Friday, March 09, 2007

CEIST will be the new trustee body for the voluntary secondary schools of the Daughters of Charity, the Presentation Sisters, the Sisters of the Christian Retreat, the Sisters of Mercy and the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart.

Update on the CEIST Project

The Project Board congratulates Ms. Anne Kelliher on her appointment as CEO of CEIST.

 

CEIST is now seeking Directors to head its three departments. Advertisments are being placed in the national media and are also available on the CEIST website. 

 

The first CEIST Conference for Chairpersons of Boards of Management takes place on Saturday 24th March 2007 at the Tullamore Court Hotel, Tullamore.

 

The lease for the CEIST Education Office is currently under negotiation. The Office, which is located at Maynooth Business Campus,  will now be fitted out.

 

An application has been made to the Revenue Commissioners for charitable status for the new companies CEIST Ltd. and EDEN Ltd. (EDEN stands for Education Enabled).

 

The first training session for Members and Directors of CEIST is scheduled for 21 April 2007.

Web Resources for RE Teachers

The Australian website RESource is a very useful resource for teachers of RE. To try it out, click on the 'More' button below. If you have discovered other useful resources please email us the details and we will prepare a list of useful resources for RE teachers.

An Excellent School Website

In this edition we visit St. Joseph's Secondary School, Tulla, Co. Clare which has a vibrant, lively, informative and up-to-date website.

While we visit school websites regularly in search of good news we would love to hear from you. Please e-mail us when you have something to celebrate and we will help you to spread the good news!

Intercultural & Anti-Racism Week

The week from 19-25 March is Intercultural & Anti-Racism Week in Ireland North and South. The week is built around and includes the United Nations designated International Day Against Racial Discrimination (March 21). This year the theme of the week is 'Improving Government Services to Minority Ethnic Groups' focussing on:

Health, Education, Employment, Housing & Policing

Just World - a 'Bebo-style' website

Marking the start of its 35th Lenten campaign, Trocaire has launched a new website designed to increase awareness and encourage debate about issues facing the developing world. It described the new site as a 'bebo-style' social networking site for people interested in social justice  and development issues. Trocaire hopes the site will help to develop a global conversation about such issues.

The site, which is open to people aged 16 and over, allows members to create profiles, post blogs and communicate with other members.

Fairtrade Fortnight - Fairtrade Schools

As consumers we are becoming increasingly aware of the unequal distribution of the world's wealth. Many products offered on our markets are much too cheap to assure a decent living to producers in Third World countries. Shoppers who choose FAIRTRADE marked products play a vital role in alleviating poverty and supporting marginalised producers, in a manner that promotes dignity and self-sufficiency.

Fairtrade Ireland offers a practical means where the purchasing decisions of each individual can make a difference. Fairtrade Fortnight runs from 28 February 2007 to 11 March 2007. The Fairtrade website has a Seven Step Module for CSPE. To see it, click 'More'.

Into Great Silence

The IFI in Dublin ran this magnificent film for a fortnight in January and got caught by surprise; they couldn't accommodate the numbers wishing to see the film and had to turn many away. However, they have managed to get the film back again for a week, from 16th to 22nd March. You can book online on the IFI website or by phoning (01) 679 3477.

Many independent reviewers have praised the film e.g.  An exquisite meditative journey inside a Carthusian monastery where silence is practiced as a way of honoring the mystery and the majesty of God. For more reviews visit the independent film review site Rotten Tomatoes.

It is up to us........

Change comes from small initiatives which work, initiatives which imitated, become the fashion.  We cannot wait for great visions from great people, for they are in short supply at the end of history.  It is up to us to light our own small fires in the darkness.
- The Empty Raincoat,  Charles Handy

Note to Principals

Do you know that staff members can now subscribe themselves to receive the CEIST eNews every month?

All they need to do is visit the website (www.ceist.ie) and subscribe by clicking the appropriate button (towards the top left-hand side of the webpage) and add their e-mail address when prompted to do so. It couldn't be simpler.

We would love to think that in time all staff in CEIST schools will have subscribed and will receive every edition of the eNews. We will be very grateful if you will add a note to your own newsletter for staff or on the Staffroom noticeboard. You might mention it also in any newsletter or other communication to parents and to your Board of Management members.

CEIST e-News is the online Newsletter of CEIST. To unsubscribe, click here.