Student Council 2024/25
The Student Council plays a vital role in our school community, acting as the voice for the student body and bridging the communication gap between students and staff. The Council consists of 3 members from each year group, elected biannually. Every Thursday, the council meets at lunchtime with Ms. Clarke to address current issues within the school community. In addition to this, the council organises fundraisers (for example our annual St Vincent de Paul Christmas Spirit Day), works on long term projects with the School’s Management Team, such as uniform changes and policy updates, and communicates back to the student population via class visits, surveys and updates to the Student Council noticeboard and school website. The Student Council has a fantastic impact on school life, making great positive changes within the school environment. If you have any ideas or suggestions for our Student Council, you can always tell them to your year’s representative and they will bring it up in our next meeting.
The Student Council will keep all stakeholders updated on their activities via:
- Student Council Notice Board.
- School Website, Instagram and X
- Student Email.
- Internal School Announcements.
Student Council Representatives 24/25
6th Year Representatives
Grace Cohen – Chairperson
Holly O’Connor – Secretary
Ruth Cooper – Treasurer
Huriyah Baqer – 6th year rep
5th Year Representatives
Caitlin Clarke – Deputy Chairperson
Hayley Lyons – Deputy Secretary
Megan Nolan – 5th year rep
4th Year Representatives
Anne-Marie Dowling – 4th Year rep
Elsie Gilmurray – Treasurer
Muireann Bagley – PR Officer
3rd Year Representatives
Ava O’Connor – 3rd Year rep
Niamh Dillon – PR Team (3rd Year)
Lucia Killoran – 3rd year rep
2nd Year Representatives
Clodagh Meehan – PR Team (2nd year)
Lateefah Lemboye – 2nd year rep
Róise Flynn – 2nd year rep
1st Year Representatives
Anokha Vishak – PR Team (1st year)
Nancy Robinson – 1st year rep
Saoirse Malone – 1st year rep
December & January Report
January
The new month of January brought back old ideas. On January 17, the ISIC (International Student Identity Card) came to the school giving students the opportunity to purchase their own student card! This was promoted throughout the week by council members to help raise awareness and resulted in over 500 students applying for them. The processproved time consuming, however, these numbers will be reduced in the future due to only new incoming first years needing to acquire a student card.
Also in January, the Student Council developed a new digital noticeboard, specifically for the current processes and goals we are going through. Check out our screen in Mary Ward!
As well as this, the council is discussing the possibility of a chime to the start Announcements. This could allow students to prepare for the announcements and pause what they are doing so they can catch all of the information they need.
Furthermore, council members have discussed the new RSE policy, which ensures the subject is taught in a meaningful and appropriate manner in a safe environment. Finally, with regards to the new badge manufacturing (breakages of badges, etc) it has been decided that the new badges for the next year will be created with stronger material.
December
Kicking off December, the Student Council held their annual St. Vincent de Paul charity fundraiser day. On the 13th of December, all students had the opportunity to wear festive hats, jumpers and outfits keeping in the theme of “Christmas Jumper Day” to help promote and raise awareness for this impactful charity. This brightened the mood of the day and gave students hope for the month to come. From hot chocolate stands to Candy Cane Grams, everyone on the Council took part in making the day memorable! However, we also had help from other groups such as the Trad music group that joined in with the festivities with their use of jolly instruments to help facilitate Christmas caroling outside the Balbriggan Train Station. The raffle grand prize was 2 Lana Del Rey tickets and tickets were swiftly purchased by many students and teachers alike! Overall, this fundraiser day raised over €3,500 through the generosity of our school community.
St Vincent de Paul Day 2024 Report
Christmas spirit was in the air as Loreto Balbriggan prepared for the annual St. Vincent de Paul Day fundraiser. Every year, this day brings our school community together to lend a helping hand to people in need at Christmas. From candy canes to concert ticket prizes, the student council had brainstormed stockings full of ways to fundraise for this cause!
On the morning of December 13th, the student council was in early to set up decorations and get prepared for the day ahead. As students began to arrive, members stood at the gates with collection buckets alongside our gingerbread man mascot, Ms. Clarke, The Senior Choir and the Trad Group performed live at the front and back gates to welcome students into school! Student council members manned the hot chocolate stand selling cups of festive hot chocolate for €3 and €2 if a student brought a reusable cup.
Candy cane grams shared festive cheer as students could buy candy canes with written notes attached to send to their friends. These fan favourite candy canes were on sale all week in the morning and at lunch time in the atrium. On Friday, the student council organised the candy canes by form class and they were delivered throughout the day.
The First year bakesale at lunchtime was a great success as the gym filled with the sugary smell of Christmas bakes. The First Years worked hard on their delicious desserts and from gingerbread men to cinnamon rolls and sugar cookies there was something for everyone to enjoy. The hot chocolate stand also made an appearance along with Christmas karaoke!
Our Bested Dressed competition (Festive Edition) turned the school into a sea of reindeer antlers, tinsel and Santa hats. The best dressed were called down from each class and it was left to the student council members to pick the winners who won our selection box prizes.
