CEO Welcome

Welcome to our first CLVEC e-newsletter, It has been my pleasure to return again to Co. Louth VEC earlier this year as CEO having left the scheme twice before, first as a Leaving Certificate student in 1987, and again as a Metalwork teacher in O’Fiaich College in 2000. There’s just something about the scheme that keeps taking me back!

During my tenure as CEO it will be my personal goal to do my best for our students, staff, parents and friends – I would hope to build on the good work done by my predecessors and to ensure that Co. Louth VEC remains the leading education provider for all the people of Co. Louth in the years ahead.

This e-newsletter has been developed as a way of enhancing communication of CLVEC news and events to staff initially, and as it develops, to parents, students, relevant agencies and all other interested parties. Each e-newsletter will contain information on a sample of topics of interest, but it will be impossible to include everything as there is always so much happening!

Feedback on the e-newsletter is always welcome so please feel free to contact the e-newsletter section should you have any comments, or should you wish to have an article included in our next edition – Rosaleen Hough, e-newsletter co-ordinator (droghedaoffice@louthvec.ie) In the meantime, happy reading!
Dr. Pádraig Kirk CEO

Education Plan 2011-2015

Under the provisions of the Vocational Education Amendment Act (2001) Co. Louth VEC is currently developing a 5 year Education Plan for the period 2011-2015. In October 2009 a Steering Committee and Planning Team were established to further this work. All strands of the service, including staff, students, parents, and boards of management as well as other key individuals and organisations will be consulted for the purpose of identifying key issues. The consultation process is expected to yield a large volume of feedback which will be distilled by the Planning Team in order to identify the strategic aims, objectives and actions to be implemented by Louth VEC in the coming years. It is anticipated that the Education Plan will be complete by February 2010. Please see below for times, dates and locations of consultation meetings being held over the next few weeks.

Details of Consultation Meetings

1st Dec 09: 1.30 - 3.30pm, Staff of Bush Post Primary School, Location - Bush Post Primary School.

2nd Dec 09: 7.30 - 8.30pm, Representatives of Parents' Committees and Boards of Management. Location - Scoil Uí Mhuirí, Dunleer.

3rd Dec 09: 9.00 - 11.00am, Staff of St. Oliver's Community College. Location - St. Oliver's Community College, Drogheda

8th Dec 09: 2.00 - 4.00pm, Staff of Youthreach, VTOS, STTC, laegis and Youth Officer. Location - VTOS Centre, Dundalk.

9th Dec 09: 4.00 - 6.00pm, Staff of Adult Self Financing Night Classes, Community Education, BTEI, and Adult Learning Service (Literacy). Location, Scoil Uí Mhuirí, Dunleer.

10th Dec 09: 7.30pm, VEC Committee. Location, Board Room, VEC Offices.

17th Dec 09: 1.30 - 3.30pm, Staff of Scoil Uí Mhuirí, Location - Scoil Uí Mhuirí, Dunleer.

17th Dec 09: 1.30 - 3.30pm, Staff of O'Fiaich College. Location - O'Fiaich, Dundalk.

18th Dec 09: 10.00 - 12.00pm, Staff of DIFE. Location - DIFE, Drogheda.

5th Jan 2010: 2.00 - 4.00pm, VEC Administrative Staff. Location - O'Fiaich, Dundalk

Free Classes for VEC Staff

As part of its on-going commitment to In-Service training for its employees Co. Louth VEC has agreed to waive the payment of course fees for all staff who attend courses operating under the auspices of its Adult Education Programme. Some restictions apply. Evening courses are run in O' Fiaich Institute (OFI) in Dundalk, and Drogheda Institute of Further Education (DIFE). Classes will be starting again in Springtime and details of these courses may be found on the following websites:
http://www.ofi.ie/
www.dife.info
For further information please contact OFI at 042 9353967 or DIFE at 041 9837105.

Louth VEC Schools Receive High Speed Broadband

Co. Louth VEC recently received the tremendous news that two of its schools have been chosen to take part in a new government schools project that aims to bring high-speed broadband connectivity to students and teachers across the country. O’Fiaich College, Dundalk and St Oliver’s Community College, Drogheda have both been included in the first tranche of second level schools nationally to take part in the project. The communications Minister, Eamon Ryan, TD, named the schools at the launch of the initiative in the Digital Hub Learning Studio in Dublin recently.

The delivery of this high-speed broadband will greatly improve the potential of information and communications technology (ICT) in both teaching and learning. Pádraig McGovern, Principal of O’Fiaich College said that “this development will open up a world of opportunity for students and deliver cutting edge multimedia applications into classrooms; it will facilitate more diverse teaching methodologies for teachers and make learning more enjoyable for students”.

O’Fiaich College caters for some 815 mainstream and post-Leaving Certificate students and is already recognised as a leading edge school when it comes to ICT in education. Currently, the school has a student-to-computer ratio of 1.8:1 with the national average for second-level schools standing at 7:1. High-speed wireless broadband will mean that students and teachers will be able to upload and download material from the internet much faster, access high-volume digital educational content and connect instantly to websites from all over the world.

