Our TY students travelled to Cork City on Friday, January 26th. Their first destination was the Nano Nagle Place on Douglas Street. The heritage buildings of South Presentation have been regenerated in recent years. They now house educational charities. The chapel has been turned into a heritage centre that engagingly tells the story of Nano Nagle and the city in which she worked to educate and care for the poor. Our TY students explored the incredible spread of the Presentation Order, the changing lives of the Sisters who have dedicated their lives to that order and the remarkable work they still carry out as educationalists and campaigners for social justice. They participated in numerous workshops and they visited the tomb of Nano Nagle. Following the wonderful celebrations of the bicentenary of the Presentation Sisters in Thurles last year, it was appropriate that our TY students had the opportunity to visit the place where it all began for its foundress, Nano Nagle.

iWish STEM Event: The second part of the TY trip included a visit to Cork City Hall, where this year’s iWish conference was taking place. The conference was given by leading successful women in STEM, who promoted, inspired and encouraged the girls to pursue careers in the science and engineering fields. The inspirational speakers included Dr. Pixie McKenna and Caroline O’Driscoll (Partner at KPMG and co-founder of iWish). Our students watched an inspirational video presented by Science Foundation Ireland. And then had an opportunity to visit exhibitors’ stalls, which included a popular virtual reality experience for some of our girls! The objectives of this iWish conference included the following: to encourage participation of young women in STEM; to build a sustainable talent pipeline in Ireland; to influence subject choices in transition year; to improve STEM branding among young women; to provide role models for young women interested in STEM; and to inspire girls to pursue careers in these essential fields.

Work Experience: This week our TY and LCA students are participating in “work experience” in their communities. They are getting first-hand experience in the fields of veterinary medicine, IT, office work, hairdressing, law, medical related courses and many other professions. This work experience proves invaluable to the students in making career choices. We would like to thank local business’ for affording them the opportunity to experience the world of work.

Catholic Schools Week: Last week was Catholic schools week. During this week Catholic schools were called to reflect on and to celebrate the relationship that exists between home, school and parish. The theme for this year’s programme is Catholic Schools: Called to be a family of families. Many events were held to highlight the importance of family and students participated in prayer services and workshops. Thanks to the Religion Department for their guidance and help in organising these events.