Well done to all the pupils, committee members, staff and parents who have made this possible.

Pictured below are the members of the committee – missing from photograph is Tommy our caretaker.

Back Row:  Mrs Siobhan Maher, Green Schools Co-ordinator, Darren in 5th Class, Kiesha in 3rd Class, Sam and Scott from 4th Class, Mrs Deirdre Bergin, Secretary

Front Row:   Saoirse from 5th Class, Robert from 3rd Class, Aimee and Sean from 6th Class

WELL DONE EVERYONE!

Raising ceremony will take place on Thursday 4th June at 11 30 am – put it in your diary

After assembly Garda Chris O Meara, who came out on his day off, gave us a safety talk before we we set off.  Local Sergeant Mark Kelly and Senan Gardiner from An Taisce brought reflective arm bands and jackets for those who didn’t have theirs.  Most of the pupils from 5th and 6th Class took part along with parents Colm Brophy and Aileen Hoyne along with our youngest participant Saoirse.  Ms Hogan and Green School Co-ordinator Mrs Maher also took on the challenge.  Mr Hanamy followed behind to collect the jackets and jumpers that were discarded due to the exercise and good weather.

There was great camaraderie as the pupils cycled, and a healthy competitive attitude - to see who could climb the hills without getting off the bike.  

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Wordpress Slideshow

Look through the slide show to see how the day was enjoyed by everyone – so much so it may become an annual event!

Thank you to our local Gardaí, An Taisce, parents who took part and also those parents who brought their children’s  bikes to school.

As we seek our Fourth Green Flag we are concentrating on transportation and how to lower our global foot print.  In line with this last Friday 5^th and 6^th Class had a very informative day on bike safety with Senan Gardiner.  We learned how to do the “M Check” on our bikes and how to do the life saver Look before overtaking obstacles or turning.  We had great fun trying to keep between the obstacles with one or two not able to keep their feet off the ground.  The slow bicycle race was also a challenge for some who are more used to going fast.  Danny in 6^th Class kept Senan busy with multiple punctures and as a result 6^th Class learned how to fix a puncture.

On Thursday 4th October pupils could have been forgiven for thinking they were in Mondello park rather than the Second Class playground.  Seamus Hoyne, Director of Tipperary Energy Agency,  visited the school in an electric Renault Fluence.  First and Fourth Class were delighted to be the classes chosen to learn about the car.  Seamus gave the children lots of information including:

• You could travel 150 km when the car is fully charged
• It takes 8 hours on slow charge or 30 minutes on fast charge to charge the battery
• You can charge the car at most petrol stations now – go in and have a cup of coffee while the battery charges
• The car is silent when turned on or during driving
• The children found it amazing that when you charge the battery at a petrol station you pay for it using a special swipe card –  the cost of charging the battery is charged to your electricity bill at home
• The pupils were also amazed that there was no exhaust on the car

Seamus kindly gave each of the children a drive around the playground in the car.

This year we are trying to achieve our fourth Green Flag which concentrates on transportation.  Our Green School co-ordinator Siobhan Maher is reminding us to car pool wherever possible.  We are in the process of electing a new committee.  The first task of the new committee will be to vote on the slogan for this flag.

Latest News

Monday 26th March dawned a bright sunny day and it was a beautiful day for more reasons than the weather. It was the day Minister Brian Cowen came to raise our first Green Flag. He was joined by Senator Pat Moylan, Councillor Peter Ormond, Offaly Environmental Officer Clare Dunne, David Hogan from Offaly County Council and School Chaplain Fr Michael Harding. Children from the school entertained the guests with a selection of traditional tunes and another group danced a few jigs for us. Michael Campion and Aisling Deegan explained the whole process and hard work that had gone in to getting our Green Flag.

In his speech Minister Cowen noted “It is a great pleasure to come here and hopefully the kids and parents will continue to keep this level of awareness and activity in this particular area. Today we have witnessed a great example of partnership between students and parents. It is great to see so many happy and interested in what was a very important aspect of their lives, not just so now, but also into the future”.

Mr Hanamy pointed out that following a suggestion by the Green Schools co-ordinator Siobhan Maher the school began its campaign for a Green Flag. “This Green Flag is the culmination of a number of years work from different green committees. Each committee was made up of pupils from 3rd to 6th Class, Parents’ Representatives which in the past included Dinny Quirke, Owain Drought and this year Veronica Crowley, Secretary Deirdre Bergin and Caretaker Tommy Carroll, Teachers Pauline Dooley and Soibhan Maher.

