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Friday, September 19, 2008

CEIST is 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.

CEIST Third Annual Education Conference

The CEIST Third Annual Education Conference 2008 will be held in the Fels Point Hotel, Tralee, Co. Kerry.

Registration for the conference will commence in the hotel from 11.30am - 1.00 p.m. on Thursday, 25th September 2008 and the conference will close after Lunch at 1.30 p.m on Friday, 26th September 2008.

This year we are privileged to have the Bishop of Limerick, Dr Donal Murray as our Opening Guest Speaker and the former Vice Chancellor of The University of Ulster and visiting Professor of Education in the University of Ulster, Dame Geraldine Keegan, DBE, OBE will provide the keynote address on Friday, 26th September.


	New Personnel in CEIST CEIST welcomed our new personnel to the Faith Development Department and School Support Services Department on the 1st September 2008. The Faith Development Department welcomed Mr. Lloyd Bracken, Ms. Amalee Meehan and Ms. Antonya Hanly. The School Support Department welcomed Mr. Michael Lane and Mr. Tony Behan to the Education Office.

	Mission Alive 2008 The month of October is Mission Month, October 19th being Mission Sunday. This year the theme is “Go and Tell – Missionaries with Messages”. We are all missionaries, called to take up the challenge to spread the Good News of the Gospel in our schools, parishes and local communities.

	CEIST Finance Matters The CEIST Finance Department has compiled a financial calendar for the school year in relation to the submission of various reports and budgets, insurance premiums, etc, to CEIST Education Office. The financial calendar along with guidelines for Capital Expenditure and Approval, Insurance and Health & Safety are posted on the CEIST Website.

	New Mercy Community in Castlebar A Mercy threshold was crossed on May 30, 2008, when Sisters of Mercy from around County Mayo moved from the communities of Achill, Ballinrobe, Newport, Swinford and Westport to a new community house in Árd Bhríde, The Lawn, Castlebar.


	Galway Missionary Celebrates Golden Jubilee Moylough native and Missionary of the Sacred Heart (MSC), Fr Eamon Donohoe, recently celebrated the golden jubilee of his ordination. Fr Donohoe is now a resident of the MSC spirituality centre at Rosary Lane, Taylor's Hill, Galway, and was among a group of 14 MSC priests celebrating jubilees.

	Happy Mercy Day The 24th of September is the day that marks the Feast of our Lady of Mercy. On this day in 1827, Catherine McAuley opened the House of Mercy in Baggot Street to care for the poor of Dublin, Ireland. The Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy website have produced ideas for teachers and students to use in celebrating Mercy Day on the 24th September next.

	Retreat Booklet Our CEIST Faith Development Co-ordinator Margaret Farrell has compiled a retreat booklet listing various retreat programmes on offer for students. Click on the 'More' link below to view.

	Mass for the Opening of Academic Year Deaneries of Fingal North, Finglas and Maynooth (Dublin Archdiocese) Bishop Raymond Field D.D and the organising committee warmly invite the Teachers, Members of Boards of Management, Catechists, Staff and Chaplains to the Annual Mass to ask God's blessing as we begin a new School Year in St. Mary's Church, Lucan, Tuesday 30th September 2008 at 8.00p.m.


	Coláiste Muire Ballymote Visit CERN The Coláiste Muire Ballymote Sligo Leaving Cert physics students of 2007 - 2008 responded very enthusiastically to the nuclear physics part of their course where they chose to study the particle physics option for their leaving cert. As part of their studies they became interested in the facility at Geneva run by CERN (Conseil European pour Recherche Nuclaire) - in particular the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) experiment - now nearing completion.

	Árd Scoil Explores US Links Árd Scoil na nDéise, Dungarvan, and Gannon University, Erie, Pennsylvania, USA, are exploring the benefits of linking education and extra-curricular activities. Dr. Keith Taylor, Provost of Gannon University, met recently with members of Ard Scoil staff to explore possibilities and to clarify goals in this twinning project.


	Interactive Whiteboard Tip An ordinary whiteboard or indeed any surface can be converted into an interactive one simply by using a controller from a video game console, the Nintendo Wii. The idea was developed by Johnny Lee, a researcher in Carnegie Mellon University, USA. Click Here to view his Demo.