LOUIS MOVE TO DKIT
Blaze at St. Louis school sees students and staff move to college
STUDENTS and staff from St. Louis secondary school will see out the academic year at Dundalk Institute of Technology, following the major blaze at the Castletown Road school last weekend.
The school grounds remained closed yesterday (Monday) amid health and safety concerns. The study hall and technology room were gutted in the fire which began at around 3a.m on Saturday morning last.
A school spokeswoman said that the presence of so many people taking part in the ‘Darkness Into Light’ walk in the early hours of Saturday morning may have helped in the alarm being so quickly raised.
Firefighters were quickly on the scene, and the blaze was contained to the stand alone building where it broke out.
School management worked throughout the weekend and yesterday (Monday) to arrange a suitable relocation for the school.
It emerged that DkIT was
being made available for Louis staff and students to finish out the academic year, and if needed, also to host state exams.
The school are liaising with the Department of Education, as provisions are put in place for students who may have lost exam projects in the fire.
The school also confirmed support from Bus Eireann who will carry any student who needs transportation to the new location.
It has been a challenging time but we have had amazing support,’ said Acting Principal, Michelle Dolan.
‘Our priority is providing a safe and calm learning environment for all, including exam candidates while they continue to prepare for state exams.’
St. Louis students and staff will move to Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) to finish out the academic year, following the fire which devastated a building at the school last weekend.
The blaze broke out at around 3:00am on Saturday morning, when an alert was raised by people passers by.
A school spokeswoman said that the presence of so many people taking part in the ‘Darkness Into Light’ walk may have helped in the alarm being so quickly raised.
Firefighters from Louth County Fire Service were quickly at the scene and managed to stop the fire from spreading into the main buildings of the school.
But the blaze led to two rooms, the Study hall and the technology room, being burned out.
In a statement, the school’s Acting Principal, Michelle Dolan, said:
‘ The Board of Management and I wish to thank the Dundalk and Ardee Fire Services under Fire Officer Paul Kelly who worked tirelessly all night to ensure that both the main building and Dealga were saved. We are indebted to them and truly grateful for all their efforts.’
The school was closed yesterday (Monday) due to safety concerns.
A Garda forensic team continued their work over the course of the weekend and a number of classrooms were out of commission due to health and safety issues with broken glass, electricity and water supplies and some smoke damage. Ms. Dolan confirmed that the school’s insurance company were sending a professional team to begin the clean up operation.
‘Unfortunately, the school building will not reopen for students as it is still deemed un- safe. The entire school will relocate for the next three weeks and for the duration of the State Exams, if required.’
She added: ‘Providing excellent teaching and learning to our students is our priority as well as providing a safe and calm learning environment for all, including exam candidates while they continue to prepare for state exams.’
An Annual Awards night, planned for this Thursday 17th, will go ahead in the school Gym as this area is safe and is a distance from the site of the fire.
The school also confirmed support from Bus Eireann who will carry any student who needs transportation to the new location.
‘We made a lot of progress over the weekend and have had discussions with the Department of Education and Skills to begin planning to repair the school and replace lost rooms.’
The Acting Principal added ‘We have also had reassurance from the State Exams Commission that they have a procedure in place to deal fairly with the exam candidates who have lost project work in the recent fire and will work closely with the school this week.’
‘It has been a challenging time but we have had amazing support from the Board of Management, our founders the Sisters of St Louis, Department of Education Building and Transport sections, State Exams Commission, Le Chéile, JMB, Allianz and local friends,students, parents and colleagues in other schools/colleges, from all sectors, who have rallied to offer help and support.’
She added: ‘ The school’s motto is Ut Sint Unum or We are one and we have certainly felt the amazing power of teamwork and mutual support, in action, this weekend.’