We conducted a survey of the waste we were sending to landfill that year. At the end of each day the 5th Class pupils emptied the contents of the bins onto newspaper and logged the results. From there we were able to ascertain which areas were producing the most waste. We adopted another form of 3 r’s in the school – reduce, reuse and recycle!! To reduce paper we photocopy on both sides, a reuseable paper box was placed in each classroom and we use a text a parent service to send messages home. A lunchbox policy was also introduced – we use reusable bottles and containers for popcorn etc. In an effort to reuse items we send printer cartridges to be refilled and reuse them, and return photocopier toner cartridges. We have a battery box in the school hall and can recycle batteries, and from time to time a charity collects old clothes from the school. Last Christmas the pupils had a novel way of giving Christmas cards – they did Kris Kindle and made the card in class”.

All the pupils know the Green Schools code

:

Our school is clean
Our pupils are keen
We’ll feel better
When we go green!!

It was with great pride that Peter Quealy, Sinead Delaney, Callum Moore and Teacher Siobhan Maher accepted the award on behalf of the school in Dublin on Tuesday 13th February.

The Green school search began in a small way in 2003 but it has grown from strength to strength.

We began by forming a committee made up of two pupils from 3rd to 6th class, a parent representative, the school secretary, a teacher and the caretaker. Our first task was a litter survey which was conducted by the pupils from 5th class. This involved them going to each class at the end of the day checking the bins and keeping a record of the contents. This information was then recorded on a graph and the results brought back to the committee. At this time the school had adopted a healthy eating policy so the next step was to suggest a lunch box policy. The parents were fully in support so we quickly began to see results. The hard working committee suggested that waste could be further reduced by encouraging pupils to re-use drinks bottles and lunch boxes. So it was goodbye to cartons and popcorn bags. Each class became equipped with three bins and the children very quickly became litter detectives.

In keeping with our green theme the green bin collects paper and car for recycling, our compost bin collects pencil parings and fruit waste and the third bin collects plastic waste and other un-recyclable materials.

Having been blessed with a very supportive caretaker when approached he was very open to the idea of planting and landscaping the outside grounds his only requirement was a load of topsoil! The parents were again were happy to oblige and we were on our way. Classes planted flowers indoors which were later transferred outside by Tommy and each year a new section is to be further developed.

For the past three years the school has taken part in the National Spring Clean with all children involved. The next step on our quest for a green flag was to devise a green code. A competition was run within the school the prize was sponsored by Owain Drought and the winning slogan was ‘Our school is clean, the pupils are keen, we’ll all feel better when we go green.’

To encourage further recycling from the wider community we have also held two days of clothes collections for different charities.

More Information on the Green Schools Initiative

Green-Schools is the Irish branch of an international environmental education programme known as Eco-Schools, which is designed to raise students’ awareness of environmental and sustainable development issues through classroom study. Eco-Schools is run by the Foundation for Environmental Education, an organisation founded in 1981 to raise awareness of environmental issues and effect change through education.

Green-Schools is run by An Taisce, an independent, environmental, non-governmental organisation, in conjunction with local authorities in Ireland. The scheme offers a well-defined, controllable way to take environmental issues from the curriculum and apply them to the day-to-day running of the school. This process helps students to recognise the importance of environmental issues and take them more seriously in their personal and home lives.

Benefits of the Green Schools initiative
The Green-Schools initiative can help schools to:

Improve the school environment
Reduce litter and waste
Reduce fuel bills
Increase environmental awareness
Involve the local community
Gain local publicity
Create links with other schools in Ireland and abroad
The Eco-Schools Green Flag, which is awarded to schools that have shown high achievement in their individual Programmes, is a recognised and respected eco-label for environmental education and performance. In Ireland, the Green-Schools award is given to schools that successfully complete the Seven Steps of the programme.

Seven Steps of the Green-Schools initiative
The seven steps of the Green-Schools programme are:

Green-Schools committee: This step directs the school’s involvement in the project. Ideally, the committee will include pupils, teachers, non-teaching staff, management and parents.
Environmental Review: This process involves the examination of the school’s environmental impacts in order to identify targets for action and improvement.
Action Plan: This step involves setting specific and achievable targets with proposed completion dates that will show real success.
Monitoring and Evaluation: This step ensures that progress towards targets is checked, amendments made when necessary and success celebrated.
Curriculum Work: This involves providing curriculum materials that give ideas on how to integrate environmental issues into lessons.
Informing and Involving: This involves developing a publicity programme that keeps the school and wider community involved and informed through displays, assemblies and press coverage. A Day of Action involves the whole school and wider community in meeting the school’s targets.
Green Code: This is a statement of the school’s commitment to environmental good practice.
After a period of participation, the success of these initiatives and the school’s methodology is evaluated and the whole Green-Schools programme for each school is assessed. Successful schools are then awarded the Eco-Schools Green Flag.

A Green-Schools award is in the form of a Green Flag that can be flown outside the school or displayed in a foyer. Award winners also receive a certificate, a logo to display on headed notepaper and other publicity material.

An Taisce provides support materials to every school that registers for the Green-Schools programme.

Rules
A Green Schools award must be renewed every two years.