Over the summer, our dedicated staff worked very hard (many a late evening!) to remodel our kitchen and stock it with new equipment so we could offer more varied classes. It was done with help through funding from Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board, Reach, Limerick Regeneration, SIF and further support from DSP.
Here, we offer cooking and baking classes, including:
• Air-frying: a course that teaches you how to make eco-friendly, cost-effective, and tasty meals.
• One Pot Cooking: a great course for healthy family meals.
• Introduction to Baking: for yummy treats made with our new baking equipment.
We will soon be offering Healthy Food Made Easy, which helps with nutrition, budgeting meals as well as taste.
And there will be more classes after Christmas.
We aim to help by catering to everyone and provide courses that are practical and educational. Help with food waste and climate change.
The kitchen is the heart of our home here and a safe, comfortable space where learners can take a break and relax!
Summer is
here and what that means for us is less people in the building as classes are
on a break till September. However, that doesn’t mean it is deathly quiet
around the halls of the education centre. This summer, we have set up clubs for
learners who want to keep their skills updated and meet up with old and new
friends here at the centre. It is also good for us to see familiar faces to
chat to also. It gives us a chance to show off our new teaching community
kitchen which was recently installed and freshly tiled. The staff here in the
centre contributed immensely to the project and our kitchen is now something we
can truly be proud of. Roll on September with our cookery and baking courses
which we hope will entice you all in to learn something new and maybe develop
some skills you already have to bring to the next level. And truth be told the
staff love to sample any of the culinary creations that come their way when the
cooking classes resume.
Ageing plus
continues to thrive with our team supporting those most in need with some minor
home repairs and essential garden maintenance. Thanks to all involved!! Also,
the friendly call service continues to compliment Ageing plus and generate the
jobs we want to do for those most in need.
Our
partnership with Adapt women’s services continues to grow also and should you
know of anyone who needs to avail of those services, we encourage you to
contact us so that we may refer you to them and provide you with more
information.
Our two
adult Education workers are busy preparing the timetable in advance of our
registration day on September 5th here in the centre, so that we may
delver the classes people want, but also what our community needs. Included in
this will be accredited course to ensure job readiness, mental health courses
to support those that need a little help in maintain positivity and focus,
community education classes to solidify friendships and create new skills to
impress family and friends, and now we are adding all types of cookery with the
advantage of our teaching kitchen.
The outlook
is bright and positive, and rest assured, we are aiming to bring you all the
best services possible and help build capacity in our community that ensures
growth and personal development for all.
On a
slightly sadder note, I would like to thank our Kevin Moloney for his service
to the project as he is soon to retire. If he doesn’t retire to the French
riviera, maybe we can get him up here for the odd bit of volunteering.
Today, St.
Marys Adult Education had a tea and coffee morning with ADAPT to raise
awareness on domestic violence on woman and children. The main purpose of this
talk was to help give an insight into the signs of domestic violence in a
household and to show the range of services ADAPT has to offer to individuals
who may be experiencing domestic violence at home.
ADAPT
operates the country’s largest refuge which offers emergency housing for women
and children who are exposed to domestic abuse. It also offers a multitude of
outreach facilities to women who are not in a position to stay in the
residential area such as a 24-hour helpline, 1-2-1 support for issues caused by
domestic violence for example financial support. ADAPT also have a support
group for woman to attend which helps woman understand the meaning of domestic
violence and helps woman meet others who are in the same situation as them.
ADAPT have
a range of services to help children who are exposed to domestic violence and
help the children gain knowledge on healthy relationships, equal opportunity,
and respectability. An educational service is also included in ADAPT to help
individual’s experiencing domestic violence have a stepping stone back into an
education and a career.
If you are
experiencing or know anyone experiencing domestic violence in a household,
please do not hesitate to contact ADAPT at.
I am currently a second-year student in TUS (LIT) studying
community and addiction studies. I decided to enroll in this course after
completing my level five in social studies in LCFE in 2020, as the modules and
description of the course intrigued me, and I wanted to gain insight and
knowledge on what addiction is and the detrimental effects it can have on a
person’s life. I always wanted to work in the community sector and follow the
footsteps of my own mother who has worked in a multitude of community services
such as pieta house and adapt. Since starting this course in 2021, I feel I
have developed as an individual through gaining knowledge on how to better the
quality of life for an individual or community as well as the various aspects
that may cause negative effects in a community such as addiction and/or
deprivation.
