Lauren announced a Pramerica Top 20 Finalist for the 2020 Spirit of Community Awards
CO TYRONE YOUTH VOLUNTEER HONOURED FOR GIVING BACK TO HER COMMUNITY
Lauren Gaynor, from Co. Tyrone has been recognised as one of 20 exceptional young people from across Ireland, who have been chosen as some of the country’s most outstanding youth volunteers, working to make a positive impact on their local communities.
A Sixth-Year student at Loreto Grammar School, Lauren has been involved in volunteering from a young age and has organised and participated in fundraising activities regularly such as, bag packing, baking and serving at coffee mornings. She was chosen by her school to participate in an exchange programme and subsequently volunteered in a Washington Soup Kitchen. The Soup Kitchen was established to help feed and provide shelter for the homeless people in the city.
Lauren also had the opportunity to visit Cambodia on a four week expedition and took part in numerous projects such as designing concrete cylinders for the local drainage system, helping to build a damn which allows the locals to transport food over the river and planting banana trees for the poorest family in the local village. Lauren also donated some of her own money to buy the local people she was helping with food and livestock which was instrumental in creating an income for families.
Both trips were an eye opening and life changing experience for Lauren. Lauren used these events not only to fundraise but to raise awareness of the plight of those in need.
The top 20 local students were revealed as Pramerica announced its top 20 finalists for the 2020 Spirit of Community Awards, the only all-Ireland youth initiative of its kind that rewards post-primary students for their exemplary acts of volunteerism.
Passionate about a range of topics including homelessness, mental health, disabled rights, climate change, animal cruelty plus many more, the 20 finalists will gather for this year’s awards which will take place at Titanic, Belfast on Tuesday 31st March. Each finalist will receive an impressive €500 to donate to their preferred charity and are in the running to win a once in a lifetime trip across the globe to Washington, D.C.
The programme, which is run in partnership with the National Association of Principals & Deputy Principals (NAPD) and the General Teaching Council for Northern Ireland (GTCNI), is one of Ireland’s largest youth recognition programmes, this year’s awards received a remarkable 250 applications from across Ireland.
Naomi Hegarty, vice president, Risk Management, Pramerica Systems Ireland is overwhelmed with the selfless work being carried out by young people across Ireland.
“Year upon year I continue to be humbled by the incredible volunteer work carried out by young people in towns and villages across Ireland. The 20 finalists selected as part of this year’s awards programme are proudly taking a stand for what they believe in and actively empowering others to do the same. Our awards programme celebrates these passionate and dedicated young people and aims to give them the recognition and voice they truly deserve.
“At Pramerica we are committed to supporting youth volunteers and understand that even the smallest of contributions can make a big difference to those who are in need and vulnerable. In sacrificing their spare time to give back to their community, these young people are showing that they genuinely care, and we want to make sure that their selfless good deeds don’t go unnoticed. We cannot wait to welcome all of the chosen finalists to the awards ceremony in Titanic, Belfast on 31st March of this year.”
