Beannachtai members Laois RTAI,
Our Monthly Social for May on Tuesday 3rd last had a small attendance (10 members) but nevertheless an enjoyable sit-down gathering in Stradbally Fayre- a new and suitable venue and one which we may use again.Thanks very much to Catherine Coleman (again) for her work in organising venue and refreshments.
We will not be having a First Tuesday Social in June so our next such event will be on JULY 5th with a venue etc. to be organised. I will welcome suggestions for same.
Our SUMMER GENERAL MEETING will make a come-back (post Covid) and also a return to LAOIS EDUCATION CENTRE for first time since December 2019 AGM.It is fixed for WEDNESDAY 22 ND JUNE with assembly from 11.00 am (tea/coffee) for 11.30 start and our General Secretary Billy Sheehan will be in attendance.This is the only Laois branch meeting he attends during a year .The Meeting will be followed by a complimentary (is that correct spelling?) lunch in the Centre (just to remind you of the good old days of Curriculum courses) so hopefully there will be a good attendance.I will send a reminder closer to the date and I may also need to get an idea of numbers attending (due to catering).Also those not on email list will receive postal notice in early June but if you are in contact with any such you could let them know.
Some of our members are involved in teaching English to Ukrainian refugees but there is always room for a lot more involvement. There is a very well organised programme running in Abbeyleix but other areas of the county where there are refugees are not as well served-mainly due to not having the personnel to initiate and organise.There is an organisation called Failte Isteach (in association with Laois Partnership) which is trying to promote this and if you think you can help in any way please call Carina Burrows (Laois Partnership) 087-4068095 or Oskana/Kateryna (Failte Isteach) at 087-9131236 for more details.In Abbeyleix the classes are held in the morning, are very informal and basically involve chatting with the Ukrainians to improve their basic English re. directions,shopping etc.It is not necessary to be a qualified teacher to be involved so you could also involve other people interested in volunteering.
Mountrath INTO are holding a Retirement Night (for 7 retirees) on Friday 20th May and have asked me to notify retired ex-members of the branch.I will be issuing that notice separately so if you were a member of Mountrath Branch INTO and did not get an email by end of today (as Im not 100% who was in Mountrath Branch) please let me know and I will forward message to you.
Slán go fóill,
Sean Mullaney (Runai RTAI Laoise 2021) rtailaois@gmail.com 087-6324547