Deprivation is the
lack of basic needs for an individual to have. Poverty, insufficient housing,
low education, and a lack of work or social prospects are all examples of
deprivation. Although deprivation is reduced in certain locations, such as
inner cities, it can also be found in smaller towns and rural areas. Although
substance use can be found almost anywhere, in deprived areas such as St. Mary’s Park it is more noticeable due to the lack of housing, education and poverty. John Gilligan stated in the Irish
examiner “Nobody, and I mean nobody — Shannon Development or the IDA —
ever lifted their finger to try and replace industries in the inner city for
places like St Mary’s Park. They did absolutely nothing for them. The people of
St Mary’s Park were simply left abandoned,”. He also states that no new houses
have been built in over ten years and that the town has become abandoned. The
lack of jobs in St. Mary's Park has led to seventy percent of males and forty
percent of females to be out of work in 2014. Only two percent of St. Mary’s community have got an education as far as third level.
I am currently covering my placement in St. Mary's Adult Education,
and I am currently on week five of my placement. St. Mary’s adult education is a
great service that helps the individuals in St. Mary’s Park to grow a sense of
purpose in their community by offering them a multitude of level three and four
courses as well as just weekly classes such as digital media, gardening,
sewing, art class, managing stress and anxiety, child development through play
and lots more. St Mary’s adult education use classes such as gardening to help
put back into their community by offering families in the community help with
their maintenance in their gardens for free with their ageing plus service.
They also have a friendly calls service which is used to provide a friendly
chat for older or vulnerable people. Courses such as child development through
play and coping with stress and anxiety helps benefit the individuals in the
community to gain the awareness, skills, and capability to use play as part of
their child’s developmental stage and help the individual gain the confidence
to communicate with their child and themselves in a calm, collective way.
We
celebrated a wonderful day for us and our learners here at St Mary`s with our
(mostly) annual certification day.
Joined by friends and family, our learners received their awards from
local TD Maurice Quinlivan in the Halla of St Mary`s National School (thank you
to Principal Eoghan for the use of it). A certain amount of pride was had in watching
our learners receive the credit they so richly deserve.
A huge
thanks also to the staff here at St Mary`s for their tireless contribution in
keeping our centre looking so well and ensuring the day went well. Thanks also
to the wonderful tutors who deliver the courses so brilliantly and inspire all
of our learners to want to learn more year after year. Thank you to the LCETB
for providing those tutors and supporting our centre as well as they do.
A massive
shout-out to the board of volunteers for giving their time to ensure we always
deliver on our mission, our goals and in the spirit of our community. Linda
Ledger and St Munchin’s community centre for the lovely food on the day. The
Limerick City and County Council for funding some of our fabulous initiatives
and the DEASP for funding our Community Employment Scheme who run the centre
and support other local agencies with their wonderful contributions.
Last but not
least, thank you to the learners who grace our centre and make what we do so
meaningful in so many ways.
Here
at the centre we are delighted to announce that we are launching two new
services for the community.
The
two services we are adding are a community care service called Ageing Plus and
a Friendly Call service. We hope to work with the local community to make sure
that those in need can get the right help for them.
St
Mary’s Adult Education Ageing Plus
This
will be a service in which we will have dedicated staff to help vulnerable
people with some tasks they may be unable to do themselves. Our workers will
handle small household tasks, from hanging curtains to gardening and small
painting jobs
There
is no fee for this service.
We
aim to serve our local community with this service, and we also hope it will
allow people who may be at risk of isolation to have an opportunity to connect
with others. Even small or brief social interactions are very beneficial, and
you can use this service along with our Friendly Calls service too!
These
jobs may seem like mundane chores to some, and it is easy to take them for
granted, but not all are so fortunate, and we hope to connect with the people
who require it the most.
Friendly
Call Service
On
Tuesday and Thursday mornings and afternoons, our volunteers, John Murphy and
Elise Bennis will speak by phone to people in the community who are feeling
isolated or just want to talk to someone. This will be an opportunity for
people to socialise who may not have the opportunity otherwise. Our volunteers
will also help callers by providing information and can refer to other support
services.
