New VEC Committee February 2010

Seated (L – R) Cllr. Declan Breathnach, Ms. Audrey Dorian, Cllr. Oliver Tully (Chairperson), Dr. Pádraig Kirk (C.E.O.), Cllr. Marianne Butler, Mr. Benny Devlin.
Standing (L – R) Cllr. Anthony Donohoe, Ms. Aishling Bracebridge, Cllr. Terry Brennan, Mr. Bernard Murnaghan, Cllr. Tomás Sharkey, Ms. Úna Kirk, Mr. Ciarán O’Donnell, Cllr. Jim D’Arcy, Cllr. Liam Reilly, Cllr. Seán Bellew, Cllr. Martin Bellew, Cllr. Jim Ryan, Mr. Aidan Faughey, Ms. Audrey O’Dowd

Peace III Update

Louth VEC PEACE III Project has received confirmation from the Louth Peace and Reconciliation Partnership to roll out its proposed training plan for 2010.

The training plan outlines how the project intends to provide capacity building training, language skills and facilitation to members of the Polish, African, Lithuanian, Travellers and Muslim communities in Louth and the Newry and Mourne area.

Additionally, the project intends to work with Louth VEC schools to implement a whole school approach to address issues of sectarianism and racism. The Project initially intends to pilot this work in St.Oliver’s Community College Drogheda. The whole school approach includes elements for parents, teachers, pupils and the school environment. The Louth VEC PEACE III Project then hopes that this pilot will be rolled out to other Louth VEC schools for the period 2010/2011.

New Boards of Management

At it's February meeting Co. Louth VEC elected new boards of management for all of its schools and centres including O’Fiaich College in Dundalk, Bush Post-primary School in Riverstown, St. Oliver’s Community College in Drogheda, Drogheda Institute of Further Education and Scoil Uí Mhuirí in Dunleer. New boards were also elected for Drogheda and Dundalk Youthreach centres and for Tara Education Centre. Each new board comprises of members of the VEC, staff and parent representatives and local community/industry representatives. The term of office for the eight new boards runs until the end of September 2012.

The following people were elected to the board of management of O’Fiaich College – Bernard Devlin, Cllr. Terry Brennan, Cllr. Jim Ryan, Gary Gilligan, Phil O’Connor, Teresa Lawlor, Ann Duffy, Declan Ward, Eamon Kinch and Nuala Donnelly.

The new board of Bush Post-primary School comprises of Bernard Murnaghan, Úna Kirk, Cllr. Jim Ryan, Cllr. Terry Brennan, Joe Corcoran, Sineád McDonnell, Brendan Thompson, Patricia McCann, Liam Woods, Rev. Fr. McParland and Aindreas O’Donnell.

The following people were elected to the board of Scoil Uí Mhuirí in Dunleer – Bernard Devlin, Cllr. Tomás Sharkey, Cllr. Liam Reilly, Cllr. Oliver Tully, Therese Clinton, Alan Hurley, Eranda Langeveldt, John Hand, Thomas Clare and Richard McGeough.

The following people were elected to the board of St. Oliver’s Community College – Audrey O’Dowd, Cllr. Declan Breathnach, Cllr. Anthony Donohoe, John Healy, Christine Kiernan, Trina Cunningham, Martina Hansberry, Michael McCormick and Teresa Healy.

The new board of Drogheda Institute of Further Education comprises the following people – Cllr. Gerald Nash, Cllr. Martin Bellew, Cllr. Oliver Tully, Cllr. Liam Reilly, Martin Spain, Joanne Nolan, Jill Birch, Ann Cleary, Edward McGovern, Vincent Black and Jimmy Mulroy.

The following people were elected to the board of Drogheda Youthreach – Cllr. Declan Breathnach, Ciarán O’Donnell, Clare Shanks, Mary Byrne, Janice Ryan, Caroline O’Neill, Hugh Doogan, Marion Horan and Patrick Kelly.

The new board of Dundalk Youthreach comprises Cllr. Marianne Butler, Cllr. Liam Reilly, Bernard Murnaghan, Cllr. Terry Brennan, Kieran Clarke, Marian Murphy, John Brady, Niall Weldon, Harry Traynor, Maria Kiernan and Colin Ryan.

The new board of Tara Education Centre comprises Audrey Dorian, Cllr. Martin Bellew, Cllr Tomás Sharkey, Úna Kirk, Yvonne Wynne, Margaret Ward, Catherine Vaughan, Seán Roche, Peter Nolan, Bill Tosh, Bernard Murnaghan, Susan Keogh and Eileen Lynch.

Speaking at the VEC meeting Dr. Pádraig Kirk, CEO of Co. Louth VEC paid tribute to each of the outgoing boards of management and thanked them, on behalf of all the staff and students of the VEC, for their excellent stewardship during their term of office. Dr. Kirk also welcomed the eight new boards into the VEC and wished them well in their managerial role. “The level of voluntary commitment freely given by board of management members needs to be recognised” he said, “a certain responsibility comes with the role and each and every board member is congratulated for lending their expertise and for playing their part in their community”.

The VEC have provided training for all of its board of management members. Under the terms of the Education Act (1998) it is a statutory obligation for all schools to have boards of management in place.

Irish Sub-committee

At its most recent meeting Co. Louth VEC appointed a sub-committee to assess the demand in the county for all Irish education provision at post-primary level, and to determine how best this demand might be serviced. The sub-committee will present its findings and recommendations to a meeting of the full VEC later this year. It is expected that the committee will then take appropriate steps to progress the matter.

