Showcasing community education across Limerick. 

LCEN news

The LCEN collaborated with the LCETB (Limerick and Clare education and training board) to showcase the "Self-portraits" project. If you remember from the last issue, we showed the online gallery that was put together for the 2021 Life Long Learning festival. 

On the 17th of September the official in person launch took place in the peoples museum of Limerick. See the article below from the Limerick Post newspaper

The LCEN is delighted to announce that John Buttery from Garryowen CDP will represent the LCEN on the board of AONTAS. Many thanks to those who supported John in the election process

On the 8/11/21, we had the pleasure of having Suzanne and Amy from AONTAS come to present Catherine Aylmer with an Aontas Award for her outstanding contribution to Community Education and to the Aontas CEN.

It was lovely to have Catherine back in a room with community education providers and community education stakeholders to wish her the very best for her retirement and for her to be acknowledged in such a lovely and significant way in receiving this well-deserved award. 

 Learning Limerick participated in the second annual Irish Learning Cities Day on 30th September 2021. This included launching a number of short videos on the day, profiling Learning Limerick and the involvement in the Irish Network. The main video features the Lord Mayor and Mayors of the five learning cities in the Irish Network, Limerick, Cork, Belfast, Dublin and Derry Strabane.

In September, a presentation was made to our Learning Ambassadors of a photobook profiling their involvement in the Learning Ambassadors project over the last two years. This was an acknowledgement of their important work in promoting lifelong learning across Limerick; as well as nationally and internationally.

Learning Limerick was delighted to participate in the Global Learning Festival with our ‘Conversations with Learners’ event on November 10th..  Learning Limerick engages took part in this global festival as a member of the Irish Network of Learning Cities (INLC).  The event featured an introduction to each of the five Irish learning cities and showcased a learner’s story from each city. Our own Learning Limerick Ambassador, Lylian Fotabong, shared her own story of her learning journey, and her reflections on the importance of lifelong learning. 

Since early September we have had learners roaming through our

corridors once more. It was just another step on the long road to

normality. For us though, it was a huge one.

With our stringent safety standards still in place and smaller classes
too, we were delighted to be able to welcome back seasoned regulars
who couldn’t make it for the last 18 months. We have also hosted
many new learners too and hope that this year will be the first of

many in their story with our centre.

We have had a lot of interest in our Arts and Crafts, Mental
Wellbeing and Technology related classes but this year we have also
had a surprise hit with our Genealogy course. Initially down for only
one class, we had so much interest that we were able to add a second

soon after.

The next year looks even more promising and we are looking forward
to being able to host an even larger number of students again.
Happy Holidays from all at St Mary’s Adult Education Centre and we

will see you all next year!

There is spaces also available for our fitness class next Monday at 1.30pm

To book - call 061-313993

There is spaces also available for our fitness class next Monday at 1.30pm

To book - call 061-313993

Some spaces are available for the following classes:

Woodwork - Mondays @ 14.30 - 16.30

Beauty and Skincare Thuirsdays @ 10.00 - 12.00

Art Thursdays @ 15.15 - 17.15

There is places on the Driver theory test course, this is for people who want to prepare for the test, the day is Thursdays at 10am to 12pm call 061 440250 if you would like to book a place.

Information and Guidance is Reaching out!

Wellbeing and Connecting are key priorities for the Information and Guidance Team this term. Many adults are finding it challenging to move out of the home and back into learning so we will be organising a few initiatives:

For College Awareness week, we will have a stand outside of College of FET, O’Connell Avenue Campus.  We want to make it easier for people to talk to us and to learn about the huge range of opportunities available across the city in FET. 

We will be holding two Wellbeing events for learners in November in conjunction with Limerick Sports Partnership and Limerick Mental Health. Participants will learn practical tips to use each day to care for themselves and their mental wellbeing and will find out about other supports available in Limerick to care for their wellbeing. The dates are:

• November 9th 11am-12pm, O’Connell Avenue Campus. To register, contact bernie.fitzgerald@lcetb.ie.

• November 18th 11am-12pm (Zoom). To register, contact catherine.carroll@lcetb.ie

Higher Education Talk

We will be holding an online talk on November 24th at 11am on Teams Pathways to Higher Education for Adult Learners. Learners can contact Lorraine O’Donoghue (087-9377277/ lorraine.odonoghue@lcetb.ie) or Donna Horgan (086-0598764/donna.horgan@lcetb.ie) to register. 

Online Careers Library

Our new Online Careers Library is up and running! Tutors and Staff can now join on Teams to get access to resources and information on Wellbeing and Mental Health, Study Skills, Learner Supports, Further and Higher Education Opportunities, Career Planning, Job Search and CV/Interviews. For further information, contact the course/centre Guidance Counsellor. 

Finally, we plan to run regular Zoom Information and Guidance sessions for learners and adults in Limerick who are considering engaging in learning. Please let us know if you would like us to run an information session on Zoom on a particular theme.

Also check out the Killmallock road campus to see all the courses on offer

AONTAS STAR Awards 2022 - Nominations Now Open!
We are delighted to announce that the AONTAS STAR Award nominations are now open. 
AONTAS is encouraging organisations to nominate their projects for the AONTAS STAR Awards 2022. The STAR Awards recognise outstanding work in adult learning and are open to all groups/ organisations across the island of Ireland. The STAR Awards give initiatives the opportunity to spotlight their excellent work and bring national recognition to learners, staff and organisations. Winners will receive a specially crafted trophy, promotional video, sponsors prize and other opportunities with AONTAS. If you are part of, or know of an adult education initiative that deserves to be highlighted nominate them today. Click here to nominate.

STAR Award Categories for 2022 and Sponsors

•    Health and Wellbeing – Mental Health Ireland
•    Third-level Access and Engagement – The Teachers’ Union of Ireland
•    Social Inclusion – The Open University in Ireland 
•    Sustainable Development through Education – Concern Worldwide 
•    Learner Voice – Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) 
•    Special Recognition for a European Social Fund (ESF) Initiative - European Social Fund 
•    Special Recognition for Mitigating Educational Disadvantage through Innovation (during COVID-19) - Open College Network Northern Ireland (OCN NI)

The deadline for completed nominations is Monday, 22nd November at 5pm.
To start your nomination today click here.

Information Webinar - AONTAS STAR Awards 2022
Join us on Wednesday, 10th November as the AONTAS communications team will host this fun information session for those thinking of, or in the process of entering the AONTAS STAR Awards.
We will hear from judges, sponsors and past winners who will help guide you through the process. They will share some of the benefits of taking part in the AONTAS STAR Awards and give reasons why your organisation should enter this year.
To register for this free event please click here.

The STAR Awards are proudly sponsored by The Open University in Ireland, The European Social Fund, Concern Worldwide, the Open College Network Northern Ireland, Quality and Qualifications Ireland, Teachers’ Union of Ireland and Mental Health Ireland.

If you would like to find out more about the AONTAS STAR Awards please contact Barry Dolan, AONTAS Communications and Membership Officer at: bdolan@aontas.com