Current and former students join together to celebrate Wexford school's milestone jubilee
Many members of the community attended to celebrate the occasion, including Bishop Ger Nash, Cllr Barbara- Anne Murphy, and FCJ Secondary School principal Brendan Daly.
Two former as well as the current principal, gave speeches as they reflected over how far the school has come over the years.
Michael Dee spoke about how surprisingly seamless the entire process had been when opening the school, while James Roberts took great pride in leading the school to become more involved in the Rackard League and getting more funding for class equipment.
Current principal Tomás Moriarty, who has been at the helm since 2019, spoke about how special working in the school has been, despite the obstacles created by Covid-19 soon after he took on the role.
"From my first visit, to meet James Roberts and the children, it was clear that OLOL NS was a special place. Walking in through the gates, I remember that the school grounds were sparkling in the early Summer sun and from the first meeting with the children and staff I was made feel welcome,' he said.
A special mass also took place on the day, as well as refreshments, with music proudly provided by students on their instruments.
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The Irish Sun
18 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Trolls said my daughter ‘wouldn't ever get a job' when I took her out of school but now she's going to UNI at 14
Her day looks nothing like the rigid timetable of most 14-year-olds WHIZZ KID Trolls said my daughter 'wouldn't ever get a job' when I took her out of school but now she's going to UNI at 14 A PROUD mum has shared news of her daughter's entry into university at just 14, despite trolls slating her online. But unlike the thousands of students who received their A-level grades this week, Millie Smith from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, didn't bag a single one. 6 Kim pulled her daughter Millie, 14, out of school at just 10-years-old Credit: Supplied 6 Millie is now ready to start her university psychology degree Credit: supplied Her mum, Kim Smith, 33, in fact decided to take her daughter out of school at the age of just ten - a move that prompted hundreds of strangers to question her parenting choices. 'People said she'd never get a job, that she'd be socially awkward, that she'd fall so far behind she'd never catch up,' says mum-of-two Kim. 'It was constant, people love to tell you you're doing the wrong thing.' But four years on, Kim has the ultimate comeback. Read more on parenting CLASS ACT Parents racing to buy back to school essentials & they bag a haul for under £10 Millie, now 14, has just been accepted onto a BSc Honours in Psychology course and she's doing it without a single GCSE or A-level to her name. 'She'll be doing her degree before most kids her age even start their A-levels,' Kim proudly tells Fabulous. 'And she's done it on her own terms.' Millie's educational journey took an unexpected turn during the Covid lockdowns. Like millions of parents, Kim found herself suddenly in charge of her daughter's learning but she quickly realised the school's remote lessons weren't working for them. Kim says: 'A lot of kids were struggling, and parents didn't understand the new teaching methods. 'It was causing so many arguments in homes everywhere. I thought, why are we forcing this? So we stopped following what the school sent and made our own work instead.' Psychotherapist Dr Richard Hogan's top five tips for parenting in 2025 Those first few months gave Kim a taste of how different learning could be. A few months after Millie returned to school, she left for good, beginning her home education. Learning beyond the classroom Kim explains how she adopted a "child-led" learning approach. 'At first, everyone tries to replicate school at home, the timetable, the subjects, but I quickly realised education isn't just about copying from a book or following a set curriculum. 'We moved to a child-led approach, where Millie chose the topics that interested her, like space, ancient Egypt, plants, even hair dye, and we built all the learning around that.' 6 The family enjoy outdoor, hands on activities and aren't restricted to a classroom Credit: Supplied "That flexibility meant lessons could happen anywhere — on the sofa, at the park, even at the beach. 'People think home education means you're stuck indoors all day, but we're always out doing things,' Kim explains. If Millie wanted to learn maths while sitting on a beach, we could. And if she felt too unwell in the morning, we could move lessons to the afternoon. It's about listening to her needs.' Kim says her partner Luke, "teaches Millie about engines, maintenance and modifications of motorbikes and push bike". The pair also share an interest in history and will often watch lots of educational documentaries together. Luke suffered a heart attack and stroke in January and 14-year-old Millie has since helped him bring his speech and memory back using her knowledge of psychology and therapies. Kim says with Millie's help "he's now almost back to himself and is back at work and helping with her home education". Kim also tackled one of the biggest criticisms levelled at home education, which is the lack of socialisation. The mum posts on social media on her account @learninghappiness where she has amassed over eight thousand followers and 42,000 likes on TikTok. Throughout her time sharing her journey with followers, she's received backlash, particularly about her daughter's social interaction skills post home education. One troll wrote: "Academic success is great but there's no substitute to the social interaction of school." Another added: "Home education is really restricted in seeing other children and meeting people." But the mum clapped back, de-bunking this stereotype. 'When people say, 'But won't she be lonely?' I ask, 'What makes you think that?'' Kim said. 