Ballyhogue NS raises its active flag
THERE was great excitement in Scoil Mhuire National School, Ballyhogue, recently for the raising ceremony of the school’s ‘Health Promoting School’ flag.
The school received the prestigious accolade as a result of many positive initiatives in place all aimed at improving the health and fitness of all students.
Nuala Harper, from the HSE, was in attendance to present the school population with their award and she also took delight in being present to witness pupils Chelsea Doyle and Shayne Canavan-Thorpe raise the flag.
Rory McCauley, from Fresh Today, was also present at the ceremony and along with Ms Harpur he spoke to the pupils about the importance of adopting a healthy and active lifestyle.
The two guests commended the pupils on their achievement and said achieving active flag status is no easy feat.
Some of the initiatives undertaken by the school pupils as part of their effort to get the flag included mindfulness in relation to healthy eating, exercise and respecting the school and each other.
Improving the pupil’s social environment through mindfulness colouring, positive quotes of the week and a worry box are also in place in Ballyhogue.
Improving the physical environment with a buddy bench, garden projects and tissue dispensers are also high on the agenda.
A spokesperson for the school told this newspaper that interaction with various clubs and organisations to promote positive health and wellbeing is also very important and includes areas such as GAA coaching, swimming, active school tours, yoga, kettle bells, tag rugby, library visits, school walks, ‘Sing Out Loud’, engineers club, and the An Taisce National Spring Clean.