Dundalk IT Students’ Union are appealing for landlords who wish to rent their properties out to students to contact them.
The Students’ Union puts a list together each summer of properties available close to the college.
To get on this please contact Students’ Union president Aaron Lawless on 042 9370390 or 085 2781462 or email president@dkitsu.ie
The accommodation list is due to go live next week.
Rockfield Manor
Shots were fired at a house in the Rockfield Manor area in the early hours of this morning.
Gardaí are investigating the incident, which occurred in the estate off Hoey’s Lane, near Dundalk IT, at around 3.40am.
No one was injured in the shooting.
This is the second dangerous incident to happen in Rockfield Manor in the last few months.
Back in April a number of residents were evacuated from their homes in the early hours of the morning when an improvised explosive device detonated in the estate.
Rockfield is predominently occupied by student renters although many of them have now left the area due to the summer break.
Anyone who spotted anything suspicious in the area last night or early this morning is asked to contact Dundalk Garda Station on 042 9335577.
The affected house in Rockfield Manor after shots were fired at it last night
Students and teachers from St Joseph’s National School in Muirhevnamor visited Leinster House yesterday.
They were greeted on the day by local Senator Mary Moran, who said: “I was delighted to welcome students and teachers for a tour of the Houses of the Oireachtas.
“I was also delighted to be able to afford the students the opportunity to address Oireachtas colleagues following a recent debate competition. The students’ knowledge and preparation was very impressive. I would like to commend the students and teachers involved on their hard work.”
On Wednesday Senator Moran was one of a number of local representatives who took part in the Job Shadow Day 2015, which seen Louth natives Conor McIntyre and Maria McCabe shadow her around Leinster House for the day.
Dundalk IT Students’ Union raise the flag at the campus yesterday
Yesterday was a highly significant day in Dundalk IT as students raised a rainbow flag at the front of the campus.
The flag not only serves to show their support for a ‘Yes’ vote in the upcoming Marriage Equality Referendum on May 22nd but also reminds all students that the campus is a safe place that celebrates the uniqueness of every student.
Before raising the flag, the DkIT Students’ Union set a target of 1,000 signatures to highlight the support throughout the campus for the initiative. This target was surpassed with ease with almost 2,000 signatures secured in just one day.
Speaking at the unveiling of the flag, DkIT Student Union president Brian Fitzpatrick was keen to stress the importance of the gesture. He said: “Equality plays a central part in how we operate in DkIT. I feel that this flag has two importances. Firstly, we hope it will serve as a reminder to staff, students and the local people of Dundalk to get out on May 22nd and vote ‘Yes’ for Marriage Equality. Secondly, it sends out a strong message to all current and prospective students that DkIT is a safe place to be different and to celebrate your uniqueness and be proud of who you are.
“Although the flag has been raised in the run up to the referendum, it will remain in place long afterwards to remind all students, current and prospective, that DkIT is a welcoming campus for all,” said Brian.
Also present at the raising of the flag was John Ruddy from Dundalk Outcomers who spoke of his delight at the new addition to the Dundalk campus.
“We are immensely proud of the DkIT students,” he said.
“This makes a strong statement for the inclusion of all students and support for the more vulnerable ones. We’re delighted with this great show of support for the upcoming referendum. We hope all students across the region will follow the lead of DkIT and use their vote on May 22nd.”
More than half of secondary school students in Louth feel they won’t find work in their own county, according to a new survey from Studyclix.
Considering the range of multi-national companies in the Wee County, it might come as a surprise that teenagers are the least likely in the whole of Ireland to find work close to home.
More than 4,822 secondary school students took part in the survey on the Studyclix website but students here were the least optimistic about finding work locally when they progress into the workforce.
Overall the survey found that 56% of second-level students were stressed about school, with four out of 10 admitting they feel they will have to emigrate in order to get a job.
More than half of the students surveyed (55%) feel they are ‘addicted’ to their phones. Some 49% admitted to checking their phone in class once the teacher’s back was turned.
While just 3% of students smoke, more than four in 10 said they drink regularly. Some 88% of first-year students say they never drink and 6% claim to drink only on special occasions.
For Leaving Certificate students, 19% said they never drink and 65% drink on special occasions.
A quarter of all students said they have witnessed cyberbullying in the last school year.