The SVP Day Raffle caused quite a stir as there were two Lana del Rey tickets up for grabs! Along with many other incredible prizes including €50 euro vouchers for Lifestyle Sports, vouchers for coffee, nails and lashes as well a high end coffee machine! Students bought raffle tickets (priced at €2 per ticket and €5 per strip) throughout the week leading up to Friday to be in the running. Right next to the ticket stand was our “Guess the number of Pom Poms” competition. Students paid 50c to guess and be in for a chance to win a prize. Congratulations to all of our winners!
Our annual door decorating competition gives students and teachers a chance to get creative and competitive designing their Christmas themed doors! We had lots of incredible designs that were voted for by the entire student body on Instagram in elimination style rounds, leaving 1 winning design. Congratulations to the SEN team and to Ms.
Near the end of the day, the student council met in the library to count the total money raised. The donations were sorted into labelled money bags and counted to give us over €3,500 raised by Loreto Balbriggan in aid of this great cause! All funds raised went to the …. C who make food hampers for families in need in the local area to help make Christmas as magical as possible for everyone.
November Report – Holly O’Connor
LORETO TRAINING DAY
- In November 2025, the Student Council attended the annual Loreto Training event for Student Councils across the country.
- We all enjoyed the opportunity to hear what other Loreto schools have been working on, as well as their aims for the rest of the school year.
- The Student Council enjoyed learning about the effective running of a Student Council, in particular the most important values to uphold when carrying out our role within the council: being willing to communicate, listen and to represent the student body within the work we do.
- We had the chance to share with other Student Councils what we have been working on through the year so far, as well as our plans for later on. This included us discussing reviewing our Student Council constitution, in particular concerning the length of elected member’s terms, the role of the council within school, and the running of elections. We also shared our plans for organising a book-swap scheme at the end of the year, particularly for graduating Transition Years to pass on their textbooks to incoming TYs.
- Overall, the training day was a worthwhile experience for the whole student council to review their own work and to see the achievements of other councils.
Peter McNamara visit
- The Student Council met with Peter McNamara, CEO of the Loreto Trust on Wednesday the 27th of November.
- We had an engaging conversation where we discussed different improvements that other Loreto schools have implemented, for example fitting slanted inserts onto the tops of lockers so that nothing can be lost or left on top of them.
- The majority of council members had the opportunity to share ideas, events we are planning and our achievements. This included sharing plans for the door decorating competition, hot chocolate selling, a raffle and a bake sale to raise funds as part of our annual SVP fundraising event. We also discussed reviewing our constitution, the planned Book Swap, and the introduction of leggings to the school uniform.
October Report
September Report
ISSU Report
Student council representatives Emma Dowling (4th year) and Muireann Bagley (3rd year) attended the ISSU (Irish Secondary Students Union) annual assembly which was split over the course of two days, March 2nd and 3rd. Day 1 was completed online via a Zoom call. They voted on new ISSU constitutional amendments, directive mandates and other policies. They also had an informative digital workshop about the European Parliament Elections this year and the voting process.
Day 2 was located in Liberty Hall, Dublin. The day started off with voting on policies not covered on day 1. Then came the voting of the new ISSU government. Many workshops were in session throughout the day, including the promotion and education of the Irish language, Studyclix tutorials and promo codes (available on the student council noticeboard), as well as talks from mandate Trade Union Ireland. It was a busy day filled with educational topics and ensuring all students’ voices were heard. Much fun was to be had and we can’t wait until next year’s assembly.
Ardgillan Student Council Cluster Meeting – April 18th 2024
The Loreto Student Council, represented by Huriyah Baqer (5th year), Muireann Bagley(3rd year), Ruth Cooper(5th year) and Roise Flynn(1st year), had the privilege of attending the Student Council Cluster Meeting on April 18th at Ardgillan Community College. The gathering was a convergence of several student councils from various schools in the Fingal area.
Upon our arrival, we were warmly greeted and given a tour of the school. This was followed by an engaging grouping activity where we were placed with students from different schools. The next hour was filled with an array of icebreaker activities, including constructing the tallest spaghetti and marshmallow tower, and the “Who is the Leader?” game. These activities not only facilitated team bonding but also encouraged our problem-solving skills.
The highlight of the morning session was our group discussion on the challenges young people face in Ireland today and our collective vision for the country in 2030. Through collaborative brainstorming, we identified key issues and crafted three questions to pose to the politicians in attendance. Some questions included “What specific plans do you have to increase the availability of affordable housing for young people”, “What measures can you take to regulate and educate young people about the risks associated with vaping, and to prevent underage vaping”, and “Can the Irish Education System consider Apprenticeships and Vocational Courses as an alternative entry routes for high point courses such as Medicine and Law”.
After lunch, we engaged in an informative conversation with the Mayor of Fingal, the Deputy Mayor, and Senator Lorraine Clifford-Lee. This session was enlightening, as we delved into topics ranging from youth vape usage to the education system and the housing crisis.
In reflection, the Loreto Balbriggann Student Council found the meeting not only educational but also a lot of fun. We gained valuable knowledge, honed our teamwork skills, and established connections with fellow student leaders. It would be beneficial to host something similar in the future because it provides a valuable opportunity for collaboration and sharing of ideas among different schools.