Easter

 

We would like to wish all our Leaving Certificate students the very best of luck as they sit their Irish, French and German oral as well as their Music practical exams over the next two weeks. We know how hard the teachers and students have worked in preparation for these important assessments. Go n-éirí libh go léir!

Congratulations to transition year enterprise teams Greamáin (Aisling Patterson/ Róisín Smyth/ Holly O’Neill/ Emma Kate Ryan), Keyify (Kate Beggs/ Sinead Rodgers) and An Siopa Seodra (Leah Brady/ Holly Brady/ Josica Vintem/ Erinn Lonergan) who will represent Loreto Balbriggan at the NFTE Enterprise national semi-finals. All three teams were successful at a regional level and will now have the opportunity to pitch their enterprises to a panel of ‘Dragon’s Den’ style judges at the national semi-finals in late April.

 

 

We received great news on Friday from the girls who entered their BT Young Scientist projects into the John Hooper Statistics Competition!

Alana O’ Connor and Jessica Chen were awarded 2nd prize for their project “How Does Relative Pitch Affect a Person’s Ability to Reproduce or Pronounce Languages?”.

 

Jess Joy and Niamh McManus were awarded 3rd prize for their project “Could Vertical Farming be Used as a More Efficient Method than Conventional Arable Farming in Ireland?”.

 

 

An Order of Merit was awarded to Adriana Ciot, Lily Anderson and Preethigaa Kumaresan for their project entitled “Would Displaying Information Through a Virtual Interactive Story Affect How People Perceive Information Relating to Immunisation? and to Isabella Watts and Hiba Shahzad for their project entitled “The Effects of ASMR on Stress Levels and Loneliness in Teenage Girls“.

Congratulations to all senior prefects who received their senior prefect medals on Friday.

 

The school will close for the Easter holidays from Friday, March 26th at 4 pm and reopen for all students on Monday, April 12 at 9.10 am. Please note that all students must complete a return to school form prior to returning. The form will be emailed to all parents/guardians on Friday 9th April to be completed by parents/guardians should the student be under 18 years of age. Please be advised also that all remote teaching will terminate on Monday, April 12th as the school will reopen, unless public health advice states otherwise. We look forward to welcoming everyone back on campus for the Summer term.

 

We are now preparing for an important time in the liturgical calendar, Easter. We are approaching Holy Week which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday. Easter is a time for reflection and is a sign of hope. This period can be looked upon as a breathing space when we reflect on our lives and on our world.

An Easter Poem by Joyce Rupp

Sturdy, deep green tulip shoots.

How did they know
it was time to push up through the long-wintered soil?

How did they know
it was the moment to resurrect,
while thick layers of stubborn ice
still pressed the bleak ground flat

But the tulips knew.                                                                                   

They came, rising strongly,
a day after the ice died.

There’s a hope-filled place in me
that also knows when to rise,
that waits for the last layer of ice
to melt into obscurity.

It is urged by the strong sun
warming my wintered heart.
It is nudged by the Secret One,
calling, calling, calling:
“Arise, my love, and come.”

My heart stirs like dormant tulips
and hope comes dancing forth.

Not unlike the Holy One
kissing the morning sun,
waving a final farewell
to a tomb emptied of its treasure.

Wishing you all a very peaceful Easter.