen before the study session. This specific menu is now available to view on the Get Fresh website. To avail of this service, pre-ordering is obligatory so make sure to put your orders in early!

This week was a great week for the TY’s and they most definitely packed as much in as possible before heading off on their two weeks of work experience.

Last week was an exciting one, in particular Friday when all the TY Classes headed off to their various development days. One TY student will tell us about their informative day!

On Friday 20th TY5 went on the church retreat as part of their development day. On this retreat we visited four different churches including St Teresa's church, St Mary's Pro Cathedral, St Saviours church and Adam and Eves. We learnt about the architecture and history of the churches and at the end received a cross blessed from Medjugorje. During the day we split at lunch and got to explore town on our own for an hour. We visited two churches before lunch and two after. It was a very enjoyable day as I learnt so much and discovered new churches I didn't know existed!

What the TY’s got up to in class this week!

In terms of their various different classes it is certain that the TY’s have been busier than ever this week with different fun and exciting things happening. We will now hear from a few TY’s on what they got up to this week!

This week, the ASF/sports leadership class have been busy preparing for whole school events that will be held in the next couple of weeks. We have been trying many different ‘Just Dance’ routines that the rest of the school will be able to try during wellbeing week. Also, we have been updating the active flag walkway as the weeks have been going on, adding new challenges and puzzles to different stages of the walk to make it a more active and fun learning experience. The Design team has been leaving other updates and information about upcoming events on the active flag notice board. We moved all the information onto a moveable notice board which will be left around the school in busier spots to ensure students are notified about upcoming events ! 

Junk Kouture is a very creative and exciting subject to pick. The class has to make a dramatic outfit out of recycled materials to enter lots of competitions. There are many prizes to win too! The girls have created beautiful and bold dresses and even though you have to put lots of work in, they are dedicated. Personally I am really enjoying the subject and I can't wait to continue with our outfit!!! 

This week Ms.McAleers class completed their English media presentations. From hydrating mascara to Crystal candles the variety of new products was outstanding and the girls certainly showed their excellent creative skills! This was great practice for them as they got to exercise their presenting and public speaking skills and most definitely improved their confidence! We can’t wait to see what products the other classes come up with! 

Clubs and Activities this week 

On Wednesday 25th, some students took part in the barista course during and after school. Trainers from DublinBarista School came in and we got to learn about all the different equipment and how to use it correctly. It was so fun and we all got to make our own drink with a bit of help from the instructors! I would definitely recommend anyone who is thinking of taking this course to sign up for the advanced one in March before all the spaces fill up. It is safe to say that we have a few budding barista’s in the year!  

TY is all about trying new things and exploring career options. The school bank has been recently set up and they meet on Thursdays at lunch for ten minutes. This is what one of the students said about their progress so far!

This week we found out that students are now able to create a bank of Ireland account to save and manage their money. If they sign up they will be able to receive a bank card in the coming days within registering. There are posters around the school regarding this if you need any information or talk to any of the members of the school bank if you have any questions! Don't forget to sign up for this wonderful opportunity!

Toastmasters is back with a new group of TY’s ready and waiting to exercise their public speaking skills! On Thursday evening, 16 of the TY’s headed over to Terenure College for their first week of toastmasters. They learned about the importance of having good communication skills and how the meetings will be very much student led with people elected to the roles of responsibility of President and Secretary. Everyone had to speak for 30 seconds, introducing the person sitting next to them. Well done to all the TY’s involved and we look forward to hearing more about their Toastmasters experience in the weeks to come!

It was lovely to see the TY’s showcasing their house spirit on Thursday for the inter house soccer tournament. It’s fair to say the competition was tense as each House soccer team was cheered on by the highly enthusiastic supporters who were decked out in their house colours. We can’t wait to see the participation at the next house event!