The 20 Pramerica Spirit of Community finalists are:
- Lidia Ballocchi, Sixth Year, Assumption Grammar School, Co. Down
- Sasha Barrett-Ferris, Sixth Year, Sullivan Upper School, Co. Down
- Gavin Bennett, Third Year, Ard Scoil Chiarain Naofa, Co. Offaly
- Jemma Campbell Sixth Year, Our Lady and St Patrick’s College, Co. Antrim
- Rebecca Colley, Sixth Year, Castleknock Community College, Co. Dublin
- Jessica Collins, Fourth Year, Skibbereen Community School, Co. Cork
- Keira Culleton, Third year, Loreto College, Co. Derry
- Jamie Duffy, Sixth Year, Beech Hill College, Co. Monaghan
- Lauren Gaynor, Sixth Year, Loreto Grammar School, Co. Tyrone
- Charlotte Gallagher, First Year, Our Lady’s School, Co. Dublin
- Liadh Hanley, Sixth Year, St. Angela’s College, Co. Cork
- Rebecca Irvine, Sixth Year, Carrickfergus Grammar School, Co. Antrim
- Grainne McGlynn, Fourth Year, Rosses Community School, Co. Donegal
- Julie Reddan, Sixth Year, Borrisokane Community College, Co. Tipperary
- Jake Redmond, Sixth Year, Larkin Community, Co. Dublin
- Aurora Riddiough, Fifth year, Ballycastle High School, Co. Antrim
- Sophia Shally, Third Year, St Louis Community School, Co. Mayo
- Aaron Smith, Sixth Year, St Louise’s Comprehensive College, Co. Antrim
- Emma Smyth, Sixth Year, St Louis Grammar School, Co. Antrim
- Teagan Stanley, Fifth Year, Newtown School, Co. Waterford
For further information, contact Caroline Murphy or Susan Jackson at AIKEN on 02890663000 or caroline@aikenpr.com / susan@aikenpr.com or Harold Banks, Pramerica, 973-216-4833 (U.S.) or harold.banks@prudential.com
Loreto Camps Cambodia Parent Information Session
Mandarin Chinese Speaking
HSBC Mandarin Speaking Competition
The HSBC Mandarin Speaking Competition is run by the British Council, is open to UK, Channel Island and Isle of Man secondary schools and is for non-native speakers of Mandarin Chinese. We are super proud of our Year 13 pupil, Ailis Keyes, who was the first ever participant in the advanced category of the Northern Irish heat, which took place on 20/11/2019. Her Mandarin teacher, Zhang Xiaojing and SWC’s Mandarin Coordinator Linda Beatty, accompanied her to the event. Ailis unfortunately didn’t make it through to the national final on this occasion, but it was an amazing achievement and a fantastic experience regardless. Ailis agrees that participation in the competition at this high level has increased her motivation for learning the language, has developed her vocabulary and indeed improved her pronunciation. Through her experience, Ailis has been inspired to discover even more about Chinese culture.
Latest News on Shared Education
Our most recent Shared Education project commenced on Thursday 9th January 2020. The Christian Brothers Grammar School and Arvalee School invited our pupils to participate in a three-day Sports Leadership Event. The aim is to develop their organisational, communication and team working skills as future Sports Leaders, culminating in an ‘Inclusive Games Event’ involving KS3 pupils from all six schools.
Shared Education aims to bring pupils together from local schools of both traditions, with representation from the controlled, maintained and voluntary school sectors. The six schools involved are Arvalee School & Resource Centre, Christian Brothers Grammar School, Loreto Grammar School, Omagh Academy Grammar School, Omagh High School and Sacred Heart College.
CCEA ‘Top Achiever’ Awards
CCEA Celebrating Success Awards 2019
A prestigious awards ceremony was held on Tuesday 17th December in the Titanic Centre, Belfast, to celebrate the outstanding achievements of first place students in CCEA’s GCSE and GCE examinations. Amongst the recipients were two pupils from Loreto, Aine and Maria.
Aine achieved first place in Northern Ireland in A’ Level Health & Social Care. She is pictured (below) at the awards ceremony alongside our principal, Mrs O’Hanlon, her very proud teacher, Mrs McElroy and a CCEA representative. Aine is currently studying at St. Mary’s University College Belfast.
Also recognised on the evening was our Year 13 pupil, Maria who achieved first place in Digital Technology Programming at GCSE. Maria is pictured (below) with CCEA Education Manager, Michael McEnery. She is currently studying at A’ Level here in the school.
We are delighted with the success of these two girls and all of our pupils who contributed to the outstanding results achieved this year.
December Newsletter
Post 16 December Newsletter
Debating Matters!
International Show-Jumping Sensation
We are immensely proud of Niamh, our champion Year 12 Show-Jumper, who has had phenomenal recent success in her sport. In August she represented Ireland at the European Championships in Poland, where she and her teammates won team Gold. Niamh was the only girl on the team and she also finished 9th individually. Following her top 10 finish at the Europeans, she was invited to compete at the Longines Masters show in Paris and the World Cup show in Lyon in December. She has also been selected to compete on the Irish team in Belgium later this month for the final of the Nations Cup Series, which Ireland are leading. Niamh most recently returned from the National Championships in Mullingar, where she won the u16 National Champion title.
Niamh’s mum thanked Loreto for all their support. She offered a special word of thanks to the PE department who she said “continue to foster and encourage a love of sport and physical activity in all the young girls that they teach”.
