LORETO NEWSLETTER

Thank you very much for your support and help in 2004.
Included in this newsletter are some details of forthcoming events in the school year and some brief news items.
I would like to wish you and your families every happiness and blessing in 2005.
Yours sincerely
Mary Ryan.

Calendar of School Events for Easter and Summer Terms

• Wednesday 19th January: Mass in the Canteen at 8 p.m. for First Year pupils, parents and guardians.
• Thursday 20th January: 5th Year Parent-Teacher Meeting 16.15.-18.45. Classes will finish at 15.30. and there will be no After School Study.
• Friday 21st January: School Planning Day. No classes. No After School Study.
• Thursday 27th January: Information Meeting for Parents of 3rd Years re Transition Year and Leaving Certificate Applied Options. 8 p.m.
• Wednesday 2nd February: Open Evening for 5th and 6th Class pupils and their parents and guardians. 19.00.-21.00.
• Tuesday 8th February: Classes will end at 15.30. to allow time for a Staff Meeting. After School Study as usual at 16.15.
• Friday 11th February: Mid-Term break will begin for pupils at 12.00. Planning afternoon for Staff.
• Monday 21st February: School will re-open after Mid-Term Break. Pre-Junior Certificate and Pre-Leaving Certificate Examinations will begin.
• Thursday 24th February: 2nd Year Parent-Teacher Meeting 16.15.-18.45. Classes will finish at 15.30. and there will be no After School Study.
• Wednesday 2nd March: Information Evening on Senior Cycle Subject Choices for Parents of Transition Year Pupils and of 3rd Year Pupils intending to go into 5th Year in September. 8 p.m.
• Tuesday15th March: 1st Year Parent-Teacher Meeting 16.15.-18.45. Classes will finish at 15.30. and there will be no After School Study.
• Wednesday 16th March: Classes will end at 12.55. to allow time for a Staff Meeting from 13.25 to 15.45.
• 17th March: St. Patrick's Day Public and Church Holiday. No classes.
• Wednesday 23rd March: Easter Holidays will begin at 15.45.
• Monday 4th April: School will re-open after Easter Holidays.
• Monday 11th April: Leaving Certificate Oral Irish Examinations will begin.
• Monday 18th April: Leaving Certificate Oral French and German Examinations will begin.
• Tuesday 24th May: Transition Year Certification Evening.
• Thursday 26th May: Leaving Certificate Graduation Mass.

Parents' Association Events

• Monday 24th January 8 p.m.: 'Walk Right, Sit Right, Stay Right' - practical advice on posture and ergonomics for teenagers. Guest Speaker: Sally-Ann Quirke (Physiotherapist).
• Monday 21st February: Fund Raising Quiz in Fermoy Rowing Club.
• Tuesday 1st March: 'Healthy Eating for Teenage Girls'. Speaker Clare Gavin (Dietician).
• Thursday 10th March: Fund Raising Cookery Demonstration by Iris Shane in the Sports Hall.

Mental Health Seminars

• On Thursday 3rd February Fermoy Family Co-Ordinating Group and Avondhu Development will host a seminar on Mental Health in the Sports Hall at 8 p.m. Speakers will be Gareth O'Callaghan of R.T.E. and Psychologist Tony Bates.
• This will be followed on Thursday 17th February by a Panel Discussion on Mental Health, also in the Sports Hall at 8 p.m.

Student Council

On November 11th, the day on which the Liam McCarthy Cup was brought to the school, the Student Council ran a Staff Student Basketball match and presented Sr. Consiglio with €150 from the proceeds for Trocaire.

School Uniform

• School shoes: From September, for the purpose of health and safety, the uniform requirement for footwear will be flat black shoes.
• P.E, uniform: For health and safety reasons it is essential that students tie shoe laces correctly when playing sport. The trend of wearing extra long tracksuits exposes students to injury and we would ask parents to check the safety of their daughters' Sports gear.
• New Loreto tracksuits are available from Brian Toomey's Sports Shop, Fermoy.

