It’s been ten years since the Louth and Meath Education and Training Board (LMETB) was formed back in 2013 through the amalgamation of Louth and Meath VECs.
On Thursday March 2nd, the staff and pupils of St Oliver’s Community College marked the occasion with a day of celebration of the core values, spirit and ethos of the ETB; that of community, care and respect.
“We weren’t able to celebrate our own 40th anniversary during COVID, and we had lots of events planned for that, so when this came around, we were determined not to miss it,” says principal John Halpin. “It is a time to celebrate our progress and continued development as an ETB school serving Drogheda and the surrounding areas. ETB Day has given us a chance to reflect on a decade of ETB education and the values we promote in the school and mark that success.”
Particularly relevant to Drogheda, LMETB hosts the Drogheda Implementation Board which is leading the implementation of the recommendations from the Guerin Report published in 2020. In addition, LMETB’s new multi-million-euro headquarters will be located on the St. Oliver’s campus on the Rathmullen Road.
“St. Oliver’s CC is one of the largest post-primary schools in the country and continues to grow because of the hard-work and vision of the staff and the talents and skills of our students,” Principal Halpin continued. “The new ETB ethos framework document reconfirms our commitment to multi-denominational coeducation. The stating of the core values reflects the practice that was taking place every day in the school and will continue to support our students and our local community.”
Like any good celebration, there was a cake and staff got to enjoy a special treat for lunch. For the students, a competition saw artwork, poetry, videos and songs submitted to celebrate the five core values of the ETBs – care, equality, respect, community and excellence in education. Students were presented with awards of vouchers for local businesses. The girls football teams was on the pitch hosting a soccer blitz against ETB schools from Dunshaughlin and Dunboyne and other local schools.
The day was also enhanced when news came back that the Lego League team had won the Innovation award at a technology competition sponsored by Amazon Web Services. Chairperson of the Board of Management, Cllr. Wayne Harding joined the staff on the day.
“St. Oliver’s is a foundation of the local community that serves Drogheda and the surrounding areas. I know the positive impact the school continues to have in the local area through the welcome that is given to local sports and cultural groups, through links with local employers and supporting the needs of the young people of our area,” said Cllr Harding. “As a school community, we are looking forward to the new multi-million euro extension that is on the way for the school and that will serve the future needs for students and community.”
Louth and MEATH is one of the largest ETBs in the country employing over 2,400 staff and providing education for 11,700 students at Primary, Secondary and Post Leaving Certificate level and 20,000 beneficiaries in Further Education and Training.