Speaking at the meeting the CEO of Co. Louth VEC, Dr. Pádraig Kirk said that “the government’s 20 year strategy for the Irish language recommends that Gaelscoileanna will continue to be supported at primary level and all-Irish provision at post-primary level will be developed to meet follow-on demand”. Dr. Kirk went on to say that “currently in Co. Louth there is significant provision of Gaelscoileanna at primary level, but this is not matched by follow on provision at post-primary level”.

Currently, there are two all Irish schools at primary level in the county catering for some 400 pupils between them. There is also an all Irish primary school close to Drogheda catering for well over 100 pupils. In addition, an application has been lodged with the Department of Education and Science for the establishment of a Gaelscoil in Dunleer.

The VECs sub-committee comprises of Cllr. Tomás Sharkey and Cllr. Liam Reilly, both of whom are second-level teachers by profession. Each of the VECs second-level schools throughout the county are also represented on the sub-committee and include Catherine Page from Bush Post-primary School, Michael Woods from O’Fiaich College, Trudy Rossiter from St. Oliver’s Community College in Drogheda and Fiona Ní Chonaill from Scoil Uí Mhuirí in Dunleer. A number of external personnel with expertise in the development of the Irish language have also been appointed to the committee including Eamon Kinch, a former member of Co. Louth VEC, who has been elected Chair of the committee.

The committee has met twice already on 9th March and 12th April and are meeting again on the 10th May. It is expected that they will consult widely with relevant interest groups and bodies.

Intercultural Celebration

Co Louth VEC in conjunction with Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) organised their first Intercultural Celebration which was held on Tuesday 16th March 2010 and was open to the general public. The event which was entitled ‘All of Us’ took place on the DkIT campus and was officially launched by the President of the Institute, Mr. Denis Cummins, and the Chairman of the VEC, Cllr. Oliver Tully.

After the opening address the Anderson School of Dance from Portadown kicked off with a lively display of Irish Dancing and this was followed by an eclectic mix of musical talent drawn from a variety of cultures. The concert entitled ‘Ceiliuradh Sinn Le Chéile’ which was attended by several schools and was enjoyed by all.

The event was spread over a wide area of the campus and included colourful exhibitions of arts and crafts from an array of cultures such as African, Nigerian, Chinese and the Travelling Community. VEC students from Tara Education Centre, VTOS, Youthreach Drogheda and Louth Comhhairle Na nOg took an active part in the day by showcasing their crafts and information at a number of stands in the main exhibition hall.

There was something for everyone, with a food fair organised by International students, creative workshops on ‘World Cultures’ for pre-school children and ‘World Dance Performances’ by students from diverse cultures. The dance performances included Irish dancing, Chinese, Scottish, HipHop and Zumba.

The Living History exhibition which featured a working Tinsmith and a Traveller Wagon was very popular and afforded a unique opportunity for visitors to gain an insight into Traveller culture.

This combined venture between Co. Louth VEC and DkIT was deemed to be very successful in its first year and well worth building on in the future. This event further strengthens the link between these two educational institutions.

In Service Training for Youthreach Staff

Youthreach staff from both Dundalk and Drogheda centres came together on 22March to participate in a Continuing Professional Development programme.

Co Louth VEC, in partnership with the Second Level Support Service have worked with Youthreach Coordinators to both plan and deliver the first in what is hoped to be a series of in-service training inputs for all Teaching personnel employed in the two centres.
The theme for the first training day was ‘Supporting quality teaching and learning in schools/Centres'. The programme facilitator was Fiona Kindlon of the SLSS. The emphasis on the day was placed on exploration of Practical approaches to enhancing student motivation and achievement in the classroom. The facilitator engaged all Teachers in active participation throughout the day. On initial evaluation, feedback on the day was entirely positive and appreciative of the service being made available to Youthreach staffs and indeed the resounding response was for more of the same! It is expected the next CPD day will be held on the 22 April. Both groups of Teachers found considerable benefit from participating in joint training and thus this will be the format for day two of this training.

Local Youth Club Grant Scheme

The Local Youth Club Grant Scheme (LYCGS) supports voluntary youth club activities at local level. The Scheme, which provides grants towards the costs of running clubs, is part-funded by the proceeds of the National Lottery and is supported by the National Development Plan. Funding for the Scheme is provided by the Youth Affairs Unit (YAU), Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (OMCYA) and administered locally by Vocational Education Committees (VECs) on the Office’s behalf. VECs advertise the Scheme locally on an annual basis outlining the purpose of the grant and the eligibility criteria.The Scheme supports voluntary youth club activities for young people; with priority being given to young people between the ages of 10 and 21. The primary focus of this Scheme is to assist local voluntary youth clubs who offer a youth work response to young people. However, other clubs/groups that work with young people who are not specifically youth work are also entitled to apply for funding under this Scheme.

In 2009 Louth VEC have been allocated €34,365 by way of grant-in-aid calculated having regard to the cohort of young people between the ages of 10 and 24 in Co. Louth VEC area as per the 2006 Census figures. Successful applications for the LYCGS will be announced by Co. Louth VEC shortly.

O'Fiaich College Win Bob Eustace Cup

Congratulations to O'Fiaich College soccer team who have secured the Bob Eustace Cup on their first attempt in a cup final held in Cork Institute of Technology on the 10th March last.

O'Fiaich left no stone unturned in their quest for victory, setting off early for Cork IT to facilitate a pre-match training session.

The match kicked off at 1.30pm on a bright,dry, cool day, perfect conditions for football. From the start the pace of the game was relentless with both teams giving it their all. However double strikes from Tom McShane and Paul Adeniyi plus a Gary Clarke header saw O'Fiaich take their first ever Colleges FAI trophy in an astounding 5-0 victory over Inchicore College.

The team celebrated their win at the Colleges Football Association presentation dinner that night hosted by Cork Institute of Technology.