Similar
to our Ageing Plus program, we believe strongly that this is an ideal way to
serve the community. Through engaging with members who can be neglected or
overlooked this can go a long way to countering the harmful and negative
effects that loneliness can have on people.
Studies
have claimed that those over age 75 and living by themselves have the greatest
prevalence of feeling alone. There is also a significant number of people over
50 who express these feelings. Good news can also be taken from this research
as it was also suggested that similar programs have been hugely successful and
support vulnerable people.
We
hope to speak to anyone who needs either service, and you can call us on
061-31399 or email stmarysaded@gmail.com to put your name down now!
Another end of term at St. Mary`s. This one feels rather special as it is the first term in three years accomplished in a meaningful way
without Covid restricting us too much. While hard work from the staff underpins what we do, we have an element of luck in that the wonderful tutors we have to deliver the classes have been of the best quality and seamlessly contribute to the positive atmosphere here at the education centre.
The learners make what we do worthwhile, and their enthusiasm and quality of work are the ultimate rewards in Community Education. This year brought us a blend of return offenders and new people that I’m sure will attend for years to come at our centre. People you initially meet for the first time soon become friends to St. Mary`s
. Surely that’s what community building is for. To encourage connectivity and inclusion, build relationships and increase capacity in our community.
We have had some long-term staff retire from our Community Employment scheme, and they will be sorely missed. However, I have a sneaking suspicion that their replacements are more than up to match the quality of work their predecessors delivered.
Our board has also stepped up a level, which was shown by them rolling their sleeves up and meeting the community head, on the day of our 20th anniversary. Helped in no small way by the glorious weather provided for us. I am very much looking forward to the future with this board at the helm, and the good things we can accomplish for our community. This can also be seen in our vulnerable person support program, which we have now named St Mary’s Adult Education Ageing +. We have designated workers to call to older and vulnerable people’s homes, to tend to their gardens, and hopefully make their day a bit brighter. We have also launched a friendly call service for those most socially isolated to have a chat.
For us, the summer is not a complete break as we focus on building towards next term, and hopefully we will have an additional classroom at our disposal to deliver the highest quality of adult education for our community. The future is bright as long as we continue working together.
What a
celebration we had on Friday the 27th of May and there was such a
great turnout we had with glorious sunshine, great food and great music from
The St Mary’s Primary School Orchestra and also face painting and balloons from
Giggles The Clown.
The Centre has been working for the community and
adult education over the last 20 years.
We had many Board Members, Workers, Tutors and Students pass through our
doors over time leaving their indelible mark on the success of the Centre. We would like to thank them for paving the
way. Also, a big shout out to our Current Board and Manager John O’Sullivan for all the
fantastic work they do.
We would like to thank all who graced our celebration
with their presence, and we hope you all had an enjoyable time and
experience. It was great to see The
Mayor, Local Councillors and TDs turning up to support the Centre.
So, here’s to another 20 years of success to St Mary’s
Adult Education Centre and continued support of Adult Education in The
Community and a big thank you to all The Employees of the Centre who did great
work on getting the place ready and welcoming for all.
We hope
to welcome you all back after the summer to sign up for classes and see us
again.
St. Mary’s is a vibrant area based on the north side of Limerick City. It is one of the oldest parts of the city with both King Johns Castle and St. Mary’s Cathedral in the Area.
St. Mary’s Adult Education Centre’s primary focus is on providing education on a non-discriminatory basis to any member of the local population. The centre is also involved in recreational activities for the local population and staff members. Working in partnership with the Local Employment Service assistance is given with job seeking and C.V. preparation. The centre works with Limerick City Council, Limerick Regeneration and Limerick Island Community Partners on a litter picking project for the Greater King’s Island. They also work on advancing enterprise in the area, with a focus on job creation.
St Mary’s Adult Education Group is the main provider of adult education within St Mary’s wider parish. We are based in the Old Infant Boys School on the Island Road. We provide training at all levels including community education, ICT and QQI. We are a QQI Quality Assured Group.
We are CE sponsors to a CE Scheme which has participants based across the St Mary’s area engaged in work such as Environmental, Community Café, Athlunkard Boat Club, King’s Island Youth and Community Centre as well as the Adult Education Centre.
Our group aim is to provide the following support & educational programmes which are of benefit to the greater “Kings Island Area” of Limerick.
