If you are young (16 - 20), have left school and wonder what to do with yourself ... then Youthreach is for you! Youthreach Roscrea offers a variety of programmes and has a rolling intake, so contact us now! We offer Leaving Certificate Applied and a Step Up programme that help students to prepare for PLC. The ethos of Youthreach is to be informal, inclusive and relevant to the different study or employment options that students want to pursue – check out the promotional video produced by the National Association representing Youthreach at https://youtu.be/GOLCY_Sp3TI or the Roscrea Youthreach website with our own promotional video at http://www.roscreaeducationcentre.ie/youthreach-roscrea-tipperary/

Happy New Year to you all!! Please take note that our Back to Education courses and our Youthreach programme both are starting back on Monday after the holiday break. Youthreach students received a text to notify them about arrangements for Monday. BTEI courses follow the usual schedule. Wishing us all a good 2018. [Photo from www.nursebuff.com]

We had a lovely Christmas celebration yesterday with a 'modern' take on Christmas and then our charity event for the homeless & the Uganda project. Today we did a bit of work & then practiced for our 'concert' ... First time round with keyboard & guitar! Not ready just yet to be signed for a record label... but there is definitely talent 👍🏼

Our Christmas Charity this year is 'Sock Appeal for the Homeless'. We had our centre trip to Limerick yesterday - more photos to follow - but one of the reasons for going, was to buy the socks to donate. Our Step Up group is taking the lead in this fundraiser as part of their Teamwork module. They are working closely with their Communications tutor too as well as with Helen, an LCA 2 student who is doing her Social Education Contemporary Issues Task on Homelessness.

Getting ready for Christmas! Progression students put up the Christmas tree, Art students made craft decorations, Reflection Space reflects the season, LCA's did the Christmas board, Chloe made our Christmas cards as part of Work Experience ... sounds like a team effort to me! Looking forward to the Christmas cookery next week too

Congratulations to our students who won Tipperary ETB awards! Shannon Hayes won the award for best Leaving Certificate Applied - she currently is continuing her studies in Beauty Therapy and Jodie Donoghue was awarded for Best Personal Achievement last year in her overall personal development. Jodie is with us in LCA at the moment and doing very well. Here they are with staff from Roscrea Education Centre at the Conference.

We had a great conference at the Horse and Jockey Hotel with the staff of the other Youthreach centres and some of the Further Education and Training staff that could join us. We had an amazing range of input from the keynote speakers and workshop facilitators - how the brain works, well-being, technology and new methodologies, the importance of sport for our health, etc. Thank you to Tipperary ETB for funding this event and to Prof. Billy O'Connor, Dr. Patricia Mannix-McNamara, Dr. David McCormack, Brian Comerford, Muriel Cuddihy, Tony Sheridan & Paul Keating for sharing their wisdom and insights with us.

We recently celebrated the achievements of our students at the Racket Hall Country House outside Roscrea. Well done to our students on their success. Thank you sincerely to the family and friends for sharing in the event and the management and staff of Tipperary ETB who joined us on the day.

Monday and Tuesday are Centre Evaluation and Improvement Planning Days. This process helps us to review the past year, learn from feedback received from various stakeholders and plan for the current academic year. We welcome Anne Marie Beattie, our external facilitator for the two days, to the centre. Thursday is a staff training day for the New Junior Cycle. Students were given letters with arrangements for the week. If you are unsure about requirements, please contact the centre. [Image: http://www.ero.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/learners.JPG]

Happy Hallowe'en & thanks to our LCA's for the Art work!!