Our School Partners
A close network of partners is at the core of the Our Lady’s School community. The Board of Management, Parents’ Council, Student Council, Past Pupils’ Union and the Religious of Christian Education represented by our trust, Le Chéile, work tirelessly together to ensure the educational journey our students experience is second to none. Within this community partnership, each group plays a specific role to enhance the learning and teaching experiences in our school.
School Partners
The Religious of Christian Education
The Sisters of the Religious of Christian Education opened Our Lady's School in 1953 and have been tireless in their commitment to educating the young women in the school's care over the years. The Sisters act as Anam Caras (spiritual/soul friends) to different year groups and regularly join the school community for whole-school celebrations. They are valued partners in our school's past and present story.
BOARD OF MANAGEMENT
In their mission statement, the Board of Management outlines its role in the school community: ‘We, the members of the Board of Management, will exercise our responsibility of managing all the resources of Our Lady’s School so that we can play the significant role expected of us in moving the school towards the vision given by the Trustees and outlined in the Mission Statement. We will continue to support the process of engaging all the partners in the ongoing development of the school.’
Members of the Board of Management 2020-2021:
- Mr Kevin O’Brien
- Mr Paul O’Neill
- Ms Helen Kelly
- Mr Mark Caslin
- Ms Siobhán Gavin
- Ms Freda Kinsella
- Mr Kevin Prendergast
- Ms Nicola Rautenbach
- Ms Marguerite Gorby/ secretary to the BOM
PARENTS’ COUNCIL
Parent Representatives 2020-21:
1st Year
- Fiona O'Reilly
- Maeve Carroll
- Antonia Quinn
- Liz Sheils
- Bridget O Connor
- Tara Brereton
- Bevin Humphries
- Emma Smylie
2nd Year
- Louise Mooney
- Jacqui Ferry
3rd Year
- Gráinne Ferguson
- Claire Ryder – Treasurer
4th Year
- Áibhín Dunne – Chairperson
- Simon Suttle
- Denise Lloyd
- Karina Curley
5th Year
- Alison Healy
- Sharon Lett – Secretary
- Catherine Spencer
6th Year
- Mary Sinnott
- Orla Goode
- Cathy Elliot
The Parents’ Council can be contacted by emailing parentscouncil@olschool.ie
STUDENT COUNCIL
A Student Council is a representative structure through which students in a post-primary school can become involved in the affairs of the school, working in partnership with school management and staff and parents for the benefit of the school and its students (Department of Education & Science, 2002).
The Student Council in Our Lady’s School was established in 2014. It plays a central role in school life & aims to empower students by giving them a voice. Over the past number of years the Student Council has been making improvements in the following areas: School rules and policies, Canteen, Footpaths, Lunch rooms, Lockers, Bathrooms and Environmental issues such as Litter & Recycling. They also create awareness among the student population about important matters related to wellbeing, voting rights and health and safety concerns in the school building. They deal with all other matters arising that affect students.
The Council aims to:
- work closely with school management, teachers and parents,
- consult regularly with students in the school, and
- involve as many students as possible in the activities of the Council.
Forming the Council
Throughout September a presentation is made to each year group about the Student Council by the Student Council Liaison teacher and members of the outgoing Council. The presentation includes the importance of the Council, benefits of getting involved, how it operates, nomination & election procedures.
Nomination Day takes place in early October where every class nominate 2 students from their class group to go forward for Election. Students can also put themselves forward.
The Student Council Election is held mid-October where all candidates going forward give a 1 minute speech to their year outlining the reasons why they want to join the Council. When all the speeches have concluded the voting commences. The students in each year with the top votes will be representatives for the year.
The following are the representatives for 2020-21
- 1st Year: Kate Lucy, Elizabeth McElroy, Emily Hanratty, Sadhbh Ní Shuilleabháin, Hannah Galvin
- 2nd Year: Shauna Hayden, Sadhbh Gormley, Ruth McDonnell, Lola Atkins, Charlie Murphy
- 3rd Year: Rachel Byrne, Alex Reilly, Ella McCabe
- 4th Year: Mary Byrne, Dandara Mantovani, Laura Fleming, Eimear Joyce
- 5th Year: Katie Lett, Katherine Hesse, Orla O'Toole
- 6th Year: Nikki Goode, Romy Fanning, Rachel Clarke, Mariam Tajuddin
Past Pupils
Past pupils play a valued role in our school community. We look forward to our past pupils returning to the school to share their life experience and lessons with our current students. This year we welcomed past pupils who graduated from OLS in 1993, 1998 and 2008 to an Open School Event. There was great fun, chats and memories shared as the girls caught up and had a chance to wander the corridors reminiscing about their own school days! The 6th Year Council brought the past pupils on tours of the school, representing contemporary OLS superbly.
LE CHÉILE
The Le Chéile Schools’ Trust was originally set up by twelve religious congregations. It carries out the legal and inspirational role of trusteeship that has, up to now, been done by individual congregations. Our Lady’s School came under the trusteeship of Le Chéile in September 2009. This is a significant development in Irish education as the Catholic Church and the individual religious congregations renew and reformulate their commitment to Irish education.
The main object of Le Chéile Trust is the development of a vision of Catholic education and overseeing its implementation in the schools, encouraging preservation of key aspects of the evangelical heritage of their founding congregation and to facilitate the opening of new schools if and where the need arises and resources permit.
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