Sign Ups

As we always say TY is all about experiencing new things but it is also about giving back to your community when you can. One way that is most definitely very rewarding is Tech4U. A google form will be posted in the classroom where students can sign up any older person that they know to participate in this very worthwhile course. However, please ensure that you have asked the older person for permission to share their name, email and phone number with Ms. Phelan. Without sufficient participants Tech4U will not be able to take place so please spread the word to anyone who would be interested in improving their technological skills whether it’s a grandparent, a grandparent's friends or an older neighbour. A reminder that Tech4U is a free service which will be run by the TYs  under guidance of teachers  and is certain to be very rewarding for both our students and the older people who get involved.

Reminders

To finish just a couple of reminders. It is vital that everyone ensures they have their work experience forms in as we all will be on work experience next week and the week after. Full payment  for the Barcelona Trip in April 2023 is due by the 1st of February. Unfortunately if the payment is not made your place on the trip cannot be guaranteed. In addition the deposit for the Ski Trip to Bormio, Italy in 2024 is also due and deposit must be paid to secure your place on this trip. Also as you know over the next 2 weeks our TY’s will be on work experience. Once again they must ensure to fill out their reflection forms at the end of each day of work experience in order to get the credits for completing it.

We hope that everyone thoroughly enjoys their two weeks of work experience and has a lovely relaxing February mid term! We look forward to seeing all our TY’s back in action after the midterm for the exciting lead up to Easter!

Saibh TY3 and Maria TY1

Contributed to by Emma Kelly TY3, Lija Attard TY5, Eabha Garry TY3, Aoibhinn Butler TY5 

Junior Camogie

A massive congratulations to our Junior Camogie team for their fantastic win in the B Championship final. The girls overcame tough opposition in St Wolstans to win by a scoreline of 6-10 to 3-8. Thank you to all of our supporters for pushing the girls through.The girls will now go on to the All Ireland Quarter final against Naomh Cormac of Offaly.

Cross Country

Well done to our cross country team who competed at the West Leinster Schools Finals yesterday. The girls performed excellently in tough conditions with over 100 competitors in some races. A special congratulations to our individual medal winners Elizabeth Farrelly and Roisin Hanley Byrne and our silver medal winning Junior girls team of Roisin Hanley Byrne, Leah Tisdall, Niamh Ryan and Alecia Maughan who have now qualified for the Leinster finals in two weeks. 

Bake Sale 

A huge thank you to everyone for supporting the bake sale run by our Digital Champions. We raised just under €500 which will go towards equipment and activities being run during Cyber Week. 

Senior Camogie

Commiserations to our Senior Camogie team who lost their All Ireland quarter final to Coláiste na hAbhann of Kilkenny. The girls gave 100% and couldn’t have done any more. We are very proud of them. A particular thank you to our 6th years for their commitment during exam season, and also throughout their time in OLS. They have paved the way for more to follow in the future.

Catholics Schools Week

Thanks to all our readers on the Le Cheile council who took time out to read on each day of Catholics School Week 2023. Also to all the students and teachers who participated during classes and not forgetting everyone's grandparents who have a special place in all the students hearts on this special week, Catholic School Week 2023.

3rd & 4th Year students who have paid for the supporters' bus to the Junior Camogie Final today in Santry should wear their tracksuits and school coats to school, in addition to warm layers underneath, hats, gloves, scarves, etc.!

Please note that the bus is full and no more payments can be accepted.

The bus will leave school at 11.00am approx. and it is hoped to be back in school for afternoon classes. Students need to ensure that they have a packed lunch in school as they may miss the canteen service.

Barista Course

The TY’s learned how to brew coffee on their barista course today. They created amazing designs! 

Junior Hockey 

Continuing on with their winning streak. Well done to the Junior A Hockey team for beating Killians 5-9 on Tuesday!

Active School Flag

TY Active School Flag group ran focus groups with First to Sixth Year students today. They received great feedback about what motivates students to get active.

Please see attached information regarding a webinar on this topic.

Many thanks.