CEIST and the Dublin Diocese RE have arranged a Cluster Meeting on 25th February in Maynooth Post Primary School from 4.30pm – 6pm.

This is a great opportunity for RE teachers to meet with fellow practitioners in the field of catechetics and Religious Education.

The cluster works on a ‘Peer In-service’ model. Teachers attending are invited to bring a sample of their work to share with others. CEIST schools with an interest in attending this cluster can contact Lloyd Bracken.

Thank you to all our schools who have submitted their annual accounts for the 2008-2009 school year.

For those schools who are still outstanding with their school accounts we are requesting that you submit the accounts immediately to the Trustees for review and approval.

Time is of the essence if school Boards of Management are to fulfill their obligations under the Articles of Management For Catholic Secondary Schools. The deadline for receipt of school accounts by the F.S.S.U. is the end of February once they have been approved by the Trustees.

If you are experiencing difficulties in meeting the deadline, please contact either Mike or Bernadette in the CEIST office who may be able to assist. Mike (01)6510414 Bernadette (01)6510423.

As in previous years CEIST schools were very well represented and in receipt of awards and commendations at the 2010 Young Scientists Exhibition earlier this month.

We extend our congratulations to all the pupils, teachers and parents on their wonderful achievements and for representing our schools so proudly in this annual event.

Presentation Askea is the only school in Ireland to be accepted onto the Comenius Programme, which involves ten European countries in total.

Comenius seeks to develop knowledge and understanding, among teachers and students, of the diversity of European cultures, languages and values.

The Second Level Support Service have announced details of their forthcoming Cooperative Learning conferences in association with Professors David and Roger Johnson of the Cooperative Learning Centre, University of Minnesota, USA.

As you may be aware, Cooperative Learning explores methods that empower students of all abilities and learning styles to make significant progress.

Research results have indicated that cooperative learning experiences promote higher academic achievement, positive student self esteem, increased attendance at schools and positive student behaviour.

Click on more link below for further details and to download application forms.

An excellent lecture was delivered to staff of St. Leo's College on Friday by Dr. Emer Smyth of the ESRI.

Dr. Smyth has gained an excellent reputation in the area of education research. She has published a number of notable papers in the area of secondary education.

These include Do school differ? Academic and personal development among pupils in the second-level sector and also Moving up: the experiences of first year students in post-primary education.

The NCCA Colloquium on the JCRE was held in the Kilkenny Education Centre on December 14th 2009.

Three presentaions were made, namely, The Affective in the JCRE; The Impact of JCRE on four students from Presentation Kilkenny; and lastly, the Multi-faith context of our schools.

Four Students from Presentation Loughboy, Kilkenny were honoured to be allowed particpate in the forum and the following is an account of their experience from Eimear Connick who was one of four students representing her school.

Our School Feature for the Month of January was from Presentation College, Currylea, Tuam, who kindly shared information about the school along with recent news and events.

The School Profile for February will be from Sacred Heart Secondary School, Drogheda.

Eureka Secondary School, Kells, Co. Meath have kindly shared information on recent Student achievement of "Youth Sports Person of the Year Award" and of their FAIRTRADE launch.

Our Lady of Mercy Secondary School, Mourne Road, Drimnagh, have shared with us their excellent Newsletter for January.

Click here to download.

A very special congratulations and thank you to First Year class 1A2 in Presentation Secondary School, Wexford, who were involved in a very successful project in November.

The class collected and donated gifts of pens, pencils and colouring equipment which were given to the children in a Shanty Town in Capetown, South Africa.

Calsanctious College, Oranmore, Co. Galway publish an excellent school newsletter each month.

Click here to view their December 2009 newsletter.

Congratulations to Presentation Secondary School, Galway on their recent fundraising events.

The school raised funds for Haiti and for the Presentation Pakistan Mission.

CEIST Faith Development Co-ordinators Antonya Hanly and Lloyd Bracken facilitated a Sixth Year Retreat for students in Our Lady's Secondary School, Belmullet recently. Retreats can be a very special and memorable occasion for the students in their final year, positioned just before the heat of academic responsibilities becomes the dominant feature.

The theme of this retreat was inspired by the song 'Are we human or are we dancer?' by the Killers. At the heart of the song, and therefore the retreat, was the age old probing question for all of us 'homo sapiens' - what exactly makes us human.

This same question was asked by the Psalmist when he wrote; 'What is the human being that You should even think of her, the mortal person that you should keep her in mind'. By means of exploring contemporary music and song, discussion groups and prayer the students were led to a deep understanding of the wonderful people they are. We hope the rest of the year will be an equal success.