'In school you're told to sit down and be quiet, that's not socialising." Home-educated kids mix with people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities. It's actually more organic than socialising in a classroom.' When Kim couldn't find enough nearby meet-ups to suit her work schedule, she started her own home education group. 'We've now got nearly 2,000 families,' she says. 'We meet a couple of times a week, run workshops, and even hold a prom every year so the kids don't miss out.' One prom, she recalls, summed up the difference between mainstream and home education. 'A child came wearing a suit and a toy octopus on their head. In school they'd have been ripped apart. "Here, all the kids ran over saying, 'Wow, you look amazing, can I try your hat?' Me and my partner cried — it was such a beautiful moment of acceptance that you wouldn't get at a normal school.' Homeschooling Rules in the UK In the UK, homeschooling is a legal and viable option for parents... English and Welsh parents do not need permission to educate their child at home, but they must notify the school in writing if they are withdrawing their child from a school to home educate Scottish parents must obtain consent from their local council before withdrawing their child from school, unless the child has never attended a public school Parents must ensure their child receives an efficient full-time education suitable to their age, ability, and any special educational needs There is no requirement to follow the National Curriculum, take standard exams, or adhere to school hours However, parents still need to ensure their little ones are being adequalty educated. Otherwise, your local council can step in. Your local council can make informal inquiries to ensure your child is receiving adequate education They may even request information about the home education provision to ensure the learning material is suitable If the council believes your child is falling short, it can serve a School Attendance Order or issue a notice for attendance Real-world lessons Millie's 'school day' looks nothing like the rigid timetable of most 14-year-olds. Mondays might mean creative writing club, Tuesdays arts and crafts, Wednesdays book club, Fridays outdoor nature sessions. 6 Millie pursues her hobbies and interests as part of her education Some days she does academic work, other days she focuses on hobbies or independent study. 'She's done university-level psychology courses online through Coursera, just because she wanted to,' Kim says. Kim has also made sure Millie learns life skills alongside academics. 'In January, my partner had a heart attack and stroke,' she adds. 'For a week, Millie ran the house. I gave her my bank card and a budget, and she shopped, cooked, cleaned, made sure we had clothes for hospital visits — everything. "She wouldn't have learned that in school.' Getting into uni without exams The Open University doesn't require GCSEs or A-levels for older applicants but for under-16s like Millie, the bar is high. 'They asked why she wanted to do psychology, did a phone interview, and set her a task,' Kim says. 'She had a month to write a 250-word essay explaining the 'Mozart effect'. "She finished it in three hours. The next morning, she got her acceptance email.' Millie will start part-time so she still has time for hobbies and friends, but even at that pace she's on track to graduate before she turns 21. Kim is clear about the advantages of home education: personalised learning, flexible pacing, more time for passions, and strong life skills. But it's not without challenges. 'You have to be really hands-on as a parent, especially at first,' she admits. 'It takes time to find your rhythm and balance work with your child's needs. And some families might find the lack of a ready-made peer group tricky without making the effort to join communities.' 'I'm not saying it's for everyone, but it could work for far more kids than the system allows for,' Kim says. Still, for Kim and Millie, it's been worth it. Kim shared her daughter Millie has dyslexia and dyspraxia, but wasn't getting the attention she needed from teachers. "When Millie first left school, her teacher had basically told her that she had to choose between either being bad at spelling or bad at writing for SATs. "I said to them, that's a little bit like saying to someone whose legs aren't working and sight is bad that they have to choose between glasses or a wheelchair - it's ridiculous. "Millie now loves writing and asks to go to creative writing classes, she just needed some attention and support." The current school system is outdated. It's more focused on grades for league tables than what's best for the child." "Millie's proof you can succeed without it.' And as for the trolls who doubted her, Kim laughs: 'I don't need to tell them they were wrong. Millie's going to university at 14, that says it all.' 6 Millie is enrolled at Open University
Irish Independent
01-08-2025
- Irish Independent
Pop-up village pantry draws crowds in Wicklow
One of several pop-up village pantries held in Rathdangan each summer, the community event saw crowds of people from across west Wicklow and beyond gather to enjoy a tea or coffee and peruse goods from a variety of producers, with local performers playing music in the marquee outside. 'We had a great turnout even though it was clashing with All-Ireland Sunday, with a good steady crowd throughout the day,' an organiser said. 'There were people from Baltinglass, Hacketstown, and, of course, Rathdangan, so it was a real community event. Some people come for the café. Some people come for the food market. 'Before Covid, we had a community café called The Village Pantry, but we changed to this model of the pop-up village pantry. We do it a few times during the summer, and we still run the café on those dates. We do a Christmas market in November as well. 'All funds raised go to the maintenance and planned redevelopment of the hall.'
