Breakfast Club
A Breakfast Club was introduced in the school last year (2005-6) and has been going well since its introduction. The programme is proving very popular and those taking part enjoy the variety of foods available. We expect to continue with the Breakfast Club in in 2007-8, extending it to include all junior cycle students who are eligible.

 

Volunteer Community Mentoring Project

This project emerged last year from the Local Committee of the HSCL. The project provided 18 young people with a volunteer mentor for the past year. The role of the mentor was to guide and support the young person through the school year.

According to project worker Sheila Egan, The Volunteer Community Mentoring Project has been very successful in its first year. An external evaluation of the programme, which reported in May, showed that the work of the volunteer mentors was beneficial for the students involved. The mentoring has had a positive impact on the confidence and self-esteem of the students and helped reduce the likelihood of some of the students dropping out of school. In praise of the project volunteers she added, "The success of the project is due, in no small part, to the commitment and enthusiasm of the volunteer mentors, who worked with a student on a one-to-one basis over the year". Mentors have also said that the project has been a very constructive experience for themselves.

The project was overseen by the KDYS and funded by Partnership Trá Lí. The steering committee also included the Tralee Volunteer Bureau, Department of Education & Science and Mercy Mounthawk Secondary School.

It is hoped that sustainable funding can be sought for the project for the 2007-8 school year, which will allow it to carry on its good work with young people in our community.