The most used social media platform among students is still Facebook, with 81% of those surveyed active on the platform. The second-most popular channel is picture-sharing app Snapchat at 80%. Instagram is third at 68%, while Twitter trails in fourth at 53%.
Some 13% of students surveyed have a profile on the online-dating site Tinder; 6% of students at junior level (12- 15-year-olds) also have a profile on the site.
What the new Dundalk IT Sports Arena will look like when fully operational
The Dundalk IT Sports Arena opened its doors for the first time on Monday.
The former JJB Complex at Dundalk Retail Park had been purchased by the college in December 2013 with plans to open it last September delayed until now.
The facility is being co-funded by students at the college, who will each pay a €125 levy each year towards it.
While the sports arena will not be fully operational until the summer, the eight five-a-side football pitches are now in use as well as a large training area, which is made up of three more pitches.
The facility will be opened to the public in the summer, by which stage the arena will have the swimming pool, steam rooms, jacuzzis and gym all in operation.
ISSU President Craig McHugh
Members of the Irish Second Level Student’s Union (ISSU) in Dundalk have expressed their disappointment with the strike action that saw over 330,000 students “locked out” of education yesterday.
Secondary schools both locally and nationally did not open on Tuesday due to the teaching strikes called upon by ASTI and TUI over their battle against the proposed junior cert reform.
Coláiste Rís student and ISSU President Craig McHugh spoke to Matt Cooper on yesterday’s The Last Word show on Today FM and said he believed the dispute was no longer about junior cert reform, accusing teachers of “stubbornness”.
“I am deeply disappointed that the strikes went ahead. Over 330,000 students like me were affected and the feeling among many that we represent is that this is no longer about opposition to reform, but almost stubbornness.
“The junior cycle was broken and inadequate for the evolving world we live in. The problems outlined by the teaching unions, in my opinion and the students I represent, does not justify an industrial action as large as a strike.
“We’ve compromised and bit our tongue at the reduction of the continuous assessment decision from 60pc to 40pc and I think it’s time for the teaching unions to do the same, move forward and get on with it.
“This reform is good. It works for students and the negatives being outlined may be considered as issues to some, but we don’t and the majority of education stakeholders do not believe this strike is in anyway necessary and that majority stems from students right up to principals and parents.”
Other ISSU representatives from Dundalk including Shay McArdle (O Fiaich College) and Joy Moses (St Vincent’s) echoed Craig’s remarks.
Craig also called upon TUI leader Gerry Quinn to call off the proposed January strike due to its timing and close proximity with Mock Junior Cert and Leaving Cert exams.
Senator Mary Moran
Local Senator Mary Moran has expressed her disappointment that second level teachers are set to carry out a proposed strike next Tuesday over Junior Certificate reforms and has called on them to reconsider their decision.
The Labour Party representative, a former schoolteacher in St Vincent’s, said the only losers would be the students if secondary schools across the country were to close on December 2nd and added that she felt new Minister for Education Jan O’Sullivan had been doing a good job since her appointment last summer.
“In my opinion Minister O’ Sullivan has made considerable movement to address the concerns of students, parents and teachers about Junior Cert reform since she became the Minister for Education.
“She has recently agreed to proposals that students will continue to receive a state certificate recognising student achievement after three years in second level education. She has also proposed that as a result of consultation with the relevant parties that a final exam in 3rd year will account for 60% of total marks while the other 40% will be marked on continuous assessment.
“I believe the Minister has made great efforts to bring a satisfactory resolution and I would urge all sides to continue to negotiate to ensure that students do not lose out,” said the Senator.
Cllr Tomás Sharkey believes everyone would be best served by the Leaving Cert results being issued sooner
Sinn Féin County Councillor Tomás Sharkey is calling for the 2015 Leaving Certificate results to be released earlier than the traditional mid-August date.
His remarks came on the eve of around 1,600 students in the county receiving their results earlier today.
He said: “Students will know how many points they got and college places will be awarded in the coming weeks. This leaves very little time for students and families to make arrangements for the start of the first semester.
O Fiaich College
O Fiaich College will host its annual end of year exhibition from Tuesday May 6th to Friday May 9th.
The opening night is at 7.30pm on Tuesday, with the exhibition open each day from 9am to 3.30pm after that.
The annual exhibition showcases the work of the school’s creative students and features an eclectic collection of work from art and design, graphic design, photography and multimedia.
All are welcome to attend.
Talk of the Town 