Imagine the initial disappointment of having to cancel the Festival due to the snow on Wednesday Feb 28^th after all the preparation by the students, teachers and organisers. From the auditions in November to the three choir rehearsals everyone had worked so hard. On contacting the National Concert Hall a few days later, we were delighted to be able reschedule for Tuesday Mar 13^th.

It is a fantastic tribute to all involved, students, members of staff of Head Office, the schools and the National Concert Hall that all was ready for the Festival for the new date. What a night it was! The talent of all the students who took part was plainly evident. But talent will only get you so far. What the students and their teachers did by their hard work and practice resulted in a concert of high musical and performance standard. Soloists, groups and school choirs were an absolute joy to listen to. The massed choir of the DDLETB was outstanding demonstrating their talent and ability to perform various different styles of music. Those 180 students and their Musical Director, Ms. Vanessa Butler, deserve the highest praise. The choir offers the only possibility for students from across the DDLETB to perform together and that is a magnificent opportunity.
Paul Kingston, Carmel O’Neill and Aoife Staunton

MARTIN O’Neill’s decision to name Dundalk duo Andy Boyle and Daryl Horgan in the provisional squad for Ireland’s FIFA 2018 World Cup Qualifier against Austria has gone down well with those who worked with the pair as youngsters on the FAI ETB courses.

Harry McCue, FAI ETB Co-Ordinator, is particularly pleased to see the pair included in the wider squad for the game in Vienna on November 12 as they are the first graduates of the FAI ETB programme to win senior call-ups.

“I am delighted to send my congratulations to the two lads. It’s a great achievement for both of them and hopefully the start of many caps,” said McCue.

“It’s a great boost for all FAI ETB courses and the SSE Airtricity League as they’re the first lads from the courses to make the senior panel. Daryl was at Salthill Devon and Andy at Shelbourne when they both started on the courses in Castlebar and Dublin respectively.

“They were both very dedicated and focused and deserve all the honours they’ve received. They’ve been very consistent in recent seasons.”

Dundalk are in St Petersburg, Russia, today preparing for tomorrow’s their UEFA Europa League Group D Matchday 4 against Zenit St Petersburg. They were pictured outside the Church of the Savior in St.Petersburg.

The FAI in partnership with a number of Education and Training Boards throughout the country and supported by the European Social Fund are operating Local Training Initiatives that provide a unique blend of educational and football development for talented young footballers.

The renowned programme enables participants who are interested in developing a potential career in football or the sports and leisure industry as well as their level of education enhancing their job opportunities.

The ‘Employment Support Scheme’ was a joint initiative run by the Department of Defence, the DSP and DDLETB Baldoyle Training Centre.

Twenty-five learners aged 18 – 24yrs from the wider Dublin North area and Drogheda area took part.  This involved 10 weeks of residential training which included a variety of formal and informal learning and facilitated learners enhancing their skills for life.  Learners graduated on 26 August 2016 in Gormanston Army Camp.

Minister of State Mr Finian McGrath TD presided over the parade, addressed the participants and both the Minister and Mr Paddy Lavelle, Chief Executive of DDLETB presented certificates to the graduates.  The Mayor of Drogheda Oliver Tully was also in attendance.

Teachers from our Further Education Colleges are currently involved in a European project with education partners in Norway and Estonia.  The project known as EUCOPP (European Communities of Professional Practice) aims to build communities of professional practice for teachers within DDLETB and at a European level.  The focus of the project is on the Healthcare and Childcare vocational areas and includes examining how our European partners incorporate core non vocational subjects into vocationally specialised courses.  The project was launched in October 2017 and in November, teachers from 8 DDLETB colleges became involved in the first stage of the programme.

EUCOPP is a two-year project during which teachers from Estonia and Norway will visit Ireland to spend time job shadowing our teachers in a number of different FE colleges.  Teachers from DDLETB will travel to Trondheim in Norway and Haapsalu in Estonia to learn about vocational education in these countries and observe teaching methodologies and practice.

On the 13 th  of November a group of seven teachers and managers from two vocational colleges in Trondheim, Norway (Kristen Videregående Skole Trøndelag (KVT) and Orkdal Videregående Skole) came to Dublin for a three-day job shadowing visit with our FE colleges. During the visit, teachers exchanged a lot of ideas and information about their specialist vocational areas, their teaching practice and of course, their students.

Before their departure the Norwegian teachers thanked DDLETB for the warm welcome they received and the quality of the programme planned for their visit.  They reported positively on what they had learned from practice observed in the classes they visited and were particularly impressed with the relationships evident between.

Luttrellstown Community College continued with its exciting project rollout in August 2016, ongoing for the past 2 years. They have now rolled out iPads to all years. Their aim is to develop the higher order skills that their students will require throughout their life, facilitated by the many opportunities students will have to personalise their learning and manage additional resources to create their own learning profiles.

From a staff perspective it has been an enjoyable and enthusiastic learning curve in terms of getting familiar with a new educational tool in terms of teaching and learning and opening other channels of communication with students in terms of sharing educational apps and ideas. The school is striving to become a paperless community. Ideas, resources, exam materials, minutes of meetings etc.. are now shared using google docs. Students and teachers accessibility to resource sharing forums such as ‘edmodo’ and student/staff gmail is so much easier and flexible using the iPad device.
‘Wildfire Productions’ visited the school in May 2016 as part of their ‘Digital Literacy’ production to be aired on national television end Oct/beginning Nov 2016. LCC were honoured that Lord David Puttnam was on hand experiencing the schools’ digital journey so far.
Lord Puttnam was appointed as Ireland’s Digital champion in 2012. He got first-hand experience from talking with students and teachers and visiting classrooms of how iPads as an additional tool can benefit teaching and learning and make learning a more enjoyable and rewarding experience for all.Students have expressed how such a tool makes knowledge readily accessible and how eager they are to engage and demonstrate use of so many useful apps:-‘The iPads are great. They have a good note taking facility by using apps such as showme and evernote’. Robert, First year
‘ Because all our books are in the iPad you don’t have to worry about carrying heavy bags and worrying about losing hardback books’ Sam, First year

‘Its great having my iPad when I want to research something for homework. Everything is at my fingertips’. Chevonne, First year

‘My iPad is great. I can download apps that help with school work. I use ‘picolage’ for example that is very useful for presentations’. Cherry, First year.