St. Oliver’s Community College currently caters for over 1,000 students and is well advanced in the integration of ICT into teaching and learning. The school is equipped with a state of the art computer suite with plans afoot to develop a second suite, the school’s specialist subjects have access to specialised ICT equipment while many general classrooms are fitted out with ICT hardware and internet access. High-speed wireless broadband will mean that students and teachers will be able to upload and download material from the internet much faster, access high-volume digital educational content and connect instantly to websites from all over the world.

O'Fiaich College is currently provided with a 10mbps broadband connection and St. Olivers with a 2mpbs connection. At 100mpbs, the new broadband connection will be similar to that offered to high-end national and multinational companies operating in Ireland. It is expected that the new connections will be in operation in time for the 2009/2010 school year.

The introduction of this high speed wireless broadband programme offers huge potential for learning and pushes the education boundaries far beyond the classroom. It will enhance the educational experience across the wide range of subjects taught in Co. Louth VEC schools.

Five Classroom Extension for DIFE

Drogheda Institute of Further Education (DIFE) has had the good news that they have received €500,000 for a new five classroom extension.

Principal, Davy McDonnell, spoke of his delight in receiving this grant, "We put in place planning for a new five classroom extension for the college and thankfully we received planing permission from Drogheda Borough Council. We were delighted then to receive the great news that we were to receive €500,000 funding from the Department of Education for the extension." Principal McDonnell added that in the light of the financial restraints being suffered by the country he is all the more delighted with the funding. He expressed his hope that this extension will go a long way to having a self contained campus in DIFE in which all student activity will be on one campus. "We hope that the extension will be in place in 2010. The architects who did the work on the college have been working on designs and it will blend in with the rest of the college."

He lauded the work done on getting the funding by Louth VEC Education Officer and one time principal of DIFE Eugene Winters. Principal McDonnell also praised the dedicated staff and teachers of the college for their hard work and dedication. "We are all delighted with the funding and will continue to provide the best service at the college. It is great news also for the staff who were 100 percent behind the whole process".

€1.1m Funding for CLVEC Schools

Co. Louth VEC schools have recently benefited to the tune of over €1.1 million in the recent allocation of funding under the Department of Education and Science Summer Works Scheme for 2009. Dr. Pádraig Kirk, CEO of Co. Louth VEC has welcomed the re-introduction of the scheme saying that it has made significant contributions to improving the working and learning environment for both staff and students in the committee’s schools over the last number of years. “This year will see the continued development and upgrading of the accommodation of Scoil Uí Mhuirí, Dunleer, O’Fiaich College, Dundalk, Bush Post Primary School Riverstown, St. Oliver’s Community College and Drogheda Institute of Further Education, providing all those who use these buildings with an enhanced learning environment when they return in September”. The work will also provide valuable employment for the building sector.

The summer works scheme provides schools with the autonomy to determine what aspects of school buildings need attention, and allows them to apply for associated funding. The renovation work is mostly carried out during the summer months, hence ensuring minimum disruption to staff and students. In recent years, VEC premises in Co. Louth have received funding to carry a wide variety of works including roof repairs, the increase and resurfacing of car parking facilities, replacement of internal and external doors and fencing, toilet refurbishment, electrical refurbishment, school insulation and the installation of a lift and CCTV technology.

This year Drogheda Institute of Further Education has been allocated funding under the scheme for the automation of doors to allow for enhanced disabled learner access. Funding has also been received for the installation of a lift in the Continuing Education Centre at King St., which will also ensure that this well known landmark in the town is accessible to all. The Centre is a hive of activity and is used as an extension of the DIFE campus at The Twenties. The Continuing Education Centre also accommodates the Youthreach, the Vocational Training and Opportunities Scheme (VTOS) and the Back to Education Initiative (BTEI) programmes, as well as an Adult Learning Service and the Louth Adult Education Guidance and Information Service.

O’Fiaich College in Dundalk has been awarded funding for the upgrading of electrical works, complete replacement of internal glazing and the replacement of internal and external doors. The grant will further enhance the school building which in the past three years, has worked closely with Sustainable Energy Ireland and the Department of Education and Science to carry out a complete facelift of the building. This resulted in a “greener” building, and a substantial saving in energy costs.

St. Oliver’s Community College has been allocated a grant for the upgrade, including disabled access, of male and female toilet facilities in the College. The College, which has an enrolment of over 1,000 students, has long been at the heart of the community south of the river Boyne.

Scoil Uí Mhuirí has also been awarded funding for the electrical upgrade of the existing prefabricated classrooms. Scoil Uí Mhuirí recently opened a new 10 classroom extension with 6 specialist rooms, a Library and a PE Hall, but continued growth has meant that extra accommodation is required. Roof replacement works will also be carried out at Bush Post Primary School as a result of the Summer Works Scheme. The school facilities on the peninsular are now the envy of many a school in the country. The new state of the art PE hall and athletics track, opened in 2008 are used also by the local community and it is hoped that prior to the London 2012 Olympics, the school will be used as a training facility for world class Olympic Athletes.