St. Molaga’s N.S. –Táimid glan agus táimid glan
St. Molaga's N.S. have joined the Green Schools Programme run by An Taisce and a Green Schools Committee representing parents, teachers and pupils have been very busy on various activities in the quest for a Green flag for our school.
We held a very successful Spring Clean Day on the 27th of April during which the whole school community undertook a spring clean of our school grounds. In May the children on the Green Schools Committee planted pots with summer bedding to enhance the entrance to our school. We have tended these carefully and our work is now blooming.
A “Green Week” was held during the week commencing June 12th during which the whole school were involved in activities which raised awareness of environmental issues. The children, parents and teachers were busy constructing robots, rockets, masks and other items from recyclable materials for a Visual Arts competition in the school. The array of robots, cars, rockets and mobiles was very impressive and the creative ability of the pupils was awe-inspiring. These were displayed on Friday the 16th of June in the school hall. The prize winners were selected by a panel of adjudicators who had the difficult task of deciding on the best entry form each class.
The children had the opportunity during the week also to compose a Green School Motto for St. Molaga’s. The committee were inundated with entries and after much deliberation we chose an overall winner. The motto composed by Ruth of Third Class is :
Táimid glan agus táimid glas -(We are clean and green.)
Maith thú Ruth.
The four Third classes visited the Balbriggan recycling centre on Thursday, where they learned about reducing, reusing and recycling waste. The children were given a tour of the centre and had the opportunity to ask plenty of questions about the household items that can be recycled. St. Molaga’s N.S. would like to thank Bernie and Charlotte who facilitated the visit.
Trevor Sargent, our local Green TD, visited the school on Green Day to speak to senior pupils on environmental issues. It is certain that this visit provided the children with a wealth of knowledge and raised their awareness about environmental issues.
On Friday the 16th we also had a fun “Green Day” where children were encouraged to dress in "Green"" or to create clothes from recycled materials. Prizes were awarded to the “Best Dressed” in each class group and due to the amazing efforts of all the classes a treat was provided for every child in the school. The award ceremony for all the competitions was held in the school hall during a choir recital by the very talented school choir trained by Ms. Hegarty, Ms. Shaw and Mrs. Ellis who have worked hard during the year to provide musical accompaniment to school and church occasions.
Tony Fox, grandfather of pupils Dean and Dylan , has kindly offered to construct bird tables for our school grounds and we will erect these in September in plenty of time for the cold weather-Balbriggan birds will be the best fed in north-county Dublin.
The Parents Association of St. Molaga’s donated a paper shredder to the school which is used daily in the office to shred used paper for the compost bin. Third class children collect fruit and vegetable waste each day which is composted also. The school children and teachers look forward to using this in the school garden in the future. In the next school year they hope to start planting a school garden and will be seeking help from green fingered parents. The children and staff are now looking forward to the summer holidays to recharge their batteries for the year ahead when they will continue their Green School Programme in their quest for their own Green Flag.
compiled by Ms.Costello