Irish Times
31-07-2025
- Irish Times
Making fatherhood work: ‘The feeling you get from caring for your child, I'd swap it for a few zeros'
The clueless dad, the silly dad, the dad who always forgets, messy dad, sport-obsessed dad, handy dad, reckless dad. Then there are the bad dad jokes, the shrunken laundry memes, the burnt dinners and the honey-I-don't-know-how-to-use-the-dishwasher trope. A dad at home with the kids is a fish out of water, according to the media, advertising and film worlds. These same industries tend to depict men as confident leaders, entrepreneurs and experts whereas women are overwhelmingly represented as celebrities, victims or carers. The stereotypical world dads inhabit is firmly in the public realm – at work or on the sports field – not in the private realm of the family. Back in the real world, economic necessity and the Covid pandemic have forced changes in the way all parents navigate the balance between the workplace and their caring responsibilities. Some dads not only capably embrace the role but also encourage other men – and workplaces – to see the benefits of a more involved fatherhood. As more dads challenge the status quo by demanding better parenting policies and flexibility, or by creating their own family-friendly employment, they are inadvertently driving change for everyone. Changing attitudes to fatherhood are shaping the workplace and men's careers, too. The pandemic created more flexibility for dads to manage work and childcare responsibilities and empowered working parents to use their time differently. Many parents found it significantly changed their relationship to work, to their partners and to their community and they are refusing to return to outdated ways of working. In addition, younger men expect to be actively involved fathers and partners and this is shaping their ideas about life at work and at home. Evolving Manhood, an Irish study of 500 men carried out by Women's Aid and Core Media, finds that although younger men are more traditionalist than older men, an increasing number of men do not see their role solely as that of the main breadwinner. A third feel the role of a man is being an economic provider whereas two-thirds don't feel that defines them as men. Finian Murphy, a communication strategist and researcher living and working in Dublin who is also a father, says, 'As a researcher, I'm seeing a generation that's critiquing how much time they're dedicating to things in their life from exercise and work to time spent with family'. [ A 9-5 work schedule operates on the assumption someone else is looking after your house and kids all day Opens in new window ] Men don't really think about the impact of parenthood on their careers or career choices because it is not something they have needed to in the past. 'When boys are asked 'What do you want to be when you're older?', most say a profession. Very rarely would they say 'A dad',' says Murphy. 'There's an image of just being a dad at weekends and in the evenings. 'The level of care hours between women and men we see this in the research stats are completely out of balance. Before kids, I was totally ignorant about the investment of time needed when it comes to parenting. I understood the concept but not the practicalities of dividing out the week in terms of who does what.' Becoming a dad didn't impact negatively on his career but it did change his conversations and choices. 'Normalising working dads and fatherhood has been the unlock for me. I had a mentor and leaders who would talk about their kids, the drop-offs, school holidays and they encouraged paternity leave. Dads in the office now have more conversations about the boring stresses of being a parent and all the navigation that goes along with that.' Being with the kids was fabulous. I loved it. At work I wasn't treated any differently because I was a dad Structural engineer Thomas Boyle, an Irish man who has been based in Switzerland since marrying a German academic three decades ago, found parenthood easy to navigate abroad. Both he and his wife chose to work 80 per cent work schedules with 80 per cent pay when the kids were young. There was no issue at all for his firm or his wife's employer with this arrangement and his career did not suffer. Childcare options included places in private creches, which were easy to find, and reasonably priced childminders. Before the children were school age, they were in childcare arrangements three days a week from 8am to 6pm. Once in school, a childcare facility was provided in the afternoon. 'Your spot is guaranteed in a city-run childcare facility that picked them up from school. The kids go there and have lunch, do homework and sometimes there was a trip to the zoo or the pool. We had to pick them up at 6pm on the dot. 'Being with the kids was fabulous. I loved it,' says Boyle. 'At work I wasn't treated any differently because I was a dad. I worked in a bog-standard office and they simply accepted it and I even had some career advancement before I left to set up on my own.' 'Men probably think they have to do the career thing a little more than women do but we shared everything 50-50. 'I don't understand men who take paternity leave and say yes to the childcare but no to cooking or cleaning. Men need to take up 50 per cent of the burden of the household to 'man up' and do this boring rubbish. 'Women need to put the boot down and say, 'Listen sunshine, if you want kids then it's 50-50 and we're cleaning and cooking and minding together'. That's the most urgent thing that needs to happen all over the world. It's sad and unbelievable to hear men still not willing to do that. I just shake my head. It needs to be equally shared. There's really nothing to it.' [ Why do only half of Irish fathers take paternity leave? Opens in new window ] Amit Wadhwa, a website designer based in north Co Dublin, and his wife care equally for their son, who has cerebral palsy. Now that their child is school age and his wife needs to work from the office, Amit is the main carer but he wouldn't change a thing. 'It's had such a positive impact on me as a man as I've been able to work from home and spend so much time with my son. It's very rare and I'm very blessed. Once these years are over, you don't get them back. I get to see him hit all those important milestones.' Physical and verbal milestones that were typical for other kids were not necessarily expected for their son due to his condition. Both parents have put in many hours of physio and language work with their son and his medical providers to give him the best possible quality of life. 'He's not that little child any more. He can't be running around in the back garden himself; that has to be done with help because of his CP. When you do this every day with him, you see the return. He can walk, he's a little chatterbox. I get all that emotional input from him. 'You hear men say, 'My business is turning over €1 million' and they feel that sense of pride; well, the feeling I get is well beyond that. The feeling you get from caring for your child, I'd swap it for a few zeros in the monthly income any time.' Margaret E Ward is chief executive of Clear Eye, a leadership consultancy. margaret@