Christmas Term 2004

• The new Sports Hall which was officially opened on 11th September is providing a vital amenity for P.E. classes. Outside of school hours it is in being used on a regular basis by local clubs and organisations.
• Over the Summer holidays, Sister Louvenagh designed and planted an interior garden in the new extension and for Christmas created a winter tableau in this area. Besides the Crib and Christmas tree in the main Entrance Area of the school, there was a magnificent and colourful illuminated Crib and Christmas Tree designed and decorated by Mrs. Kathleen Barry and Sister Ide in the Sacred Space. In November in the Sacred Space the tableau used images of harvest combined with Celtic spiral imagery to express the theme of the cyclical nature of life and its continuity in death.
• The new C.D., He Came In Love, which was launched on 20th December by Sean Og O hAilpin, is on sale from the school office and costs €15. For €20 a copy of the Choir's first C.D. is included. The new C.D. comprises 12 tracks, including Saviour's Day which the Choir sang on the Late Late Toy Show. Profits from the sale of C.D.s are being contributed to the Tsunami Disaster Fund. It is hoped that by adding the proceeds of a Singathon, being organized in the school by Sr. Nuala and the Student Council, we will be able to sponsor a replacement fishing boat for Sri Lankan fishermen.
• Special congratulations to Louise Kavanagh (3rd Year) whose painting is featured for November on this year's Texaco calendar.
• Congratulations to three of the Junior Certificate pupils of 2004 whose excellent Maths results earned them an invitation to participate in a Mathematics Enrichment Programme in U.C.C. They are Louise Curley, Avril Hallihan and Denise Leahy.
• Winners of the First Year Christmas Creative Writing Competition were: Sinead Egan, Roisin Ryan, Gabrielle O'Donoghue, Eva Moynihan, Tina Roche, Eadaoin Glavin, Laura Kennedy, Molly O'Sullivan and Sarah Tobin.
• The T.Y. Public Speaking Team of Michelle Barry, Christina McDonagh and Laura Fraser reached the Semi-Final of the Cork Mental Health Public Speaking Competition and individual speaker Aine Cotter (5th Year) has qualified for the next round of the U.C.C. Philosoph Public Speaking Competition.
• Mr. Holland's Leaving Certificate Religion Class organized a Sleep In in the school on the night of Friday 17th December in aid of Marymount Hospice. Almost €2,000 was collected in sponsorship and through a collection in the school. Sister Nan O'Mahony, a Loreto Sister and past pupil of Loreto Fermoy, who is a Chaplain at Marymount, spoke to the students at the beginning of the evening about the work of the hospice.
• Sister Consiglio once again thanked pupils for their fundraising work for Trocaire in the run up to Christmas.
• Eight Leaving Certificate students were commissioned as Eucharistic Ministers at the School Mass in October.
• 6th and 3rd Year students had their retreats last term and retreats for 1st, 2nd and 5th Years will take place during this second half of the school year.
• A week of Prayer with the Loreto Prayer Team will be offered to T.Y. students beginning on Monday 24th January.
• Fifth Year pupils will be offered the possibility of doing the Faith Friends Programme beginning this term.
• The second annual week of Guided Prayer for the current school year for adults will begin on Sunday 20th February. The third week has been provisionally booked for Sunday 27th February. A few places are available for both weeks and interested parents are invited to apply.
• The Senior Camogie Team is through to the League Final which will be played in February.
• Training for all five Football Teams continues this term.
• In December the new hall hosted tournaments for all 1st and 2nd Year students. The 1st Year students put their new Hockey skills to the test. All students took part and four divisions were played. After much effort by all teams St. David's were clear winners and Aisling McGrath was the highest scorer. The Second Year students took part in a Basketball tournament. Alana Power, who plays on our Junior Basketball team won the best shot competition. The Basketball tournament was won by St. Catherine's.
• The theme of the 2004-05 Credit Union Poster Competition was "Achieving Your Dreams". Loreto Prize Winners were: Age 11-13: 1st Laura Kennedy 1st Year; 2nd Emily Sheehan 2nd Year. Age 14-17: 1st Megan English 2nd Year; 2nd Alison Forde 2nd Year; 3rd Frieda Gubbins 2nd Year.
• Winners at the Readoiri Munster Semi-Final were: Senior Recitation Elaine Keane; Junior Recitation Caitriona Howard; Group Singers Ellen Butler, Laura Kearney, Sarah Joyce, Aine O'Brien, Aoife Shinnick, Clodagh Toomey. They will all compete in the Munster Finals in Kanturk on 23rd January.