Laois students celebrate phenomenal wins for digital content creation
Laois schools took home some big wins at the first ever LOETB TY Digital Arts Programme Awards in Offaly
Students from Laois celebrated incredible achievements at the inaugural LOETB TY Digital Arts Programme Awards in Tullamore.
Schools from Laois and Offaly were invited to Esker Arts Theatre in Tullamore for the awards ceremony which showcased the work of LOETB TY students in the areas of Filmmaking, Podcasting and Virtual Reality which are part of the new TY Digital Arts Programme.
The new programme was developed and supported by LOETB with Offaly and Laois County Councils, along with Film Offaly and Laois Arts Office. The programme successfully supports teachers and students with training and equipment to produce creative digital content.
STEM Officer for County Laois, Seanie Morris, was MC on the night and presented students from Laois and Offaly with awards for their work.
There were lots of worthy winners from Laois at the awards ceremony. Portlaoise College’s Sophia Bebcak was awarded Best Podcast Performer. Judges Kellie Keogh and Siobhan Grealy commended the students for the quality and variety of their entries and the challenge they had in picking the three winners.
ASCN Clara were announced as runner-up, as well as Banagher College. The overall podcast winner on the night was Oaklands CC for their podcast ‘Mná in Motion’ which focused on the underrepresentation of women in politics. The Oaklands team walked away with the award and the €1,500 prize fund.
Dunamase College in Portlaoise claimed the top prize in the Virtual Reality section, with Clonaslee College awarded the runner-up as well as CNC Kilcormac.
School teams across LOETB schools had been provided with training workshops to use 360 degree cameras to create virtual tours for new students – with audio and video guides embedded to help new students get to know their new school before they
ever set foot in it.
The category for Best Short Film was particularly competitive with two of the judges, Darren Lee from Film Offaly and Jim Enright from LOETB, commending the "incredibly high standard" of entries.
The two runner-ups were from Laois. Portlaoise College took home the prize for their entry 'This is the Place' and St. Fergal's Rathdowney for their short film 'People.'
The top award and €1,500 cash prize went to Tullamore College for their 'The Echoes of Us.'
The last award of the night, Best Performance in a Short Film, went to Ashleen Gorman from Clonaslee College for her performance in the short film 'A Lesson Learned.'
As well as the presentation of awards, guests got to see showcase of another LOETB schools programme, the LOETB Creative Cluster. A collage of some of the work these TY media teams produced as part of this initiative was showcased on the big screen with Clonaslee College teacher, Linda Fitzpatrick, giving an overview of the Creative Cluster programme and its many benefits.
On the night, LOETB’s Linda Tynan thanked all those involved for their support, especially Laois County Council. She also paid special tribute to the teachers and management of LOETB schools who supported students through such programmes.
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme