THE SOCIAL MEDIA colossus Facebook, has decided to work directly with Irish schools in order to help combat cyberbullying. The deall was made at a meeting between senior Facebook executives and our officials of the Department of Education. There had been increasing media pressure after a number of worrying incidents involving either students or teachers being targeted on social media sites. The National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD) now wants Facebook to set up a hotline that will deal directly with requests from schools so that in future ant inappropriate and/or abusive posts can be removed as quickly as possible.
CAO WORRIES. Choosing what to put on your CAO form is always more difficult than you first thought. So if you are still worried about what you wrote or you’ve suddenly decided you need to change direction, don’t worry. There is an Open Evening and CAO Change of Mind Workshop in ITT Tallaght Dublin on the18th of June. For times and more details please ring ahead to Tara Flanagan the Schools Liason Officer on (01)4042000.
ENROLMENT. For those looking into further education in Dublin city. The Ballsbridge College of Further Education (Shelbourne Road, Dublin 4) has a one day enrolment event starting at 10am to 12 noon on the 20th of June. For further details please contact Deputy Principal Ruth O Doherty on (01)6684806.
THE CELTS. No not Celtic FC. We’re talking about Irish folklore. Ever wanted to investigate your own heritage and history? Well from 18.30 – 20.00 on June 20th in Harold’s Cross at Our Lady’s Hospice and Care Services you can enjoy a seminar entitled; Reclaiming Celtic Spiritual Wisdom for Our Times. Here you will listen to the unique wisdom that is often revealed in Celtic story and myth and also how Celtic Spirituality offers a perspective that can help us explore some of the urgent life issues of our age. Contact (01)4068806 for details.
DOCTORS. Over the last five years Ireland has lost many of its most promising graduates. Over 460 young doctors and nurses graduating from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) and UCD will be scouring the country for their internship year. However, many could then leave to pursue their careers overseas. “I wouldn’t like to, but if I have to then it’s definitely a possibility,” said one young woman from Clonmel, Co Tipperary, as she graduated from RCSI with 225 of her classmates. It is a statement echoed by many these days. She goes on to say; “If I can’t earn enough money to keep me going or if there are not enough job opportunities,then of course, yes I would have to go.”
ERRORS. There were two significant errors discovered in the Leaving and Junior Cert exams given earlier in the week that have just come to light. The State Examinations Commission has now acknowledged these errors and said that no one should worry, these mistakes would be ‘taken into account when the papers were marked’. One of the errors, on the Leaving higher maths paper, included an extra figure being given thereby making two answers possible. The second error was on the Junior Cert civil, social and political education paper where the role of the Referendum Commission was described incorrectly.
The minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn T.D., officially opened two new classrooms at Scoil Naomh Pio, Beaupark, Navan, Co Meath on Friday the 14th. In what was a long overdue move, it was part of the 2012 prefab replacement scheme to replace two prefabs with permanent classrooms that saw Scoil Naomh Pio provided with a grant of over €290,000. The €35 million Prefab Replacement Scheme was first launched by Minister Quinn in March 2012. There will be further funding of €15 million announced earlier this week for the rest of the 2013/2014 calendar.